Choosing the Right Project Methodology

Overview

This category contains topics associated with choosing the right project methodology to fit a project.  In the past, there was only one primary way to do project management and that was a traditional plan-driven approach (what many people loosely call “Waterfall”).  Today’s rapidly-changing and uncertain business environment has created a need for a more flexible and adaptive approach which has resulted in the rapid proliferation of Agile development practices.

The rapid proliferation of Agile has led to a lot of misconceptions, myths, and stereotypes about how to choose the right project approach for a project.  For example, one misconception that is widespread among many people is that there is a binary and mutually-exclusive choice between “Agile” and “Waterfall”.  The result of that misconception is that people try to force-fit a project to one of those extremes.

A better approach is to go in the other direction and fit the approach to the nature of the project.  Sometimes that requires a blend of the two approaches rather than force-fitting a project to one or the other.  That can require a lot more skill but it definitely can be done.

Related Articles

Please check the articles associated with this category for more detail:

What Is the Truth About Agile versus Waterfall?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology / By

Agile Versus Waterfall How many times have you heard people compare Agile versus Waterfall? It happens a lot, I do it myself, and I keep hearing presentations that talk about how Agile has displaced Waterfall But, if you really think about it, I don’t think that’s a very meaningful comparison and it’s out-of-date. The result …

What Is the Truth About Agile versus Waterfall? Read More »

Kanban versus Scrum – Which Agile Approach Do You Prefer?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology / By

I recently saw an online question that asked the question “Which Agile approach do you prefer – Kanban or Scrum?”. I decided that it was worth a blog post because I’ve seen this question several times. There are a couple of things wrong with this question: It implies that Kanban and Scrum are interchangeable and …

Kanban versus Scrum – Which Agile Approach Do You Prefer? Read More »

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile and Scrum?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology / By

I have often been asked “What are the advantages and disadvantages of Agile and Scrum?” so I thought it would be useful to summarize what I believe are the most important advantages and disadvantages. This is an important consideration to understand in choosing the right approach for a project. Advantages of Agile and Scrum Here;s …

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile and Scrum? Read More »

How Do You Choose Between Agile and Waterfall?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology / By

I often see questions on “How do you choose between Agile and Waterfall?” Is There a Binary and Mutually-Exclusive Choice? The typical Agile versus Waterfall question implies that those two are discrete and well-defined alternatives and there is a binary and mutually-exclusive choice between the two. It also implies that there is one “best” methodology …

How Do You Choose Between Agile and Waterfall? Read More »

What Is the Waterfall Model? How Is It Used?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology / By

What does the Waterfall model really mean? Have you ever thought about that? The word “Waterfall” is often used in comparison to ‘Agile’ but do people know what they really mean when they compare ‘Agile’ to ‘Waterfall’? I think the word ‘Waterfall’ is one of the most loosely-used words in the English language (the word …

What Is the Waterfall Model? How Is It Used? Read More »

What is the Real Essence of Agile? What Are the Real Advantages?

Choosing the Right Project Methodology, Understanding Agile / By

It’s apparent to me that a lot of people have gotten so heavily focused on the mechanics of how Agile is implemented that they’ve lost sight of the big picture of what the real essence of Agile is all about.  The term “Agile” has taken on a number of different meanings today that are largely based …

What is the Real Essence of Agile? What Are the Real Advantages? Read More »