# Sustainable Approach in IT Project Management--Methodology Choice vs. Client Satisfaction
## 3 The Research Method
As a rule, in Polish organizations, employees selected to cooperate in an IT project are clients in the \"high awareness\" or \"high commitment\" category. This regularity also emerged in this study. The surveyed clients turned out to be representatives of these two categories. For these categories, the choosing of an adequate methodology is the most important. [87]  
The client's maturity juxtaposed with the rules and requirements of IT project management methodologies leads to certain recommendations regarding the matching of IT project management methodologies to the client. During the research, project management methodologies were divided into two main groups: classic and agile methodologies (light), which are recognized in the subject literature [88]. The group of classical methodologies includes the two most popular standards: PRINCE2 and PMBoK. Both linear and waterfall approaches belong to this group of methods [88]. It should be mentioned here that the development of the traditional current of project management on a global scale is influenced by two main associations: PMI (Project Management Institute) and IPMA (International Project Management Association). They shape both a common international language and standards in project management. PMI and IPMA members and experts from nearly 50 countries contributed to the creation of the ISO 21500 [89] project management standard. This international standard indicates to the model of project integration with the organization's environment, based on the IPMA PMBoK Guide, PRINCE2, and the IPMA competency model. The agile approach comprises: RUP (Rational Unified Process), Scrum, DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method), ASD (Adaptive Software Development), APF (Adaptive Project Framework), as well as Crystal Clear Family, XP (eXtree Programming). The PMI standard can also be found in this approach. The PMI-ACP spans many approaches to agile such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP) [90]. When assessing the effectives of methodologies (classical, agile) in connection with the client's IT maturity, two quarters are significant: \"high awareness\" and \"high commitment\" (Figure 2). This is a result of the specific requirements of these methodologies toward the client, his place, and his role in the IT project [87]. The classical methodology is more effective for the client from the \"high awareness\" quarter, whereas the agile methodology is more effective for the client from the \"high commitment\" quarter. In other quarters (\"low maturity\" and \"high maturity\") there are no such significant differences between the methodologies. Thus, on the basis of the semi-structured interview and the client's maturity matrix, it was determined whether the examined client fits the applied IT project management methodology or not. This made it possible to divide clients into the two research groups--A  
Figure 2: The client maturity matrix. and B (group A--clients matching the IT project management methodology used, group B--clients not matching the IT project management methodology used). These instruments can be successfully used to determine which IT project management methodology suite the client and which does not, before choosing the methodology. Undertaking research in this direction at the project initiation stage would enable efficient cooperation with the client and increase the likelihood of a successful completion of the project. To test clients' satisfaction, a measurement instrument for the IT project management area was developed based on the Servperv method [91]. Servperv is a modification of the Servqual method. Considering the nature of IT projects, where both the process of delivery and the deliverables are equally important, attention was given to the Servqual method [92], and in particular to its performance component, Servperv [91].