Contionouscontinual and Ppm and Pm Monitor
The world of project management is vast. It covers many industries and requires a range of skills. But the common thread tying this diverse discipline together are the techniques that project managers use to get the job done.
Project management techniques make planning and managing projects easier and more effective. They can be applied to any project, regardless of the field or industry. And used in tandem with project management software, they help save time and reduce costs.
There are many project management techniques to choose from. Here are five of the best that every project manager should know in order to control their projects and steer them to successful ends.
1. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Projects big and small can feel overwhelming at first glance. There's so much to do. The idea of just jumping in and learning how to swim is how projects drown in lost time and costs. As any experienced project manager knows, everything must first get planned before putting it into action.
A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a way to organize the work into smaller, more manageable pieces. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), WBS is a "deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the team."
What that means is the WBS is graphic representation of every task in the project. At the top is the final product with a line that goes down the page to a box (or boxes) that represent the larger tasks which lead to that completed project. Each of these boxes are then attached with lines that go under it to smaller tasks.
Divide and Conquer
Using a work breakdown structure lets you divide the scope of the project into smaller parts that can be worked on by the project team. As the levels go further down on the WBS, there is more definition and detail. This provides a sort of task map for the project.
The WBS is created by the whole team who identifies the major deliverables and then subdivides them into smaller and smaller sub-deliverables. This process continues until the team reaches a point where the task can be accomplished, who will get that assignment.
A WBS defines and organizes a project, but it can also be used to break down more than just tasks. Budgets can be calculated based on the breakdown schedule and even risks when a branch is not well defined. Get started with a free WBS template.
2. Gantt Chart
A Gantt chart is another visual project management technique, but this one has even more applications for a project manager. Making a Gantt chart is a technique, but it can be combined with a Gantt chart tool to make that technique much easier to execute.
Gantt charts can help with more than planning and scheduling tasks over one or multiple projects. You can also plan and schedule entire projects, plan in sprints and milestones, scheduling teams' work and compare planned versus actual timelines in your project.
If you're using the online Gantt chart in the ProjectManager, you have the freedom to adjust schedules as needed and even link dependent tasks, by just click and drag. Task dependencies are used when there are tasks that can't get started until another is complete. They can be linked on ProjectManager, so that there is no downtime or blocking of team members.
Each task can now be assigned to individual team members and project managers can automate notifications on upcoming deadlines to keep the project on track. When the team updates their status that information is instantly reflected throughout ProjectManager, so everyone is always on the same page.
3. PERT
PERT is an acronym that stands for program evaluation and review technique. It's a project management technique to help with time estimates. Scheduling is critical to getting a project completed on time, obviously, but also within the set budget. The longer you work, the more you pay.
So, how does PERT work? It manages probabilities by using many simple statistical methods. PERT breaks down tasks into detailed activities, by using the WBS discussed above, then adds these to a Gantt chart to identify those activities that are interdependent. From that data, you create an illustrative map of the network of activities and their interdependencies.
Related: Gantt Chart vs. PERT Chart vs. Network Diagram
On the map, a node represents an event and the activities are represented by arrows drawn from one event to another based on its order. From this, the earliest time (TE) and the latest time (TL) for each activity is figured out, as well as the slack time for each activity.
4. Critical Path Method (CPM)
Critical Path Method (CPM) is a cornerstone of project management techniques. CPM requires that you construct a project model that includes a list of all tasks or a WBS, the duration to complete of each of those tasks, what dependencies if any link the tasks and the endpoints, such as milestones and deliverables, for the project.
With this information, you can calculate the longest path from the planned tasks to their completion, including the earliest and latest time these tasks can start and finish without impacting the project schedule. Now you know what tasks are critical to the project and which have float or can be delayed without lengthening the project timeline.
Therefore, as a project management technique, CPM is a sequence of tasks that add up to the longest overall duration, whether there is float (whether free float, which is a dependent task or total float, with is the overall project) or not. With this information, you can figure out the shortest time needed to complete the project.
Not all project management tools can filter the critical path automatically. You have to do the calculations yourself. But ProjectManager finds the critical path with a click on our Gantt view, saving you valuable time. Once your schedule is planned, set the baseline on the Gantt. This allows you to compare your actual progress versus the planned effort, which helps you stay on track.
Critical Path Enhances Prioritization & Decision-Making
CPM is really an algorithm used to help with decision-making. By taking in specific data (start time, duration, finish time), it determines which activities are most important or critical for the project's success.
In terms of dealing with contingencies, which are always around the corner in any project, CPM has something called fast tracking. This is a process of running multiple tasks on the critical path in parallel. What this does is reduce the overall project time. This only works if the task is not dependent. But it does require further resources and can impact quality.
Overall, CPM helps reduce delays by optimizing work along the critical path. It can also visualize dependencies, which allows for tasks to get prioritized. CPM improves organization by breaking down deliverables into sequences. It increases efficiencies and helps calculate float to distribute resources better.
5. Kanban
Kanban is used in lean manufacturing and looks like a series of cards on a board, which is used to visualize the workflow.
Kanban can be used as a project management technique to help monitor and manage projects by putting the emphasis on continual delivery without placing too much of a burden on the team. Kanban helps the project team work more efficiently together.
Project management software takes kanban to the next level. ProjectManager has a board view that syncs with all its other project views, allowing teams to work however they want. All updates are reflected throughout the tool. Teams love how they can manage their backlog and plan sprints. Managers get the transparency they want to see potential blocks and reallocate resources quickly to keep production moving ahead smoothly.
The project board helps team members visualize what they must get done today, seeing their task in the wider context of the others. This limits the amount of work in progress (WIP) and balances the workflow to avoid overburdening the team. Because the cards on the board can be prioritized, workflow is improved. Once one task is done, the card is moved to the next column and the team member starts on the card that on top of their to-do column.
This project management technique fosters a continuous collaborative environment and allows the team to tinker and improve the workflow. Kanban is especially suited for agile projects, but it can be applied to any project and is embraced by more visual thinkers.
ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that has features that enhance project management techniques and integrates them with a real-time dashboard to monitor and report on progress. Online Gantt charts can upload WBS and other MS Project or spreadsheets to give you greater control. While our Kanban boards visualize the workflow and help teams collaborate and work more efficiently together. Try it for free by taking this free 30-day trial.
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Source: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/project-management-techniques-for-every-pm
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