Different types of projects

Different types of projects will benefit from applying different project management approaches or methodologies. A project management methodology is a set of guiding principles and processes for owning a project through its life cycle. Project management methodologies help guide project managers throughout a project with steps to take, tasks to complete, and principles for managing the project overall. We will talk through two different types, linear and iterative. Linear means the previous phase or task has to be completed before the next can start. A linear approach would work well for a project like building a house. You'd need the blueprint created before you can begin laying the foundation. You've got to know exactly what the house will look like, its dimensions, and what type and how many resources you'll need. Then you've got to finish the foundation before you put up the walls and the walls before you put up the roof and so on before you have the finished project, which is a bungalow-style home. There's also a clear goal, you know exactly what the house will look like. It's unlikely that in the middle of building the house, your client is going to decide they'd rather have a multi-level Victorian instead of a single-level bungalow. What's more, even if they wanted to change, it's too late, you already laid the foundation and built the walls for the bungalow, done and done. A bungalow is what they wanted, and a bungalow is what they'll get. Using this type of linear project management approach, completing each step in order and sticking to the agreed upon specific results and being able to deliver just what the client ordered. For a project like producing a new show for a television company, on the other hand, it might be more effective to use a methodology that uses an iterative, more flexible approach where some of the phases in tasks will overlap or happen at the same time that other tasks are being worked on. Your team comes up with an idea for a show and films a pilot. You ran several tests of the pilot in different locations and time slots. As your team gathers feedback about the pilot, adjustments to the show are made. At the same time, you're able to make decisions and start working on other parts of the project, like hiring permanent actors, starting film production, and working on advertising even while the final version of the show is being worked on. And even though the overall goal is clear, produce a new show, the type of show could end up being different from the original idea. Your team may have started out creating a one-hour show, but during testing they realized a half-hour show would actually be more popular. Or maybe a supporting character got a lot of positive feedback, so you want to make them one of the main characters. What's more important is that you produce a show that audiences are going to watch. Because of the iterative approach, plans remain flexible and you're able to make adjustments as you go along. Each of these projects, benefits from a different approach to how tasks will be carried out, in order to best meet the project's goals. Linear projects don't require many changes during development and have a clear sequential process. If you stick to the plan, it's likely you'll finish your tasks within the time schedule and all other criteria. Iterative projects allow for more flexibility and anticipate changes. You're able to test out parts of the project to make sure they work before the final result is delivered, and you can deliver parts of the project as they are completed, rather than waiting for the entire project to be done. Over the years, the field of project management has developed many different methods that project managers can choose from that will help them manage most effectively. Google takes a hybrid approach to project management. We mix and match from different methods depending on the type of project. Our project managers are encouraged to adapt their own style to what makes the most sense to their project and their team. So are you starting to see how different approaches might benefit the projects you'll be working on now? Pretty soon you'll become a pro at picking an approach or combining approaches to fit with your project. Up next, we'll learn about the most well known and most used project management methods that you can add to your project management tool box.

Two of the most popular project management methodologies

are Waterfall and Agile.

Each of these methods has a rich and complex history.

In fact, you could take an entire certificate

on just one of these methods alone.

You'll have a chance to learn more about Waterfall and

Agile methods in

the upcoming courses of this certificate.

Be sure to check those out after

completing this one to learn more.

For now, I'll just give you

a brief introduction and provide you with some examples

that illustrate how different types

of projects can be more

successful or easier to

manage when you consider which method to use.

First, let's take a look at the Waterfall approach.

Waterfall as a methodology was created in the 70s,

and refers to the sequential ordering of phases.

You complete one at a time down the line like

a waterfall starting at the top of

a mountain and traveling to the bottom.

Remember the definition and

example of linear from that last video?

Well, Waterfall has a linear approach.

At first, Waterfall was used in

the physical engineering disciplines

like manufacturing and construction,

then software emerged as

an important field of engineering

and Waterfall was applied to those projects as well.

It still used a lot in engineering fields

including product feature design and application,

also known as app design.

Over time, other industries like event planning and

retail have adapted Waterfall phases

to fit their projects.

There are now many styles of Waterfall,

and each style has its own specific set of steps.

What they all have in common, though,

is that they follow an ordered set of steps that are

directly linked to clearly defined expectations,

resources, and goals that are not likely to change.

Let's take a closer look.

The phases of a Waterfall project life cycle follow

the same standard project life cycle flow

that you learned about earlier.

Initiating, planning, executing,

which includes managing and

completing tasks, and closing.

When would you want to use

a Waterfall approach to project management?

Well, when the phases of the project are clearly defined

or when there are tasks to

complete before another can begin,

or when changes to the project are very

expensive to implement once it's started.

For example, if you are catering an event

for a client on a very tight budget

you might want to use Waterfall methodology.

This way, you could confirm the number of guests first,

then very clearly define the menu,

get approval and agreement on the menu items and costs,

order the unreturnable ingredients,

and successfully feed the guests.

Because the budget is limited,

you can't afford to make changes or waste food.

The traditional method won't allow for the client to make

changes to the menu once the order has been placed.

You can also reserve tables, chairs,

and dishes because you know exactly how

much and what kind of food is being prepared.

A well-thought-out traditional approach to

managing a project can help you reach

your desired outcome with as little pain as

possible during the project implementation.

By spending extra effort

thinking through the entire project upfront,

you'll set yourself up for success.

In an ideal world,

following this approach will help you

identify the right people and tasks,

plan accordingly to avoid any hiccups along the way,

create room for documenting your plans and progress,

and enable you to hit that goal.

However, plans don't always go according to plan.

In fact, they rarely do.

The Waterfall method has

some risk management practices to

help avoid and deal with project changes.

Luckily, there are other methodologies

that are entirely built for change and flexibility.

One of these is Agile,

another popular project management approach.

The term agile means being

able to move quickly and easily.

It also refers to flexibility,

which means being willing and able to change and adapt.

Projects that use an Agile approach often have

many tasks being worked on at the same time,

or in various stages of

completion which makes it an iterative approach.

The concepts that shaped

Agile methodology began to emerge in

the 90s as a response to

the growing demand for faster delivery of products,

mainly software applications at that time.

But it wasn't officially named Agile until 2001.

The phases of an Agile project also follow

the project life cycle stages we

described earlier, generally speaking.

However, rather than having to always go in

order or wait for

one phase to end before starting the next,

Agile project phases overlap

and tasks are completed in iterations,

which in Scrum, are called sprints.

Scrum is a form of Agile that you'll learn more

about in the course focused entirely on Agile,

and by sprint, we do not

mean running a race as fast as possible.

In this case, sprints are

short chunks of time usually one to

four weeks where a team works together

to focus on completing specific tasks.

What's important to understand is that Agile is more of

a mindset than just a series of steps or phases.

It's concerned with building an effective,

collaborative team that seeks

regular feedback from the client so that

they can deliver the best value as quickly

as possible and adjust as changes emerge.

Projects that are best suited for

an Agile approach are those where the client has

an idea of what they want but

doesn't have a concrete picture in mind,

or they have a set of

qualities they'd like to see in the end result,

but aren't as concerned with exactly what it looks like.

Another indicator that a project may

benefit from Agile is

the level of high uncertainty

and risk involved with the project.

We'll talk more about those things later.

An example of a project that would work well with

an Agile approach might be building a website.

Your team would build

the different parts of the website in

sprints and deliver each part to

the client as they are built.

This way, the website can be launched with some parts,

say the main homepage that

are complete and ready for public view,

while other parts, maybe

the company blog or the ability to

book online appointments, continue

to get built out over time.

This allows the team to get

feedback early on about what works and what doesn't,

make adjustments along the way,

and reduce wasted efforts.

This same website example,

the Waterfall method will plan for and require

the whole website to be complete before it can launch.

Having a basic understanding of

Waterfall and Agile will help you

figure out an effective way to

organize and plan out your project.

Knowing about these two methodologies will

come in handy during future job interviews,

because you'll be able to demonstrate

a solid understanding of

the project management landscape.

Waterfall and Agile are two of

the more common and

well-known project management methodologies,

but they're by no means the only or the best ones.

In the next videos,

you'll learn about Lean Six Sigma,

another way to approach projects.

Here at Google, believe it or not,

we select from many of

these methodologies for project management.