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Over a quarter of CTOs (27%) do not use any project management frameworks to help them handle jobs across the IT department, contrasting with the fact that software development frameworks are commonplace across all organisations. This is according to research by STX Next, Europe’s largest software house specialising in Python development.
Of the companies that do use project management frameworks, Extreme Project Management (XPM) is the most popular choice (used by 22% of respondents), followed by PRINCE2 (employed by 12%).
Among software development frameworks, Scrum is the leader (used by 77% of respondents), followed by Kanban (51%). These high percentages underline the popularity of software development frameworks relative to project management methodologies.
Despite the general lack of prevalence of project management frameworks, Maciej Dziergwa, CEO of STX Next, does not see this as a negative. Instead, he considers this more of a reflection of company size, namely the fact smaller businesses can often function effectively with just a software development framework in place.
Dziergwa said: “The fact XPM and PRINCE2 are the most popular project management frameworks says a lot about the environments in which they are used. XPM is an ideal fit for chaotic projects where development is fast, there’s a lot of uncertainty, and changes happen very often. PRINCE2 places emphasis on a strict structure of roles and responsibilities. While different in focus, these frameworks would generally work well for an overwhelmed CTO at a larger organisation.
“However, the picture is often very different at smaller companies, with projects generally being much smaller in scale. For this reason, software development frameworks often cover all the bases for CTOs at these organisations.”
Dziergwa added: “While project management frameworks aren’t always essential, our data shows software development frameworks are more or less essential to the effective functioning of an IT team, regardless of the size of the company. Methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban work so well because they emphasise constantly delivering business value and helping teams maintain their focus on the task at hand.
“However, whether to use project management frameworks alongside these is entirely dependent on the individual needs of an organisation and its CTO.
“It’s important to note that neither type of framework is designed to replace the other. When a project management framework is implemented, it can sit on top of a software development framework and the two can work in tandem with one another.”
He concluded: “Ultimately, there’s no hard-and-fast way of approaching this process. IT teams should by all means have software development frameworks in place, but CTOs should assess their own requirements when deciding whether project management frameworks should be brought in alongside them.”
