Do you want to learn more about the 7 most popular project management methods? If so, this section is perfect for you to learn. Let’s take a look.
What Are Project Management Methods?
Project management methods are a set of guidelines, standards, or procedures that project managers should follow to complete their projects successfully. Some project management methods are widely used by project managers. Let’s take a look at these methods one by one.
7 Most Popular Project Management Methods
1. Waterfall Methodology
The waterfall project management method is one of the most popular projects management methods. It is also a sequential approach to managing a project. It is widely used in new product launches and software development projects.
According to the waterfall methodology, all of the phases of a project are performed consecutively. This means that there is no room for any feedback or changes once the project is underway.
Waterfall methodology has been criticized for its incapability to deliver results in time and its inability to cope with change. Because of this, many organizations have started to move away from the waterfall method.
2. Agile Methodology
Agile methodology was born out of the frustration experienced by developers due to waterfall’s incapability to adapt to change and deliver results on time. They started looking for a way to overcome this. This gave birth to the agile methodology which has emerged as one of the biggest competitors of waterfall methodologies.
The agile methodology emphasizes collaboration between stakeholders, customer satisfaction, and delivery of timely results.
3. Critical Path Methodology
The critical path method (CPM) is another popular project management methodology. It is also a popular technique to manage projects. CPM is a structured approach to planning and managing a project.
According to the CPM, a project can be divided into smaller tasks and each task can be assigned to one or more people. The duration of each task is also estimated by considering the resources that are required to complete it. After completing all of the tasks, you can draw the critical path which is nothing but the sequence of tasks (or activities) that will consume all of the available time in your project. The critical path helps you in identifying where you might have time constraints in your project.
CPM has been criticized for its inability to incorporate changes into your project and its inability to deliver timely results.
4. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) Methodology
PERT, also known as Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is another popular project management method. The PERT methodology is a technique used to manage projects by identifying the important tasks in a project, estimating the time and cost that is needed to complete those tasks, identifying the activities that will delay the project, performing a risk analysis of the project, and so on.
5. Critical Chain Methodology
Critical chain methodology is another popular project management method used by organizations today. It is used widely in managing construction projects, manufacturing projects, etc., where there are multiple interdependent activities involved which may have different durations depending on how much risk they hold.
To Conclude
These 7 project management methods you have learned about in this article are some of the most popular project management methods used by most organizations today. Apart from these, many other project management methods are also widely used by organizations.