braking systems to enable them to go faster rather than to slow them down. Likewise, in different industries, appropriate levels of control allow an organization to grow and flourish within appropriate boundaries. Both project managers and executives need to understand the impact that new developments in technology are having on business from the project, operational, and risk points of view. It is possible to split the responsibilities of methodologies into three broad areas:

Managing project performance.

Managing the project life cycle.

Managing the resources and communications aspects.

Having the right processes in place to address these areas is a challenge faced by every project manager. I address each of the components of the guidelines because I believe they provide a well-researched and practical solution to this project management challenge.

Everywhere I go, clients ask the same question: How do our project practices compare with those of our competitors or with those of our peer organizations? Until now, this information could be obtained only from consultants, market research, or other third-party sources. The project methodology maturity models provide information whereby an organization can carry out a self-certification to grade its own processes from virtually nonexistent to the purist levels, principally as a means of identifying improvements and actions to take.

It is essential that the management of any organization identify and articulate its critical success factors (CSFs). These are the ground rules that determine the appropriateness of the environment in which the organization operates. The CSFs set out the culture, behavior, and actions for management to take to achieve its objectives relating to project methodologies. The guidance provided in the chapter should be easy to apply in practice.

Assessing the Project Methodology Ecosystem

In the context of this book, a project management methodology is considered part of an overall larger ecosystem. The ecosystem can be viewed as a give and take. Whenever you touch the ecosystem, there are things that are bound to occur. Table 2.1 lists what the ecosystem consists of.

Table 2.1: Project management ecosystem components

Figure 2.2 shows the makeup of the project management methodology ecosystem. Remember that any sudden change to the core methodology will result in a change to many other areas, such as templates and a ripple effect on supportive processes. Project managers wanting to deploy any methodology in an organization should realize this

natural effect.

Figure 2.2: Project methodology ecosystem.

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Best Practices for Project Methodologies

Most projects share a common life cycle. This is not to say that these projects are all designed and executed the same way, but they remain universal, as they pass similar phases during the life cycle of the project. When dealing with any methodology, ask the following questions:

How do we ensure that our projects develop and deliver successful products? Is the methodology able to accurately capture requirements and effectively manage the project against those requirements?

How can we deploy projects more quickly, avoiding overruns and poor performance, and for better value, lower cost, and better functionality?

When looking at organizational project methodologies available today, we realize that certain methodologies work well and some do not. Some are more proactive than reactive. For those that are not well planned, the organizations will simply not have success with those methodologies. Competitors will overpower them and deliver products faster to the market, and the organization will face competitor lockout. Some of the following best practices are needed before designing, purchasing, or benchmarking a prospective solution:

Provide standard proven processes and techniques.

Benchmark or leverage the best that your industry has to offer.

Create a list of must-have components.

Recognize the necessary processes you need to complete projects. Consider the best cost and time schedules for your methodology. Determine what core competencies are important.

Configure resources.