The Project management techniques are applied to find the project pitfalls and ways to execute a project. The project management technique is a framework or a way to plan, organize, and execute a project. Each project is unique with varying requirements. It is essential to understand the requirements of any project before starting it. Each project needs a strategy designed according to its complexity, size, and objective.
The ultimate success of a project depends on Technique, methodology, Project plan, Risk evaluation, team members, and most importantly on a Project Manager. Considering all these aspects and choosing the right project management tools and techniques, a Project Manager can navigate the project smoothly within resources and time limits.
To deliver a successful project, a Project Manager has to adopt tried and tested project management tools and techniques. In this article, we are going to discuss all the project management methodologies and techniques that help in completing a project.
Why Use a Project Management Technique?
Project Management technique is the systematic approach to complete a project. The project Management technique helps in providing a structured approach. It helps in planning by defining project layout, allocating resources, and setting realistic goals.
By taking a PM technique risks can be calculated and a contingency plan can be devised to keep the project going. Most important of all the project management techniques make sure that the final product is of high quality and fulfills market demand.
Project Management Techniques
The project management technique is a strategy that assists team members of the project to handle that project technically. This technique shows the how easiest way you can do a project smoothly. However, let’s discuss some of the major techniques widely applicable in most of the cases.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Work breakdown structure is a technique that divides the big challenging tasks into smaller and manageable parts. It works de-hierarchically, where the final deliverable is placed at the top and then the tasks are divided into smaller manageable parts to be easily completed.
This division carries on until no further division of tasks can be possible. This sort of task division systematically divides the elements of the tasks. All the tasks are dependent on each other. The smaller will be completed first leading to the completion of the project.
Purpose of WBS
The WBS helps Project managers in
- Describing the scope
- Assigning resources
- Creating precise timelines
- Better monitoring and tracking of the tasks in
- Creating responsibilities among team members
Benefits of WBS
There are numerous benefits of project management software. Taking a WBS technique for managing a project can help the project by
- Enhancing the clarity about the requirements of the project.
- Providing better planning, Scheduling, and controlled monitoring of project management tasks.
- Making the workflow visually smoother and manageable.
- Detecting risks earlier in the project cycle.
Examples
WBS techniques are suited for Construction Projects, Information Technology projects, Healthcare, and most commonly manufacturing product projects. For the work breakdown structure technique, Kanban boards and Gantt sheets can be used.
Agile Project Management Techniques
Agile Project management is a flexible technique that can be used for projects that emphasize Customer feedback, flexibility, and team collaboration in delivering a product. The agile method allows changes in plans during the lifecycle of the project.
The Agile Project Management technique is suitable for projects with uncertain changes during the project. It is a form of self-regulating technique, where the team members continuously communicate with each other and adopt procedures according to the market demand and customer satisfaction.
In Agile methodology, the team divides the tasks into short durations of time. This time is called Sprints and is in between 1 to 4 weeks. The Agile methodology is mostly used for projects with flexible deadlines. Agile methodology focuses on team collaboration more than project planning.
Purpose
The purpose of Agile Project Management is
- To focus on market demand.
- Adapt changes according to the needs of the project and marketplace.
- Evaluate customer response.
Benefits of Agile Project Management
The agile Project Management technique is a great way of approaching complex projects, with evolving market demands. Agile methodology is helpful as it has
- Great Flexibility in the basic plan so that the changes needed can be done according to market dynamics and customer demands.
- By taking timely feedback from customers and the market, agile delivers the product earlier than anticipated time with more customer satisfaction.
- The Agile method reduces the risk factor greatly by taking feedback from the marketplace at intervals during the lifecycle of the project.
- The enhanced quality checks make the final product with high quality and minimum defects.
- Team collaboration makes the overall process easy, leading to better results and transparency.
Examples
The Agile Project Management Technique is mostly commonly used in software development, Marketing, Finance, and many more.
Waterfall Project Management Technique
The waterfall project Management technique is one of the oldest and most beneficial project management Techniques.
In waterfall methodology, the overall project is divided into steps or phases. The work is distributed among the phases. The project cannot move to another step until one step is completed. Waterfall methodology has a strict and rigid follow procedure. All the aspects i.e. planning, requirements, time, and everything are to be calculated and planned before starting the project.
Waterfall methodology does not allow any sort of changes during the project once it is started. It has rigid rules. Waterfall methodology can be adopted when the manager has a clear idea of project requirements because there is no room for returning to the previous stage for making corrections.
It is named waterfall because the phases or steps of the waterfall methodology run successively downwards resembling a waterfall. Each step is dependent upon the previous one. These steps can be broadly classified as planning, initiation, execution, evaluation, management, and close-up.
What is Waterfall Software
In waterfall methodology, everything is carefully planned and evaluated upfront. It is difficult to handle all this information manually. For that reason, a Project management software system has been developed that takes care of all the data in an organized manner. It can be desktop software or cloud-based software.
It helps project managers in handling, organizing, and monitoring the tasks at each step during the lifecycle of a project.
Steps of the Waterfall Project Management Methodology
The above steps are the waterfall project management Technique. The waterfall methodology is a sequential methodology that follows a chronological and linear structured approach. It is broadly divided into 5 stages
- Requirements
- Design
- Implementation
- Verification
- Maintenance
First step: Requirements
In the first step, all the information is gathered. The manager and team members take all the information from the stakeholders about their expectations and requirements for the final product. Market evaluation is done to know the demand, needs, and time required for the project. Then all the data would be collected relevant to the needs of the project. All of this data is fed into the waterfall project management software.
Second step: Design
The second step involves accessing all the gathered data and formulating a Project Plan. While designing a project plan all the needs, risks, and deadlines are taken into close consideration as the waterfall method does not allow changes once a plan is finalized. At the same time, when planning a project through the waterfall technique, a work breakdown structure is selected for dividing the tasks into different steps.
Third step: Implementation/Execution
The third step is to implement the project as per the design or planning done earlier. All the tasks are to be completed in a sequential order. It is to be ensured that all the steps are followed and completed before moving to the next one.
Fourth step: Verification
In the fourth step, the deliverables are checked. Whether or not are the deliverables as per the expectations. The quality of the product is checked. It is ensured that it meets the market standard and the customer satisfaction.
Fifth step: Maintenance
It is the last stage when the product is launched into the market or is given to the stakeholder. The quality and quantity of the final product is maintained in the market.
Purpose of Waterfall Project Management Technique
The core purpose of waterfall project management is to provide a clear concise roadmap for a project. That is possible by exact planning and accurate execution only.
Benefits of Waterfall Project Management Technique
- Waterfall methodology provides a structured frame of work, accelerating orderly planning and implementation.
- The extensive research and waterfall project management software helps in safekeeping the data for future reference as well.
- As every aspect was calculated carefully before the initiation of the project, the risks are eliminated upfront in the planning phase minimizing the probability of unwanted issues.
Examples
The waterfall method is mostly used in projects where the variables are to be decided at once and not to be changed during the execution. The waterfall project management methodology can be used in industries like, manufacturing, engineering, government projects, and construction where stern adherence to conditions is critical.
Scrum Project Management Methodology
Scrum is a project management technique of agile methodology. The scrum methodology works by breaking down large projects into smaller deliverables in a short period. These short periods are called SPRINTS. Mostly the time for each sprint is between 1 to 2 weeks.
Daily meeting is held to discuss the progress of the work. Scrum is a technique that raises teams with good cooperation and synchronization ultimately delivering a valuable product. Understanding how scrum methodology works lets us first understand the components and the process by which scrum works
The Components of Scrum Methodology
There are some crucial components of scrum methodology. So, take a look at a glance what are that.
Sprints
Sprints are short periods usually 2 weeks. In sprint, the team decides on a task and completes it within this time.
Product Backlog
Product Backlog is the task that is decided to be completed during this sprint.
Daily stand-ups
These are daily meetings held to discuss the progress, team activities, and deliverables.
Sprint reviews
The selected task is reviewed here and is presented to stakeholders for final approval.
Sprint Retrospective
When the team members meet again to discuss future tasks and how to complete those tasks based on the previously completed tasks is called a sprint retrospective. Moreover, the issues faced during the sprints are also discussed and addressed here. See the process of scrum project management methodology
How Scrum Project Management Methodology Is Used?
The product owner leads the scrum. He keeps track of overall project backlog task lists. This is done by scrum boards. A scrum board is the visual representation of the project. It is divided into different columns. The tasks are presented and moved as cards in the columns during the execution of the project. The process is as follows
- The task selected to be completed is placed in the Product backlog.
- When the team starts working on the task, it is moved into in-progress columns.
- Once the task is completed, it is reviewed.
- Finally, after review, the task is marked as done.
The Purpose of Scrum Methodology
The purpose of the scrum methodology is to provide transparency, customer satisfaction, collaboration, and flexibility. It also improves product quality through constant feedback and adaptations.
Benefits of Waterfall Project Management Technique
The scrum methodology offers many advantages. Few of them are
- The division of tasks helps in improved project outcomes by constant feedback.
- The scrum methodology promotes a collaborative culture in the teams. Daily stand-ups help in communication. Retrospective guides about the future approaches and the changes needed resulting in better outcomes.
- The sprint method enables the team to respond quickly to market requirements and customer satisfaction. This technique ensures that the product remains valuable throughout the process.
- The tasks are divided and completed in smaller periods therefore increasing productivity. This way the wasted effort is minimized.
Examples
The scrum methodology is mostly used in the software development process. It is suitable for projects that need to be changed with time.
Critical Path Methodology (CPM) Project Management Technique
CPM is a project management methodology used to accurately schedule the activities that are of utmost importance for the project. In this technique, a critical path is determined i.e. the longest sequence of dependent tasks, essential to complete a project.
It identifies the time-sensitive tasks, and their interdependencies to provide a systematic approach for scheduling and resource allocation. The critical path for the project can also be described as the shortest route to project completion.
All the tasks are dependent and sequential in CPM. Any delay in any of the tasks will not only affect the next task but can also delay the overall project. The duration of each critical task can be used to calculate the overall project timeline. In CPM methodology time is a limiting factor because of which the shortest route is taken for the completion of the project.
Like most other methodologies, it also has a visual representation or a diagram that shows all the tasks and their dependencies. The diagram also shows the time estimates for the tasks helping in keeping the pace of the project.
Where CPM can be Used?
CPM can be used for projects that have time constraints and complex task dependencies. However, for our readers, we have briefly explained a few
Construction Projects
Construction projects are mostly large projects with a lot of task dependencies and a strict schedule. CPM can be smartly used for different tasks such as site preparations, foundation layout, and structural work to finishing touches. It is observable that all the tasks are dependent on each other and they need to be completed in time. So, a CPM technique would be the project methodology for this work
Software Development
The most important area where CPM can be applied is the software development industry. Where extensive coding, testing, and debugging are done before the deadline. By finding a critical path for the software development project, the team can prioritize tasks and manage the risks associated with bugs before launching the software.
Event Planning
Event planners can make effective use of CPM methodology to organize an event. The time is a limiting factor in all event management. Therefore, tasks such as venue selection, decoration, refreshments, and other aspects are to be done orderly before the given date.
Benefits of the CPM Technique
- The CPM offers enhanced project visibility. It gives a clear view of the tasks and the time to complete them. It helps in identifying bottlenecks at an early stage and in allocating resources.
- The CPM improves the efficiency of the system by smartly utilizing resources and allocating them to a place where they are needed most. The CPM approach saves time, energy, and manpower and maximizes the product outcome.
- CPM requires thorough research therefore every aspect of the project is studied in detail. This helps in identifying the risk associated with the project earlier in the project lifecycle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, project management techniques play a crucial role in the successful completion of the project. A suitable project management technique must be adopted according to the nature of the project. The project must be completed with the protocols of the selected technique.
Project management tools and techniques help in navigating challenges, reducing risks, and ensuring timely delivery of the end product. Each project management technique has its methodology and can be used for projects with specific project requirements. It depends on the Project manager to thoroughly understand the project and the project management techniques with software tools. Then apply a technique that suits best according to the needs of the project.
