Project management is a core business function essential to companies looking to accelerate the timeliness and efficiency of their projects. Successful project management can significantly benefit a business’s workflow, productivity, and profitability.
It is often a complex task featuring many moving parts to navigate. Luckily, there are many techniques for approaching project management, and they have proven very effective.
The primary responsibility of a typical project manager is to initiate and oversee the four phases of project management to completion. But this does not mean that you must be a project manager to benefit from learning essential project management skills and techniques to enhance project success.
There are numerous ways to approach and steer your projects to successful ends. But here are some of the best project management techniques to consider.
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
The PERT strategy uses a visual map to show the various milestones and timing. This technique will allow you to create a detailed schedule and track performance visually in the PERT chart.
PERT charts are great for providing an at-glance look at a project and its progression. They often allow users to quickly evaluate resources, time, and plans throughout a project’s lifecycle.
This method is incredibly excellent for long-term projects where timelines can be challenging to comprehend. The main advantage is that it will help you create realistic project schedules and identify key success factors like potential bottlenecks and a critical path for your project.
- Scrum
Scrum is another popular form of agile project management that segments a project based on deliverables. Agile project management effectively uses short development packages called sprints or iterations to focus on quick response adaptations and continuous improvements in product or service delivery processes.
Your team works in sprints which are intervals of time, not longer than two weeks, where one deliverable is worked on before the next sprint comes with another deliverable assigned. Meetings are held after each sprint to improve the process and hopefully make the next sprints in the project much better.
It is an all-hands-on-deck hybrid approach suitable for anyone who wants to increase their project agility. Remember that this is not a one-size-fits-all type of project management solution. Be sure to do your due diligence to determine its suitability before making any decisions.
- Gantt
Gantt is another popular project management technique that you can use to plan, schedule, and simplify your projects visually in chart form. Gantt charts are more complex, with milestones, timelines, and assigned tasks all in one place.
Making one is a technique, but you can easily create one in Excel or your favorite Gantt chart online software. The only difference is that the latter offers more flexibility, and you can do more than manipulate task durations and deadlines.
A Gantt chart online making tool is easy-to-use and can be changed throughout the project. With one, you can now create your work breakdown structure, assign tasks, set milestones, track progress, and instantly update project schedules as you please.
Making adjustments in a Gantt chart is much easier as it provides more detail that can be changed throughout the project without interrupting any other project aspect. These are great for project management that involves timeline adjustments and changes frequently.
- Waterfall
The waterfall technique is a classic but sequential project management methodology that primarily maps projects in distinct linear phases. This method is a fairly basic way to strategize a project management plan.
Think of it as a linear model that shows each segment or phase of a project. Its process mainly involves moving project tasks through the different stages.
One step needs to be completed in waterfall charts before starting the next one. These typically entail defining project requirements, designing its implementation plan, implementing different work items, verifying implementations and quality assurance, and finally doing maintenance.
This linear approach works best for projects with lengthy but detailed plans spread through a single timeline and are less likely to encounter obstructions or need any changes.
Choosing a Good Project Management Technique
The discussed project management techniques are some of the best approaches that you can use to complete work items or projects successfully. Choosing the correct method often depends on the nature of the project and personal preferences. However, mastering most of these techniques means that you can quickly adjust and efficiently tackle any project-related challenges. It is one of the best ways to hone your project management skills and become more effective and efficient in the role, no matter your title.
