Skills & Methods
The methodologies and skills project managers are hired for — Agile, Waterfall, Scrum and more, explained clearly and without the jargon.
Methods & Skills
- Agile vs Waterfall: Which Method Should You Use (and When)?
Use Waterfall when requirements are fixed and well understood; use Agile when they'll evolve and you need to deliver and adjust in short cycles. Most real teams blend the two rather than picking a side.
- How Long Does It Take to Get the PMP?
Once you're eligible, most people prepare for the PMP exam in 8 to 12 weeks of part-time study. The longer part is reaching eligibility — 36 to 60 months of project experience, depending on your education.
- Kanban vs Scrum: What's the Difference?
Scrum works in fixed-length sprints with defined roles and regular ceremonies; Kanban is a continuous flow with no sprints, no required roles, and a focus on limiting work in progress. Use Scrum when a team benefits from cadence; use Kanban for unpredictable, on-demand work.
- What Are Story Points? (And Why Your Velocity Isn't a Score)
Story points estimate how large a piece of work is relative to other work — not how many hours it takes. Like user stories, they aren't in the Scrum Guide at all. And the most common thing organisations do with them, comparing velocity between teams, is mathematically meaningless.
- What Does a Product Owner Actually Do?
A Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product: they own and order the product backlog, set the Product Goal, and decide what the team builds next. They're the single voice for 'what and why' — while the Developers decide 'how'.
- What Does a Scrum Master Actually Do?
A Scrum Master helps a team use Scrum well: they facilitate the Scrum events, remove blockers, and coach the team and the wider organization. It's a servant-leadership and coaching role — they own the process, not the tasks and not the product.
- What Is a Product Backlog?
It's a single ordered list of everything needed to improve the product — not a to-do list and not a wish list. The Product Owner decides the order, the items nearest the top are the most detailed, and a backlog that only ever grows is a warning sign.
- What Is a Sprint in Scrum?
A Sprint is a fixed-length period of one month or less in which a Scrum team works toward a single objective called the Sprint Goal. It's a container for all the other Scrum events — and, importantly, it is not a deadline for a fixed list of tasks.
- What Is a User Story? (And Why Scrum Doesn't Require One)
A user story is a short description of something a user wants, written from their point of view so the team discusses the need rather than a solution. It comes from Extreme Programming, not Scrum — the Scrum Guide never mentions user stories at all.