Four Functions of Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling
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The word management is often treated as if it has four letters. But try getting anything done in a fast-paced work environment without applying the four functions of management.
No matter what type of work you do, having a clear understanding of the four functions of management will help you do that work more efficiently. It’s all about adapting to whatever work environment you’re in and making it perform better. Let’s learn more about the four functions of management.
What Are the Four Functions of Management?
The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. In order to be a successful manager, you must do all four while managing your work and team. These are the foundations of any professional managerial position. On top of this, there are other skills and specialized knowledge related specifically to the job you manage.
The concept of how management should interact with personnel was first codified by Henri Fayol, a French mining engineer. He developed a general theory of business administration and management functions, which developed into the four functions of management.
Without these four pillars of management supporting those other responsibilities, nothing is going to get done on time and within budget. If you’re managing yourself or teams of workers, you need to understand these fundamentals of management, which are the basis of management skills.
Of course, the four functions of management are theoretical. When you’re ready to put them into practice, you’ll need hybrid work management tools that let you connect with your coworkers and teams wherever they might be working. It’s part of the core responsibilities of a manager, no matter what your organizational structure is.
ProjectManager is cloud-based work management software that helps hybrid teams work better by giving them a collaborative platform with multiple project views. Just as there are different management styles, ProjectManager has different ways of working, from Gantt charts to task lists, calendars to kanban boards. All views share the same real-time data to keep everyone always working on the most current view of the project. Get started with ProjectManager for free today.
Function 1: Planning
The first of the four functions of management is planning: you can’t manage your work until you have a planning process. This means understanding your goals and objectives, which is the start of strategic planning. Having a strategic or tactical plan is how you get from point A to point B.
Of course, tactical planning is more than just getting from one place to another. There’s operational planning, which involves identifying and assigning resources, both in terms of personnel and materials. That means assembling a team and being able to allocate resources, such as the equipment they need to execute the work.
There’s also organizing your tasks, prioritizing them and giving each a deadline and duration. The plan includes adding tasks to a timeline to schedule your work. Then, you have to keep updated on your team’s progress and performance and, if they’re not meeting benchmarks, adjust your plan to get back on track.
Communication is a key element of planning. Managers must clearly communicate the plan to their team in order for them to properly execute the work. But, they must also communicate to stakeholders and keep them updated on the progress of the work that they are so invested in.
Related: Free Project Plan Template
Function 2: Organizing
Organization falls on every aspect of a manager’s responsibility. You can’t manage teams successfully without having some kind of organization. When you prioritize tasks in planning, you keep your organization in detail.
In terms of the larger picture when it comes to organization, a manager is responsible for making sure their company, department or project is running smoothly. This is done by creating internal processes and structures, as well as understanding your team or employees so you can place them where they’re best suited. Managers not only have to keep their work organized but also manage the operation of their department and the people therein.
That doesn’t mean a manager is only delegating tasks and making sure those working under them have the resources they need to accomplish their tasks. They must keep an eye on the processes and structures they employ and adjust them as needed to make sure they’re working efficiently and keeping everyone productive. This organizing function is essential, which is why it’s one of the essential functions of management.
Function 3: Leading
Leading is about having the skills, communication aptitude and ability to motivate those you manage. Leadership is a critical role for anyone in management, which is why it’s one of the four functions of management. If you can’t lead, regardless of your leadership style, you’re not going to be a successful manager. It’s all about building trust with your team.
Leadership skills include conflict resolution. When you’re managing a diverse group, there will be conflicts that can delay tasks and cost your organization money. The better you are at identifying and resolving these conflicts, the better your management is.
Leadership styles vary, but they share giving their teams a strong sense of direction when defining goals and objectives. This is regardless of if they’re assigning regular work or introducing a new process to the team.
Because leadership can be expressed in myriad ways, managers of all stripes can find themselves cast as leaders. Some are more top-down authoritarians. That is, they employ autocratic leadership. On the other hand, there are bottom-up managers, who seek collaboration from everyone in the office and encourage employees to participate in the process.
Whatever leadership style you have, or a combination of leadership styles, it can be applied to the way you manage your team members. Even the most hands-off leaders motivate and drive their teams to successful ends. There’s no one to do this, but the basic functions of a strong leader in management are understanding employees and what takes to get the best out of them.
Function 4: Controlling
The controlling function involves monitoring and tracking progress and performance to help when making decisions in a work environment. You can plan, organize and lead to your heart’s content, but if you’re not monitoring the quality of work of your employees, you’re going to be in trouble. If you need help with the controlling process, try our free dashboard template.
Beyond progress, performance and quality, the controlling process also includes how efficiently they’re doing their jobs and how reliable they are when taking on their tasks. Another term for this is control management and quality management. It’s a part of any decision-making process. You can’t make an insightful choice without good data to support it.
The purpose of controlling in management is not to dominate your workers, but to make sure that they’re meeting the goals and objectives of the business. Some managers will prefer to chart out the entire workflow of their teams while others will allow their workers to be self-directed.
These are two sides of the same coin, which is delivering quality on time and within the budget in all work environments, and the most important aspect of the four management functions. It’s all about meeting your financial goals and should be at the forefront of your management team.
How ProjectManager Helps With the Four Functions of Management
ProjectManager is a cloud-based tool that gives managers the tools they need to plan, organize, lead and control their teams, whether they’re under the same roof, distributed across time zones or in different departments. ProjectManager’s hybrid work management features give your real-time data to make more insightful decisions, work more productive and deliver success.
Easily Create Robust Project Plans
Making a successful plan means organizing tasks, linking dependencies and setting milestones. One of ProjectManager’s multiple project views is an interactive Gantt chart that does that and much more. You can easily filter for the critical path instead of taking time with complicated calculations. Then, set the baseline. Now, you’ve captured the plan to compare it to your actual effort once you start working.
Monitor Your Team’s Progress in Real-Time and Improve Organization
You can’t control your team if you’re not monitoring them. You don’t want to get in their way, though, which is why ProjectManager’s real-time dashboard automatically collects data and calculates that information into easy-to-read graphs and charts on workload, time, cost and more. It’s like getting an instant status report whenever you want.
Generate Reports for Shareholders and Enhance the Controlling Function
To drill down deeper into the data use, ProjectManager’s one-click reports, which you can filter to focus only on that information you want to see. ProjectManager has a report on timesheets to see how long teams are taking on their tasks, project variance to capture the planned versus actual effort and even portfolio status reports if you’re managing more than one project. Reports can then be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. This has obvious applications to the four functions of management.
ProjectManager is award-winning software that helps manage hybrid teams, no matter where they are, how they work or their skill level. Our tool connects teams to help them work better while giving managers the transparency they need to better lead and deliver results for their stakeholders. Get started today for free and join the 35,000-plus professionals using ProjectManager.
The four functions of management: Overview + examples
Being or becoming a manager can feel like a daunting task in today’s business world. This is especially true if you’re new to management, recently stepped into a higher-level or unfamiliar role, or leading a rapidly growing company.
While we can’t solve all the growing pains you face, we have some great news: No matter your industry or your level of management, you’ll perform the same set of four functions as a manager. They may look different as a first-tier manager than they do as a CEO, and the problems within those functions vary endlessly.
But if you look closely, everything managers do falls under four functions. Master each of these, and you’ll be well on your way to conquering nearly any business challenge.
A breakdown of the four functions of management
There are four basic functions of management into which nearly every action or process can be categorized:
Planning functions Organizing functions Leading functions Controlling functions
Each of these managerial functions occurs repeatedly throughout business processes, usually in sequence and almost always overlapping with each other.
Let’s look more closely at each of these functions — and the ways that effective managers leverage this framework to better meet their organization’s goals.
1) Planning
Managers are responsible for the long-range vision and goals within a company. The planning function includes this vision and goal-setting along with the work of creating a plan to reach those goals. They identify business challenges, work on future-facing initiatives (such as growth plans, company goals, and business forecasting) and make decisions that move the business toward goals.
Another element of the planning phase of management is resource allocation or workload management . Typically, the manager decides which employees in the department are assigned to which projects, seeking to balance workload and maintain efficiency through this work. Managers often enlist the help of project managers ( a vital role for businesses across many industries) to determine workload and capacity. Or, in some cases where there is no formal project manager, managers may use project management tools themselves to fill this role.
Planning is essential within any organization, and it’s an important part of the management role for a few reasons. First, the rank-and-file employees are usually too busy completing tasks to step back and think strategically about the big picture. Second, people management tend to get there precisely because they have above-average decision-making, leadership, and planning skills.
Managers are typically responsible for several types of planning within an organization:
Strategic planning
The highest and most crucial level of planning looks at the long-range, big-picture view of the company. It identifies future threats and opportunities and sets long-term direction and organizational goals. Strategic planning isn’t concerned with day-to-day decisions and is looking instead at three-year plans, five-year plans, market trajectories, and similar big-picture elements.
In most organizations, top management does the bulk of the strategic planning. CEOs and other top-ranking leaders may rely on input from mid-level managers and will certainly inform them of the strategic plans, but most decisions here are made by the people in charge.
Tactical planning
Tactical planning looks at how to accomplish more midrange or short-term objectives — usually those that last a year or less. Tactical planning is more targeted than strategic planning and is informed by the strategic plan, setting a general course of action that will be fleshed out further in operational planning.
Middle managers usually complete tactical planning, taking the strategic plan and breaking down the high-level goals within it into smaller, more measurable and near-term achievable goals.
Tactical planning is more granular than strategic planning, but it still doesn’t delve into the details of day-to-day operations.
Operational planning
Operational planning, on the other hand, is all about those day-to-day operations — seeking to use the principles and strategies laid out in tactical plans to accomplish the big-picture goals in the strategic plan. Department managers, first-level leaders, and project managers often contribute to operational planning.
Weekly project team meetings are one example of operational planning in action. Project schedules, timelines, RACI charts , swimlanes, and Gantt charts are all tools used within operational planning.
2) Organizing
Next up is the organizing function, which refers to the way managers distribute resources, delegate tasks, structure departments, set staffing levels, etc. This function encompasses everything from assigning right-fit tasks to the appropriate team members to deciding how those team members relate to each other in an organizational structure.
If your company is growing rapidly, you’ll need more sales agents next year than you do this year (and more of just about every other role, too). At some point, even the structures and departments you have now will no longer make sense: you’ll need more managers to oversee those new hires, and you might need new divisions that wouldn’t have been feasible when you were smaller.
All of this takes careful organization from someone in a leadership role — which is why organizing is the second function of management.
Example of organizing functions
Managers have ongoing responsibilities to rebalance workload and even headcount as they respond to changes in the business landscape. Just 20 years ago, most marketing departments were doing little (if any) digital marketing, let alone content marketing or SEO. Today those areas comprise the majority of business for many marketing departments and agencies. And that same story plays out across numerous departments, roles, and business units.
Managers must keep jobs, job hierarchies, and resource allocation organized and appropriate for the business landscape of today — with an eye toward future needs and further changes.
Are you a manager or business leader at a creative agency? Find out why Teamwork is the project management software solution of choice for agencies .
3) Leading
Every organization, from creative agencies to enterprise operations, needs a force to drive it forward: rallying the troops and pushing them toward a common goal. Move down through the layers of a business and you’ll find a similar need for teams, projects, departments, and any other organizational or work structure that’s in place.
This is the leading or leadership function of management — a crucial part of every manager’s job.
The leading function of management focuses on people (whether individual, teams, or groups) more than work tasks. That’s not to say that tasks don’t matter, but rather, how those people are or aren’t handling their tasks and responsibilities will influence the type of leadership response that managers ought to give.
Managers and business leaders provide both direction and inspiration to those who follow them. This can take all sorts of forms:
Rallying
Motivating
Inspiring
Instructing
Encouraging or praising
Redirecting
Pushing
Demanding or commanding
Additionally, leadership includes both people management and making the tough right calls that others might miss.
There are many approaches to leadership in management, each with its own pros and cons. And it’s important to understand that there is no one right style — successful managers skillfully move between approaches, as each has its uses.
We’ll use the situational leadership model popularized by author and business coach Marshall Goldsmith , which highlights four other leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating.
Directing
A top-down, more authority-driven style of leadership, the director makes decisions and provides strong leadership without much, if any, input from the person or team being led. This style is useful when leading new or inexperienced teams, training new employees without a background in your industry, and potentially when forging ahead into a new market or technology (but only when the leader has experience worth trusting).
This method doesn’t work as well when the manager isn’t a powerful, experienced figure or when the people being managed have valuable input to offer.
Coaching
A coach comes alongside skilled contributors, guiding them as they use their skills. The coaching style of leadership is much the same, working alongside team members yet retaining authority to make the final call. Coaches also develop potential or raw talent into something better and more useful, and it works exactly the same way in business.
Coaching is highly effective for employees who have input to give or raw talent that needs refining. It’s also effective with skilled employees who need help staying on target. Just like in sports, a coach can’t be better than the sum of the players on the team. So coaching may not be the best approach for inexperienced employees or those with significant performance issues.
Supporting
Supporting steps back even further than coaching. This method assumes team members know what to do and how to do it, so the manager takes a more hands-off approach. Supportive managers often step into the relational aspects of a team, helping team members work better together.
This style of leadership also comes into play when individuals grow unsteady in terms of output or performance, offering support to a person who may need a hand getting through a rough patch.
Supportive management works best with highly skilled teams that still have some issues with interpersonal relationships, consistent performance, or other metrics.
Delegating
The delegating style of leadership assigns tasks to employees (delegation) and provides little more than basic oversight once assigned, freeing the leader to spend more time on high-level work — like long-term vision and goal-setting for the project.
This method is very attractive to managers because in some ways it’s the easiest and least time-consuming. However, it only works consistently well with high-performing teams and team members who don’t need directing, coaching, or support.
4) Controlling
Controlling includes all of management’s efforts to make sure the goal (established way back in the planning phase) is accomplished. It includes ongoing analysis of the plan and iterative updates to that plan as needed.
The manager’s project monitoring component (the analysis of how well the project team is adhering to the plan) may overlap slightly with project management. Not every business or project gets a dedicated project manager, either. If you’re a manager and find yourself doing more project management than you’d like, a good project management software tool can help.
Teamwork is a robust project management suite that managers and project leads alike can use to improve their project workflows. Take a look at Teamwork’s powerful Resource Management capabilities .
Examples of controlling functions
Schedule and deadline management, employee training, performance evaluations, adjustments to budgets or staffing assignments, and resource allocation are all included within the controlling function.
Lead better — stay organized with Teamwork
The four functions of management can be a powerful framework that helps effective leaders categorize and prioritize their tasks and responsibilities, identifying where their particular leadership skills best fit within an organization.
But even the most successful manager can struggle to stay on top of long-range plans, detailed planning processes, and the specifics of multiple concurrent projects. All of this combined is just too much information.
Teamwork is a powerful project management platform that helps busy managers stay organized so they can focus on leveraging their management skills, not tracking down project details.
Project Management Methodologies
Once you’ve decided you want to become a project manager, the next step is to figure out which project management methodologies are right for you and your team.
The landscape of project management methodologies can seem a bit overwhelming.
Whether you have a formal project management certification or you’re learning to become a project manager from experience, there’s an absolute smorgasbord of project methodologies to choose from. And they often come with their own rules, lists, principles, and endless acronyms.
We believe that finding the right project management methodology to manage your work shouldn’t be rocket science. So we’ve compiled this list of different project management methodologies to help you figure out which methods, principles and approaches you can use for each team and project.
Simple to use, powerful when you need it Trusted by 20,000 businesses and 6,000 agencies, Teamwork lets you easily manage, track, and customize multiple complex projects. Get started with a free 30-day trial. Try Teamwork for free
What is a project management methodology?
A project management methodology is a set of principles and practices that guide you in organizing your projects to ensure their optimum performance.
Huh?
Basically, it’s a framework that helps you to manage your project in the best way possible.
Project management is so important to organizations and teams, but in order for it to be really effective, you need to make sure you’re correctly mapping your project management methodology to your team type, project, organization, and goals.
Why are there so many different project management methodologies?
No two projects are exactly the same (even when you’re using handy features like project templates to replicate your past successes).
And when you factor in the different goals, KPIs and production methods of not only different types of teams but also different types of industries, it makes sense that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing a project.
What works best for one type of team could be an absolute nightmare for another.
For example, many software developers started to find that traditional project management methods were hindering — rather than helping — their workflows and negatively affecting their performance and results.
As a result, software teams began to develop a new type of project management methodology, which was designed to address their particular concerns.
Before long, other teams and industries started to adapt those new project management methods to fit their unique needs and concerns. And on and on, with different project management methodologies being repurposed and adapted for different industries and tweaked to fit specific use cases.
What we’re left with is a ton of different project management methodologies to choose from. So how do you know which project management method (or methods, plural) is right for you and your team?
How do you choose the right project management methodology?
There are lots of factors that will impact which project management methodology is right for your project, team, and organization. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the key considerations that can help you decide:
Cost and budget: On a scale of $ to $$$, what sort of budget are you working with? Is there room for that to change if necessary, or is it essential that it stays within these predetermined limits?
Team size: How many people are involved? How many stakeholders? Is your team relatively compact and self-organizing, or more sprawling, with a need for more rigorous delegation?
Ability to take risks: Is this a huge project with a big impact that needs to be carefully managed in order to deliver Very Serious Results? Or is it a smaller-scale project with a bit more room to play around?
Flexibility: Is there room for the scope of the project to change during the process? What about the finished product?
Timeline: How much time is allotted to deliver on the brief? Do you need a quick turnaround, or is it more important that you have a beautifully finished result, no matter how long it takes?
Client/stakeholder collaboration: How involved does the client/stakeholder need — or want — to be in the process? How involved do you need — or want — them to be?
The project management methodologies list
We’ve compiled this list of project management methodologies to help you get to grips with the basics.
While it’s not completely comprehensive, our aim is to provide you with an overview of some of the different methodologies out there, so you can see what’s out there and figure out which one might be a good fit for your particular projects.
(We’ve also added a quick list at the end of this post with a breakdown of which project management methods are often used in which industries, if you want to cut right to the chase.)
Ready? Okay! Let’s dive right in.
1. Waterfall methodology
The Waterfall method is a traditional approach to project management. In it, tasks and phases are completed in a linear, sequential manner, and each stage of the project must be completed before the next begins.
The stages of Waterfall project management generally follow this sequence:
Requirements
Analysis
Design
Construction
Testing
Deployment & maintenance
Progress flows in one direction, like a real waterfall.
Also like a real waterfall, though, this can quickly get dangerous. Since everything is mapped out at the beginning, there’s a lot of room for error if expectations don’t match up with reality. And there’s no going back to a previous stage once it’s completed (just imagine trying to swim against a waterfall — not fun).
Try this project management methodology if:
The end goal of your project is clearly defined — and isn’t going to change.
The stakeholders know exactly what they want (and it isn’t going to change).
Your project is consistent and predictable isn’t going to change).
You’re working in a regulated industry that needs extensive project tracking or documentation.
You might need to bring new people into the project midway through and get them up to speed quickly.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
Your project is liable to change.
You don’t have a full picture of all the requirements before you start.
You need to do continuous testing or adapt to feedback during the process.
2. Agile methodology
The agile project management methodology came from a growing dissatisfaction with the linear approach of traditional project management methodologies.
Frustrated with the limitations of project management methods that couldn’t adapt with a project as it progressed, the focus began to shift to more iterative models that allowed teams to revise their project as needed during the process instead of having to wait until the end to review and amend.
The concept of agile project management has gone on to spark several specific sub-frameworks and methodologies, such as scrum, kanban, and lean. But what do they all have in common? The key principles of agile project management methodologies are:
It’s collaborative.
It’s quick.
It’s open to data-driven change.
As such, agile project management methodologies usually involve short phases of work with frequent testing, reassessment, and adaptation throughout.
In many agile methods, all of the work to be done is added to a backlog that teams can work through in each phase or cycle, with project managers or product owners prioritizing the backlog so teams know what to focus on first.
Try this project management methodology if:
Your project is liable to change.
You’re not sure at the outset what the solution will look like.
You need to work quickly, and it’s more important that you see speedy progress than perfect results.
Your stakeholders or client needs (or wants) to be involved at every stage.
This project management methodology isn’t for you if:
You need a lot of documentation (for example, if you’ll be bringing new people on-board during the project).
You need a predictable deliverable, and you need to be crystal clear about what that looks like from the outset.
Your project can’t afford to change during its course.
You don’t have self-motivated people.
You have strict deadlines or deliverables that you need to stay on top of.
The Best Agile Project Management Tools To Use In 2021 & Beyond It does little good to adopt the Agile method while still using a software that bogs down or complicates your projects. The best agile project management software should go hand-in-hand with the Agile method and make these adaptations smooth, fast, and easy.
3. Scrum methodology
Scrum is a form of agile project management. You can think of it more like a framework than as a project management methodology in itself.
With Scrum, work is split into short cycles known as “sprints”, which usually last about 1-2 weeks. Work is taken from the backlog (see: Agile project management, above) for each sprint iteration,
Small teams are led by a Scrum Master (who is not the same as the project manager) for the duration of the sprint, after which they review their performance in a “sprint retrospective” and make any necessary changes before starting the next sprint.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’re striving for continuous improvement.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You don’t have the full commitment from the team needed to make it work.
4. Kanban methodology
Kanban is another method within agile project management.
Originating from the manufacturing industry, the term “kanban” has evolved to denote a framework in which tasks are visually represented as they progress through columns on a kanban board. Work is pulled from the predefined backlog on a continuous basis as the team has capacity and moved through the columns on the board, with each column representing a stage of the process.
Kanban is great for giving everyone an immediate visual overview of where each piece of work stands at any given time. (You can use kanban boards for everything from your content marketing process to hiring and recruitment.)
It also helps you to see where bottlenecks are at risk of forming — if you notice one of your columns getting clogged, for example, you’ll know that that’s a stage of your process that needs to be examined.
When used as part of an agile project management methodology, it’s also common to implement work in progress (WIP) limits. Work in progress limits restrict the amount of tasks in play at any given time, meaning that you can only have a certain number of tasks in each column (or on the board overall).
This prevents your team from spreading their energy across too many tasks, and instead ensures that they can work more productively by focusing on each task individually.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’re looking for a visual representation of your project’s progress.
You want at-a-glance status updates.
You want to encourage using WIP limits so your team can stay focused.
You prefer to work on a continuous “pull” basis.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
Your process is super complex or has tons of stages.
You want a push system instead of a pull system.
Kanban board view Use kanban boards in Teamwork to map out your workflow, quickly see the status of tasks, and automate your processes. Try our Kanban Board for free
5. Scrumban methodology
It’s the answer to the age-old question: what if scrum and kanban had a baby?
Scrumban is a hybrid agile project management methodology that has scrum’s nose and kanban’s eyes.
The main benefit of scrumban as a method is that instead of deciding which task from the backlog to work on in each sprint at the outset (like you would in a “traditional” scrum framework), scrumban allows teams to continuously “pull” from the backlog based on their capacity (like they would in a kanban framework).
And using work in progress limits (from kanban) during your sprint cycle (from scrum), you can keep a continuous flow while still incorporating project planning, reviews and retrospectives as needed.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’ve ever looked at scrum and kanban and thought “I wish those two crazy kids would get together”.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You’ve ever looked wistfully out the window and thought, “Oh, scrum is scrum, and kanban is kanban, and never the twain shall meet”.
6. eXtreme programming (XP) methodology
The eXtreme Programming (XP) methodology is another form of agile project management that was designed for software development.
It emphasizes teamwork and collaboration across managers, customers, and developers, with teams self-organizing. It has a defined set of rules that teams should follow, which are based on its five values: simplicity, communication (face to face is preferred), feedback, respect, and courage.
Try this project management methodology if:
You want to foster teamwork and collaboration.
You have a small, co-located team.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You’re a rulebreaker.
Your team is spread across different places and time zones.
7. Adaptive project framework (APF) methodology
The adaptive project framework (APF) methodology, also known as adaptive project management (APM), is a type of agile project management methodology that was designed with the inevitability of change in mind.
The adaptive project framework knows that, as John Steinbeck might say, even the best-laid projects of mice and men often go awry. So the fundamental attribute of APF is that teams need to be able to adaptively respond to change.
That means that using adaptive project framework methods, teams must try to anticipate the risks and prepare for the unexpected in their project. They need to understand that key components are constantly in flux, and be able to constantly re-evaluate results and decisions with these moving parts in mind.
This requires lots of communication with all stakeholders and — like other agile project management methodologies — be able to work collaboratively.
Try this project management methodology if:
You know your ultimate goals (in project management terms, you’ve outlined your Conditions of Satisfaction; or, in Beastie Boys terms, you’re clear about you’re clear about whatcha whatcha whatcha want).
This project management methodology isn’t for you if:
You need predictability.
You don’t have the resources to handle the potential negatives of adaptability (e.g. scope creep, rework, misuse of time).
8. Lean methodology
Lean is another project management methodology that has its origins in manufacturing (and specifically the Toyota Production System). It’s all about applying lean principles to your project management methods to maximize value and minimize waste.
While this originally referred to reducing physical waste in the manufacturing process, it now refers to other wasteful practices in the project management process. These are known as the 3Ms: muda, mura, and muri.
Muda (wastefulness) consumes resources without adding value for the customer.
Mura (unevenness) occurs when you have overproduction in one area that throws all of your other areas out of whack, leaving you with too much inventory (wasteful!) or inefficient processes (also wasteful!).
Muri (overburden) occurs when there is too much strain on resources such as equipment and people, which can often lead to breakdowns — in both machines and humans.
Using the key principles of lean, a project manager can reduce these types of waste to create more efficient workflows.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’re looking for a set of principles that will help you cut the fat and optimize your flow.
You’re always trying to improve and add value for the customer.
You want to ultimately decrease costs.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You can’t afford to run into supply problems (e.g. you don’t have enough inventory in stock) or lose room for error (e.g. in the case of essential equipment failure).
You don’t have the budget to invest in it (while lean project management aims to reduce costs overall, it can be costly to implement).
You’re a raccoon and you love waste, actually.
9. Critical path method
The critical path method (also known as critical path analysis) is a way of identifying and scheduling all of the critical tasks that comprise your project, as well as their dependencies.
That means that you need to:
Identify all of the essential tasks you need to do to achieve your project goal Estimate how much time each of those tasks will take (bearing in mind that certain tasks will need to be completed before others can be started) Use all of that information to schedule the “critical path” you’ll need to take in order to get the project done as quickly as possible without missing any crucial steps.
The longest sequence of critical tasks becomes your critical path, and will define the timeframe for your project.
Along the path, you’ll have milestones to meet that will signal when one set of tasks (or phase) is over and you can move on to the next one.
There are lots of ways to visualize the critical path, depending on the complexity of your project, from flow graphs to Gantt charts.
Try this project management methodology if:
Your project is large-scale and complex.
Your project has a lot of dependencies.
You’re looking for a visual way to map out the sequence of tasks.
You need to identify which tasks are the most important so you can better allocate your resources.
You have a strict plan and deadlines, with no room for silly business.
You love algorithms. Love ‘em!
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You don’t need something with a lot of complexity.
You’re unsure about deadlines, timings, or durations.
Your project needs wiggle room to change.
10. Critical chain project management
Critical chain project management (or CCPM) takes the critical path method (CPM) one step further.
While the critical path method defines the length of time needed to get each critical activity done from the beginning of the project to the end, it can often be, well, unrealistic when the time comes to actually put it into practice.
Critical chain project management addresses those issues by allowing a bit more time for the human elements of your project — like delays and resourcing issues.
In critical chain project management, you have a few buffers built in that your critical chain can use without derailing everything else, so that your entire project doesn’t have to go off track just because life happens.
Try this project management methodology if:
You like the sound of the critical path method, but you want something a little more realistic.
You were already overestimating task durations in CPM to allow for a buffer and you want more accurate data on how long the work is actually taking compared to your projections.
This project management methodology isn’t for you if:
You think buffers are just a safety net for people who didn’t plan it right the first time.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
11. New product introduction (NPI)
New product introduction is a great project management methodology for when you want to, well, introduce a new product.
Also known as new product development (NPD), the new product introduction process covers everything you need to define, develop and launch a new (or improved) product.
The project follows a single product through the entire development process. This process involves multiple phases or a stage-gate process, which can vary from organization to organization, but usually include things like:
Defining the product spec and project scope Evaluating the feasibility Developing the prototype Validating the prototype via testing and analysis Manufacturing the product on a larger scale Evaluating the product’s success in the market after launch
As the requirements for a successful new product introduction span a number of departments across an organization, from leadership to product managers to marketing and more, it requires a lot of cross-functional collaboration and communication.
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Try this project management methodology if:
You’re bringing a new or improved product to market.
You’re focusing on a single product.
You want to foster key stakeholder and cross-functional alignment right from the beginning.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You’re not bringing a new or improved product to market.
You’re looking for a more agile approach to product development (as NPI is usually sequential rather than iterative).
12. Package enabled reengineering (PER)
Package enabled reengineering (PER) is a project management methodology that aims to help organizations redesign products or processes with fresh eyes. It focuses on facilitating business transformations quickly and strategically, whether through redesign of processes or realignment of people.
Try this project management methodology if:
Your organization needs an overhaul.
You need a fresh perspective on your products or processes.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You’re not trying to improve an existing system.
13. Outcome mapping
Outcome mapping is a project progress measurement system that was designed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It differs from the other project management methodologies on this list in that it doesn’t focus on measurable deliverables; instead, it focuses on creating lasting behavioural change.
It’s a common project management methodology used in charitable projects in developing countries. As a project management methodology, it’s less about the project itself than the long-term impact of the project and its ability to effect change in the community. As a result, it measures influence rather than other (perhaps more “typical”) measures of project progress.
Outcome mapping consists of a lengthy design phase followed by a record-keeping phase to track the results.
Try this project management methodology if:
Your project is aimed at changing behaviour rather than producing deliverables.
Your project is related to change and social transformation (e.g. in the fields of international development, charity, communications, research).
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
Your project is all about finished products rather than behavioural outcomes.
14. Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a method for improving processes with an emphasis on ensuring consistency in output and impeccable quality. (And if it’s good enough for Jack Donaghy…)
There are a few different flavors available, such as Lean Six Sigma and Agile Sigma, but ultimately Six Sigma is a business methodology that aims to eliminate defects and reduce variation by using its defined methodologies.
Six Sigma methods can be used to optimize and improve existing processes or create new ones.
To improve business processes, you can use the Six Sigma DMAIC process, which stands for the phases in the project methodology: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.
To create new processes or products, you can use the Six Sigma DMADV process: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify.
As a set of principles and techniques (sometimes it’s even described as a “philosophy”) rather than a project management methodology in itself, Six Sigma methods can be applied alongside many other project management methodologies, like Lean and Agile.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’re looking for a set of principles and philosophies you can bring with you to almost every project and organization.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You don’t have a lot of budget to invest in training — it can be expensive to get trained and certified.
You’re looking for a defined process for a particular project rather than a set of guiding rules.
15. PMI’s PMBOK
The Project Management Institute’s Project Management Book of Knowledge (AKA the PMI’s PMBOK) isn’t a project management methodology in and of itself. However, it is a best practices guide — and it forms the basis of the PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, one of the leading project management qualifications.
As such, the PMBOK is an industry-standard set of guiding principles that you can use to ensure that your projects across multiple types of teams and organizations meet the PMI’s high standards and comply with best practices.
Try this project management methodology if:
You have (or want to get) a PMP.
You want to stay up-to-date with industry standards and best practices.
You live and work in a place where the PMP is the standard project management qualification (such as the US).
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You need a solid project management methodology to map your project, rather than general (albeit helpful) project management knowledge.
16. PRINCE2 methodology
PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a project management methodology and certification that aims to equip project managers with knowledge of best practices and processes.
Unlike the PMP certification, it doesn’t require a number of prerequisites, making it a good choice for project managers looking to get both a methodological grounding and a qualification.
Also unlike the PMP, PRINCE2 is a methodology in itself. It’s guided by seven principles, which in turn dictate the seven processes a project manager needs to use in each project when using PRINCE2.
Try this project management methodology if:
You’re looking for a certification to give you an edge.
You live and work in a place where PRINCE2 is the standard project management qualification (such as the UK).
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You don’t want to commit to full certification.
The seven-step process doesn’t map to your projects.
You find yourself tailoring (or outright ignoring) the process stages so much that it becomes PINO — “PRINCE in name only”.
17. Rapid application development (RAD) methodology
Rapid application development (RAD) is a type of agile project management methodology that aims to facilitate faster software development.
It uses rapid prototype releases and iterations to gather feedback in a short period of time, and values that user feedback over strict planning and requirements recording.
Try this project management methodology if:
You want to be able to give customers/clients/stakeholders a working model much sooner (even if it’s not perfect).
You want to create multiple prototypes and work with stakeholders to choose the best one.
Speed is of the essence.
You want to encourage code reuse.
This project management methodology might not be for you if:
You don’t have an experienced team.
Your clients or stakeholders don’t have the time to commit to such a collaborative process or can’t give feedback within the necessary timeframes.
You have a large team.
You prefer to have a detailed spec that outlines all functional and non-functional requirements.
Choosing the right project management methodology
The right project management methodology can elevate your project and help the project manager to get the best out of each team.
Whether you prefer the agile methods favored in IT project management or the more traditional waterfall project management and critical path methodology used in construction and manufacturing, there’s a project management methodology for every team.
But no matter which methodology you go for, you need a collaborative, flexible, and easy-to-use project management tool to support you every step of the way.
Choosing a team management software that supports multiple methodologies — that doesn’t lock you into one methodology or way of using it — like Teamwork means that every team in your organization has the freedom to work the way that works for them without sacrificing on features or complexity.
No matter how you like to work, Teamwork helps your team to replicate their best practices, ensure compliance and consistency, and constantly improve their processes.