Construction Project Management
Question :
As a project manager with a recently acquired Master degree you have been tasked by your director, who is very keen to achieve project management maturity for your company, to provide a report on creating and implementing a project management methodology (PMM) by reviewing its potential benefits and limitations. You must state briefly the type of organisation, the sector and region it operates in within the introduction section to contextualise your analysis.
Answer :
Introduction
The selected organization for the project is active in the construction sector. The company builds residential houses for its customers. It currently provides construction services to the customers of the United Kingdom. Size of projects vary in construction sector significantly. A project work can require a week or two, or it can take several years. Specifically in housing projects, durations are mostly of smaller to medium range, at most one to two years. In this paper, the focus is on identification of appropriate project management methodology (PMM) that can be implemented for the project.
Literature Review
There are various project management methodologies in existence that can be used by project managers to handle a project (Balaji and Murugaiyan, 2012). However, not all project methods fit in all circumstances. Methods such as scrum and agile are more recommended for software development projects or projects that require multiple iterations (Edeki, 2015). On the other hand, methods such as PRINCE2 and Waterfall are recommended for projects such as construction projects. All these methods adopt different steps and phases to get things done (Mahalakshmi and Sundararajan, 2013).
As for Waterfall methodology, it consists of several activities that are completed one after another (Chari and Agrawal, 2018). In this methodology, once the plan is made and the work has started, there is no going back. And if the project wants to do some changes, then it is likely to impact the cost and duration of the entire project (McCormick, 2012).
Therefore, Waterfall methodology is mostly appropriate for scenarios where the project manager has substantial experience in doing similar projects in the past, and there is negligible chance of any scope creep after it begins (Hong et al, 2010). However, for the projects that are filled with uncertainties and require constant interactions with the external project stakeholders, and where it is expected that stakeholders may bring in continued improvement feedback that has to be implemented, such projects cannot be handled with Waterfall methodology (Bassil, 2012).
They may project methods that allow iterations such as Agile and Scrum (Patwardhan et al, 2016). As far as construction sector is concerned, there are often less possibility of iterations as once the construction designs are finalized, it is always a forward move.
The Waterfall methodology is oldest project method in existence and still going strong in various project implementations (Gupta, 2012). One of the major benefit of this methodology is that the project team can have complete clarity on what outcome they can expect at the end of the project, the time it is going to take, and the budget it will consume. It brings certainty and increases dependability (Bröchner and Badenfelt, 2011).
The selection of methodology should depend on the understanding of the project manager. It is quite possible that the project manager can engage in use of multiple methodologies to complete one mega project (Ji and Sedano, 2011). As for instance, a project requiring software development as well as implementation for an organization of 50,000 employees can utilize two methods.
The development can utilize Scrum or Agile due to the possibility of iterations, but implementation can utilize Waterfall as there exists negligible possibility of changes (Mahadevan et al, 2015 Quist, 2015). As with all other PMM, Waterfall model has advantages as well as disadvantages (Hameed and Oudah, 2014). This project method can create shock in some project situations as everything in the project becomes visible in the end.
Moreover, if this method is implemented for the projects that are related to the development for products to serve particular market, then it may be possible that by the time project will reach the outcome, the market has moved to some other projects.
Due to rigidity, this method does not allow changes even if the market scenario has changed, and so it becomes necessary to close the project in mid to prevent further losses (Kuhl, 2014). If this had been other methods with iteration possibility, then adjustments could be made to keep up with the changing scenario.
Advantages of Waterfall Methodology
There are several advantages of this methodology. It provides clarity to the project managers and all the involved stakeholders of the project. It follows straightforward structure that involves gathering requirements and documentations at the initial stage, preparing plan, implementation, monitoring and controlling, and then project closure. The project teams are expected to execute one activity before moving on to others (Chari and Agrawal, 2018). Another advantage of this method is that it is intuitive due to its linear nature. Moreover, usage of Waterfall methodology does not require project managers to undergo extensive training or certification courses. Moving further, this methodology helps in visualizing the final outcome of the project at the very beginning. This reduces the potential of getting lost in the mid of the project due to its concrete and focused goals. Moreover, transfer of information or knowledge from one stage or one project to another is seamless.
Disadvantages of Waterfall Methodology
There are few disadvantages of the waterfall methodology. One of the key disadvantage is its rigid nature. Once the project plans are defined and the project activities have started, then making changes become very difficult. For instance, if 80% of the project has been completed and then necessity arises to make changes in the scope or any other project parameters, then the project owner may have to incur heavy cost. Waterfall methodology is not suitable for the projects that require frequent changes or are unpredictable in nature (Gupta, 2012). This project method also does not consider the clients or the end users when it is in progress. Clients are not allowed to involve with the project in any manner.
Role of Project Manager in Successful Implementation of PMM
Project manager plays significant role in directing the entire project team towards the intended project outcomes. Having appropriate understanding of the PMM being utilized in the project is mandatory for the project managers to ensure project success. Project managers act as strategic business partner for clients and their businesses. They recognize contributions made by others and encourage valuable efforts. They motivate and respect internal and external stakeholders regularly and stress accountability and integrity. Moreover, project manager also invested most of their effort towards keeping the project progress within the predefined timeline and budget.
Discussion
Based on the studies conducted in the earlier sections on the project management methodologies, it can be said that the selection of the methods are based on the circumstances, and it is the project manager who is to decide which method should be picked for the project.
The company that has been selected for the project implementation is in the construction sector. In this sector, almost all of the projects are done only after the outcomes are clearly defined. Therefore, it can be said that the rigidity in the activities are allowed, and thus the Waterfall methodology can be the most suitable ones.
Moreover, the construction activities are more costly in comparison to the software development activities and continuously making changes and tweaks during the project progress brings disruptions rather any constructive contributions. Therefore, it can be said that for the projects of the current company, Waterfall can be suggested.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Considering various advantages provided by the Waterfall methodology, it is recommended that the company should use it to implement its projects. This method will help the company in implementing the projects effectively without getting lost in the process and activities. Unlike other project methods, Waterfall methodology allows project managers to set up concrete outcomes expected at the end of the project.
References
Balaji, S. and Murugaiyan, M.S., 2012. Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative study on SDLC. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 2(1), pp.26-30.
Bassil, Y., 2012. A simulation model for the waterfall software development life cycle. arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.6904.
Bröchner, J. and Badenfelt, U., 2011. Changes and change management in construction and IT projects. Automation in Construction, 20(7), pp.767-775.
Chari, K. and Agrawal, M., 2018. Impact of incorrect and new requirements on waterfall software project outcomes. Empirical Software Engineering, 23(1), pp.165-185.
Edeki, C., 2015. Agile software development methodology. European Journal of Mathematics and Computer Science, 2(1).
Gupta, B., 2012. Waterfall to Agile: Flipping the Switch. In Proceedings from the 2012 Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) http://www. uploads. pnsqc. org/2012/papers (Vol. 21).
Hameed, A. and Oudah, A., 2014. Improved Methodology for Mobile Commerce Applications. International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications (IJSEIA), 8(8), pp.29-42.
Hong, N., Yoo, J. and Cha, S., 2010, November. Customization of scrum methodology for outsourced e-commerce projects. In 2010 Asia Pacific Software Engineering Conference (pp. 310-315). IEEE.
Ji, F. and Sedano, T., 2011, May. Comparing extreme programming and Waterfall project results. In 2011 24th IEEE-CS Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T) (pp. 482-486). IEEE.
Kuhl, J.G., 2014. Incorporation of Agile Development Methodology into a Capstone Software Engineering Project Course. In Proceedings of the 2014 ASEE North Midwest Section Conference (pp. 1-8).
Mahadevan, L., Kettinger, W.J. and Meservy, T.O., 2015. Running on Hybrid: Control Changes when Introducing an Agile Methodology in a Traditional" Waterfall" System Development Environment. CAIS, 36, p.5.
Mahalakshmi, M. and Sundararajan, M., 2013. Traditional SDLC vs scrum methodology–a comparative study. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, 3(6), pp.192-196.
McCormick, M., 2012. Waterfall vs. Agile methodology. MPCS, N/A.
Patwardhan, A., Kidd, J., Urena, T. and Rajgopalan, A., 2016. Embracing Agile methodology during DevOps Developer Internship Program. arXiv preprint arXiv:1607.01893.
Quist, C., 2015. Benefits of Blending Agile and Waterfall Project Planning Methodologies.
