7 Project Management Techniques that Work for Every PM

Gantt charts are designed to help with the planning and scheduling of tasks, but they can also help you plan and schedule whole projects. Ultimately, the most effective way to do this is to implement project management techniques, especially when digital transformation is at play. Project management means application of knowledge, tools, techniques to project activities so as to achieve goals and meet success criteria in given period of time. The focus of many project management research in the late 1970’s moved to how to adapt a project into it’s implementation environment; external .

Scoro brings multiple aspects of project management under one roof to simplify your life. This solution features an intuitive platform that puts the productivity-boosting capabilities of Gantt charts at everyone’s fingertips. Plan work with high-level or detailed, color-coded project plan timelines. Connect Jira, Asana, Trello, Teamwork, or WorkflowMax with Float to sync and schedule tasks to resources. The only way to ensure a project’s success is through proper planning.

In some ways, a work breakdown structure, or WBS is like a more complex project management version of the waterfall technique. Again, large projects are broken into individual sections, sometimes by department. WBS is also solid for managing deliverables, which are iterations that could be used by a customer or stakeholder. Gantt charts have been around for a very long time, and they’re still a great project management technique for beginners and pros alike. We’re here to show you 6 project management techniques you should consider, and help you choose the best one for your next project. Picking the right project management technique is easier than you think.

It works on the basis that each project will be made up of various deliverables instead of a single asset. Once the project starts, if it’s clear you’ve over allocated a resource to a task, you can split, cut, or extend the time of a team member’s task and reallocate it elsewhere. PERT is ideal for long-term, complex projects that may have variable objectives or resources available to it.

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It takes a more casual and optimistic approach for planning a project and emphasizes less formality in the company’s culture. The extreme title is owed to an opportunity for flexible planning and unorthodox tactics. It really depends on you and your project team which project management techniques will be best. If you’re staring down the barrel of a mega project with many moving parts and lots of money at stake, think of beginning with the critical path method or critical chain. Waterfall techniques are ideal for intermittent testing and feedback periods because each completed phase will produce some results to test.

PERT is an acronym that stands for program evaluation and review technique. Scheduling is critical to getting a project completed on time but also within the set budget. The purpose of the network diagram in terms of project management techniques is that it helps project managers track each project element. It also makes it easier to share and communicate with others on the project team. Network diagrams are used in various project management techniques that require a graphical representation of task sequences.

#7 Kanban Methodology

This technique focuses on the progress of the project, with constant evaluations being performed after each task. PERT project management is an effective way to balance the budget of a project while also being aware of how long it is taking to complete the objectives. This helps project managers remain mindful of the client’s major goals throughout the process of the project, leading them to reach an outcome the sponsors will appreciate. He has been published in elearningindustry.com, simpleprogrammer.com. As a project planning and execution expert at ProProfs, he has offered a unique outlook on improving workflows and team efficiency.

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• A few, like Zoho, can be collaborated with websites, like Google+, to aid the employees in updating project status directly in the document.
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• One of the more common project reports is the status report, which is usually weekly or monthly.
• Above all, Monday.com has a great look and feel and this shows through in project reporting.

Nifty is the easiest PM tool on the planet that can be as simple as a priority tracker or a decked-out portfolio management tool. Teamwork is an enterprise project management platform you can manage ALL your client work. From invoicing, https://globalcloudteam.com/ to time tracking, to unlimited client access, everything you need to run your client services is in Teamwork. We know you’re busy managing projects, so we’ve made it easy for you to find a tool that will accommodate your needs.

Take Your Project to the Next Level with These 7 Project Management Techniques

This is what makes critical chain a great technique if your clients have tight budgets that they can’t exceed. Every Batman needs a Robin, every hero needs a sidekick, and yes, every manager needs a reliable project management tool. Well, we have one that will help you implement any and every project management technique in this list to some if not full effect.

Now you know what tasks are critical to the project and which have float or can be delayed without lengthening the project timeline. With this information, you can determine the shortest time needed to complete the project. A risk matrix is another key project management tool that any project manager should know. They’re a simple tool that helps you to figure out the likelihood and severity of potential project risks. By having the means to access risk this way, you can chart their impact on the project. This allows project managers to assign a priority to the risk and determine the response if it becomes an issue in the project.

Why Do You Need Project Management Techniques and Tools?

Finally, another solution from a big name brand when it comes to project control techniques is Zoho Projects. Zoho brings you their version of Gantt charts, Kanban boards and timeline views, with simple customizability. There’s also an easy drag and drop workflow builder and template library. As for project analysis tools, most people would say to look no further than Monday.com. Above all, Monday.com has a great look and feel and this shows through in project reporting.

Interestingly enough, ProofHub helps declutter everything from tasks and subtasks to discussions and notes in more than one way. Effective communication, teamwork, and speed of development in a project. The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters. In fact, this card is so good that our expert even uses it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

The critical chain project management system is also highly task-dependency based, imagining the project lifecycle as dependent links in a chain. It visualizes a project as beginning from an initial start task or date, branching out, and ending in completion. The major point of a Gantt chart is to show the project schedule in a step by step process within time estimates and due dates. It appears as a linear chart with project tasks stretched horizontally over time frames, while vertically it can be divided by assignee, team or department.

What’s the first thing a project manager should do on a project?

Picture all your tasks for all your projects, scattered haphazardly across your to-do list. With Pipefy, you can turn those tasks into one streamlined workflow. Leaders who want to manage scope need to view projects and workflows in a variety of different ways so they can see what’s working and also determine what to do next. This platform offers interactive Gantt charts to manage workflows with drag and drop functionality making you more productive. When you’re planning work, it may be challenging to document that some tasks are dependent on other tasks without over-complicating workflows.

#7: Critical Path Method (CPM)

Some tools that are used for both Quality management plan and to control quality process are Pareto Diagrams, control charts, histograms and scatter diagrams, etc. Later project management technique such as the Lean Methodology is a method developed mostly from the philosophy of Toyota production systems. In the early 1960’s, PERT was further developed to be able to monitor spending rate against planned progress but not on the stakeholder management. Smart & simple all-in-one project management software for your business. The model takes a linear approach towards project management with the project being broken down into sequences with the kickoff of a phase dependent on the completion of the preceding one.

These tools are generally used to update pans if require and schedule project. Risk analysis simply means to identify and analyze errors or defects or any issue that can cause negative impact and result in the changed outcome and objectives of project. The analysis is done so that organization can fix issue or remove error to avoid effect caused by them. These tools help in identifying risks and are useful for binding risk table. At Gate 5, the project has passed through validation and is prepared for launch.

PMBOK guide commands a large followership, in the project management field, due to its structured process orientation that indicates what is needed to manage the project from start to finish. It usually helps starters to develop good project management skills and ensures preservation of the assets of an organisation that uses it. This project management method is a favorite of most manufacturing companies as it takes into cognizance the time it takes to complete a task. Time is an important factor in project management as it also determines the budget for the project. With Scrum, however, the planning is just enough to kick off the project as it is based on the Agile framework that was discussed earlier. It’s a great way to prevent delays in product launch because the entire process focuses on team collaboration.

Nifty let’s you get down to business in one project management playground. Monday.com makes every aspect of project management—from planning to tracking progress—an engaging and visually pleasing experience. It brings all the work organization tools you could ever need into an intuitive, attractive interface that’s a joy to use. Integrated project management is one of the most widely used project management techniques by creatives. By focusing on your team members and how they spend their time, you can keep your projects on track without exceeding your resource capacity.

If you think that a specific approach will complement the workflow of your team better, you can switch the technique that best suits your existing team’s needs. It is crucial to accurately allocate resources, time, and budget to a project. This results in minimum wastage and effective utilization of resources, time, and budget, Project Management Best Practices thus, strengthening project execution. When you use our free action plan template for Excel you can outline the steps that will lead you to reach those goals. Just as you have a dashboard on vehicles that gauge speed, amount of fuel remaining in the tank and mileage, project dashboards track metrics in the project.

Q: What factors should I consider when choosing an online project management tool?

PERT is a project management technique that helps with calculating the estimated time it will take to complete a project. Both scheduling and budgeting are essential components of any project. The Waterfall methodology employs a sequential process that is based on predetermined deadlines, specifications, and results. With this approach, the individual execution teams are not required to be in continual contact and are typically self-contained, until particular integrations are necessary. In contrast to the Agile model, team members tend to work individually and aren’t required to deliver progress updates as frequently.