There is no single perfect way to manage all the projects. Nothing like a master key that fits all projects. Assessing the project based on factors like complexity, stakeholders, timelines, and business need and then choosing the aptest approach is wise Project Management.
Project Management can be broadly classified into 3 approaches
- PREDICTIVE : A more traditional approach where the project goals, requirements, and constraints are understood mostly upfront during the planning stages and plans are developed accordingly. Those plans drive the project forward.
- ADAPTIVE : A more change-driven approach with greater customer collaboration to determine the project needs and quickly building outputs based on those assumptions and feedback. The adaptive approach used progressive elaboration and customer feedback to deliver maximum business value with minimum foresightedness. It is further classified as Iterative, Incremental and the combination of the two, and the most popular, Agile.
- HYBRID : The tailored combination of Predictive and Adaptive is called a Hybrid approach. This incorporated components of both approaches and mix them depending on project needs. This is the recommended way to transition from traditional to Agile approaches.
The below diagram shows the inverted triangle of Agile (where the Cost, Quality, and Time is fixed while the Scope varies) in contrast to the Traditional Project Management (where the Scope is determined and fixed upfront while the Cost, Quality, and Time are computed based the plan)
Stacey Complexity Model categories the project based on requirement uncertainty & technical complexity and suggests the recommended approach.
As stated above, there is no single perfect recipe to manage all projects. To wisely understand these guidelines in combination with other project factors to chose the best-fit approach for your project is the art of Project Management.