Project Management

Project Management with Channel can take a variety of forms.

Waterfall

With experienced project managers we often use the traditional waterfall PM model, where the specification is agreed at the start of the project, and any changes to the scope are managed and discussed as the project evolves.

It makes sense to build in a number of iterations as it is rare that a project specification doesn’t evolve over time as the project takes shape. The Benefits of the traditional approach are budgetary certainty in advance, the disadvantages can be a less flexible approach, and the need to closely manage the project scope.

Agile

The natural consequence of this iterative process is the Agile project model, where we tend to refrain from making too many assumptions about the final shape of the project at the start. This has the advantage that it recognises the evolving nature of any IT project, and breaks the work down into shorter 2 week “Sprints”, with a process of regular re-evaluation and re-direction. The disadvantage of Agile can be the difficulty of determining budgets in advance, but the advantages generally outweigh that, with a more adaptable approach leading to a better collaborative relationship, a more relevant outcome and cost effective overall project.

Time & Materials

More similar to Agile is the basic T&M approach. This involves simply hiring a developer, BA or Project Management for a given number of days. The approach works well when it is difficult to establish the scope of the project in advance, particularly if it contains exploratory elements. Bypassing the whole specification and contract stage and getting straight into the work can have cost and time benefits, particularly with smaller or urgent projects.

Milestones

With project running for more than a month or two it is normal to break the workload down in to a number of phases, delimited by milestones. These attach payment to deliverables, and allow us to keep the payment schedule in sync with the delivery schedule, giving better transparency to the project management process.

Project Management Tools

At Channel we have a variety of project management tools, both for the use of our internal team and for clients. You are able to submit task requests and notes straight into our internal project management system, and have access yourself to the project when a collaborative approach to development is required.

Again the aim of our team is always to select the PM methodology which will complete your project as efficiently as possible, with the best outcomes for your business. There are a number of articles in this section of the web site dealing with specific types of business solutions and integration. Please read and enjoy, or get in touch if you need any more information.

We look forward to helping you design the approach that will deliver the business outcomes that you need.