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12 Project Management Methodologies: Your Guide

Set your project up for success by choosing the right project management methodology.

Your choice of project management methodology defines how you manage a project. Learn about some common options (and how to choose the right one for your project).

What is a project management methodology?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘methodology' as “a body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline” or “a particular procedure or set of procedures” [ 1 ]. In the field of project management, this would be a set of rules and processes that define how you manage a project.

When discussing project management methodologies (PMMs), you’ll likely encounter a variety of terms—some of them are true methodologies and others would be more accurately described as principles or philosophies. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll consider a variety of terms often referred to as PMMs, even if they don’t technically satisfy the definition.

12 popular project management methodologies

Often one of the first decisions you’ll make as a project manager involves which methodology to follow. As the industry has evolved over the years, so to have the PM methodology options. Keep in mind that there isn’t one best option—the best methodology is the one (or combination) that best fits your project, team, and company. 

Before we discuss how to choose a methodology, let’s take a look at some common options in project management.

Read more: What is a Project Manager? A Career Guide

1. Waterfall

The Waterfall method, first designed by Winston W. Royce in 1970 for software development, is a traditional approach to project management. With the Waterfall methodology, a project flows through a series of steps or phases. Generally, each phase of the project life cycle must be completed before the next can begin. 

Stages of the waterfall model

1. Requirements: In this first phase, you’ll work with stakeholders to clearly define the project scope and requirements.

2. Design: The critical design phase is when you’ll plan what the final product will look like and what steps your team needs to take to get there. 

3. Implementation: This is where all your planning gets put into action. For software projects, this is when programmers will write the actual code. 

4. Verification: During verification, you team tests the product to ensure it meets the requirements laid out in the first phase.

5. Maintenance: After the project is complete, the development team responds to feedback and makes any necessary modifications. 

When to use waterfall

The logical flow of waterfall makes it an excellent option for short, predictable projects where you have a clear vision of the finished product and fixed project requirements that are not likely to change. It’s best suited for teams and PMs that excel at planning and documentation. 

2. Agile methodology

Agile approaches are iterative, meaning they work to continuously improve a product by returning to or repeating as many steps as necessary. The Agile Manifesto was created by several software development industry leaders as a way to adapt to quickly changing technology at the time. 

While not technically a full methodology — adopting Agile won’t give you a comprehensive plan for how to manage your projects — Agile does offer a series of values and principles to promote agility and efficiency in the development process. 

Read more: What Is Agile? And When to Use It

Four foundational values of Agile project management methodology

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: Managing a project around your agile team rather than your tools can help make your team more responsive and adaptable.

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation: Robust documentation involved in older software development techniques often led to long delays. You’ll still produce documentation in Agile, but the focus shifts to functionality.

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Instead of working out every detail of a project at the beginning, this method keeps project stakeholders and customers engaged in every stage of the collaborative development process. This is particularly helpful when a customer has unclear or changing requirements.

4. Responding to change over following a plan: Instead of front loading all the planning of a project, Agile encourages short iterations that help make changes an improvement rather than an expense.

When to use Agile

An Agile approach works well on creative projects where requirements might change along the way and the final details of the product are not yet established. It’s also a good option for projects where clients or stakeholders prefer to offer feedback regularly, rather than only when the final product is delivered.

Learn more about PM methodologies in this lecture video from the Google Project Management Professional Certificate .

Scrum is a lightweight Agile framework designed to help self-organizing teams develop more complex projects. The framework includes a set of roles and meetings centered on the values of commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect.

To better understand Scrum, let’s take a look at some of its roles and practices.

Sprint: Short (usually one month or less) development cycle where a team creates a useable and (hopefully) releasable product increment

Scrum master : Team leader responsible for coaching the team in the Scrum method, organizing Scrum meetings and events, and ensuring team members have the support they need to succeed

Daily Scrum: 15-minute stand-up meeting held each day of a sprint where the team plans work for the next 24 hours

Product backlog: Prioritized list of work still to be done on a product

Product owner: Person responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the product backlog

Development team: Roles responsible for the actual development work of a project

Sprint review: Informal session where the development team presents their finished iterations to stakeholders for feedback

When to use Scrum

The Scrum method, best for self-managing teams and a culture open to innovation, can help bring products to market more quickly. The short development cycles and frequent stakeholder involvement can often lead to a better-quality product.

Read more: Agile vs. Scrum: Which Should You Use, and Why?

Kanban is an Agile method of project management that helps visualize workflow to improve efficiency. The method got its start in the Japanese manufacturing industry before gaining popularity across many fields.

At the center of the Kanban method is a Kanban board—a physical or digital tool that divides workflow into columns organized by development stage, such as to-do, in-progress, and completed tasks. This helps eliminate multitasking by encouraging teams to focus on only a few tasks at a time. It also makes it easy for both the team and stakeholders to quickly see where the team is in the development process.

Did you know? The word ‘kanban’ means ‘billboard’ in Japanese. The method was developed by Toyota in the 1940s. 

Six kanban practices

1. Visualize the workflow. The Kanban board visualizes a team’s workload in a way that’s easy to understand and execute.

2. Limit work in progress. Restricting the number of tasks a team is working on at any given time helps maintain focus.

3. Manage flow. This method switches the focus from managing people to managing a smooth flow of work.

4. Make policies explicit. Keep them simple, visible, and easy to understand.

5. Use feedback loops. Revisiting project goals regularly helps the team respond to changes and take advantage of new opportunities.

6. Improve collaboratively. Teams with a shared vision can work together to achieve continuous improvement. These evolutions should be based on metrics and experimentation.

Read more: Kanban vs. Scrum: What's the Difference?

When to use kanban

If you want to limit planning and meetings and focus on continuous improvement, kanban could be a good choice. It’s particularly effective in helping teams work through big backlogs or deal with frequent requests from stakeholders.

The Lean methodology focuses on maximizing value by reducing waste and improving efficiency. It’s another method that came from Toyota and has expanded in popularity well beyond manufacturing. 

Five core principles of lean

The Lean methodology centers on five principles, outlined in the book The Machine that Changed the World and Lean Thinking .

1. Understand value. Think about value from the customer’s perspective. What are they willing to pay?

2. Identify the value stream. Use visual techniques to map out the actions required to develop and launch a product. Use this map to identify areas of waste.

3. Create value flow. You can achieve this by eliminating waste due to things like excess inventory, time spent waiting, or performing more work than is necessary.

4. Use a pull approach. Deliver value as the customer requests it. This keeps the focus on delivering what the customer actually wants while eliminating time spent on features that might not be wanted or needed.

5. Continuously improve. Always be seeking perfection by assessing the project regularly for ways to reduce waste and enhance value.

When to use Lean

The focus on waste elimination makes Lean a natural fit for more traditional manufacturing projects. But it can also be effective in other industries, particularly when you want to keep the focus of development on the customer first.

6. Critical Path Method (CPM)

The Critical Path Method defines the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed to successfully complete a project. These are the tasks that, if stalled, could cause delays in the entire project. The method also maps out the dependencies between tasks and an estimate of how long each task will take to complete.

Mapping out these elements can help establish important project deadlines and define a more accurate project schedule.  

When to use CPM

CPM is best for projects with a well-defined series of tasks that need to be performed in a set order (construction projects, for example). It’s a good option to keep projects with a fixed deadline on schedule.

7. Critical Chain Management (CCM)

Where CPM focuses on time, the Critical Chain Method (CCM) shifts the focus to the supply chain. This method is used to map out a critical path based on resource availability. These resources could include people, physical space, equipment, or other physical components. Unlike a CPM map, a critical chain project management map includes scheduled “buffers” to remind a project team that a certain resource is necessary to finish a critical task. 

When to use CCM

CCM is well-suited for projects that rely on limited or time-sensitive resources to complete. Overestimating task durations by building in buffers helps teams meet deadlines even in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

PRINCE2 stands for Projects in Controlled Environments. It’s a process-based project management methodology used to answer certain basic questions in product development:

What are you trying to achieve?

When will you start?

What do you need to complete it?

Do you need help?

How long will it take?

How much will it cost?

While used primarily by the British government, the PRINCE2 method has been applied to projects in a variety of industries around the world. The method is designed to be scalable to fit a variety of projects.

When to use PRINCE2

PRINCE2 is particularly popular outside the US — it’s used in more than 150 different countries. If your project involves multinational stakeholders, it might be worth considering this method. The focus on robust organization makes it more appropriate for complex yet predictable projects.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK for short, isn’t so much a methodology as a collection of best practices and guidelines outlined by the Project Management Institute (PMI). 

Did you know? The PMBOK Guide is currently in its seventh edition, published in 2021. This edition reflects the full range of development approaches and the evolving profession of project management.

The book, regularly updated by PMI, breaks down projects into the following stages, often referred to as the lifecycle of a project:

Introduction

Decline / Retirement

For large companies managing multiple projects, PMBOK can help standardize terminology and practices across different departments.

When to use PMBOK

Just about every company and project can benefit from the standardized practices outlined in PMBOK. Project managers who pursue the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification will want to be familiar with the material.

The Projects Integrating Sustainable Methods (PRiSM) model of project management places an emphasis on environmental sustainability. Specifically, the method focuses on minimizing the ecological risks and increasing benefits that may impact the five Ps: people, planet, prosperity, process, and products.

Unlike other methodologies, PRiSM looks at projects beyond the scope of development to consider their impact beyond delivery.

Six principles of PRiSM

1. Commitment and accountability: Organizations should take responsibility for a clean environment, employee well-being, and equal opportunities. 

2. Ethics and decision-making: All decisions should take into account the short and long-term impacts on both society and the environment.

3. Integrated and transparent: Projects should promote financial, environmental, and social benefits at all policy levels.

4. Principal and values based: Projects should use technology to use resources more efficiently.

5. Social and ecological equity: Project managers should evaluate any impact a project many have on vulnerable populations or environmentally sensitive areas using demographic data.

6. Economic prosperity: Fiscal planning should balance the needs of company stakeholders and future generations.

When to use PRiSM

This approach is best for projects with an established environmental impact, such as real estate and industrial projects. It’s not as useful for things like software development, where environmental impact is less of a concern.

11. Six Sigma

Six Sigma, a quality management process developed at Motorola in the 1980s, comprises a set of tools and techniques to eliminate errors in development. This can help reduce costs and customer complaints stemming from errors.

The method generally takes a five-phase approach to improving existing processes:

Define: Analyze a business problem from a customer perspective.

Measure: Measure the problem in terms of data and define a performance metric.

Analyze: Quantify your goals and determine if your process is efficient and effective.

Improve: Find ways to improve process implementation.

Control: Implement and maintain the solution.

When to use Six Sigma

Six Sigma tends to be most effective in large organizations with several hundred or more employees. 

12. Extreme Project Management (XPM)

Doug DeCarlo, the creator of Extreme Project Management (XPM) defines it as “the art and science of facilitating and managing the flow of thoughts, emotions, and interactions in a way that produces valued outcomes under turbulent and complex conditions.”

This flexible approach helps teams adapt to the unknowns that pop up during a project, including frequent changes to requirements and complex project needs. For software development projects, this is sometimes referred to as extreme programming.

When to use XPM

XPM works best for short development cycles with less-defined product specifications. Teams that like to experiment to see what works could thrive with this method.

Hybrid Methodologies

Just as there’s no single “best” method for managing a project, you also don’t have to limit yourself to just one option. Project managers have mixed and matched to come up with new hybrid approaches, such as Lean Six Sigma or Scrumban (Scrum and Kanban).

How to choose a project management methodology

The best project management method for you will depend on your project, team, organization, and tools. Let’s take a quick look at some things to consider and questions you should ask yourself when choosing a PM methodology.

1. Evaluate the project. Does your project have fixed or flexible requirements? Is the finished product well-defined, or will the team take a creative approach to defining it? How complex is it, and how long will it take to complete? What physical resources are involved? Will the stakeholders or clients be readily available, and how involved would they like to be?

2. Consider your team. Some methods work well with small, self-managing teams. Others lend structure to larger cross-functional teams. Also take into account what method your team might already be used to. Would the benefits of implementing a new method outweigh the time cost of teaching it?

3. Look at the organization. What are your company’s goals and values? You’ll want to choose a methodology that aligns with these elements. Some companies may prefer and employ a particular approach that you’ll need to adapt to.

4. Think about your tools. Some project management tools are flexible enough to work with various different methodologies. Others might be more specific to a particular approach. Make sure the tools and project management software you’re proficient in are a good match for whatever methodology you select.

Explore project management with Coursera

Taking online courses can be a great way to gain job-ready skills and get hands-on experience with different project management methodologies. Start learning today with one of Coursera's top-rated courses:

To build foundational knowledge in this field , consider the University of Virginia's Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management course. This course takes about nine hours to complete and covers how to sequence project tasks, determining a critical path, address risks, and execute a project.

To learn Six Sigma and Lean approaches , consider the University System of Georgia's Six Sigma Yellow Belt Specialization . In about a month, you'll learn methods that help improve business processes and performance and apply these methods to a course project.

To explore project management more broadly and earn a credential , consider the Google Project Management Professional Certificate . In as little as six months, you'll learn about traditional and Agile methods, access career resources, and get connected with top employers through the Google hiring consortium.

Article sources

Merriam-Webster. " Definition of methodology , https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/methodology." Accessed July 17, 2023.

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• Project management |
• Project management methodologies: 12 po ...

Project management methodologies: 12 popular frameworks

Project management is an ever-evolving field that requires a number of approaches to be successful. Learning the most popular project management methodologies can help you become an industry expert. 

In order to be the best possible project manager , learn about each of these 12 frameworks to find the one that best fits your team’s needs. 

12 project management frameworks

What it is: The Agile project management methodology is one of the most common project management processes. But the reality is that Agile isn’t technically a methodology. Instead, it’s best defined as a project management principle. 

The basis of an Agile approach is:

Collaborative

Fast and effective

Iterative and data-backed

Values individuals over processes

When it comes to putting the Agile manifesto in place, teams often choose specific methodologies to use alongside Agile. These could include Scrum, Kanban, extreme programming, crystal, or even Scrumban . That's because connecting Agile methodology with a more detailed approach produces a well-rounded project management philosophy and a tangible plan for delivering great work. 

Who should use it: The Agile framework can be used for just about any team. This is because the principle behind it is rather universal. The real trick is deciding which methodology to use with it.

2. Waterfall

What it is: The waterfall model is also a very popular framework. But unlike Agile, waterfall is an actual methodology that is rather straightforward. The waterfall methodology , also known as software development life cycle (SDLC), is a linear process in which work cascades down (similar to a waterfall) and is organized in sequential order. 

To achieve this approach, each work task is connected by a dependency. This means each task must be completed before the next task can be started. Not only does this ensure that work stays on track, but it also fosters clear communication throughout the process. 

While viewed as a traditional approach by some modern organizations, this method is good for creating a predictable and thoroughly planned-out project plan . 

Who should use it: Since the waterfall project management methodology is so detailed, it’s great for working on large projects with multiple different stakeholders. This is because there are clear steps throughout the project and dependencies that help track the work needed to reach goals. 

What it is: The Scrum methodology involves short “sprints” that are used to create a project cycle. These cycles span one to two weeks at a time and are organized with teams of 10 or less. This is different from the waterfall approach where individual tasks are broken down into dependencies.

Scum is unique for a variety of reasons, one being the use of a Scrum master. Or, in other words, a project manager that leads daily Scrum meetings, demos, sprints, and sprint retrospectives after each sprint is completed. These meetings aim to connect project stakeholders and ensure tasks are completed on time. 

While Scrum is technically a project management methodology in its own right, it’s most commonly associated with an Agile framework. This is because they share similar principles, such as collaboration and valuing individuals over processes. 

Who should use it: Teams that use an Agile approach should use, or at least try, the Scrum methodology as well. Since sprints are divided into small teams, this approach can work for both small and large teams. 

What it is: The Kanban methodology represents project backlogs using visual elements, specifically boards. This approach is used by Agile teams to better visualize workflows and project progress while decreasing the likelihood of bottlenecks. It’s also usually in the form of a software tool that allows you to change and drag boards seamlessly within projects, though it’s not a requirement. 

Since this method doesn’t have a defined process like others, many teams use it differently. The main concept to keep in mind is that Kanban aims to focus on the most important project tasks, keeping the overall framework simple.

Who should use it: Kanban boards are great for teams of all sizes and specifically remote-first teams. This is because the visual capabilities of Kanban boards help team members stay on track no matter where they are. 

5. Scrumban

What it is: As you may have guessed, Scrumban is a methodology that draws inspiration from both Scrum and Kanban frameworks. Some think of this as a hybrid approach that incorporates the best of each. 

Scrumban uses a similar sprint cycle as Scrum but allows individual tasks to be pulled into the plan like Kanban. This allows the most important work to be completed and keeps project plans simple. Scrumban also uses Scrum meetings to enhance collaboration and keep goals top of mind. 

Who should use it: If you like the idea of breaking down a project into smaller tasks, but likewise want to keep it visually simple, Scrumban might be for you. It’s the perfect intersection of simplicity and clarity.  

What it is: PRINCE2 , otherwise known as PR ojects IN C ontrolled E nvironments, uses the overarching waterfall methodology to define stages within a project. It was initially created by the UK government for IT projects and still primarily suits large IT initiatives over the traditional product or market-focused projects. 

There are seven main principles of PRINCE2, which include:

Starting a project

Directing a project

Initiating a project

Controlling a project

Managing product delivery

Managing a stage boundary

Closing a project

These seven principles create a thorough project process and make for an effective enterprise project methodology altogether. It aims to define roles and back management. Not only that, but PRINCE2 can be used to streamline a ton of individual project management tasks, like controlling a stage, managing product delivery, and initiating and closing a project. 

Who should use it: Due to the particular nature of the PRINCE2 project management methodology, it’s best suited for large enterprise projects with a number of project stakeholders . Using it for small projects may create a longer and more complicated process than necessary. 

7. Six Sigma

What it is: Unlike the other PM methodologies, Six Sigma is used for quality management and is frequently described as a philosophy rather than a traditional methodology. It is often paired with either a lean methodology or Agile framework, otherwise known as lean Six Sigma and Agile Six Sigma. 

The main purpose of Six Sigma is to continuously improve processes and eliminate defects. This is achieved through continuous improvements by field experts to sustain, define, and control processes. 

To take this method one step further, you can use a Six Sigma DMAIC process, which creates a phased approach. These phases include:

Define: Create a project scope , business case , and initial stand-up meeting.

Measure: Collect data that helps inform improvement needs.

Analyze: Identify the root causes of problems. 

Improve: Solve the root causes found.

Control: Work to sustain the solutions for future projects. 

Who should use it: Six Sigma is best for large organizations, usually those with a few hundred employees or more. This is when the need to eliminate project waste starts to have a larger impact on your organization. 

8. Critical path method (CPM)

What it is: The critical path method works to identify and schedule critical tasks within a project. This includes creating task dependencies, tracking project goals and progress, prioritizing deliverables , and managing due dates—all of which are similar to a work breakdown structure .

The objective of this methodology is to properly manage successful projects at scale so that milestones and deliverables are mapped correctly. 

Who should use it: The critical path method is best for small and mid-size projects and teams. This is because large projects require many deliverables with multiple stakeholders and the CPM isn’t built to manage complex projects. 

9. Critical chain project management (CCPM)

What it is: The critical chain project management framework is closely related to the critical path methodology but is even more detailed, making it one of the most comprehensive options. 

Along with implementing a work breakdown structure like CPM, CCPM includes specific time requirements for each task. This helps take task tracking one step further, making it clear when tasks are going over their allotted time. It also uses resource leveling which aims to resolve large workloads by distributing work across available resources. 

Not only do these help both productivity and efficiency, but they also help connect the work needed to be completed with project goals. Many project management tools even have visual elements to better visualize these goals, creating an organized road map for team members. 

Who should use it: CCPM is a great method for both small and large teams, but it mostly helps solve project efficiency problems . It can also be a great way to report work in progress to leadership. 

What it is: The lean project management methodology aims to cut waste and create a simple framework for project needs. This ultimately means doing more with less in order to maximize efficiency and teamwork. 

While reducing waste originally referred to a physical product (which dates back to the method used by Henry Ford and later by Toyota and Motorola), it now refers to wasteful practices. There are three Ms that represent this:

Muda (wastefulness): Practices that consume resources but don’t add value  

Mura (unevenness): Occurs through overproduction and leaves behind waste 

Muri (overburden): Occurs when there is too much strain on resources  

As a project manager, your job is to prevent the three Ms in order to better execute projects and streamline processes. This is similar to the approach of rational unified process (RUP), which also aims to reduce waste. The difference is that RUP aims to reduce development costs instead of wasteful practices. 

Who should use it: Since lean is all about reducing waste, it’s best suited for teams struggling with efficiency issues. While this will have a greater impact on large organizations, it can be helpful for project teams of all sizes. 

11. Project management institute’s PMBOK® Guide

What it is: While the PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge is associated as a project management methodology, it’s more closely related to a set of best practices that take into account various development processes. 

This framework focuses on implementing the five project management phases , all of which help easily manage a project from start to finish in a structured phase approach. The five phases include:

Project initiation

Project planning

Project executing

Project performance

Project closure

While this is a good foundation to keep in mind, the PMBOK® Guide isn’t necessarily as specific as other approaches. This means you’ll need to decide which tasks to complete in each phase. 

Who should use it: The PMBOK® Guide can be used on its own for small teams on standard projects, though it’s a good idea to pair it with a more detailed methodology (like CPM) for large teams handling complex projects. 

12. Extreme programming (XP)

What it is: As the name suggests, extreme programming is used for fast-paced projects with tight deadlines. The approach works by creating short development cycles with many releases. This makes for quick turnaround times and increased productivity . 

Extreme programming has a few core values, which include simplicity, communication, feedback, respect, and courage. It also includes a specific set of XP rules which includes all phases from planning to testing. 

Who should use it: Extreme programming can be used for individual projects with tight deadlines, most commonly with small to midsize teams. Since XP is a fast-paced method, it should be used lightly in order to prevent burnout . 

Choosing the right project management methodology for your team

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to project management methodologies. Each one offers unique principles to take a development project from an initial plan to final execution. 

The main aspects to keep in mind are the size of your team and how your team prefers to work. Here are some additional tips to consider:

Your industry : Consider if you’re in an industry that changes frequently. For example, a technology company would be an industry that is ever-evolving. This will affect project consistency and should be paired with either a flexible or stagnant methodology. 

Your project focus : Consider the objectives of your projects . Do you value people over efficiency? This will help pair you with a methodology that matches a similar objective. 

The complexity of projects : Are your projects on the more complex side, or are they usually straightforward? Some methods aren’t as good as others at organizing complex tasks, such a CCPM.

The specialization of roles : Consider how niche the roles within your team are. Can multiple team members alternate the same type of work, or do you need a method that focuses on specialization?

Your organization’s size : The size of your organization and team should be weighed heavily when deciding on a methodology. Methods like Kanban are universal for team size, while options like CPM are better suited for small teams. 

Whether your team members prefer a visual process like Kanban or a more traditional project management approach like the waterfall method, there’s an option for every type of team. To take a project management methodology one step further, consider a work management tool to better track and execute development projects. 

Methods to manage your projects mindfully

With the right project management methodology in place, you’ll be able to take your projects to new levels of efficiency and implement processes that are right for your team, your organization, and yourself.

Related resources

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Critical path method: How to use CPM for project management

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How Asana uses work management to drive product development

Project Management Methodologies

Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, Kanban and more. If you’re wondering which methodology you should choose, then you need to read this guide to project management methodologies.

Table of Contents

What is a project management methodology, why are there so many different types of project management methodologies, the project management process: how to choose the right project management methodology, 17 project management methodology examples and frameworks, choosing the right project management methodology.

Once you’ve decided you want to  become a project manager , the next step is to figure out which project management methodologies are right for you and your team.

The landscape of project management methodologies can seem a bit overwhelming.

Whether you have a formal project management certification or you’re learning to become a project manager from experience, there’s an absolute smorgasbord of project methodologies to choose from. And they often come with their own rules, lists, principles, and endless acronyms.

We believe that finding the right project management methodology to manage your work shouldn’t be rocket science. So we’ve compiled this list of different project management methodologies to help you figure out which methods, principles and approaches you can use for each team and project.

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A project management methodology is a set of principles and practices that guide you in organizing your projects to ensure their optimum performance.

Basically, it’s a framework that helps you to manage your project in the best way possible.

Project management is so important  to organizations and teams, but in order for it to be really effective, you need to make sure you’re correctly mapping your project management methodology to your team type, project, organization, and goals.

No two projects are exactly the same (even when you’re using handy features like project templates to replicate your past successes).

And when you factor in the different goals, KPIs and production methods of not only different types of teams but also different types of  industries , it makes sense that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing a project.

What works best for one type of team could be an absolute nightmare for another.

For example, many software developers started to find that traditional project management methods were hindering — rather than helping — their workflows and negatively affecting their performance and results.

As a result, software teams began to develop a new type of project management methodology, which was designed to address their particular concerns.

Before long, other teams and industries started to adapt those new project management methods to fit  their  unique needs and concerns. And on and on, with different project management methodologies being repurposed and adapted for different industries and tweaked to fit specific use cases.

What we’re left with is a ton of different project management methodologies to choose from. So how do you know which project management method (or methods, plural) is right for you and your team?

There are lots of factors that will impact which project management methodology is right for your project, team, and organization. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the key considerations that can help you decide:

Cost and budget: On a scale of $ to $$$, what sort of budget are you working with? Is there room for that to change if necessary, or is it essential that it stays within these predetermined limits?

Team size: How many people are involved? How many stakeholders? Is your team relatively compact and self-organizing, or more sprawling, with a need for more rigorous delegation?

Ability to take risks: Is this a huge project with a big impact that needs to be carefully managed in order to deliver Very Serious Results? Or is it a smaller-scale project with a bit more room to play around?

Flexibility: Is there room for the scope of the project to change during the process? What about the finished product?

Timeline: How much time is allotted to deliver on the brief? Do you need a quick turnaround, or is it more important that you have a beautifully finished result, no matter how long it takes?

Client/stakeholder collaboration: How involved does the client/stakeholder need — or want — to be in the process? How involved do you need — or want — them to be?

Waterfall methodology

Agile methodology

Scrum methodology

Kanban methodology

Scrumban methodology

eXtreme programming (XP) methodology

Adaptive project framework (APF) methodology

Lean methodology

Critical path method

Critical chain project management

New product introduction (NPI)

Package enabled reengineering (PER)

Outcome mapping

PMI’s PMBOK

PRINCE2 methodology

Rapid application development (RAD) methodology

We’ve compiled a list of 17 effective project management methodologies to help you get to grips with the basics. Let’s dive right in.

1. Waterfall methodology

The Waterfall method is a traditional approach to project management. In it, tasks and phases are completed in a linear, sequential manner, and each stage of the project must be completed before the next begins.

The stages of Waterfall project management generally follow this sequence:

Requirements

Construction

Deployment & maintenance

Progress flows in one direction, like a real waterfall.

Also like a real waterfall, though, this can quickly get dangerous. Since everything is mapped out at the beginning, there’s a lot of room for error if expectations don’t match up with reality. And there’s no going back to a previous stage once it’s completed (just imagine trying to swim against a waterfall — not fun).

Try this project management methodology if:

The end goal of your project is clearly defined — and isn’t going to change.

The stakeholders know exactly what they want (and it isn’t going to change).

Your project is consistent and predictable (i.e. isn’t going to change).

You’re working in a regulated industry that needs extensive project tracking or documentation.

You might need to bring new people into the project midway through and get them up to speed quickly.

This project management methodology might not be for you if:

Your project is liable to change.

You don’t have a full picture of all the requirements before you start.

You need to do continuous testing or adapt to feedback during the process.

2. Agile methodology

Agile project leaders help their team balance at the edge of chaos - some structure, but not too much; adequate documentation, but not too much; some up-front architecture work, but not too much. Finding these balance points is the art of agile leadership." ~ Jim Highsmith, author and software engineer

The agile project management methodology came from a growing dissatisfaction with the linear approach of traditional project management methodologies.

Frustrated with the limitations of project management methods that couldn’t adapt with a project as it progressed, the focus began to shift to more iterative models that allowed teams to revise their project as needed during the process instead of having to wait until the end to review and amend.

The concept of agile project management has gone on to spark several specific sub-frameworks and methodologies, such as scrum, kanban, and lean. But what do they all have in common? The key principles of agile project management methodologies are:

It’s collaborative.

It’s quick.

It’s open to data-driven change.

As such, agile project management methodologies usually involve short phases of work with frequent testing, reassessment, and adaptation throughout.

In many agile methods, all of the work to be done is added to a backlog that teams can work through in each phase or cycle, with project managers or product owners prioritizing the backlog so teams know what to focus on first.

You’re not sure at the outset what the solution will look like.

You need to work quickly, and it’s more important that you see speedy progress than perfect results.

Your stakeholders or client needs (or wants) to be involved at every stage.

This project management methodology isn’t for you if:

You need a lot of documentation (for example, if you’ll be bringing new people on-board during the project).

You need a predictable deliverable, and you need to be crystal clear about what that looks like from the outset.

Your project can’t afford to change during its course.

You don’t have self-motivated people.

You have strict deadlines or deliverables that you need to stay on top of.

The Best Agile Project Management Tools To Use In 2023 & Beyond

It does little good to adopt the Agile method while still using a software that bogs down or complicates your projects. The best agile project management software should go hand-in-hand with the Agile method and make these adaptations smooth, fast, and easy.

3. Scrum methodology

Scrum is a form of agile project management. You can think of it more like a framework than as a project management methodology in itself.

With Scrum, work is split into short cycles known as “sprints”, which usually last about 1-2 weeks. Work is taken from the backlog (see: Agile project management, above) for each sprint iteration,

Small teams are led by a Scrum Master (who is not the same as the  project manager ) for the duration of the sprint, after which they review their performance in a “sprint retrospective” and make any necessary changes before starting the next sprint.

You’re striving for continuous improvement.

You don’t have the full commitment from the team needed to make it work.

4. Kanban methodology

"Kanban is not a software development lifecycle methodology or an approach to project management. It requires that some process is already in place so that Kanban can be applied to incrementally change the underlying process." ~ David J. Anderson, Author and pioneer of the Kanban method

Kanban is another method within agile project management.

Originating from the manufacturing industry, the term “kanban” has evolved to denote a framework in which tasks are visually represented as they progress through columns on a  kanban board . Work is pulled from the predefined backlog on a continuous basis as the team has capacity and moved through the columns on the board, with each column representing a stage of the process.

Kanban is great for giving everyone an immediate visual overview of where each piece of work stands at any given time. (You can use kanban boards for everything from your  content marketing process  to  hiring and recruitment .)

It also helps you to see where bottlenecks are at risk of forming — if you notice one of your columns getting clogged, for example, you’ll know that that’s a stage of your process that needs to be examined.

When used as part of an agile project management methodology, it’s also common to implement work in progress (WIP) limits. Work in progress limits restrict the amount of tasks in play at any given time, meaning that you can only have a certain number of tasks in each column (or on the board overall).

This prevents your team from spreading their energy across too many tasks, and instead ensures that they can work more productively by focusing on each task individually.

You’re looking for a visual representation of your project’s progress.

You want at-a-glance status updates.

You want to encourage using WIP limits so your team can stay focused.

You prefer to work on a continuous “pull” basis.

Your process is super complex or has tons of stages.

You want a push system instead of a pull system.

Kanban board view

Use kanban boards in Teamwork.com to map out your workflow, quickly see the status of tasks, and automate your processes.

5. Scrumban methodology

It’s the answer to the age-old question: what if scrum and kanban had a baby?

Scrumban is a hybrid agile project management methodology that has scrum’s nose and kanban’s eyes.

The main benefit of scrumban as a method is that instead of deciding which task from the backlog to work on in each sprint at the outset (like you would in a “traditional” scrum framework), scrumban allows teams to continuously “pull” from the backlog based on their capacity (like they would in a kanban framework).

And using work in progress limits (from kanban) during your sprint cycle (from scrum), you can keep a continuous flow while still incorporating project planning , reviews and retrospectives as needed.

You’ve ever looked at scrum and kanban and thought “I wish those two crazy kids would get together”.

You’ve ever looked wistfully out the window and thought, “Oh, scrum is scrum, and kanban is kanban, and never the twain shall meet”.

6. eXtreme programming (XP) methodology

The eXtreme Programming (XP) methodology is another form of agile project management that was designed for software developmen t.

It emphasizes teamwork and collaboration across managers, customers, and developers, with teams self-organizing. It has a  defined set of rules  that teams should follow, which are based on its five values: simplicity, communication (face to face is preferred), feedback, respect, and courage.

You want to foster teamwork and collaboration.

You have a small, co-located team.

You’re a rulebreaker.

Your team is spread across different places and time zones.

7. Adaptive project framework (APF) methodology

The adaptive project framework (APF) methodology, also known as adaptive project management (APM), is a type of agile project management methodology that was designed with the inevitability of change in mind.

The adaptive project framework knows that, as John Steinbeck might say, even the best-laid projects of mice and men often go awry. So the fundamental attribute of APF is that teams need to be able to adaptively respond to change.

That means that using adaptive project framework methods, teams must try to anticipate the risks and prepare for the unexpected in their project. They need to understand that key components are constantly in flux, and be able to constantly re-evaluate results and decisions with these moving parts in mind.

This requires lots of communication with all stakeholders and — like other agile project management methodologies — be able to work collaboratively.

You know your ultimate goals (in project management terms, you’ve outlined your Conditions of Satisfaction; or, in Beastie Boys terms, you’re clear about you’re clear about whatcha whatcha whatcha want).

You need predictability.

You don’t have the resources to handle the potential negatives of adaptability (e.g. scope creep, rework, misuse of time).

8. Lean methodology

Lean is another project management methodology that has its origins in manufacturing (and specifically the Toyota Production System). It’s all about applying lean principles to your project management methods to maximize value and minimize waste.

While this originally referred to reducing physical waste in the manufacturing process, it now refers to other wasteful practices in the project management process. These are known as the 3Ms: muda, mura, and muri.

Muda  (wastefulness) consumes resources without adding value for the customer.

Mura  (unevenness) occurs when you have overproduction in one area that throws all of your other areas out of whack, leaving you with too much inventory (wasteful!) or inefficient processes (also wasteful!).

Muri  (overburden) occurs when there is too much strain on resources such as equipment and people, which can often lead to breakdowns — in both machines and humans.

Using the key principles of lean, a project manager can reduce these types of waste to create more efficient workflows.

You’re looking for a set of principles that will help you cut the fat and optimize your flow.

You’re always trying to improve and add value for the customer.

You want to ultimately decrease costs.

You can’t afford to run into supply problems (e.g. you don’t have enough inventory in stock) or lose room for error (e.g. in the case of essential equipment failure).

You don’t have the budget to invest in it (while lean project management aims to reduce costs overall, it can be costly to implement).

You’re a raccoon and you love waste, actually.

9. Critical path method

A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder." ~ D. Meyer, Illinois Construction Law

The critical path method (also known as critical path analysis) is a way of identifying and scheduling all of the critical tasks that comprise your project, as well as their dependencies.

That means that you need to:

Identify all of the essential tasks you need to do to achieve your project goal

Estimate how much time each of those tasks will take (bearing in mind that certain tasks will need to be completed before others can be started)

Use all of that information to schedule the “critical path” you’ll need to take in order to get the project done as quickly as possible without missing any crucial steps.

The longest sequence of critical tasks becomes your critical path, and will define the timeframe for your project.

Along the path, you’ll have  milestones  to meet that will signal when one set of tasks (or phase) is over and you can move on to the next one.

There are lots of ways to visualize the critical path, depending on the complexity of your project, from flow graphs to Gantt charts .

Your project is large-scale and complex.

Your project has a lot of dependencies.

You’re looking for a visual way to map out the sequence of tasks.

You need to identify which tasks are the most important so you can better allocate your resources.

You have a strict plan and deadlines, with no room for silly business.

You love algorithms. Love ‘em!

You don’t need something with a lot of complexity.

You’re unsure about deadlines, timings, or durations.

Your project needs wiggle room to change.

10. Critical chain project management

Critical chain project management (or CCPM) takes the critical path method (CPM) one step further.

While the critical path method defines the length of time needed to get each critical activity done from the beginning of the project to the end, it can often be, well, unrealistic when the time comes to actually put it into practice.

Critical chain project management addresses those issues by allowing a bit more time for the human elements of your project — like delays and resourcing issues.

In critical chain project management, you have a few buffers built in that your critical chain can use without derailing everything else, so that your entire project doesn’t have to go off track just because life happens.

You like the sound of the critical path method, but you want something a little more realistic.

You were already overestimating task durations in CPM to allow for a buffer and you want more accurate data on how long the work is actually taking compared to your projections.

You think buffers are just a safety net for people who didn’t plan it right the first time.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

11. New product introduction (NPI)

New product introduction is a great project management methodology for when you want to, well, introduce a new product.

Also known as new product development (NPD), the new product introduction process covers everything you need to define, develop and launch a new (or improved) product.

The project follows a single product through the entire development process. This process involves multiple phases or a stage-gate process, which can vary from organization to organization, but usually include things like:

Defining the product spec and project scope

Evaluating the feasibility

Developing the prototype

Validating the prototype via testing and analysis

Manufacturing the product on a larger scale

Evaluating the product’s success in the market after launch

As the requirements for a successful new product introduction span a number of departments across an organization, from leadership to product managers to marketing and more, it requires a lot of cross-functional collaboration and communication.

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You’re bringing a new or improved product to market.

You’re focusing on a single product.

You want to foster key stakeholder and cross-functional alignment right from the beginning.

You’re not bringing a new or improved product to market.

You’re looking for a more agile approach to product development (as NPI is usually sequential rather than iterative).

12. Package enabled reengineering (PER)

Package enabled reengineering (PER) is a project management methodology that aims to help organizations redesign products or processes with fresh eyes. It focuses on facilitating business transformations quickly and strategically, whether through redesign of processes or realignment of people.

Your organization needs an overhaul.

You need a fresh perspective on your products or processes.

You’re not trying to improve an existing system.

13. Outcome mapping

Outcome mapping is a project progress measurement system that was designed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It differs from the other project management methodologies on this list in that it doesn’t focus on measurable deliverables; instead, it focuses on creating lasting behavioural change.

It’s a common project management methodology used in charitable projects in developing countries. As a project management methodology, it’s less about the project itself than the long-term impact of the project and its ability to effect change in the community. As a result, it measures influence rather than other (perhaps more “typical”) measures of project progress.

Outcome mapping consists of a lengthy design phase followed by a record-keeping phase to track the results.

Your project is aimed at changing behaviour rather than producing deliverables.

Your project is related to change and social transformation (e.g. in the fields of international development, charity, communications, research).

Your project is all about finished products rather than behavioural outcomes.

14. Six Sigma

"Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can't measure something, you can't understand it. If you can't understand it, you can't control it. If you can't control it, you can't improve it." ~ H. James Harrington, author and management mentor

Six Sigma is a method for improving processes with an emphasis on ensuring consistency in output and impeccable quality. (And if it’s  good enough for Jack Donaghy… )

There are a few different flavors available, such as Lean Six Sigma and Agile Sigma, but ultimately Six Sigma is a business methodology that aims to eliminate defects and reduce variation by using its defined methodologies.

Six Sigma methods can be used to optimize and improve existing processes or create new ones.

To improve business processes, you can use the Six Sigma DMAIC process, which stands for the phases in the project methodology:  D efine,  M easure,  A nalyze,  I mprove,  C ontrol.

To create new processes or products, you can use the Six Sigma DMADV process:  D efine,  M easure,  A nalyze,  D esign,  V erify.

As a set of principles and techniques (sometimes it’s even described as a “philosophy”) rather than a project management methodology in itself, Six Sigma methods can be applied alongside many other project management methodologies, like Lean and Agile.

You’re looking for a set of principles and philosophies you can bring with you to almost every project and organization.

You don’t have a lot of budget to invest in training — it can be expensive to get trained and certified.

You’re looking for a defined process for a particular project rather than a set of guiding rules.

15. PMI’s PMBOK

The Project Management Institute’s Project Management Book of Knowledge (AKA the PMI’s PMBOK) isn’t a project management methodology in and of itself. However, it is a best practices guide — and it forms the basis of the PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, one of the leading project management qualifications.

As such, the PMBOK is an industry-standard set of guiding principles that you can use to ensure that your projects across multiple types of teams and organizations meet the PMI’s high standards and comply with best practices.

You have (or want to get) a PMP.

You want to stay up-to-date with industry standards and best practices.

You live and work in a place where the PMP is the standard project management qualification (such as the US).

You need a solid project management methodology to map your project, rather than general (albeit helpful) project management knowledge.

16. PRINCE2 methodology

PRINCE2 ( PR ojects  IN   C ontrolled  E nvironments) is a project management methodology and certification that aims to equip project managers with knowledge of best practices and processes.

Unlike the PMP certification, it doesn’t require a number of prerequisites, making it a good choice for project managers looking to get both a methodological grounding and a qualification.

Also unlike the PMP, PRINCE2 is a methodology in itself. It’s guided by seven principles, which in turn dictate the seven processes a project manager needs to use in each project when using PRINCE2.

You’re looking for a certification to give you an edge.

You live and work in a place where PRINCE2 is the standard project management qualification (such as the UK).

You don’t want to commit to full certification.

The seven-step process doesn’t map to your projects.

You find yourself tailoring (or outright ignoring) the process stages so much that it becomes PINO — “PRINCE in name only”.

17. Rapid application development (RAD) methodology

Rapid application development (RAD) is a type of agile project management methodology that aims to facilitate faster software development .

It uses rapid prototype releases and iterations to gather feedback in a short period of time, and values that user feedback over strict planning and requirements recording.

You want to be able to give customers/clients/stakeholders a working model much sooner (even if it’s not perfect).

You want to create multiple prototypes and work with stakeholders to choose the best one.

Speed is of the essence.

You want to encourage code reuse.

You don’t have an experienced team.

Your clients or stakeholders don’t have the time to commit to such a collaborative process or can’t give feedback within the necessary timeframes.

You have a large team.

You prefer to have a detailed spec that outlines all functional and non-functional requirements.

The right project management methodology can elevate your project and help the project manager to get the best out of each team.

Whether you prefer the agile methods favored in IT project management or the more traditional waterfall project management and critical path methodology used in construction and manufacturing, there’s a project management methodology for every team.

But no matter which methodology you go for, you need a collaborative, flexible, and easy-to-use project management tool to support you every step of the way.

Choosing a team management software that supports multiple methodologies — i.e. that doesn’t lock you into one methodology or way of using it — like Teamwork.com means that every team in your organization has the freedom to work the way that works for them without sacrificing on features or complexity.

No matter how you like to work, Teamwork.com helps your team to replicate their best practices, ensure compliance and consistency, and constantly improve their processes.

What project management methodology allows some of the phases and tasks to overlap?

The project management methodology that allows some of the phases and tasks to overlap is known as "Agile" or "Agile Project Management." Agile is a flexible and iterative approach to project management that tends to be divided into "Sprints", which are time-boxed periods of work. Within each Sprint, cross-functional teams work on various tasks and features, allowing for a degree of overlap between different project phases.

What project management methodology requires the team to complete the previous phase before the next phase starts?

The project management methodology that typically requires the team to complete the previous phase before the next phase starts is the "Waterfall" methodology. Waterfall is a traditional, linear, and sequential approach to project management. In a Waterfall project, each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin.

Why do project managers use project management methodologies?

Project managers use project management methodologies to bring structure and organization to their projects, ensuring consistency, risk management, resource allocation, and quality assurance. These methodologies promote effective communication, change management, and scope control, leading to increased efficiency, client and stakeholder satisfaction, and overall project success. They also foster a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability, allowing project managers to navigate changing requirements and uncertainties effectively.

How many project management methodologies are there?

There are numerous project management methodologies, with dozens of well-known approaches like Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, PRINCE2, Kanban, Lean, and Six Sigma, among others. Custom methodologies are also created by organizations to meet specific needs.

What is the difference between agile and scrum?

Agile is a broader project management philosophy that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer feedback, while Scrum is a specific Agile framework. Scrum introduces roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team), fixed-time sprints, and defined ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective) to guide project teams. It also includes key artifacts like the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.

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Chapter 3: Project management methodologies

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There are many project management methodologies and frameworks out there, designed to assist with different types of projects. But how do you know which one is best for your efforts? 

In this section, we’ll walk through the most popular PM methodologies, and share advice for how to choose the best method to fit your needs.

Waterfall or traditional project management

Waterfall or traditional project management is based on a defined set of tasks that are completed sequentially to produce a final deliverable. This method of PM is simple and predictable, but not very flexible. 

Waterfall project management is ideal for projects with a single, large deliverable, like a building. While it’s less useful for projects that require a lot of flexibility, are subject to change, or require multiple, dependent tasks to be completed in tandem, like software development. 

The main benefits of Waterfall are tight planning and organization, and a high degree of control over each project task and the greater project schedule. That said, using Waterfall can make it difficult to adapt to unexpected events or changes to project scope, which can result in added time, resources, and cost.

Teams often use a Gantt chart , a visual timeline tool that maps out project tasks in succession, in Waterfall-managed projects. Learn more about Gantt charts in Chapter 9 .

To learn more about the phases and pros and cons of Waterfall, visit our in-depth guide to creating and using a Waterfall chart .

The Agile family

The Agile family is a category of project management methodologies that prioritizes flexibility and continuous improvement over rigid, sequential processes. There are many popular methodologies within Agile, and we’ve dug into each below.

Agile project management

In Agile project management , teams complete smaller, incremental tasks, and then continually review, refine, and iterate based on feedback and demands of the end users.

Agile project management was formalized in 2001 by a group of software developers intent on finding a more collaborative, flexible method to complete projects. The group documented their ideas in the Manifesto for Agile Development , which lays out the following four values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Agile PM prioritizes a collaborative relationship between the end user and the project team. The customer sets the project objectives, but the deliverables are subject to change as the team incrementally executes each project task. In Agile, each development feature is called a user story , which reflects how the end user will interact with it. 

Agile project management was initially intended for software development, but is now commonly used across a variety of industries and types of projects. Learn more about the Agile process and how to implement it by reading our comprehensive guide to Agile PM . 

Pros and cons of Agile project management

Agile is a good fit for projects that require a high degree of flexibility and are likely to shift as the project progresses. The top benefits of Agile include the following:

• Less upfront planning
• Increased open communication
• Continual feedback
• Flexible objectives 

When used effectively, Agile also often leads to speedier delivery.

However, there are some tradeoffs to this flexible approach: 

• Lack of concrete delivery date, which can lead to scope creep 
• A high degree of dedication and flexibility from the project team

Is Agile right for you?

Remember, Agile isn’t for everyone. The methodology is likely not right for your team if any of the following apply to you:

• Your project is not very urgent.
• Your client’s expectations don’t support Agile (e.g., they want to give final approval at every stage of the project, or incremental delivery isn’t appropriate for the project specs). 
• You or your client’s organization requires detailed documentation at every stage.
• Your current processes are not set up for a more flexible approach.
• Your team or organization doesn’t currently use Agile, and implementing it would be too costly or time consuming.

In the following sections, we’ll go over other methodologies that fall within the Agile family.

Additional Resources

The ultimate agile dictionary, free agile project management templates, best practices for agile project planning.

Scrum , the most popular Agile methodology, involves smaller teams that complete tasks in short, time-bound periods, called sprints , in order to incrementally work through pieces of a larger project or release.

Scrum typically leads to greater responsiveness in customer relationships, lower costs of development, increased job satisfaction, and more immediate returns. Scrum is a fluid practice that takes many moving parts, teams, and goals into consideration as the project progresses. 

Scrum teams also engage in four regular meetings, or ceremonies , which provide structure to each sprint: 

• Sprint planning: At this meeting, the product is presented and everyone on the Scrum team voices any concerns and feedback. The team designates priorities and estimates the timeline.
• Daily stand-up: The Scrum team meets daily during the sprint to debrief with the team, establish a daily plan, and voice any concerns so the team can address them together.
• Sprint review: Held at the end of each sprint, this meeting is a review of the working product and gives stakeholders transparency into what the team accomplished during the sprint.
• Sprint retrospective: The sprint retrospective is a meeting that occurs after each sprint to discuss team performance and establish ways to improve future efforts.

Each Scrum team has designated members who own specific pieces of the process. These roles include the following:

• Product owner: Possesses a thorough understanding of the product’s business value and serves as the middleman who communicates the stakeholder needs to the development team and writes and prioritizes user stories.
• Development team: Performs the technical development of the product and is responsible for the analysis, design, code writing, testing, and technical communication based on the user stories provided by the product owner.
• Scrum Master: Assists in the progress of the Scrum team by working hand-in-hand with the product owner and the development team to streamline work and eliminate distractions. 

As with Agile, Scrum is popular in software development, but it can also be deployed successfully across marketing, design, and other creative projects. Learn more by reading our guide to implementing Scrum with the right tools .

Kanban is an Agile framework that prioritizes continuous improvement , an ongoing effort to improve a product or service incrementally. Kanban teams complete work items based on team capacity and manage resources using a visual kanban board that shows task status.

Kanban originated in Japan in the 1940s. Based on what he had seen in supermarkets, Toyota engineer Taiichi Ohno implemented a supply-and-demand method on the factory floor, which greatly improved the company’s inventory management. 

Teams at Toyota created a visual cue (a kanban, which translates to “visual sign” or “card”) to communicate that they were ready to “pull,” or take on, more tasks or materials to complete their work. This approach enabled workers to only take on new tasks when they had capacity for them, which reduced excess work in progress (WIP) . This style of work is now known as the just-in-time (JIT) approach.

How to use a kanban board

The Kanban methodology centers on the kanban board, which is either a physical or digital “board” that includes three columns (or lanes ): to-do, doing, and done. Team members move cards, representing individual tasks, to different columns as a way to track task status. This provides a quick view of how items are progressing and ensures teams have adequate capacity to take on new work.

In recent years, teams have moved to online, digital kanban boards, which helps distributed teams collaborate on projects and gain real-time visibility into the work getting done. You can learn more about setting up a Kanban board with our guide . 

Pros and cons of Kanban

Overall, Kanban is great for teams that have many incoming requests, short work cycles, and flexibility with resources and scheduling. However, Kanban can be difficult for teams that work on many interconnected, dependent tasks, or have tight deadlines to adhere to. 

To learn more about implementing kanban from the ground up, read our complete guide for newbies .

Critical path method

Critical path method (CPM) is a technique for estimating the total duration of a project by identifying the order in which you must complete all project tasks, and then mapping out your sequenced tasks, called dependencies .

CPM follows the basic steps below:

• Identify all project tasks.
• Identify dependencies among tasks.
• Estimate the duration of each task. 
• Add up the durations to calculate the total duration of your project. 
• Update the critical path as the project progresses to compare estimated vs. actual timelines.

CPM helps teams reduce project timelines by identifying and scheduling the most important tasks and then scheduling other tasks to happen in parallel. CPM also helps with project planning, as you can easily reference estimated vs. actual project schedules and more accurately estimate how long each task will take on future projects.

Learn more about the steps and advantages of the method with our beginner’s guide to the CPM .

The change management methodologies

Change management is an umbrella term for techniques that help individuals, teams, and organizations implement new processes or achieve organizational change. In this section, we’ll cover event chain and extreme project management. 

To learn more, visit our essential guide to change management , or find free change management templates .

Event Chain methodology

In event chain methodology , you identify tasks (events) and their relationships (event chains) in order to properly allocate resources and assess and reduce project risk. 

The goal of event chain is to estimate the amount of time and resources you need to complete a project. This method follows some of the same steps as the critical path method — you also break down activities into smaller tasks and outline their dependencies and durations. But, in event chain, you do so to create a realistic timeline and budget, rather than to simply better manage the tasks (and task order).

Event chain can also serve as a modeling technique to create more conservative scheduling estimates, which ultimately improves performance by building in time to address unforeseen risks.

This methodology is often used in change management efforts to eliminate the need to overhaul projects, which can be extremely time consuming and resource-heavy.

Extreme project management

Extreme project management (XP or XPM) is used to manage a massive amount of change in a short period of time. XPM is ideal for fast-paced, complex projects that can handle a trial-and-error approach to successfully pull off the effort.

Think of XPM as the opposite of Waterfall methodology. As opposed to valuing a linear, planned project development process, XPM allows you to change your project plan, budget, and the final deliverable as requirements shift. In XPM, the onus is on the project team to self-correct and shift as necessary. 

Extreme project management works well for projects with a high-degree of uncertainty, but is less useful for projects with a clear-cut timeline, budget, and scope.

The process-based methodologies

Process-based methodologies approach work as a collection of processes, rather than a strict methodology that you apply to a single project. These approaches are sometimes used as part of a larger business process management (BPM) strategy.

Lean is an approach aimed at maximizing value while minimizing waste. When deployed properly, Lean helps to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, delays, and other inefficiencies in order to deliver value faster.

Lean originated in manufacturing in the 1950s, but it has evolved over time and is used today across industries. As laid out in the book Lean Thinking , Lean involves the following five core principles and activities:

• Define value: Identify the value of each product or service in the eyes of the customer. 
• Map the value stream: Map out the process (aka value stream ) and identify areas of waste, in terms of  resources, time, or redundancy.
• Create flow: Create a flow plan that eliminates the waste you identified. 
• Employ a pull system: Progress through the plan only as the customer has new needs. Doing so will prevent you from taking on too much at once, or creating a bottleneck at any stage of the process. 
• Pursue perfection: Using the idea of continuous improvement, aim to eliminate as much waste as possible from your process. 

Visit our comprehensive guide to Lean project management to learn more about different types of Lean methodologies and the best tools for implementing Lean.

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that aims to improve quality across projects. Six Sigma takes a statistical approach to measuring and eliminating bugs or defects in project deliverables and raising quality standards.

The basic steps in Six Sigma include finding defects, identifying and eliminating their cause(s), and optimizing processes to increase reliability and accuracy going forward. 

Building off the Lean principle of pursuing perfection, Six Sigma aims to eliminate all opportunities for defects by using data-driven improvement cycles to achieve its goal. 

There are two main Six Sigma methodologies:

• DMAIC: This stands for define , measure, analyze, improve, control , and is intended to help you improve existing processes.
• DMADV: This stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, verify, and is best for when creating new processes or products.

There is no single, formal certification body for Six Sigma, but many organizations offer training so teams can learn to implement the practice in their organization. Read our article on Six Sigma belts and certifications to learn more. 

Six Sigma works well for teams who are interested in implementing data-driven ways to reduce defects and optimize business processes, but is less ideal for those looking for a strict set of steps to follow.

Read our in-depth guide to all things Six Sigma to learn more.

Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma is a hybrid approach to process improvement that combines the Lean principle of no waste and the Six Sigma principle of no defects to improve quality across processes, projects, and products.

Lean Six Sigma offers the following benefits:

• Increased cost savings due to fewer bugs or defects
• Improved quality
• Time savings due to fewer process issues
• Improved data-driven decision making
• Continuous process improvement throughout the organization

While Lean Six Sigma originated in manufacturing, a variety of industries can deploy it to reap benefits. The most common use cases include healthcare, construction, design, and government.

All About Lean Six Sigma

Free lean six sigma templates, other project management methodologies.

Below, you’ll find details on a few more project management methodologies that are gaining traction in the modern PM world.

PRINCE2 , or Projects in Controlled Environments , is a project management methodology that focuses on defining and delivering work against precise requirements. As opposed to Agile PM, PRINCE2 emphasizes intense planning and documentation of work items.

PRINCE2 is a hybrid methodology initially used for information technology (IT) projects to help reduce cost and time overruns. Now, it’s deployed across many different industries. 

This approach works well for projects with a clearly defined goal. However, if you need more flexibility, or don’t have time to properly plan and document work, Agile methods might be a better option.

PRiSM , or Projects Integrating Sustainable Methods , is a modern project management methodology that values sustainability over all else. The goal of PRiSM projects is to reduce the environmental impact of a project and drive meaningful social impact.

The PRiSM model is based on the following six principles: 

• Commitment and accountability 
• Ethical decision making 
• Integration and transparency 
• Principal and values-based deployments 
• Social and ecological equity 
• Economic prosperity

Implementing PRiSM is a long term mindset shift that puts sustainability and equity at the center of all processes and projects and aims to maximize value for all involved.

Why you should choose a PM methodology for your organization

Choosing an organization-wide project management method ensures teams have a consistent guideline for how to manage each aspect of their projects, like resources, budget, communication, timeline, and more.

Of course, some teams and projects require different levels of planning, flexibility, and documentation. And, it can be overwhelming to choose one “perfect” approach when there are so many options out there.

But, by assessing the types of projects that you typically take on — as well as your existing processes — you can identify the most effective methodology for you.

In some cases, organizations may select multiple project management types to meet the requirements of different projects and teams.

How to choose the best PM methodology for you

To identify the right project management methodology, first consider the details of your project. Then, assess your existing systems and processes. Look at both what you need as well as what you already have in place to select the best method.

Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your project needs:

Project basics

• What is the project’s focus?
• What industry are you in?
• How complex is the project?
• Is the project scalable?  

Flexibility

• How flexible are your timeline, budget, and deliverables?
• How much planning do you need to do beforehand?
• What is your allotted budget, and how flexible is it?
• What resources do you have, and what additional resources do you need to obtain?
• How flexible is your timeline?
• Are there set start and end dates?
• Does your project have key milestones or a critical path?

Roles and responsibilities

• How many people or teams are working together on this project?
• How specialized is the work?
• What is the level of customer and stakeholder involvement?

After you’ve worked through the project-related questions, follow these steps to identify which methodology aligns best:

• Outline the main variables, like timeline, resources, and budget, that will drive the project.
• Consider how the methodology you choose will impact these variables, such as how a more flexible approach might affect a hard-and-fast deadline.
• Weigh the pros and cons of each methodology against the needs of your project. Think both about which will be the best fit and which will be least disruptive to your current processes.
• Collaborate with other team members to get input.
• Roll out the methodology to the team. This includes educating everyone on the new processes and setting up the necessary tools and documentation systems.
• Apply the methodology to the project and monitor it for success.

Here’s a simplified cheat sheet you can use to identify which methodology will work for your next project:

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Project Planning: How to Make a Project Plan

This guide is brought to you by projectmanager, the project planning software trusted by 35,000+ users worldwide. make a project plan in minutes.

What Is a Project Plan?

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A project plan is a series of formal documents that define the execution and control stages of a project. The plan includes considerations for risk management, resource management and communications, while also addressing scope, cost and schedule baselines. Project planning software is used by project managers to ensure that their plans are thorough and robust.

ProjectManager allows you to make detailed project plans with online Gantt charts that schedule task dependencies, resource hours, labor costs, milestones and more. Plus, your team can execute the plan in any of our five project views, while you track progress along the way with dashboards. Start today for free.

The project plan, also called project management plan, answers the who, what, where, why, how and when of the project—it’s more than a Gantt chart with tasks and due dates. The purpose of a project plan is to guide the execution and control project phases.

As mentioned above, a project plan consists of the following documents:

• Project Charter : Provides a general overview of the project. It describes the project’s reasons, goals, objectives, constraints, stakeholders, among other aspects.
• Statement of Work : A statement of work (SOW) defines the project’s scope, schedule, deliverables, milestones, and tasks.
• Work Breakdown Structure : Breaks down the project scope into the project phases, subprojects, deliverables, and work packages that lead to your final deliverable.
• Project Plan : The project plan document is divided in sections to cover the following: scope management, quality management, risk assessment, resource management, stakeholder management, schedule management and the change management plan.

This guide aims to give you all the information and resources you need to create a project plan and get it approved by your customers and stakeholders. Let’s start with the basics of writing a project plan.

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Project Plan Template

Use this free Project Plan Template for Word to manage your projects better.

Your project plan is essential to the success of any project. Without one, your project may be susceptible to common project management issues such as missed deadlines, scope creep and cost overrun. While writing a project plan is somewhat labor intensive up front, the effort will pay dividends throughout the project life cycle.

The basic outline of any project plan can be summarized in these five steps:

• Define your project’s stakeholders, scope, quality baseline, deliverables, milestones, success criteria and requirements. Create a project charter, work breakdown structure (WBS) and a statement of work (SOW) .
• Identify risks and assign deliverables to your team members, who will perform the tasks required and monitor the risks associated with them.
• Organize your project team (customers, stakeholders, teams, ad hoc members, and so on), and define their roles and responsibilities.
• List the necessary project resources , such as personnel, equipment, salaries, and materials, then estimate their cost.
• Develop change management procedures and forms.
• Create a communication plan , schedule, budget and other guiding documents for the project.

Each of the steps to write a project plan explained above correspond to the 5 project phases, which we will outline in the next section.

What Are the 5 Phases of the Project Life Cycle?

Any project , whether big or small, has the potential to be very complex. It’s much easier to break down all the necessary inclusions for a project plan by viewing your project in terms of phases. The Project Management Institute , within the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK), have identified the following 5 phases of a project:

• Initiation: The start of a project, in which goals and objectives are defined through a business case and the practicality of the project is determined by a feasibility study.
• Planning: During the project planning phase, the scope of the project is defined by a work breakdown structure (WBS) and the project methodology to manage the project is decided on. Costs, quality and resources are estimated, and a project schedule with milestones and task dependencies is identified. The main deliverable of this phase is your project plan.
• Execution: The project deliverables are completed during this phase. Usually, this phase begins with a kick-off meeting and is followed by regular team meetings and status reports while the project is being worked on.
• Monitoring & Controlling: This phase is performed in tandem with the project execution phase. Progress and performance metrics are measured to keep progress on the project aligned with the project plan.
• Closure: The project is completed when the stakeholder receives the final deliverable. Resources are released, contracts are signed off on and, ideally, there will be an evaluation of the successes and failures.

Free Project Plan Template

Address all aspects of your project plan with this free project plan template for Word . This in-depth template will guide you through every phase of the project, as well as all the elements you need to outline for a proper document. Download your template today.

We’ve created also created other project planning templates to help you create all the different documents that make up a project plan, like the project schedule, project budget or resource plan.

Now that we’ve learned how to make a project plan, and identified the stages of the project management life cycle, we need to emphasize on the importance of the project planning phase.

The project planning process is critical for any kind of project because this is where you create all the documents that will guide how you’ll execute your project plan and how you’ll control risks and any issues that might occur. These documents, which are part of the project management plan, cover all the details of your project without exception.

There are project plan templates out there that can help you organize your tasks and begin the project planning process—but we here at ProjectManager recommend the use of project planning software. The feature set is far more robust and integrated with every project phase compared to an Excel project plan template, and is a great way to ensure your actual progress stays aligned with your planned progress.

Once you write a project plan, it’s time for implementation . Watch the video below to see how project planning software helps organize a project’s tasks, resources and costs.

Project planning tools has become an invaluable tool for project managers in recent years, as it provides them the ability to maintain and automate the components we outlined above. Project planning software is a great tool to facilitate project management processes such as schedule development, team management, cost estimation, resource allocation and risk monitoring.

Beyond that, planning software also allows managers to monitor and track their plan as it moves through the execution phase of the project. These features include dashboards, for a high-level view of the project’s progress and performance, and in-depth reports that can be used to communicate with stakeholders.

Project planning software comes in all different sizes and shapes. There are some that focus on a single aspect, and others that offer a suite of planning features that can be used in each one of the project planning steps. What’s right for your project depends on your specific needs, but in general terms, project planning software is a much more powerful tool than project planning templates .

Related: 20 Must-Have Project Management Excel Templates

Online project planning software is highly flexible and adaptable to your team’s style of work. It has features that are designed to assist you throughout your project planning process.

Before the rise of planning software, project managers would typically have to keep up with a disjointed collection of documents, excel spreadsheets and so on. Savvy managers, however, make use of the project management tools available to them to automate what they can, and streamline what they can’t.

Some of the time-saving benefits of project planning software include the following.

• Organize, prioritize and assign tasks
• Plan and schedule milestones and task dependencies
• Monitor progress, costs and resources
• Collaborate with team
• Share project plans with team and stakeholders
• Generate reports on plans

Gantt Charts for Superior Planning

A Gantt chart is the most essential tool for the project planning process. Organize tasks, add their duration and they automatically populate a project timeline . Set milestones to break the larger project into manageable phases, and link task dependencies to avoid bottlenecks later in the project.

Get More Than a To-Do List

When planning a project, you need more than a to-do list. Seek out a planning software with a task list feature that lets you set priority levels, filters and collaborate. It’s a big plus if you can also make personal task lists that are private to manage your own work.

Use Kanban for Workflows

Workflows ensure proper execution of your plan, and no feature does this better than kanban boards. Customize boards to match your workflow and drag and drop cards as teams get their work done. See what work needs to be done and keep the focus on productivity with this feature.

Be Able to Track Progress

A dashboard can keep your project plan on track. Try and find a dashboard that’s synced with your planning tools, so everything updates automatically. It will make reporting easier too.

Get Transparency Into Teams

For a plan to go smoothly, you have to know what your team is working on. Find a way to balance your team’s availability with the project schedule. Workload features that map out resource allocation and holidays can be a big help here.

Be Able to Manage Multiple Projects

Rarely do you need to only focus on one project at a time. Give yourself the flexibility to manage multiple projects at once in the same tool. A roadmap feature that maps all of your projects on one timeline can be a lifesaver.

Before we dive into how to create a project plan, it helps to be familiar with some of the terms that you’ll run across. Here is a list of general terms you’ll encounter in this guide.

• Deliverable: The results of a project, such as a product, service, report, etc.
• Stakeholder: Anyone with a vested interest in the project—project manager, project sponsor, team members, customers, etc.
• Tasks: Small jobs that lead to the final deliverable.
• Milestone: The end of one project phase, and the beginning of the next.
• Resources: Anything you need to complete the project, such as personnel, supplies, materials, tools, people and more.
• Budget: Estimate of total cost related to completing a project.
• Tracking & Monitoring: Collecting project data, and making sure it reflects the results you planned for.

The project planning process is critical for the success of your project, and as a project manager, you have to think about all the elements that make up your project management plan such as work, time, resources and risks.

Now, we’re going to take you through the main project planning steps :

• Outline the business case
• Meet with key stakeholders
• Define project scope
• Assemble a project team
• Determine a project budget
• Set project goals & objectives
• Outline project deliverables
• Create a project schedule
• Assign tasks to your team members
• Do a risk analysis
• Create your project plan
• Report your progress

By following these project planning steps, you’ll clarify what you need to achieve, work out the processes you need to get there and develop an action plan for how you are going to take this project plan outline forward.

1. Outline the Business Case

If you have a project, there’s a reason for it—that’s your business case . The business case outlines reasons why the project is being initiated, its benefits and the return on investment. If there’s a problem that is being solved, then that problem is outlined here. The business case will be presented to those who make decisions at your organization, explaining what has to be done, and how, along with a feasibility study to assess the practicality of the project. If approved, you have a project.

2. Meet with Key Stakeholders

Every project has stakeholders , those who have a vested interest in the project. From the ones who profit from it, to the project team members who are responsible for its success. Therefore, any project manager must identify who these key stakeholders are during the project planning process, from customers to regulators. Meeting with them is crucial to get a better picture of what the project management plan should include and what is expected from the final deliverable.

3. Define Project Scope

It refers to the work required to accomplish the project objectives and generate the required deliverables. The project scope should be defined and organized by a work breakdown structure (WBS). Therefore, the project scope includes what you must do in the project (deliverables, sub deliverables, work packages, action items ), but also what is nonessential. The latter is important for the project plan, because knowing what isn’t high priority helps to avoid scope creep ; that is, using valuable resources for something that isn’t key to your project’s success.

4. Assemble a Project Team

You’ll need a capable project team to help you create your project plan and execute it successfully. It’s advisable to gather a diverse group of experienced professionals to build a multi-disciplinary team that sees your project management plan from different perspectives.

5. Determine a Project Budget

Once you define your project scope, you’ll have a task list that must be completed to deliver your project successfully. To do so, you’ll need resources such as equipment, materials, human capital, and of course, money. Your project budget will pay for all this. The first step to create a project budget is to estimate the costs associated with each task. Once you have those estimated costs, you can establish a cost baseline , which is the base for your project budget.

6. Set Project Goals & Objectives

Goals and objectives are different things when it comes to planning a project. Goals are the results you want to achieve, and are usually broad. Objectives , on the other hand, are more specific; measurable actions that must be taken to reach your goal. When creating a project plan, the goals and objectives naturally spring from the business case, but in this stage, you go into further detail. In a sense, you’re fine-tuning the goals set forth in the business case and creating tasks that are clearly defined. These goals and objectives are collected in a project charter , which you’ll use throughout the project life cycle.

7. Outline Project Deliverables

A project can have numerous deliverables. A deliverable can be a good, service or result that is needed to complete a task, process, phase, subproject or project. For example, the final deliverable is the reason for the project, and once this deliverable is produced, the project is completed. As defined in the project scope, a project consists of subprojects, phases, work packages, activities and tasks, and each of these components can have a deliverable. The first thing to do is determine what the final deliverable is, and how you will know that the quality meets your stakeholder’s expectations. As for the other deliverables in the project, they must also be identified and someone on the team must be accountable for their successful completion.

8. Create a Project Schedule

The project schedule is what everything hangs on. From your tasks to your budget , it’s all defined by time. Schedules are made up by collecting all the tasks needed to reach your final deliverable, and setting them on a project timeline that ends at your deadline. This can make for an unruly job ahead, which is why schedules are broken into phases, indicated by milestones , which mark the end of one project phase and the beginning of the next.

9. Assign Tasks to Your Team Members

The plan is set, but it still exists in the abstract until you take the tasks on your schedule and begin assigning them out to your team members. Their roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined, so they know what to do. Then, when you assign them tasks from your plan, they should be clear, with directions and any related documentation they will need to execute the tasks.

10. Do a Risk Analysis

Every project has some level of risk . There are several types of risk such as scope risk, technical risks and schedule risk, among others. Even if your project plan is thorough, internal and external factors can impact your project’s time, cost and scope (triple constraint). Therefore, you need to regard your planning as flexible. There are many ways to prepare for risk, such as developing a change management plan, but for now, the most important thing to do is to track your progress throughout the execution phase by using project status reports and/or project planning software to monitor risk.

11. Create your Project Plan

As discussed above, a project management plan is a document that’s made of several elements. Before we get into a detailed explanation of each of them, it’s important to understand that you should include them all to have a solid project plan. The components that you’ll need might vary depending on your project, but in general terms, you’ll need these main documents to create your project management plan:

• Project charter
• Project schedule
• Project budget
• Project scope statement
• Risk management plan
• Change management plan
• Cost management plan
• Resource management plan
• Stakeholder management plan

12. Report Your Progress

Your ultimate goal is to ensure a successful project for your stakeholders. They’re invested, and will not be satisfied twiddling their thumbs without looking at project status reports to track progress. By constructing a work breakdown structure (WBS) during the project planning phase you can break down the project for them so that they understand how your project plan will be executed. Keeping stakeholders informed is important to manage their expectations and ensure that they’re satisfied. Having regular planning meetings where you present progress reports are a great way to show them that everything is moving forward as planned and to field any questions or concerns they might have. Your stakeholder management plan will specify how you’ll engage stakeholders in the project.

Project planning software is a tool that helps to plan, organize and manage the schedule and resources needed to complete a project. ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that organizes projects from planning to completion. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and follow along to build a thorough project plan that covers every detail.

1. List Your Tasks for the Plan

Tasks are the building blocks of any project and the start of any plan is identifying all the tasks that lead to your final deliverable.

Open the tool to add your tasks on the Gantt chart or one of the other multiple project views. You can import a task list from any spreadsheet or use one of our templates to get started.

2. Add Duration and Costs to Tasks

Every task has an estimated duration, which is the time it will take to complete it. They will also require a certain amount of funding, which needs to be collected to formulate your plan.

Add the start and end dates for each task in the Gantt and they populate a project timeline, so you can see the whole project laid out in one place. There’s also a column for task costs.

3. Link Dependent Tasks

Tasks are not always separate from one another. Often one cannot start or stop until another has started or stopped. That’s called a task dependency and needs to be noted in your plan.

Link dependent tasks by dragging one to the other. A dotted line indicates that they’re linked, so you stay aware of the fact and can avoid bottlenecks later in the project.

4. Set Milestones & Baseline

A milestone indicates the end of one phase and the beginning of another, which helps with tracking and morale. The baseline sets your plan so you can compare it to actual progress.

There is a filter on the Gantt that automatically sets the baseline, so you can use it to track your actual progress against the plan. The baseline can also be locked with a click.

5. Onboard Team & Assign

Getting the team and the tool together is how a project plan becomes actualized. The easier and seamless this transition, the faster you’ll get to work on the project.

Invite your team from the software and it generates an email with a link. Once they follow that link, they’re in and have access to the tools they need to manage their tasks.

6. Monitor Progress & Report to Stakeholders

Keeping track of your progress and then updating stakeholders is both how you stay on track and manage your stakeholders’ expectations.

See progress as it happens on our real-time dashboard, which calculates data and displays it over six project metrics. Reports can be filtered and shared for a deep dive into those numbers.

7. Adjust Plan As Needed

No plan remains the same throughout a project. Things happen and changes are demanded. Therefore, being able to edit your plan easily is key to the project planning process.

Edit your plan on the Gantt by a simple drag and drop. Move the old date to the new date and not only is that task fixed, but any impacted tasks are also updated automatically.

ProjectManager is an award-winning software that helps managers plan and helps teams get organized. Gantt charts control all aspects of your project plan from scheduling to assigning tasks and even monitoring progress. Multiple project views provide transparency into workflow and give everyone the tools they need to be at their best.

Ready to make your plan? Try ProjectManager today with this free 30-day trial.

The project manager is responsible for producing the project plan, and while you can’t make up all the content yourself, you’ll be the one banging the keys to type it all out. Use templates where you can to save time. Download our free project plan template and write your plan in double-quick time!

The purpose of a project management plan is to serve as a guide for the execution and control phases. The project plan provides all the information necessary for the execution phase such as the project’s goals, objectives, scope of work, milestones, risks and resources. Then, this information helps project managers monitor and control the progress of the project.

We plan at the beginning to save time later. A good project plan means that you don’t have to worry about whether the project participants are going to be available on the right dates—because you’ve planned for them to be. You don’t have to worry about how to pay those invoices—you’ve planned your financial process. You don’t have to worry about whether everyone agrees on what a quality outcome looks like—you’ve already planned what quality measures you are going to use.

A good project plan sets out the processes that everyone is expected to follow, so it avoids a lot of headaches later. For example, if you specify that estimates are going to be worked out by subject matter experts based on their judgement, and that’s approved, later no one can complain that they wanted you to use a different estimating technique. They’ve known the deal since the start.

Project plans are also really helpful for monitoring progress. You can go back to them and check what you said you were going to do and how, comparing it to what you are actually doing. This gives you a good reality check and enables you to change course if you need to, bringing the project back on track.

Tools like dashboards can help you make sure that your project is proceeding according to plan. ProjectManager has a real-time dashboard that updates automatically whenever tasks are updated.

The project planning process already discussed only scratches the surface of what is a deep well of practices created to control your project. They start with dialogue — speaking to stakeholders, teams, et al.

The deliverable for your planning phase is a document called the project plan. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Fifth Edition says that the project plan is made up of lots of subsidiary plans. These include:

• A project scope statement to define all the tasks and deliverables that are needed to complete the project
• A risk management plan for dealing with project risk including the processes for logging and tracking risks
• A change management plan to manage any changes that will be made to the project plan
• A cost management plan for managing costs and the budgeting elements of the project including any procurements or supplier engagements you might have
• A resource management plan for managing the material resources such as equipment and the human resources on the team both in terms of availability and skills
• A stakeholder management plan setting out who is going to receive messages about the project, when and in what format
• A quality plan that specifies the quality targets for the project

That’s a lot of documentation.

In reality, it’s rare that you’ll produce these as individual documents. What you need is a project plan that talks about the important elements of each of these. There’s no point creating a big document that sets out exactly how your business works anyway. If you already have a structured risk management process , then don’t waste time writing it all down again in your project plan.

Your project management plan needs to include enough information to make sure that you know exactly what processes and procedures need to be followed and who needs to be involved. Get your project plan approved by your stakeholders, your project sponsor and your team so there are no surprises later. As explained above, project planning charts and techniques such as Gantt charts, CPM, WBS or PERT can help you create your project plan.

This is hard to answer. It’s going to take longer to plan the moon landing than a new dating app.

The best way to estimate how long your project planning phase will take is to look at similar projects that have happened before, and see how long it took them to plan. Talk to the project manager as well, if you can, because they’ll have a view on whether that length of time was enough or not!

It’s easy to see how long other projects took if you have a project management tool that archives your old project schedules and makes the data available to everyone who needs it. You can then search for similar projects and study their schedules in detail.

A project plan is all about working out what to do and how to do it, so you need to get a lot of people involved. There are several good tools and project planning techniques for getting information from other people including:

• One-to-one meetings or interviews
• Surveys or customer focus groups to gather and validate requirements.

You should also arm yourself with a task management tool , like a list or a kanban board. They are incredibly useful for noting down important things that should be in your project plan. Kanban board software can help structure your plan by writing down the key headings and then moving them around as required until you have a flow that looks right.

Finally, you’ll need an online project management system to store your project management plan in. Make sure that everyone in the team can access the latest version of the project plan.

Your project plan is not a document written in stone. You should be referring back to it and making changes to it as often as you need to. Parts of it, like your project schedule, will change almost daily. Other parts, like your procurement plans and cost management processes, won’t change at all during the life of your project.

The important thing to remember is that if your project management plan isn’t working for you, think about what you can do to change it. It’s there to guide your project management, not restrict you from doing the right thing. If you need to review how you manage work and project resources, then go back and review it. Make the changes you need, get the plan approved again and share it with the team.

How To Make a Project Plan When You Don’t Have All the Answers

Yes, this happens–most of the time! It’s rare to have all the information at the beginning of a project. Most managers want you to dive in and get started, but you might not have the luxury of knowing all the details.

That’s OK; we have techniques to help deal with uncertainty.

First is the project assumption. You use these to put caveats on your plan and to document the things that you assume to be true at this point in time. For example:

• We assume that the resources will be available.
• We assume that the required funding is available.
• We assume that the colors requested will be in line with the company brand and that Marketing sign off is not required.

You get the picture. Then, if the design team comes back and says that they want the product to be a totally new palette of colors and that Marketing has to approve that, you are justified in saying that you’ll have to change the timescales on the schedule to make that possible.

You planned based on an assumption (that everyone agreed to, because you got the document approved) and that assumption turned out not to be true.

Next Steps for Project Planning

The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t rush the project planning process. Done properly, project planning takes time. And it’s worth doing it properly because if you don’t, we guarantee that you will hit problems later on as people won’t understand what they are supposed to do and why.

Great planning sets you up for success. It gives you the confidence of knowing that you’ve got all your processes, tools and systems in place to deliver the perfect result.

Now that you’ve learned all about project planning, it’s time to take action. Sign up for a free 30-day trial of ProjectManager and start planning your project today!

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Project Planning Resources

• Best Project Planner Tools: Apps, Software & Templates
• Best Project Planning Software of 2024 (Free & Paid)
• 25 of the Best Planning Quotes
• 3 Best Planner Apps for Mac in 2024
• 3 Best Project Management Charts for Project Planning
• Project Management Trends
• How to Create a Project Roadmap (Example Included)
• What Is Aggregate Planning? Strategies & Tips
• What Is Rolling Wave Planning?
• How to Create a Project Execution Plan (PEP) – Free Template Included
• Sample Project Plan For Your Next Project
• Operational Planning: How to Make an Operations Plan
• Project Planning Software
• Gantt Chart Software
• Project Scheduling Software
• Work Breakdown Structure Software
• Project Timeline Software
• Resource Planning Software
• Free Project Planning Templates
• Free Project Management Templates
• Project Proposal Template
• Project Charter Template
• Project Timeline Template
• Implementation Plan Template
• Work Plan Template
• Action Plan Template

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Project Management Methodologies and Frameworks Every Project Manager Should Know

You might find yourself drowning in information, tools, and processes as a project manager. To stay afloat and thrive, you must choose the right project management methodologies and frameworks that suit your team and project needs.

Many different project management methodologies are available and deciding which one is right for you can be challenging. This article provides an overview of the most popular frameworks to get you started.

What is a Project Management Methodology?

A project management methodology is a set of principles, processes, guidelines, and tools that help to plan, manage, and control a project. The methodology helps to ensure that a project is on schedule, within budget, and that the project goals are met.

A project team or an organization uses a management framework to execute a project. The information generated is usually documented and shared with others. Recording the information is essential as it will help others understand the project requirements and responsibilities.

While most project management methodologies take a standardized approach, some are for specific purposes, i.e., manufacturing or software development.

Project Management Framework vs. Methodology

The terms framework and methodology are often used interchangeably in project management. However, there is a slight yet distinguishable difference between the two approaches.

A framework provides more flexibility and freedom. You can adopt new rules and change or remove existing ones as necessary. As such, a framework provides the structure and direction needed for a project without being too rigid or detailed.

On the other hand, a methodology is a set of principles and processes that guides the management of a project. It is a formal approach that is strictly defined and generally adheres to a strict code complete with steps and rules.

Another way to understand the two approaches is that most of the time, methodologies are for implementing ideas and values, while a framework provides a step-by-step guide to attain that idea or manage that project.

Project Life Cycle Processes

A project management framework includes the whole project management life cycle, which will guide you from the beginning to the end. In a project management life cycle , there are five steps:

• Initiation : The beginning stage of the project, where the main focus is to narrow down the required key components to kickstart the project. Teams get together to research, brainstorm and conduct analysis and stakeholder mapping/interviews to gather information.
• Planning : Here, the teams and members working on the project are identified along with activities, milestones, risks, management structure, and success benchmarks.
• Execution : During this stage, the project kickstarts and is implemented.
• Management/Monitoring : At each milestone, the progress will be monitored, documented, and reported. Key progress and outputs will be shared with stakeholders as well.
• Review/Closing : This stage marks the end of the project. Project leaders and team members will review and analyze how the project progressed and setbacks to identify future improvements. Updates or replacements will be scheduled if necessary before wrapping up.

5 Key Project Management Methodologies and Frameworks

1. waterfall framework.

The Waterfall Framework is a linear approach that first gathers stakeholder and customer requirements before creating a sequential project plan to address the identified requirements. Consisting of five main stages, each stage is completed before progressing to the next–similar to a cascading waterfall.

The main stages of the waterfall framework are:

• Requirements : needs and requirements of the business/project are identified, analyzed, and documented.
• Design : possible solutions are explored before a detailed plan is made to achieve the goals.
• Implementation : the project plan and activities are set in motion along with progress measurements.
• Verification/Control : the product is reviewed, and the project plan is compared with the performance to address issues.
• Maintenance/Closure : the end result is shared with clients for feedback and final fixes. Approval is obtained before the project is closed.
• As project and client requirements are identified and agreed in the very first stage, it sets clear client expectations that are easier to plan.
• Extensive documentation ensures that each activity and task is well documented and that no knowledge is lost.
• The project schedule is laid out at the beginning stages. As such, project costs, deadlines, and other resources can be estimated accurately.
• Easier to measure and understand as you progress through each milestone one after the other.

Disadvantages

• Identifying all client/customer requirements at the very beginning is difficult.
• Changes to the product at the end stages are costly and difficult if the customer is unsatisfied.
• Lack of flexibility due to the linear nature of the framework, which provides minimal room for change and adaptation in case of unexpected events.

2. Lean Methodology

Lean methodology originated in the 1950s in Toyota and currently focuses on eliminating waste, maximizing value, and improving efficiencies. Many organizations have opted to adopt the Lean Framework as it can be applied to any business, regardless of size, to achieve objectives in a sustainable manner.

The two main guiding concepts in Lean are respect for people and continuous improvement. Accordingly, necessary training and tools are provided, constant improvement is encouraged, and management takes on a more active role in understanding and meeting the needs of employees to initiate better work performance.

Besides the above two concepts, lean has five core principles that support the methodology:

• Value : customer defines the value of the product offered.
• Value stream : a clear and in-depth understanding of the product’s life cycle from research to development. Each step of the value chain is analyzed to identify waste areas and improvements.
• Flow : every process should be in sync with one another, and the value stream should flow seamlessly.
• Pull : ensures that products are made only when required, leading to shorter delivery cycles and increased flexibility.
• Perfection : always strive for perfection by uncovering quality or waste issues and applying strict measures to address inefficiencies.
• The quality of products is high due to the constant attention to value.
• Reduced costs and increased profits as Lean focuses on providing value and minimizing waste.
• Improved customer relations as the focus is to deliver what the customer requires.
• Regular communications among employees, stakeholders and management pave the way for better decision-making.
• Emphasis on constant improvement leads to continuous learning opportunities.
• Organizations may focus too much on Lean principles that they lose sight of the bigger picture leading to a lack of strategy.
• If there are bottlenecks or resource issues, delivery can be delayed leading to unsatisfied customers.

3. Agile Methodology

Agile is often used in the software industry, though it has spilled into others recently due to its adaptability. It is an iterative approach that promotes collaboration among team members, emphasizing adaptive planning and early delivery of functional products. In an Agile project, development work is carried out in short-term periods called sprints, and the management focuses on continuous improvement throughout the project’s life cycle.

Popular frameowkrs such as Scrum and Kanban stem from Agile, which acts as an umbrella term that encompasses several different frameworks. To learn more about Scrum and Kanban, check out The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Scrum and How to Better Manage Your Projects with Kanban Boards .

The Agile Manifesto highlights four core principles that are the building blocks of any agile approach. They are:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
• Agile promotes smaller teams, making it easier to keep up the pace and quickly adapt to necessary changes, leading to faster response times and ample flexibility.
• Faster turnaround times due to the ability to quickly detect and provide solutions to issues.
• Low wastage and costs as tasks are always up-to-date with constant feedback and follow-ups, allowing developers to experiment and test ideas.
• Agile is practiced by many and has a considerable following. Therefore, you can always reach out for help and share knowledge with others if you run into trouble.
• Difficult to measure the progress as it is estimated across several cycles, which may take time.
• Documentation is not given prominence, leading to misunderstandings and difficulty for newer members to be up-to-date.
• At times, there is no clear end date; therefore, the overall project may seem to go on forever. This can also lead to scope changes beyond what was initially agreed (scope creep).
• Due to the short cycle times, the design thinking process may be stinted, leading to a lack of cohesion and fragmentation.
• Teams may tend to avoid key features that may take too long to deliver.
• The need for constant communication can take a toll on team members who have to spend extra energy and time.

4. Critical Chain Project Management Framework

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a project management framework that helps the planning and managing of projects by monitoring the resources required to execute the project tasks. The framework helps project managers to deliver projects in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Buffers are safety margins that ensure all tasks are completed within schedule. CCPM identifies strategic points in the project and inserts buffers to ensure that project milestones are met on time, regardless of constraints or uncertainties. There are several types of buffers used in CCPM.

• Project buffers : this is positioned between the completion date of the project and the last task allowing team members to catch up on any outstanding tasks or delays.
• Feeding buffers : this is positioned between the non-critical chain and the critical chain to prevent delays.
• Resource buffers : resources that are kept aside in case of extra support in terms of resources are required.
• Team members tend to be more efficient and pace themselves rather than working more as the deadline approaches.
• Work is scheduled around resource availability, thereby optimizing resource utilization.
• The insertion of various buffers to address issues on time.
• The minimum time required to finish the project is taken into consideration.
• Major planning packages do not often support the framework.
• If the team does not understand the endpoint, many losses and setbacks could occur.

5. PRINCE2 Framework

PRINCE stands for “PRojects IN Controlled Environments” and is a process-based framework focused on organization and control. The framework started as PRINCE with a particular focus on the IT industry before expanding into others.

PRINCE2 details what each step of the project should look like, deliverables, roles, and responsibilities, and also structure each stage of the project with no loose ends at the point of completion.

• PRINCE2 is a good beginner framework to start project management as it has a defined process with clear steps.
• Due to the detailed and step-by-step guide provided, PRINCE2 is relatively easy to understand and follow. Furthermore, the ability to divide the project into manageable stages is helpful in managing the project.
• PRINCE2 is flexible in nature and can be easily adapted to suit different projects.
• Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, which improves accountability.
• Lessons learned can be tracked and updated for future reference and improvements.
• PRINCE2 is not ideal for projects in fast-changing environments (i.e., technology-driven) due to the extensive documentation required.
• Requires the buy-in of the senior management for success.
• Requires experience to be managed and delivered successfully.

Key Steps to Follow when Selecting a Methodology or Framework

1. assess the project in terms of size and scope.

Size and scope play a significant role when selecting a suitable project methodology or framework. Some projects may be small, requiring a team of no more than 3-4 people and a short period. In contrast, others would be large, with multiple teams working together for several years.

Larger projects with several cross-functional teams and extended time frames would benefit from adaptive project management frameworks such as agile. In comparison, smaller projects that are less complex would do well with methodologies such as waterfall.

2. Look into the available project management methodologies and frameworks

Once the project scope and size are determined, look into the available methodologies and frameworks. Compare notes, and weigh the pros and cons as to which one would suit your requirements the best while minimizing risks.

3. Obtaining the acceptance and buy-in of your team

Reach out to your team to see their reaction and input. Make sure you listen to their viewpoints and present your side accordingly to obtain their buy-in. Otherwise, conflicts and challenges may hinder the project’s smooth progress.

4. Confirm the selection

Before starting the project, re-confirm the feasibility of your selection by comparing and assessing the success rate of projects delivered using the same framework.

5. Obtain feedback and conduct self-assessments

As the project progresses, ask for feedback from your colleagues regarding the processes followed. Furthermore, make sure to conduct self-assessments to see if the methodology or framework is proceeding according to your expectations and whether it allows you to manage your team successfully.

Tools and Techniques for Project Management Methodologies and Frameworks

There are several tools and techniques relevant to project management methodologies and frameworks. While some specific tools and techniques are similar across multiple frameworks, there are some that may differ. Below are a few commonly used tools and techniques.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Work breakdown structures can be used to break down the larger deliverables of your project into manageable smaller tasks. This is a productivity technique that uses a step-by-step approach to project management.

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are ideal for tracking tasks' start and end dates and milestones. It helps teams to plan their work and jobs to meet deadlines and allocate resources accordingly.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. For each project, the SWOT identifies the internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) drivers affecting your ability to meet the goal. For example, suppose your organization is well known for its expertise in customer service. In that case, improving customer service will be a competitive advantage and a meaningful driver for meeting your goals.

RACI Matrix

RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. RACI matrix is used to describe the roles and responsibilities of team members in a project.

Stakeholder Map

The stakeholder map is a tool to help you understand who your stakeholders are and their needs. Using this tool, you can map stakeholders according to their importance and potential impact on the project.

Decision Tree

A decision tree is used for effective decision-making and predicting potential outcomes when multiple courses of action exist. It allows the team to explore options and outcomes to understand the risks and rewards associated with each possible course of action.

Creately for Project Management

Creately has many tools to make your journey effortless and successful regardless of the type of project methodology or framework you decide to follow.

• Powerful documentation capabilities include doc blocks and attachments and image attachments to create reports and presentations.
• Built-in project management tools including Kanban boards, timelines, multi-role workflows, visual prioritization tools to enable any kind of workflow.
• Whiteboard and freehand drawing capabilities to brainstorm and discuss with colleagues and peers.
• Multiple templates and shapes to prepare project plans and schedules, Gantt charts, roadmaps, and other formats necessary for project management documentation and tracking.
• Multiple access and role levels to manage, share, edit and review, along with multiplayer editing capabilities to collaborate in real-time.
• Comment on anything, with context. Full comment threads and discussions for async collaboration.
• Data, note, and task panels to house information, assign roles and responsibilities, feed in information, and track the progress of activities.
• Integration with other platforms with 2-way syncing to manage data efficiently.
• Spotlight and presentation mode to conduct interactive and dynamic presentations right on the canvas.

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.