What project management methodology to use to develop new software internally?

Question

As part of my assignment I have to answer this question:

  The Sales Department has decided to develop new software internally. 
  They will thus need to manage the IT project formally. Briefly describe 
  two suitable project management methodologies models that could be used.

I'm quite confused by the amount of methodologies. I Thought maybe PMBOK and SCRUM might be the best but still not sure if they are the ones for developing software internally. or whether they work for small projects, for instance.

The thing about PRINCE2 is that is very comprehensive and seems to suit the large projects, however I read that it also suits to small projects as well.

Any suggestions, which project management methodologies models to use for developing new software internally?

What would be two suitable project management methodologies models?

Answer 1

How big is your team? How long do you have to complete this project? Scrum is an agile format and is thus really good for small teams with a rapid release schedule for projects that require a slight amount of structure and procedure.

Answer 2

I tend to be more comfortable with XP (Xtreme Programming) as a methodology, but it is for smaller teams than Scrum, normally.

If interacting with a customer frequently isn't an option then the Spiral model is good, as it is iterative, and you get feedback from testers, but you don't get the comments from the users as you are developing.

I think most businesses that believe they are Agile are actually using something similar to the Spiral model.

Answer 3

If this is for an assignment, and they are looking for formal, internal project management methodology, then I guess they are probably looking for something PRINCE2 or PMBoK. However, in my professional experience, there is no 'best' methodology - everything is always secondary to the culture. After all, methodology is really a 'subset' of culture, as culture is a term that represents collective and individual human behaviour. What is necessary for project success is highly experienced management who are able to pick and mix and match different tools and technqiques ad hoc for the particular scenario. In short - the 'only' methodology is emphasis on first rate leadership.

Answer 4

Repeat after me, PMBOK is not a methodology (and argument for this can be found here). PMBOK is simply the Project Management Body of Knowledge put out by PMI (Project Management Institute).

It is more of a set of tools than anything else. These tools are standardised ways of planning, analysing the state of your project, and communicating with the stakeholders and contributors. But it doesn't dictate how you must run your project.

These tools can be re-incorporated into the Big-M methodologies; from SCRUM and XP down to the POWM (Plain Old Waterfall Methodology).

That all said, if I was doing an internal software project for the first time in a departments history, I'd use a POWM. Management will understand it, the clerks and sales people will understand it, and you will understand it. It is also a good baseline to compare against for future projects.

Once the organisation has got a couple like that under its belt, you an experiment with other methodologies. But remember, none of them mean that you don't have to do any planning. They tend to break the planning up in different ways. They also tend to for communication with the stakeholders (shudder) with smaller sprints/coding marathons. I expect though, that if you did your POWM project properly and your SCRUM project properly; both would probably come out to about the same actual effort.

Answer 5

Here is almost a complete list of software development methodologies. Scroll through it and pick what would best suit your environment and team practices.

Asshole driven development

Answer 6

I think your questions is similar to asking someone who has never eaten pancakes to cook them...I would highly recommend hiring (consultant) a Project Manager that has a wide base of experience to come in, determine the best approach and guide the Sales Dept. through their first internal project. If that's not an option (hopefully it is), stick with the basic waterfall (somewhat described via PMBOK) Initiation, Planning, Execution/Control then Closeout (have a beer).

Answer 7

People usually speak about XP and SCRUM as if they were competitors but I don't think so. XP is more of a set of programming practises whereas SCRUM is a project management system. Nothing prevents you from using XP's practises such as pair programming and test driven development in SCRUM. All in all, SCRUM is more about managing a project whereas XP is about coding itself.

One other common method is iterative development. It's basically that you split your waterfall into multiple small waterfalls. If do very short waterfalls, it gets pretty close to SCRUM but doesn't require any mandatory stuff like daily meetings or fixed-length iterations. Another option worth mentioning is the RUP which is basically a formalized version of iterative development.

Answer 8

Use SCRUM and XP. They complement each other.

SCRUM is a set of project management practices that facilitate collaboration with your business partner and helps everyone to focus on what is important and delivers continuously in small iterations (2 weeks works well).

XP is a set of engineering practices that ensure that software will be delivered with quality and enables a sustainable pace. Matching an Agile Project Management Approach (SCRUM) with Agile engineering practices is very powerful.

In order to get started, you will need to secure embedded coaches on the team for SCRUM (preferable an Iteration/ SCRUM Master) and for XP (preferable an XP developer that knows Test Driven Development).

The team will quickly pick up SCRUM. However, the XP practices will take some time. While some of the practices will provide immediate benefit, TDD will take some time for the team to learn.

Once you have a functioning team be prepared. Others will see the success the team has had and they will ask for their projects to be done internally.

Answer 9

Describe briefly about the Scrum methodology