6 Project Management Techniques Every PM Should Know

Being able to adapt various project management techniques to match the skills of their team is a necessary skill for any great project manager. To do this, however, the project manager must have an array of project management techniques and tools at their fingertips. In this blog, we'll explore the six most efficient project management techniques and how they integrate with project management technologies.

Waterfall

The waterfall or linear method is one of the oldest and simplest project management techniques. This practice works by organizing projects into clear, discernible phases. Typically, the phases of waterfall project management look something like this:

• Requirements
• Design
• Implementation
• Verification
• Maintenance

Of course, every project manager is different, and, therefore, your phases may look different than these, but the concept of a linear timeline persists. This project management technique allows the manager to visualize a project's phases from concept to completion and to see the big picture of what needs to be accomplished. When reviewing possible project management systems, keep in mind that the waterfall method integrates best into project management technologies that can easily break out project tasks into phases.

Gantt Chart

A slightly more in-depth, visual project management technique is the Gantt chart. This method pulls together every task, deadline, and milestone of a project to effectively illustrate progress.

The Gantt chart is best known for helping to adjust timelines based on how a project is progressing. Using the data necessary to assemble the chart, PMs can then factor in changes to a project and adjust timelines accordingly. This capability is invaluable for managers, as they can use dependencies to account for external factors that can lengthen or shorten project timelines.

When selecting project management technology that will integrate well with a team that frequently utilizes Gantt charts, prioritize project management systems that collect timeline data such as individual task time tracking, conflicting projects, and team member workloads.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Projects of all sizes can be overwhelming at inception; even the best project managers may not know where to start or how to divide responsibilities. A Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical visualization of deliverables used by project managers to assess workloads and establish deadlines.

Project managers who like to work with their whole team when assigning tasks may find this project management methodology particularly effective because it works best when the entire team is involved to provide their relevant input.

While evaluating project management systems to integrate with your WBS, consider that project managers can also utilize a WBS to hierarchically map other things, such as budgets and resource allocation.

PERT

Short for Program Evaluation and Review Technique, PERT is another effective project management style. The strengths of PERT specifically pertain to helping project managers understand accurate time estimates for tasks, projects, and deliverables.

When integrated with the WBS technique mentioned above, PERT manages probabilities by using statistical methods that take into account all the details used in the completion of tasks, including resources used, time spent, and departments involved. It might sound overly complicated, but the right project management tools can practically do the heavy lifting for you.

PERT integrates especially well with project management systems that automatically collect important performance and project data. For example, if you use a project management system that tracks how much time is spent in each phase of one task, PERT will apply those tracked times to evaluate probable upcoming task lengths and provide time estimates.

Kanban

The Kanban method, while simplistic, stands out from other project management techniques because of its streamlined approach that helps project managers visualize workflows throughout a project. Designed to look like cards on a board, contributors can use the cards to indicate levels of progression and track steps along the way. Kanban is especially efficient for project managers because it emphasizes the continual delivery of tasks without putting too much of a burden on your team.

Integration of the Kanban method with project management technology would allow project managers to not only view a kanban for one project but to also take into account factors across all projects and other Kanbans to see the full picture of the work being done by the team. Many project management systems are even designed with Kanbans out-of-the-box due to their simplicity and effectiveness.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The critical path method is a project management technique that allows project managers to utilize all the information available about a project to evaluate its path to completion. Using a WBS or compiled lists of all tasks, the estimated time duration for each task, and any dependencies, the CPM calculates the longest path to completing the project. This includes the earliest and latest possible times the project could be completed, which can be invaluable information for project managers to communicate both to their teams and their clients.

If the CPM is one of your favorite project management techniques for reaching project completion, you'll want to integrate it with a project management technology that can either calculate the CPM for you based on collected data or provide all the data necessary for you to make the calculations yourself.

Picking the Right Project Management Techniques for Your Team

As alluded to in the descriptions above, most project management techniques can be combined with at least one or two other techniques to increase their effectiveness. There aren’t any wrong answers as long as you achieve project success. What’s best for you and your team depends on variables like project scope, project schedule, and numerous other factors — You’ll likely find yourself experimenting with various project management techniques while you search for the way that creates the best outcomes for your organization. 

This blog is meant to be less of a comprehensive guide and more of a sampler; there are other project management techniques that we haven’t touched on here that could prove useful to you, and new ones will be made in the future. Furthermore, a skilled project manager will undoubtedly find themselves changing project management techniques and tools based on projects and team members — that’s why you benefit from knowing how to use all six of these. A partner that specializes in building bespoke project management methodologies can help you out if you can’t find any preexisting ones that you like. Keep your team’s needs in mind, and you’ll surely find a system that works for you.

Project Management with the Experts

At IO Integration, we have years of experience helping creative organizations of all sizes take control of their project management and digital asset resources. Count on us to bring order to your world with an intuitive system that makes it simple to gather and prioritize project requests, assign the right resources, inform team members of their responsibilities, route projects for review and approval, and create reports to track projects, resources, budgets, schedules, and more. Learn more today.