PMBOK’s 10 Essential Project Management Tools and Techniques

1. Data Analysis

• Alternatives Analysis
• Document Analysis
• Process Analysis
• Root Cause Analysis
• Earned Value Analysis
• Iteration Burndown Chart
• Performance Reviews
• Trend Analysis
• Variance Analysis
• What-if Scenario Analysis
• Cost – Benefit Analysis
• Regression analysis
• Decomposition

2. Data Gathering

• Brainstorming
• Interviews
• Focus Groups
• Questionnaires and Surveys
• Benchmarking
• Checklists

3. Decision Making

• Voting
• Multicriteria Decision Analysis
• Autocratic Decision Making

4. Data Representation

• Affinity Diagrams for further review and analysis.
• Mind Mapping to discover new considerations and conception variations.
• Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix for communication.
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
• Flowcharts
• Histograms
• Matrix Diagrams
• Scatter Diagrams
• Context Diagram
• Prototypes
• WBS

5. Communication Technology

• Channels = n(n-1)/2
• push – Email Blast
• Pull – Download information
• Interactive – Joint Discussions

6. Inspection

• Design for X

7. Project Management Information System

8. Schedule defined

• Rolling Wave planning

• Critical Path Method

9. Expert Judgment

10. Interpersonal and Team Skills

• Conflict Management
• Influencing
• Motivation
• Negotiation
• Team Building
• Recognition and Rewards
• Training
• Individual and Team Assessments
• Active Listening
• Facilitation
• Leadership
• Networking
• Political Awareness
• Observation/Conversation
• Nominal Group Technique
• Virtual Teams
• Colocation
• Face to face