Skill 6 – Using a chosen methodology

Which delivery methodology the project or team uses, if any, is not a manager's unilateral decision. It is the team's collective choice. Therefore, a good manager will not only realize this, but will also be prepared to adapt and embrace it. So, a good understanding of the most common software project methodologies is vital to a flexible manager's toolkit.

An effective Project Manager will facilitate the team's internal discussion to choose their methodology, as well as communicate it externally to inform other stakeholders. In this section, we will introduce the three most common methodologies:

• Agile
• Waterfall
• PRINCE2

There is no de facto best methodology in the real world. These three methodologies aren't even necessarily comparable or like-for-like. But neither are they conflicting or contradictory, either.

Like every person is unique, every project is also unique. So, the key here is to understand the best elements in each methodology, and consciously choose which to adopt and adapt, according to the needs of your project and your team. All three of these methodologies actively encourage its practitioners to adapt it as necessary. It is extremely rare for a popular methodology to be strictly prescriptive, because it will limit its range of applicable situations, and therefore its uptake and following.

While you can, and should, pick the best from any number of these methodologies, it is important that you have an agreed main methodology, even if it's a mix and match of many. This has two main benefits.

Firstly, it encourages all stakeholders to use a standardized vocabulary, especially within the team itself. In the modern work environment, there is a ubiquitous use of acronyms, and there's likely to be people of many backgrounds and geographies involved with the project. The standardized vocabulary levels the playing field and ensures that everyone is talking a common language and, hence, understanding one another more easily, which enables better collaboration.

Secondly, and somewhat of a public relations angle, it helps to communicate confidence and influence on stakeholders, who are very likely to expect the project to use a proven methodology. For this reason, many projects will declare that they are using Agile, Waterfall, or PRINCE2, without really doing so in practice.

For the more discernible stakeholder, if you actually adopt a formal methodology, you are in a better position to give them more meaningful updates and have more effective discussions about progress, as well as challenges, risks, and issues.