Keeping up with a project through various wins and setbacks is not easy, but what’s more testing is choosing among the types of project management!
Everything that you read, learn, and try to adapt to can go to vain if you have no idea of what goes with what. The methodology and techniques in project management are specific to sectors, business models, and significantly - the project manager himself. If you are a project manager in the construction industry utilizing a Waterfall methodology, your day-to-day activities would be substantially different from those of an IT project manager managing their team using Scrum. Hence, along with the training for Project Management, determining suitable project management is crucial to a team’s success, resources, and time.
In this article, we will learn about the different types of project management models, the most popular approaches and industries, and some tips on how to choose the best fit for your projects.
What is Project Management?
Project management is the process of carrying out specific project objectives in accordance with established guidelines by using processes, techniques, abilities, knowledge, and experience. Many professionals seek PMI certifications to validate their expertise in these areas. Project management final deliverables are susceptible to schedule and budget constraints.
A key distinction between project management and basic "management" is that project management has a specific goal and a defined time, as opposed to management, which is an ongoing activity. Consequently, a project expert requires a broad range of skills, including several specialized ones, in addition to strong people management and business acumen.
What is a project methodology?
It’s a blueprint that shows how tasks and projects can be planned, managed, and executed right from start to finish. It includes a combination of practices, techniques, and procedures followed by project managers.
Why choose a project management methodology?
A recent survey published by the Harvard Business Review revealed that the lack of time was the major hindrance to collaboration within project teams. Since projects are fast-paced and must adhere to deadlines, collaboration is quintessential. This is where adopting a project management methodology comes to play.
Projects are incredibly fast-paced with competing deadlines; hence collaboration is the best way to keep the team engaged, heighten productivity, and save time in the long run. Practicing a methodology is a great way to boost collaboration as well as deliver project success.
Most Popular Project Management Methodologies
1. Waterfall Project Management
The waterfall technique or conventional approach is sequential and linear in structure. It consists of static stages that are carried out sequentially in a predetermined order. The waterfall technique doesn't respond well to ad hoc project scope adjustments, although giving more flexibility over each step of the project.
When to use Waterfall?
The waterfall methodology is frequently employed in projects with rigorous requirements and expectations or in projects where there aren't many modifications expected to the project plan. When timeframes, finances, rules, or other variables need a project to have a predictable end or when one stage must be finished before the next can start, such as when building a house, the waterfall technique might be useful.
2. Agile Project Management
Projects using the agile methodology are finished in brief periods of time, called iterations. The group must produce the required deliverables by the conclusion of each iteration. Agile project management is one among the various types of project management that’s popular because it enables the team to make adjustments as they go along rather than needing to wait until the project is finished. Short work phases required by the agile methodology need regular testing, reevaluation, and other adjustments. The backlog contains a list of every task that has to be done, and project managers assign a priority to each item before each cycle.
When to use Agile?
Agile is most effective for projects where there will be some degree of instability or where it won't be possible to know every little detail up front. As changes are virtually always present in the software development industry, agile project management is particularly well-liked. When you are releasing a new product and are not completely aware of potential pain points until the conclusion of the project, you may also utilize an agile strategy.
3. Scrum Project Management
Scrum project management is a subset of agile project management. Think of it more as a structure than as a project management strategy in and of itself. In Scrum, work is split into short intervals known as "sprints," which usually last between one and two weeks. The backlog is used to provide tasks for each sprint cycle. Small teams work under the guidance of a Scrum Master for the length of the sprint, at the conclusion of which they conduct a "sprint review" to assess their performance and make any necessary changes before moving on to the next sprint.
When to use Scrum?
Like agile, the scrum technique is one of the project management types that has mostly been utilized in software development, but supporters point out that it can be applied in any industry or organization, including event planning, retail logistics, and other projects that call for a certain flexibility. Yet it does call for rigid scrum roles.
4. Kanban Project Management
Kanban, which in Japanese means "signboard," is a technique for visualizing a project's process. The tasks of a project are displayed as cards on a physical or digital board, separated into columns, in the Kanban method. The cards move to the next column when the tasks are performed, making progress on them. The Kanban technique places a strong focus on continuous work.
When to use Kanban?
There are various types of project management techniques to choose from, but if you don’t know much about them, it becomes hard to implement the technique that gives the maximum benefit.
The Kanban approach, another technique created primarily for manufacturing and software teams, has now been used in human resources, marketing, organizational strategy, executive process, accounts receivable and payable, and other areas. With the addition of cards to represent project phases, task deadlines, individuals, ideas, and more, almost anybody can plan using Kanban boards. This concept is especially accessible with Kanban software.
5. Lean Project Management
A project management approach called lean focuses on efficiency or getting more done with fewer resources. It determines the value and then works to maximize it through waste reduction and ongoing development. Instead of being a technique that specifies process steps, lean project management is a philosophy with guiding principles. By addressing the three dysfunctions that lead to waste, the lean approach asserts that you can accomplish more with less.
When to use Lean?
When you want to save costs, accelerate schedules, and boost customer satisfaction, lean project management can be an effective strategy to apply. It works best for initiatives that plan on being flexible and changing. Having a PMP certification prep allows you to have an edge over others when using these different project management techniques.
6. Six Sigma Project Management
Among the different types of project management, Six Sigma has been implemented over the years to enhance quality. Six Sigma was developed by engineers working at Motorola in the middle of the 1980s and aims to increase quality by discovering project flaws. It uses quality management techniques, such as empirical statistics, and staff members who are specialists in these fields. Lean Six Sigma is another approach that incorporates lean techniques to get rid of waste. It is a theory that success depends mostly on persistent efforts to provide predictable, steady results. It is possible to hone and enhance processes. To maintain quality in a project, the entire company must contribute, starting at the top.
When to use Six Sigma?
Larger companies are where Six Sigma project management is used so that they perform their best. A constant and continuous monitoring component is included in Six Sigma projects after they are completed to sustain improvements.
7. PRINCE2 Project Management
PRINCE2 (Projects In Controlled Environments), a certification course, gives project managers insight into the best practices and ways to handle projects. It is a fantastic option for project managers as it follows a combined approach, i.e., the methodological foundation with a qualification. All in all, PRINCE2 is an independent methodology as it helps project managers enhance their skills in a unique way.
When to use PRINCE2?
You can take the help of PRINCE2 Project Management course to give yourself an edge over the others. It will be beneficial where PRINCE2 is accepted as the minimum project management credential (such as in the UK).
8. Critical Path Method (CPM) Project Management
The Critical Path Method is a method of project planning and management that aims to maintain resources leveled. It differs from other approaches in that it ensures that the project plan is realistic and timely by putting more emphasis on resources than on the methodology itself.
The key to adopting CPM is to build a project model that contains a list of all activities necessary to finish the project, a breakdown of how those tasks are related, and an estimation of how long (in duration) each task will take to complete. With this data, you may select the longest dependent activity chain and measure it from beginning to end to establish the critical route.
9. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is one of the different types of project management methods for modeling and scheduling project activities, similar to CPM. The critical chain method and the critical path method are distinct in the way that CCPM takes resource availability into account when estimating the time required for project tasks. The critical chain technique gives a project all of its resources. If a job is completed early, you may go on to the next one without encountering any bottlenecks.
10. PRiSM
Project Integrating Sustainability Measures, or PRiSM, is one of the types of project management techniques implemented by various organizations. It is a technique built on principles that maximizes value while incorporating sustainability across the whole project lifetime. It mostly makes use of already-existing organizational mechanisms to realize unilateral sustainable advantages with a strong emphasis on the sustainability of the process and the final output. The P5 Standards for Sustainability in Project Management from Green Project Management are the foundation of PRiSM.
How to Pick the Right Project Management Methods?
Your organization's project results and team productivity may be significantly impacted by the project management methods you use. In order to effectively educate your team and produce the desired results, it is crucial to be deliberate about your company's project management methods. Use these methods to select the most appropriate project management technique for your needs.
Go Through the Requirements of the Project: Begin by learning more about the objectives and available tools for your endeavor. It will be simpler to select the technique that best satisfies your requirements if you create a detailed summary of your project's requirements. Assemble the data regarding the budget, schedule, organizational structure of the company, project goals, customer information, project intricacy, and roles of the team members and stakeholders.
Go for Comparison: Make a summary of the various project management techniques that work with the tools you have at your disposal. For each of your main variables and secondary project requirements, list the advantages and disadvantages of each management approach.
Identify Primary Variables: Determines factors most crucial for your project's success once you have a basic hold of its constraints. This will enable you to choose the project management technique aligning with the top objectives and help you prioritize various project components.
Weigh the Pros and Cons: Draw conclusions about the potential risks and success possibilities that could come with each technique based on your chart and project data. Decide with your team how much risk you are prepared to take on because the technique with the greatest chance of success may also have the highest risk of failure.
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Conclusion
Depending on the technique or strategy used and what the project manager brings to the table, project management can take on a very different appearance. That is excellent news for prospective project managers because it means you can probably find employment in almost any sector. Knowing the fundamentals, as well as a few various methods and methodologies, such as getting hold of KnowledgeHut's Project Manager course, will be helpful if you want to advance your project management abilities.
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![Project Management Methodologies [10 Popular Frameworks]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd2o2utebsixu4k.cloudfront.net%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2Fa0a62434-0d0c-4b89-a223-53d1ea1ad0ad.png&w=1920&q=75)
