Critical Analysis of Traditional and Agile Project Management Essay Example for Free

Critical Analysis of Traditional and supple plan Management EssayINTRODUCTIONProject is an effort taken to build something unique at bottom a specific period. (PMBOK, 2004 20). This means that a honk has a starting and an ending which has to be finish within the specified time. For a expulsion to be sinless within time limit and with subatomic or no flaws, a plan has to be arrange in place so as to get a desired result. Project planning is the determination of the progress of a undertaking to be carried bulge out in a serial manner. (Successful Project Management, 2011 57). Project planning is genuinely essential in managing a sick and volition be discussed in detail specifically in traditional and fast endure instruction which is the two major project management approaches. Critical abridgment of these two approaches in respect to project planning will be exitn. That is treating the necessary processes in planning a project. Tools, techniques, and project lif ecycle models used in project management will be explored.See more how to write an analysisOVERVIEWTraditional project managementTPM is a set of technique and tools that endure be applied to an drill that seeks an end product, outcomes or service. This is a well up taught out planning process which has a very unbending control method that makes distinguishable stages in a project life cycle (hass, 2007). Requirement such(prenominal) as ambit, cost and time atomic number 18 determined upfront, followed plans argon as well well laid out and once laid out, it can non be modified. Due to this, life cycles are easily recognizable. Task are eat upd one after an opposite once completed, it can non be revisited. In TPM, a lot of importance is connectto documentation of business needs thereby stakeholders needs are already known (Leybourne, 2009).TPM is found on the fact that situations surrounding project and activities are predictable and manageable (Hass 2007, Yusuf et al 1999). TPM postures individually project take aim as a separate process whose outcome or completion has an effect on how and when consequent levels begin (caddle and Yeates 2008 Thonsett 2012). According to Larman (2004), a well thought out rule on project police squad members responsibilities are determined at the planning variety. This makes team members accountable for the project which ensures control (Saladis and Kezner, 2009). Examples of traditional models are1. PRINCE22. Waterfall3. Event chain4. CA-PPM.Agile project managementAPM is all or so incremental iteration, adaptability, weightlessness and collaboration (Scuh, 2005 Larman, 2004). It takes individual and iteration contribution over process and tools. It lays emphasis on short cycles of social organization which happen at different levels and alike emphasis on feedback (Hass, 2007). All plans are revisited to get consequence of delivery. APM sees the project as product increment. Due to its lack of structure, it requires a considerable union of discipline and coordination.APM allows project scope to change rapidly and frequently which is done by constant communication with project stakeholders. APM teams exist of skilled members fully dedicated to the project and are co-located (Hass, 2007 Wysocki). The whole idea of what APM is all about is based on the alert manifesto. It was put forward by Martin Fowler and Jim Highsmith (wysocki,). Its content are given below We are uncovering better ways of evolution software by doing it and helping opposites do it. Through this turn we have come to value Individuals and interactions over processes and tools im bureauing software over comprehensive documentation guest collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a planThat is, speckle there is value in the items on the right, we value the itemson the left more.Types of agile project management approaches are as follows1. Agile Unified Process (AUP)2. Scrum3. Lean So ftware Development4. intense Programming (XP)5. Dynamic Systems Development Method6. Feature Driven Development orbit mean orbital cavity planning is a process that describes and documents the boundaries of a project and project expectation. TPM is a rigid approach that gives no room to change once the scope plan has been created. Plans are made to prevent change in project scope. It reducees on developing all parts of the scope first. Documentation is very detailed stressful to encompass the whole requirement. The project scope statement consists of the objective and boundaries of the project and also product specification.Work dislocation structure is then created. In TPM, steps are taken that the team sticks to the scope of the project. Scope planning in APM is a high-level activity because little is known of the ascendant. Change is a appoint part of APM, making the scope very flexible. The scope is constantly redefined due to the series of iterations. Ideas could be adde d at stage of the project. Documentations is present but not as detailed as in TPM. APM focuses on developing the most important part of the scope first and then proceed to the next.Human Resource PlanningIn TPM, team is usually large in number and consists of various levels of skilled members. The teams are very organized. The teams dont make decisions on their own without the approval of senior double-deckers. APM team members are unspoiled and are super skilled, they are collocated in order to handle changes in project scope and also performance, communication and more so, interrelation. APM consists of small team, members are mostly between five and nine, and they also are highly productive. Agile teams are self-organizing and disciplined (Hewson, 2006). Agile teams are basicallyindependent.Risk PlanningTPM assumes that there will be risk in the project. This is put into consideration at the planning of the project and measures are put in place to handle it. Projects in APM a re volatile and very unstable because the solutions are not known. Every iteration cycle comes with its own risks. These risks are expected and are handled sequentially when it arises during project (Owen et al, 2006). Proponents of agile approach argue that dealing with real risk is better than preparing for unknown risk (Schuh, 2005). choiceQuality in agile is often determined by the regular feedback and acknowledgement of the customers view of the quality of the product. Time planning In traditional approach, time idea is dependent on the amount of tasks to be executed. Time estimation is done right after the WBS is created. Effort is made in other to complete the project within the requisite time (Hass, 2007). In agile approach, time estimation is based on features. The numbers of features to be developed determine the amount of time that will be used. Scheduling and take a leakflow are also closely aligned. Management style In TPM, the project manager is responsible solely f or the planning and allocation of responsibilities (Kerzner, 2003).Traditional project managers focus more on the schedule, scope and budget (Fernandez and Fernandez, 2009). In APM, the project manager attains in collaboration with the team (Hass, 2007). Agile managers focus more on the business value and deliverables (Fernandez and Fernandez, 2009). Cost management Agile projects should be based on either a cost-reimbursable system, or the client accepts scope is a variable based on achieving the supreme improvement possible for a pre-set budget. This is a totally different philosophy to traditional project governance.Tools, Technique, models, and Project Lifecycle frameworksThere are numerous tool and technique that can be utilized in the persist of planning a project which include Gantt chart is a graphical representation for scheduling the transaction of various project activities. It can be used to make an approximation of time required to complete theproject. Brainstormin g involves the assembling of idea by a group of people in order to turn problem and to arrive at a conclusion. It is essential in development of new ideas. Work breakdown structure (WBS) is the breaking down of project into smaller more manageable pieces in a hierarchal order. Each level in WBS is a smaller piece of the level above. Fishbone diagram is also known as cause-and-effect diagram. It is used to check the cause of a specific event.They also help during the collating and analyzing factors phase of project planning. Critical Path Method involves dealing with activities that has to be completed in order for other activities to be completed. It helps in the sequencing and correlating of interdependent processes. spirited Chart is a representation that shows the task to be performed serially in a graphical form. It helps to focus more on the most vital part of the project in order to reduce constriction. Project Charter is a document that formally authorizes a project state ment. It contains project justification, business needs and so on. . (PMBOK, 2004) Scope Statement ensures that only the required work is done. That is work is not done out of scope of the project.Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)WBS is a deliverable-oriented graded decomposition of the work to be done by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. WBS is a tool which focuses on how a project work should be done. It breaks down the work to be done into smaller sections that can be managed by the project team, each section give details of the project work as such giving team understanding of what do(Biafore, 2011). WBS can be depicted as an outline or a diagram (Biafore, 2011). The number of levels present in a WBS should be reasonable as this is determined by how voluminous and complex the project is. WBS helps in d identification of task, brings to light what d project entails and a lot of other tools depend on WBS. It also allows stak eholders have an understanding of the scope of the project (Biafore, 2011).PERT Chart (Project military rating and Review Technique)It is visual illustration of a project plan task. It document important or critical phases of a project. It helps to identify critical processes andthe time that the process will end. It can also help in the documentation of a project. It helps in the organizing and scheduling of interrelated tasks in a complex project (Chinneck, 2009). It does this by using a network description to show parallel relationships between tasks (Chinneck, 2009). It helps in the completion of each task in other of precedence. It is a very important tool for tracking project activities and milestones. PERT enables the project team to handle task in order of importance. It also deal with uncertainty in process completion dates and determines activities start and end dates. Finally, PERT chart can be adjusted at anytime in the duration of the project.Linear Project Management L ifecycle ModelThis is a simple TPM approach which does not allow for returning to a project which has previously been completed. (Effective 329). This means that once a phase in a project is completed, there will be no room to do any kindly of adjustment.Incremental Project Management Lifecycle ModelIt is a traditional TPM in which unlike linear. It releases a solution to each phase of the project and it also emphasis on customer value than the linear approach. (Fernandez, Fernandez). repetitious Project Management Lifecycle ModelIn the iterative PMLC, change is required as it is the important part of the model. It is a learn by doing strategy. (Fernandez, Fernandez). All iteration consists of feedback loop, and it involves more clients and customers than incremental.Adaptive Project Management Lifecycle ModelThis is a PMLC that almost nothing is known about the solution and almost all of it are intentional for software development project. It deals with a high level of uncertain ty because little is known of the end product. utmost(prenominal) Project Management Lifecycle ModelIn this model, there is no broad knowledge and solution about the project. The level of uncertainty is high and also that of clients too. CONCLUSIONAfter looking at the two approaches, it is seen that both(prenominal) approaches are goodand can work perfectly well depending on the project at hand. TPM due to its detailed planning is the preferred choice for structured project. It is used in large projects that have well understood features and requirements and which involves large teams. Also, TPM is suitable for project that requires little change. APM is the preferred choice for unstructured projects. These kinds of projects have a high level of uncertainty and unpredictability about them. APM unlike TPM involves smaller projects.