Besides Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Gantt Charts, there are at least 10 project management techniques that can help you manage projects in a better and easier way. 

Projects are the same as your fingerprints, they are unique and their management patterns can be different from each other. This then makes you have to find the right project management technique and according to the characteristics of your current project. Why? Because using appropriate project management techniques will help you complete the project much more easily.

Here are 10 project management techniques that Tomps.id has summarized for you.

10 Project Management Techniques: Makes Project Better and Easier! 

1. Scrum

When it comes to projects, especially in the software development industry, Scrum must be familiar. Scrum is not basically a technique or a methodology, but a framework. Scrum framework is designed to allow teams to tackle complex problems that are adaptive or constantly changing. Scrum also encourages teams to create products of the highest possible value or quality in a productive and creative way. How can?

This is because Scrum’s key point is in team collaboration that refers to the values ​​of the Agile Manifesto, namely iterative and incremental. Another thing is that Scrum is run by a team (usually not too large in number) who is also in full control of the future work system, which is of course inversely proportional to Waterfall. Scrum helps teams to be adept at solving problems, making decisions, and building dynamic communications.

2. Agile

Agile is one type of method that is popular in software development. Agile is also popularly known as SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). Literally, Agile carries the meaning of “able to move quickly and easily”. This is a special feature or what distinguishes it from the Waterfall method.

In accordance with the values ​​of the Agile Manifesto, this one software development method emphasizes systems that are easy to accept changes and adapt quickly. The important point, Agile can provide a large space for your team to be able to make decisions quickly, with good quality and predictions, and increase the potential to handle any changes.

3. Kanban

Kanban is another popular project management method. Kanbanize said, the word ‘Kanban’ itself comes from a term in Japanese which means ‘visual signal’ or ‘card’. The way Kanban works is through visualization using cards in a To-Do List Board that represent the team’s workflow. Then, this board will group the completion status, like “Initiating”, “On Process’ , and “Closed”. Through Kanban, all team members including the project manager and project stakeholders can see which work has not been, is in progress, or has been completed.

Kanban itself was first developed by Taiichi Ohno of Toyota Production System (TPS) for manufacturing production runs in the late 1940s. Then at the beginning of the 21st century, the software industry quickly realized the big idea of ​​this Kanban method. Finally, by increasing the focus on the value of efficiency and taking advantage of advances in computing technology, Kanban has been successfully applied to various other commercial industrial sectors through various software applications, one of which is Tomps.id.

4. Lean

Lean is a “do more with less” technique. Gantt Pro said, Lean is a technique used in projects to improve production quality, increase value, and reduce cost overruns. The unique thing about Lean technique is that more focus is given to giving free time to improve the quality of the final result maximum. Through this Lean technique, it is hoped that you can experience benefits such as increased quality of project results, high levels of client satisfaction, cost savings, and large profits.

5. Gantt Chart

Gantt Chart, also known as the Milestones Chart and Project Bar Chart, is a type of bar chart that is widely used for project monitoring. The Gantt Chart contains information on planning and scheduling project activities. Such as managing details of sub-activities, team assignments, to completion schedules and sending them to the entire project team. With the development of technology, Tomps.id as a leading project management application has designed an automatic Gantt Chart to make managing your project easier. Starting from the activity planning stage, structured scheduling, to the automated reports that you need.

6. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

As the name implies, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a technique of breaking down or dividing a large task into several smaller parts. Referring to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), WBS is defined as a hierarchy of project scopes that must be considered by team members to achieve project objectives and deliverable requirements.

The process of solving sub-task will continue until the team reaches a point where the task can be completed. In addition, WBS can also be useful to control the budget and risk of each sub-work in more detail.

7. PERT

PERT is an acronym for Program Evaluation and Review Technique. The way PERT works is formed from the technical WBS and Gantt Chart above. So, PERT will break down the task into several smaller and detailed activities through the WBS process. Then, these activities will be included in the Gantt Chart board to see a map of the dependencies between them. From this board, a line of fastest, late, and free time estimates for each project activity will be drawn.

8. Critical Path Method (CPM)

Critical Path Method is one of the algorithms that is needed in making the most profitable project model for all project stakeholders. In accordance with its intended use, CPM is a project modeling technique. Critical Path Method (CPM) can be interpreted as a method of analyzing project flow design by using a fixed time estimate for each activity. In CPM, the main object that is looked at is cost, not time. The CPM technique is used to seek to optimize the total project cost by reducing the total project completion time.

9. Critical Chain Project Management

When the budget is the main focus of a project, Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) techniques are often used. CCPM is a project planning method that emphasizes the resources needed to perform the tasks in the project. This method is taken by eliminating multitasking, employee syndrome, Parkinson’s Law, and giving time off at the end of the project.

Using this technique, a project manager will pay close attention to the budget when recruiting team members, deciding what tools to use, and the most efficient way to accomplish each task. CCPM can help companies save budget in completing projects but with adequate results.

10. Waterfall Project Management

Although Agile is more popular these days, the Waterfall technique will also be more or less what you will need. The fast-paced and adaptive characteristics of the Agile style do not come without risks. Not all companies and projects in it can fit and run dynamically with this Agile style. Especially if you impose this method on projects where the space and time situation is not narrow. So, if your project still wants to run as fast as possible but can’t compromise on the discrepancies that occur in some of its elements, then one of the best decisions is to transition through some of the Waterfall principles in it.

There are 10 popular project management techniques that can help you manage projects more easily.