Project management is a complex area of business with almost endless strategies, processes, and ideas. You might be feeling overwhelmed with what type of project management to use on your next initiative. As managers of hundreds of projects, we know a little about this complex world. We’ve highlighted a few of the top methods out there with some tips on when or where to use each approach.
Method 1: Traditional project management
Method 2: Outcome-based project management
Method 3: Project management 101
Method 4: The technical approach
Method 5: Project management for fire drills
Traditional project management focuses on tracking activities, timelines, and task lists. You can primarily use this method for events. Traditional project management is ideal for:
The big challenge with traditional project management is tracking and communicating outcomes when the focus is on tracking activities. For example: how do you identify when 75% of a project is completed? Is it the most important 75%? Or small parts of the project that are less crucial to the outcome?
Outcome-based project management focuses on key milestones and deliverables, starting with the strategic vision for the project and developing deadlines from there. We recommend applying this method to projects with multiple stakeholders who are all working toward the same goal. All activities should be achievable given the time and resource constraints, as well as aligned to the bigger picture.
The four main tenets of this type of project management are:
Step 1: Define project parameters
Step 2: Align on project organization
Step 3: Keep everyone accountable
Step 4: Manage outcomes
While outcome-based project management is great for complex projects like a new product launch or program re-design, it might not be necessary for simpler projects or ones with set processes and deadlines already in place.
If you’ve just done project management training and are feeling overwhelmed by all the new techniques to try, we’ll help you start. Instead of trying to implement everything at once, we recommend starting with these five strategies:
The advantage of this method is that it's simple, while the downside is that many projects require a more complex methodology. We recommend using this method if you are new to project management and trying out your first project. It can also be useful for projects with a smaller team such as targeted strategic planning or process improvement. For big projects, you might want to consider the next method.
When dealing with a large and complex project (like a software conversion, company-wide process change, or other big transition), a technical approach can be your best bet. A few key strategies for this approach:
What kind of project management do you use when all the previous rules fly out the window? We’ve all had those projects that arise last minute, usually from someone far above our pay grade with an urgent request that requires us to drop other priorities.
Under these conditions, the typical approach is to jump right in. We recommend taking a breath and doing the following first:
There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for managing projects. Each type of project or situation may require a different strategy. As you think about how to approach your next project, consider one of the approaches above, depending on how complex, ambiguous, or last-minute your project is. You also might take a different approach depending on new you are to project management as a skill. Regardless of what you choose, having a plan ahead of time will save you hassle and rework down the line.
This blog is the second in a series on project management. Check out the first blog in the series on setting up a project.
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