Building Your Own Methodology

Is there a direct answer to the question, “Is “Hybrid (Waterfall/ Agile)” a solution or a hidden problem?” 

The answer will be at the end of this article 

Starting with my believe and hands on experience with different types of projects at different types of organizations I can say that, “There is no single way to manage a project but there is a project management solution for each project” 

Project management is considered one of the management's specializations that has very clear boundaries and focus on one of the critical organizations’ challenges. It is not one terminology boiled down to indicate specific methodology (PMI, agile, hybrid, or waterfall). 

Project management actually consists of two words “Project and Management “hence; we need to shed the light on each part separately to understand the real meaning and objective of each part to guide project managers and practitioners to combine the understanding under one proper solution to manage the organizations’ projects. 

Project is simply known by completing specific work to meet a requirement or achieve certain objective within a specific timeframe. Usually it has three major angles scope of work, time and resources in addition to quality and safety. 

Management according to Harold Koontz "Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized groups. 

In another definition according to Henri Fayol, "To manage is to forecast and to plan, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate and to control." 

If we went through the Functions of Management, it is described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. 

At the most fundamental level, management is a discipline that consists of a set of five general functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and 

controlling. These five functions are part of a body of practices and theories on how to be successful. 

From another angle management has major principals that are; Division of Work, Authority and Responsibility, discipline, unit of Command, Unity of Direction, Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest, Remuneration of Personnel, centralization ,Scalar Chain, order, Equity, Stability of Tenure of Personnel, Initiative and Esprit de corps. 

Finally Methodology is in fact a set of guiding principles and processes. 

Project management is very specific than the general management, as it focuses on employing the management science concepts, principles and art in a specific project's properties such as “ integration, scope, time management, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, procurement, and stakeholders requirements in management areas. 

Project management has very solid billers, tools and techniques built based on natural human being logical thinking, experiences, lessons learned with its success and failure trying to reach a general agreement of what is the best practice to success in delivering projects. 

Which project management methodology Egyptian ancient pharos used in managing the pyramids project? 

“Did the Pharos who built the pyramids have PMI? Agile? Hybrid?” 

Certainly, they had a clear objective to protect the body of the deceased pharaoh but how can those ancient Egyptian people delivered this project without Mr. PMI or Mr. Agile or ...? 

Most probably, they used logical sequence, sophisticated planning and stars' science as circumpolar star, Polaris; Ropes were likely used as part of the method to align Khufu's pyramid to true north within one-tenth of degree. 

The requirements of the master stockholder were defined, and then developed the scope of work that is used to design the project's structure, and size the stones volume needed then started to move the stones and build the pyramids that contains burial chambers. 

“It is wise to start where others ended” that is the major best practice rule to shorten the way, torch the practitioner to the ways that he/she may use to reach his/her destination. 

There are famous project management methodologies in the field of project management practices “Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, lean, extreme programing, waterfall, Prince 2, PMI book” 

Each methodology was used by practitioners in certain area of business challenge, proved to have benefits, and can reach objective by following the practitioner’s technique and routine used in his business case hence published and generalized to spread the benefits to all and drag the attention to the basic rule that “ there is no single way to manage a project” 

Actually project manager cannot manage a project without “scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, issues” management and cannot ignore that each project passes through different logical sequence of phases ; initiation and planning, execution, closure with monitor and control to the project's behavior. 

If we hypothetically removed names of methodologies and just put all methods' values, principals on the store shelf and best suited for as a reference then we have a very rich asset now to the project manager to build his framework and solution to manage a project and choose which can fit. 

Each mythology has benefits to your project and practitioner needs to make the value drive approach. 

How to build your methodology? 

Apply GPS concept: explore all the roads that can lead you to reach your destination but in managing the project, shortest way may not be the right way! 

Use experience: use the methodology creators experience to start where others practiced and learned lessons to avoid and use proper ways. 

Focus on values: what can add value to your case is a major key success factor to build your methodology. 

Separation of execution: working on execution methodology is different from the project management methodology as the delivery can imbed 

product or more to fit project requirements. Execution is the land of agile, hybrid, ... etc methods to get located. 

Build your general theme: building the general philosophy of the methodology will help in having very solid cornerstones. 

Focus on the mandatories: mandatory documentation and areas that add value to your organization, it is not a professionalism indicator to have many forms and templates to manage your project and it has empty misleading valueless data! 

Centering on the real objective of projects will lead to proper selected methodology. 

Until this moment the most accepted logical sequence in managing a project is Initiate the project, plan the project, execute the project delivery, then close the project parallel to monitor and control the project. 

Attention 

While managing your project focus on the organization’s assets that you leave after your project closure, focus on what are the benefits your project left to the organization, how your project contributed to organizations capabilities and assisted in achieving its objectives 

Remember that project management is the right arm of the strategies to achieve its objectives and is the maturity trainer to organizations who enhance its abilities to meet business challenges that control its strategies execution and success in the market. 

Not selecting a proper methodology like giving medicine to patient without understanding his real pain, and just writing down basic prescription to postpone the disease confrontation. 

To summarize “Hybrid (Waterfall/ Agile) without total project management solution is a hidden problem even if PM delivered his project. 

The answer is to build your own methodology 

In the coming articles I will explore more on each method, and wider implementation of project management.