Project Management Tools Tutorial | Learn Tools & Techniques

Introduction:

Project management nowadays is all about employing the proper tools and processes.

Having these two items in order can make project management easier and more effective.

It has been found in more surveys that using the right project management tools and techniques can increase the overall performance, productivity, not to mention, happiness levels at work.

Enlighten the knowledge of all the famous and helpful project management techniques that are working really well for organizations all over the world.And, further, would elaborate on how managers can put these techniques to use with the right tools that have the ability to fit their exact requirement.

13 Of The Most Common Project Management Techniques:

Project management strategies serve an important role in explaining the structure, job allocation, resource utilization, and, at times, deciding the fate of a project.

We have divided these strategies into several categories, the first of which is:

Classic Project Management Techniques:

Classic project management techniques contain the more traditional methods of project management where a sequential and upfront approach is adopted to execute plans. plan, prioritize, and execute—as simple as that.

Here are few of the most commonly used classical methods of project management:

#1 Critical Chain Methodology

Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s book Critical Chain, which debuted in 1997, presented the concept of the Critical Chain Methodology. In it, he described the methodology as a system for organizing and overseeing projects that aims to keep resources equal.

It differs from other approaches in that it ensures that the project plan is realistic enough and completed on schedule while putting more emphasis on resources than the methodology itself.

#2 Waterfall

This is one of the easiest, not to forget, oldest project management techniques known to manage the projects.

It is also referred to as Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) that focuses on making a solid plan and efficient execution.

The Waterfall methodology is sequential, which means one task has to be finished before the next starts in the pipeline . Here, all the needs must be explained in the beginning so that there is proper planning and organization of a project plan.

#3 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Every project is made up of different small and large tasks that can overwhelm both project managers and team members at first glance. This is why planning is need and more essential than that, is project breakdown before the execution process starts.This project management technique made bigger, difficult tasks organized by breaking them into smaller, more manageable chunks.

WBS is a key project deliverable that explains a detailed cost or time estimate to help managers have a clear understanding that an estimate will exceed the intended budget or deadline.

#4 Critical Path Method (CPM)

The Critical Path Method of managing projects and visualizing the project plan contain mapping out all the sequential steps that are going to help to achieve the end result.

While figuring out the smartest way to the ultimate goal, will realize that there might be more than one pathway leading to the resulting goal.

While pursuing this method of project management, though, always choose the smallest path. Therefore, in the Critical path method, take up the plan that has the least amount of milestones and also takes the least amount of time for project completion.

It is an extension of PERT , the emphasis is located on strategic scheduling and smart decision-making.

Agile Project Management Techniques:

#5 Scrum

The Scrum framework is a part of an Agile methodology.

Scrum helps teams focus on real priorities and the immediate needs of the clients.

This technique helps to leverage efficient communication, teamwork, and speed of development in a project.

A team in Scrum methodology is often led by a scrum master, also known as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), who is responsible for instilling the Agile methodology’s values within the team.

This way the team is able to make way for seamless collaboration and a goal-oriented mindset where the team members are simply able to deliver results accurately and rapidly at the same time.

#6 Agile

Agile methodology is one of the most famous project management techniques.

It used the ‘sprint approach’ where you can break a project in the form of sprints or cycles.

As the word ‘agile’ means the ability to move fastly and respond swiftly to changes, likewise, this methodology makes way for flexibility and collaboration.

It is extensively used in software development and is best adapt for small software projects that need frequent communication and the need to work together for working on innovative projects.

#7 Adaptive Project Framework (APF)

A link between Agile project management and change management is the adaptable project framework (APF) or adaptive project management (APM).

It enables the team to implement fail-safes and fallback systems to keep the project running smoothly through successively successful iterations.

The Adaptive Project Framework is based on the idea that improvements must be made as soon as a setback is discovered, just like the Agile approach and all that the Scrum framework implies.

This project management technique helps to implement changes quicker than possible and to bring change to the game plan the moment a roadblock is identified.

#8 Extreme Programming

Extreme programming is an approach to project management where each principle of Agile is put into motion, each practice of the Scrum framework is practiced, and beyond that, every great coding practice is followed as well.

In this project management process, the emphasis is made on the user needs and the coding and deployment aspect of the project as a whole.

If followed this approach will deliver on the different software needs of the clients and the stakeholders at the end of every week.

These are known as “small releases”, which will, in turn, help to gather and work on feedback much more swiftly.

Change Management Project Planning Techniques:

#9 Extreme Project Management (XPM)

No, extreme project management is not named after extreme sports like motocross or the different snowboarding competitions.

This project management technique is used in highly difficult projects where uncertainty is high.

It takes a much more casual and optimistic approach for planning a project and emphasizes less formality in the company’s culture.

The extreme title is owed to the opportunity for flexible planning and unorthodox tactics.

#10 Event Chain Methodology

• While the Event Chain Methodology, the team works identifying events, milestones, tasks, etc..,
• Furthermore, the team works on finding as well as explaining the relationship between said tasks.
• This helps simplify everything.
• It is like setting a risk management plan that has been set into place by a project manager.
• It helps to ensure that each aspect of the project, every deadline, and schedule is well taken care of.
• It is a technique used primarily for network analysis and risk mitigation.

Some Other Highly Robust Project Management Techniques:

#11 Prince2

PRINCE2 is for Projects In Controlled Environments.

It is a project management methodology that is made up of principles and the processes.

Originated in the UK, Prince2 is an articulately stated methodology in which a project is divided into more levels and stages, each having its own set of steps to be followed.

This standard enables the plan to be implemented in any organization irrespective of its nature, enabling them to take the appropriate action for the successful finishing of the projects.

#12 Process-Based Project Management

Process-based project management is a systematic and strategic strategy that finds the project’s goal and aligns it with the mission, vision, and core values of the company.

This methodology emphasizes better collaboration between different departments within the company to achieve common goals. Process-based project management helps project managers to view all the activities within an organization as a gathering of standardized processes, which are managed to achieve the desired result.

#13 PERT (Program Evaluation And Review Technique)

PERT is a project management technique that helps with calculating the estimated time it will take to finish a project.

Both scheduling and budgeting are required components of any project.

PERT charts are tools used to schedule tasks in a project, which makes it easier for team members to coordinate to complete the work. With PERT, get three various time estimates for the project: the most optimistic time estimate, the most probable time estimate, and the most pessimistic time estimate.

Every manager requires a reliable project management tool.

will help to implement any and every project management technique in this list to some if not full effect.

The tool in question here is ProofHub.

ProofHub is a versatile project management tool used by the leading organizations like NASA, Disney, Taco Bell, and many more.

This all-in-one tool comes jam-packed with powerful features to remove the need to have too many different tools to run one business.

The best part about using a tool like ProofHub to simplify the work processes is that you will experience the convenience of visualizing and managing everything under one roof.

Consolidated data helps to maintain the ahead of schedule and manage time better.

It offers connectivity through team discussions and chats and transparency through uploading files and putting up as much data as can regarding the tasks.

Here are few exceptional features of ProofHub that I are:

Tasks: Quickly add tasks, create sub-tasks, and label them with tags and colorful tabs.

View sorted tasks in the respective task lists with the whole view of the project.

Custom roles: generate task management less stressful for teams by making it simple to set custom roles for the team members and assigning them to tasks and projects.

Proofing and review: Online proofing software saves a more time during the feedback-sharing process

Gantt charts: Get a visual picture of the projects with Gantt charts. Explain dependencies and map out the project timeline with ease.

Accessibility: ProofHub is available as a mobile app also, both for Android and iOS users.

Flexibility: Help the team view their single tasks corresponding to their deadlines in Kanban or calendar views.

ProofHub is an amazing project management and online collaboration tool because it helps to create, review, deliver, plan, and organize like no other tool.

With its comprehensive bells and whistles, it comes forward as a very suitable tool for project management.

1. Chat: A feature that made ProofHub completely singular is that it facilitates quick back and forth communication on the similar platform where they manage the things to communicate about.

2. Discussions: Even though the tool comes with a facility of chat and group chats alike, sometimes a team requires a formal discussion.

The “discussions” section is all about exchanging ideas and expressing one’s thoughts. And, every team member can simply participate in the same!

3. Comments: Gone are the days of texting, calling, or pinging someone to check updates or inform people that have reviewed their work. With comments, can post the reviews on the task card itself, and a notification will be instantly received by the concerned.

4. Proofing: ProofHub has a much distinct outlook and caters to the workplace in a way that no other tool can. It aids in the most genuine type of communication, namely, reviewing.

With markup tools for annotation, it is a powerful proofing tool that helps with all kinds of files.

Conclusion

It can be overwhelming to choose the right project management tools and techniques for the business, especially when there are too many options out there in the market.

We hope this list of techniques and our expertise of project management tools will help to make a great decision that works out for the team as well as the business.