Types of Project Management: Methodologies, Industries, and More | Coursera

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Learn about six of the more popular project management methodologies, how to pick the best one for your team's needs, and the different types of project manager roles you can explore.
Different project management approaches offer structure, flexibility, or efficiency, helping teams deliver work effectively across varied industries.
Scrum relies on short development cycles and defined roles, making it one of the most widely adopted Agile frameworks in practice.
Traditional project management follows a linear, upfront‑planned path, while Agile uses iterative cycles and continuous customer collaboration.
You can select the right methodology by evaluating your project’s requirements, your team’s strengths, your organization’s goals, and the tools you use.
Learn about some of the more popular types of project management and how to choose the right one. Afterward, if you're ready to start sharpening your project management skills and earn credentials for your study, master the foundations of Agile and Scrum with the Google Project Management Professional Certificate.
When we talk about different types of project management, we're really talking about different approaches to managing a project. Project management methodologies are structured frameworks that outline how work should be organized, managed, and delivered. It includes specific processes, tools, and techniques to help teams achieve their project goals. There are many options to choose from, and each has different strengths.
Project management methodologies help teams:
Establish consistent ways of working
Define clear roles and responsibilities
Set expectations for communication
Determine how to track progress
Manage resources and timelines
Handle changes and risks
Ensure quality standards are met
Project management methodologies are typically framed using one of two approaches: traditional and Agile. Whereas a traditional approach follows a linear path with detailed, upfront planning and one major deliverable at the end, Agile follows a more iterative approach with multiple deliverables throughout the process.
Traditional: A traditional approach to project management requires upfront planning and approval before work begins. The team's success will be measured by how well the deliverable meets the predetermined scope, budget, and timeline. This approach is useful because it provides clear structure and predictability, but it can be inflexible if changes arise. Consider this approach for projects with well-defined requirements, clear deliverables, and stable environments, such as construction or manufacturing projects.
Agile: An Agile approach is iterative, meaning teams work to continuously improve a product. Agile allows for greater responsiveness as changes arise. Agile also encourages ongoing customer collaboration throughout the project life cycle, rather than relying solely on initial contract negotiations. Consider this approach for projects with a lot of uncertainty or complexity, as well as for software and product development.
Watch this video to learn the 12 principles of Agile and preview the Google PM course:
Often, one of the first decisions you’ll make as a project manager will be which methodology to follow. Keep in mind that there isn’t one best option. Instead, the ideal methodology is the framework (or hybrid) that best fits your project, team, and company. Let's review six of the more popular project management methodologies.
Waterfall is often called the “traditional” project management approach, first designed by Winston W. Royce in 1970 for software development. In traditional approaches, projects are completed one stage at a time and in sequential order, like a waterfall would flow down a collection of rocks. Generally, each phase of the project life cycle must be completed before the next can begin.
Requirements: In this first phase, you’ll work with stakeholders to clearly define the project scope and requirements.
Design: The critical design phase is when you plan what the final product will look like and what steps your team needs to take to achieve it.
Implementation: This is where all your planning gets put into action. For software projects, this is when programmers will write the actual code.
Verification: During verification, your team tests the product to ensure it meets the requirements laid out in the first phase.
Maintenance: After the project is complete, the development team responds to feedback and makes any necessary modifications.
Waterfall is an approach often used in projects with strict constraints and expectations, or very few anticipated changes to the project plan. The Waterfall approach can be effective for projects like building houses, where one stage must be completed before others can begin, or where timelines, budgets, regulations, or other factors make it necessary for your project to have a predictable outcome. The logical flow of Waterfall makes it an excellent option for short, predictable projects where you have a clear vision of the finished product and fixed project requirements that are not likely to change. It’s best suited for teams and PMs that excel at planning and documentation.
Lean is a project management style with roots in the manufacturing industry (Toyota’s cars, to be exact). It aims to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Key Lean principles include emphasizing value from the customer’s perspective and mapping out your entire project in the initial stages to see where to generate value and cut waste. The Lean methodology centers on five principles outlined in the books The Machine that Changed the World and Lean Thinking.
Understand value: Think about value from the customer’s perspective. What are they willing to pay?
Identify the value stream: Use visual techniques to map out the actions required to develop and launch a product. Use this map to identify areas of waste.
Create value flow: Eliminate waste caused b