Project management methodology – a requirement or a necessity?

What do you think it means that a project should be run in accordance with the methodology?

Project methodology often emerges as a discussion topic after project managers hear their colleagues talk to clients, or to other colleagues, about some of the following:

• What are we expected to do on the project? Why do we have to complete all the activities by next week when there’s a lot of work to be done?
• Why won’t you implement this functionality? We talked about it several times and it is the default for us. We can’t work without it.
• It seems to us that we have already decided on this problem. We talked about it at a meeting last week with all the team members present. Will you send us the minutes of this meeting?
• The additional request must be submitted using the Change Request form. Do we need to resend this form to you?
• Please enter your project engagement in the system because I cannot send a report to the management until you do.

In situations like these, when team members or clients are reminded to follow the project methodology, their first reaction may be that this is nothing more than unnecessary administration – an activity that does not bring additional value and only takes up time that the project is already lacking. There is a common misunderstanding that this is an imposed requirement, as well as that project managers should be tasked with it.

Is project methodology really just administration?

After more than 20 years of managing IT projects – with more than 400 successfully completed and not a single one unrealized – CTSI is a good example of how project methodology and its practical application is not simply an administrative issue, but a key to project success and the overall success of the company. The company is so much more than project managers: there’s salespeople, IT engineers, business analysts, system architects, testers… Together with many other experts, they work in accordance with the project methodology in order to contribute to a successful implementation of new IT solutions, used for a long time by our clients.

Why is project methodology a necessity?

With constant innovations imposed by new technologies in a dynamic market environment, as well as the ubiquitous risks in implementation, the success of a project is often difficult to prove. Although the success of each project – or the parameters that will confirm it – is clearly defined at the beginning, most projects are deemed successful if they meet the following criteria:

• Efficient implementation – planned income was realized, project was implemented on time and in line with the planned costs;
• Client satisfaction – all client requirements were met to their satisfaction;
• Team improvement – the project strengthened the skills of team members and contributed to their greater self-confidence;
• Achieved business results – the project increased sales, revenue, service quality etc.;
• Company improvement – the project has brought new technologies, markets, core competencies and capabilities.

As simple as the path to achieving these goals may seem, CTSI’s many years of experience have shown that it is in fact very difficult, albeit much easier when project methodology is applied continuously and thoroughly. This is confirmed not only by an internal assessment, in relation to the expected success of the company, but also externally – in many years of ISO 9001 international standard certification.

You can learn more about the basic principles of CTSI project methodology in the future blogs.

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