From Dimes to Deadlines: What Project Management Techniques Are Right for You?

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is dedicated to making critical contributions to the critical challenges of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, and a variety of other sponsors. In support of this mission, APL teams manage projects with diverse scopes, requirements, and timelines.When it comes to project management, not all projects warrant a "one-size-fits-all" approach. The best cost and schedule techniques to implement to effectively manage the effort will depend on the project. This paper explores some of the existing project management techniques; investigates their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and details the industries and contract types in which they are typically utilized.Specifically, the paper and subsequent presentation explore and provide possible answers to the following questions:•What are some of the more common project management techniques?•What are these techniques’ strengths and weaknesses for the managing institution?•What opportunities and threats do these techniques present for the sponsor or customer?•How do industry and contract type impact the utility of the techniques?•Which technique(s) should you be utilizing on your project(s)?The project management techniques we explore include Earned Value Management (EVM), Critical Path Method (CPM), Waterfall Method, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Risk Matrix, Earned Schedule (ES), Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments), PRiSM (Projects integrating Sustainable Methods), Spiral, Lean, Six Sigma, and Budget versus Actual.We hope this paper provides an informative perspective and road map that will assist others when selecting which project management techniques to utilize to successfully manage their efforts.