What is project management? Definition, methods & template

Whether it's building a skyscraper, bringing complicated technology to market, or coordinating large events and global campaigns, no great feat is ever accomplished without a solid project plan. Project managers are the unsung heroes who bring that plan to life.

Project management is about more than nudging people toward a finish line; it’s about creating a clear path to success through strategic planning and execution. Project teams provide reality checks that keep a project to scope and within budget—preventing leaders from making unreasonable demands on their teams, and ensuring the outcome is worth the effort. This level of insight requires real-time visibility across resources and timelines, and it’s vital to give your project management the resources and tools they need to succeed.

What is project management? 

Project management is the process of organizing and overseeing work to accomplish specific goals, within defined constraints. It's about bringing together people, resources, and tools to create something valuable—whether that's a new product, service, or any desired result—with clear milestones and final deliverables.

Here are four key elements of project management that must be defined to ensure you’ll ship your project on time:

Project management definition

Project management is the disciplined practice of planning, organizing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals—on time, on budget, and within scope. It brings structure to how work gets done, whether you're launching a product, leading a marketing campaign, or building enterprise software. And it's more relevant than ever: the global demand for project management talent is expected to grow by 33% across 11 countries by 2027.

A brief history of project management

Humans have a long history of completing complex projects. Think: the great pyramids,  medieval cathedrals, or feats of aerospace. Different industries may have used varying frameworks over time to help complete these projects. For example, the Manhattan Project and NASA's space program demanded more sophisticated project management techniques, which led to the development of the critical path method (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT).

Even so, project management wasn’t recognized as a formal discipline until the second half of the 20th century. The Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded in 1969 and published the first “Project Management Body of Knowledge” in 1987. Today, PMI continues to share best practices and offer certifications. Project management as a discipline continues to evolve as new methodologies emerge, such as Agile software development, and as the pace of technology rapidly advances. Currently, project managers are likely to apply a blend of traditional and adaptive project management methodologies given the reality of remote or hybrid workforces and the wide adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). 

The role of AI in project management

AI can make many aspects of a project manager's role easier. Many modern project management tools use AI to improve estimates, help identify potential problems, and match the right people to the right project tasks. 

According to a Capterra survey of 2,500 project managers, the top AI use cases in PM are risk management, task automation, and predictive analytics. AI project management helps teams identify risks before they escalate, automate repetitive tasks like status updates, and forecast delays or budget overruns. The results speak for themselves: 63% of project managers report increased productivity, and 90% see a positive ROI.

Project management methodologies compared

These seven common project management methodologies are often best applied to particular types of projects. 

Agile project management

Agile project management delivers work in small, incremental cycles called sprints. This iterative approach—rooted in the overarching Agile methodology—emphasizes flexibility, continuous improvement, and incorporates customer feedback throughout the development lifecycle. Agile is especially well-suited for software development, where project requirements often evolve and teams must quickly adapt.

According to Zippia, agile projects have a 64% success rate, whereas projects under the competing methodology known as waterfall only have a 49% success rate.

Scrum

Scrum is a framework that lives within an Agile approach. Scrum organizes work into fixed-length iterations called sprints, which are typically 2-4 weeks long. It also features defined roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), regular ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). This method can be effective for complex product development involving multiple teams, such as a video game company developing a new title. The scrum approach can help teams to continuously assess and improve game features as they go. 

Waterfall project management

Waterfall project management provides a linear, sequential approach to projects. Each phase must be completed before the next begins; progress flows in one direction—like a waterfall—with minimal overlap. This approach is great for projects that have static requirements. For example, in construction, all design specifications, materials, and engineering project requirements must be fully approved before breaking ground.

Kanban

The Kanban approach uses cards on a board—commonly known as Kanban boards—to visualize and represent work as it moves through different stages. The goal is to limit work-in-progress and optimize flow states. Unlike Scrum, Kanban is continuous rather than sprint-based and emphasizes completing current work before beginning new project tasks. This method is especially effective for service-oriented work, such as managing incoming IT tickets: close something out, then start fresh.

Lean project management

Lean project management focuses on maximizing value and minimizing waste, which is especially valuable when resources are constrained. This method is attributed to Toyota’s manufacturing principles, where the emphasis is on delivering only what customers need. This model does not focus on continuous improvement—just delivery. Outside of manufacturing, it can also be useful for streamlining processes, such as patient intake within a healthcare clinic. This method looks for areas where unnecessary steps can be combined or eliminated.

Six sigma project management

Six sigma project management is a data-driven methodology. This approach, using the DMAIC framework (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and statistical tools, aims to identify and fix problems, with the goal of achieving no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This approach is ideal for optimizing established processes. In the case of manufacturing, for example, you might apply this method to reduce the number of defects in a product line.

PRINCE2

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured project management methodology that provides a clear, process-driven approach to managing projects from start to finish. It emphasizes business justification, well-defined roles, and stage-by-stage control to keep projects aligned with goals and on track. Widely used in government and enterprise settings, PRINCE2 is especially valued for its focus on governance, accountability, and repeatability.

Why is project management important?

Project management guides the team toward project completion—but also, importantly, the very best project outcome possible, given constraints. The focus on the end-goal provides clarity along the journey and keeps teams focused on the bigger picture—even when they're in the trenches of tactical execution. Without effective program management, brilliant concepts can fail when faced with challenges, miscommunication, or mis-management, which creates a downstream effect. 

Five benefits of project management

It might be tempting to greenlight projects without assigning a project manager, perhaps to save time during the planning phase or to get a project off the ground sooner, but that would be a mistake. Here are just five key benefits of project management:

1. Gains in efficiency

Project management helps teams work more efficiently by organizing tasks, eliminating duplication of effort, and focusing resources on where they have the most impact. Project managers can take a step back and look at the bigger picture (and organization) to suggest the best way forward. 

2. Better predictability

Well-managed projects create reliable forecasts for costs and completion times. This predictability allows organizations to plan more effectively, coordinate dependencies, and make data-driven business decisions.

3. Stronger results

By establishing clear requirements and processes, project management ensures that deliverables will consistently meet or exceed stakeholder expectations. When the scope is clearly defined from the start, the business can deliver consistent and reliable results. 

4. Proactive risk management

The practice of project management helps identify potential problems early, when they're easier and less expensive to address. This proactive approach reduces costly surprises, lengthy delays, and increases the likelihood of project success.

5. Transparency that leads to growth

Regular communication and routine stakeholder alignment leads to better outcomes. Project management also helps build institutional knowledge by capturing wins and/or lessons learned to inform and improve future projects. 

The five phases of the project management lifecycle

A project management life cycle typically includes five phases which guide a project from start to finish: 

1. Project initiation

The initiation phase establishes the project goals, purpose, and value of the project, making it clear why the project is worth pursuing. In this phase, high-level objectives and constraints are defined—often in a project charter, which serves as a formal record of the project’s scope, stakeholders, and objectives.

2. Project planning

During the planning phase, detailed roadmaps are developed to outline how the project will be executed, and by whom, at each stage. Project planning includes defining the scope, schedule, budget, resources, and identifying any potential risks. Project planning templates can streamline the process.

3. Project execution

The execution phase is the time when work on the project itself is underway. Teams execute against the project management plan and timeline, and work with a project manager to manage the timeline, budget, and stakeholder expectations, should any issues arise. 

4. Project reporting

The reporting phase is also referred to as “Monitoring & Control” and is continuous throughout project execution. Project managers track progress against the plan, measure performance, communicate statuses, and adjust the plan as needed, always to the end of moving the project forward.

5. Project closure 

Closing out a project involves formally completing all milestones and delivering the expected final product. All stakeholders must sign off and project managers document lessons learned and can begin to free up and reallocate resources to other projects.

Who uses project management?

Project managers typically track projects and tasks across departments, but also at times within a single department. Many areas of the business can benefit from project management including:

Tips for successful project management

Often, cross-functional teams are more than willing to embrace a project manager who can sit at the helm and guide a project toward successful completion. But to set that project manager up for success, you need good project management software and to ensure that you’re doing the following:

Fun fact: Key project management skills, such as managing stakeholder expectations, conflict mitigation, and performing risk assessments made LinkedIn’s top 15 Skills on the Rise in 2025, underscoring project management’s relevance and value.

Project management templates

There’s no need to start from scratch. Take advantage of project management templates to save time and build on structures that have proven successful for other businesses over time.

Project tracking

Use this project tracker template to:

Resource allocation

Use the resource allocation template to:

Project portfolio management

Use the project portfolio management template to:

AI project management

Use the AI project management template to:

Stakeholder analysis

Use the stakeholder analysis template to:

That’s not all—there are also templates for specific functions, like event planning, OKR tracking, product planning, content tracking, and (so much) more.

Project management with Airtable 

Airtable’s project management software offers a flexible, intuitive way for teams to plan, track, and execute work across any type of project, at any scale. Teams stay aligned and manage resources effectively by bringing structure to workflows—without sacrificing adaptability. With Airtable’s next-generation app platform, teams move quickly from planning to execution, removing bottlenecks and connecting cross-functional data in real time.