Whether you are brand new to project management or you have years of project management experience under your belt, project managing and completing a project on time and within budget is not easy. In project management, each project has its specifics and challenges, no matter the type of project you are working on, you definitely face strict timelines and high expectation from all project stakeholders.
The definition of Project management relates to the process of directing and facilitating a project team from the start through its full lifecycle. The main purpose of project management is to complete a project within the established time period, budget and quality requirements. In project management, each project has a life cycle as it is not intended to last forever.
A full project management lifecycle begins when the project at its first phase of initiation and ends when the project is closed or terminated for any reason. The project management lifecycle follows a structured framework, it is a timely and methodical process for initiating, planning and executing a project successfully – in order to meet the planned objectives of the stakeholders sponsoring the project.
Different organizations across industries aim to deliver excellent results in order to achieve a global impact. Project management (PM) is an important part of all major industries such as IT, construction, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance and Banking, Healthcare, Pharma industry, Nonprofits, Government agencies.
Find out more information about Project Management (PM) Instructor-led courses.
What are the Five Phases of Project Management?
Project management phases are different tasks, behaviors, and skill sets that are essential to creating successful projects.
Types of Project Management Methodologies
Different types of project management have been developed in order to meet specific requirements of various industries or project types. Some of the most popular project management methodologies are:
1. Waterfall Project Management
This project management methodology is similar to traditional project management but includes the need to complete each task before the next one starts. Steps are structured linearly and progress flows in one way similar to a waterfall. For this reason, it is very important to observe the task sequences and timelines are very important in this type of project management. Also, the size of the team involved in the project grows as smaller tasks are completed and bigger tasks begin.
2. Scrum Agile Project Management
IT industry was one of the first to start using this project management methodology. Its origins are found in the 12 core principles of the Agile Manifesto. Agile project management is an iterative process focused on the continuous monitoring and improvement of results. At its heart, high-quality outputs are the result of providing customer value, interactions within the teams, also - adapting to the current business environment.
Agile project management unlike Waterfall project management does not follow a sequential staged approach. On the other hand, phases of the project are completed in parallel by the project team members in the company. Using this approach you can find and correct errors without having to restart the entire process.
Check out Scrum Agile training and certification options.
3. Lean Project Management
Lean methodology is all about eliminating waste, both of time and of resources. Lean project management methodology is all about eliminating waste, both of time and of resources. The principles of this methodology were gleaned from Japanese manufacturing practices. The main objective is to create more value for customers with less resources. Lean principles are primarily based on the Toyota Production System and are widely used to help companies drive best in class and streamlined operations. Lean methodology is a foundational approach to process improvement project management.
4. Lean Six Sigma Project Management
Lean Six Sigma approach offers a combination of the strengths of Lean methodology and Six Sigma precision for project management of process improvement projects. This project management methodology is best applied to drive process improvements and is to date the best approach industry-wide for process optimization. The project management roadmap for lean six sigma is the so called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) roadmap as a staged approach for achieving new levels of quality. Streamlined fast processes, timeliness, reduced error rates, loyal customers are among the top benefits.
Apart from the typical usage in manufacturing where Lean Six Sigma as a project management methodology is a must-have program, the service sectors are widely applying Lean Six Sigma project management already for decades, with a priority on transactional services and in combination with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as part of their digitalization strategy.
Acquiring a certified Lean Six Sigma professional certification is an important career step for professionals from multiple industries and backgrounds.
There are other project management methodologies and types of project management than described here, but these are some of the most popular. The specific choice of the type of project management methodology depends on the problem that is to be solved and the choice made by the company.
Example of Project Management
Let’s look at a situation where a project manager is to lead a project team aiming to develop a software product. The team begins by identifying what is the scope of this particular project. As a next step, they assign tasks to the project team, these tasks are the responsibility of developers, engineers and other team members. The project manager creates a schedule and sets deadlines at this scoping stage.
The iterative and incremental approach is a change-driven project management methodology that was developed to handle change and reduce possible project risks.
This project management methodology is the perfect option for large company projects that have complex unclear requirements and a high level of possible risk. It is especially popular for software development.
Planning based on products is a project management approach that focuses on the end results and project deliverables unlike the traditional approach that focuses more on the various activities and tasks.
Process-based project management helps project managers create, manage and improve project delivery that aligns with the vision, mission, and core values of the company business and organizational objectives.
Other possible project management approaches such as Agile project management, Extreme project management, and more have evolved and developed from this incremental and iterative approach.
Everyone always start a project with the hope that it will be successful. Unfortunately most projects fail when project managers ignore the need to streamline their project management processes and ways of working.
Nowadays, organizations task their teams to deliver more results with even fewer resources. These expectations can be fulfilled but also exceeded if they take a project management approach towards their work.
📧 ENROLMENTS
Discover the Project Management (PM) Instructor led courses.
Register online by sending an email with your name and course title to
Special pricing for corporate clients.
The instructor-led courses are delivered in both English and Bulgarian languages.
What are the Five Phases of Project Management?
Types of Project Management Methodologies
Example of Project Management