The best product management methodologies (from agile to scrum)

The path to product perfection is paved with various product management methodologies. Some teams swear by Agile, while others pledge to Scrum and Waterfall.

According to PMI research, 37% of organizations use Waterfall, 21% use Agile, 23% use “other approaches,” and 20% use a hybrid mix of methodologies.

There’s no one-size-fits-all methodology. Your startup will need to review the options and choose the product management philosophy that most make sense.

That’s easier said than done.

In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the most popular product management methodologies to find the option to steer your product toward success.

What are product management methodologies?

Product management methodologies are structured frameworks product managers and development teams use to plan, execute, and deliver products to market.

These methodologies provide guidelines, principles, and practices to streamline product development, foster collaboration, and improve decision-making.

Here’s what you’ll need to consider as you evaluate your options:

• Product. Agile or Lean Startup methodologies might be more suitable if the product is innovative and uncertain. However, if the product is well-defined and follows a predictable development path, a more traditional approach like Waterfall might do the trick.
• Culture. Some methodologies, like Agile, require significant collaboration, openness to change, and frequent communication. If the organization’s culture is resistant to change or lacks cross-functional collaboration, implementing Agile might be challenging.
• Uncertainty. If there are many unknowns and assumptions about your product, methodologies that encourage rapid experimentation and validation, such as Lean Startup, might be preferred. However, if the product requirements are stable and well-defined, a structured approach like Waterfall might be more appropriate.
• Preferences. Some teams might be more experienced and comfortable with Agile methodologies, while others prefer a more structured and linear approach. Engaging the team and product manager in decision-making can lead to greater buy-in and higher chances of successful implementation.
• Project constraints. Agile development can manage limited resources and deliver value in smaller increments. On the other hand, an approach like Waterfall can provide better predictability for timelines and costs.
• Industry dynamics. Methodologies like Agile or Lean Startup can offer a competitive advantage by allowing faster responses to market changes and customer needs.

You don’t need to stick to a single product strategy strictly. Instead, adopt a hybrid approach and customize existing methods to suit your situation. This adaptability allows your business to balance between structure and flexibility.

The best product management methodologies

1. Agile methodology

Agile methodology frequently delivers small, functional product increments, allowing teams to adapt to changing requirements and customer feedback. It’s an iterative approach emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and customer-centricity.

Here’s how it works:

1. Project planning: Create a project scope, keeping in mind that Agile project management allows for easy adaptation to changes and additions, making the scope flexible rather than rigid.
2. Product roadmap creation: Break down the features that will make up your final product. Build a product backlog that includes all the deliverables this will include.
3. Release planning: Make a high-level plan for when you’ll finish each feature release.
4. Sprint planning: Determine what each person will accomplish during the sprint, how it will be achieved, and what the load looks like. Here’s where you’ll evenly distribute the load among team members while avoiding bottlenecks and burnout.
5. Daily stand-ups: Hold brief mornings at the beginning of each day to talk about what each member accomplished the day prior and what they plan on doing today.
6. Sprint review and retrospects: Hold two meetings at the end of each sprint: one to show finished features and projects and another to discuss what went well (or not so well) during the sprint.

The Agile approach is best suited for innovative and dynamic products. If you expect frequent changes and updates, it’s a strong choice. However, if your project requirements tend to be fixed and certain, Agile can be overkill for your teams.

Pros:

• Adaptable
• Improved product quality
• Faster time to market
• Team transparency
• Collaboration

Cons:

• Active participation of all stakeholders
• Steep learning curve
• Scope creep threat
• Dependency on team chemistry

2. Scrum methodology

Scrum is a subset (or variation) of the Agile framework. This product management method focuses on teamwork, accountability, and incremental product development for a faster product life cycle. However, it adds more structure by dividing the work into time-boxed iterations called "sprints” and organizing output with user stories.

Here are the five phases of the Scrum methodology:

1. Initiation: Establish the project’s groundwork by defining objectives, choosing stakeholders, outlining roles, and forming the product backlog.
2. Planning and estimates: Product epics are broken down into user stories, which are lightweight tasks formatted similarly to epics but quicker to implement.
3. Implementation: Execute tasks to meet your project goals and deliverables with key Scrum processes, including daily stand-up meetings and burndown charts.
4. Review and retrospective: Evaluate your successes, gather feedback, and plan how to improve your product and processes moving forward.
5. Release: Prepare and deliver the final project deliverables to stakeholders.

Use the Scrum methodology if you anticipate a complex project with ever-changing requirements. It takes a learning curve to get everyone up and running, so ensure you have a skilled, collaborative team ready to invest in making this work.

Pros:

• Clear roles and responsibilities
• Frequent deliverables
• Customer-focused
• Regular inspections and adaptation
• Transparency

Cons:

• Requires disciplined team
• Demands regular meetings for everyone involved
• Steep learning curve
• Not deadline focused

3. Kanban methodology

Kanban is a visual and flow-based Agile methodology for managing and optimizing workflows. It provides a simple and flexible approach to product development, emphasizing steady delivery and efficiency.

Unlike other methodologies with time-boxed iterations, Kanban allows teams to work on tasks as capacity allows, leading to a smooth and continuous workflow.

Kanban typically uses a three-step workflow to manage projects (but this can change based on your project’s team size and scope):

1. To Do
2. In Progress
3. Done

Kanban methodologies work well for visualizing real-time progress, but they aren’t always great for rapidly changing projects or projects with strict deadlines.

Pros:

• Visual workflow management
• Flexible
• Improved productivity
• Scalable for businesses of all sizes
• A continuous flow of work and value

Cons:

• Less predictable timing and deadlines
• Relies on team self-management
• Requires complex initial setup

4. Waterfall methodology

Waterfall is a traditional and linear product development methodology that follows a sequential approach. Some experts wrote off Waterfall because “employees became a mere cog in the wheel,” but it seems to be coming back. Startups can’t afford to make mistakes and iterate quickly like enterprise companies with massive budgets—they need to plan ahead and get the details right from the get-go. And that’s where Waterfall excels.

Here’s a look at the six phases of waterfall project management:

1. Requirements: Gather information and compile a project plan that details each phase of your project. Include team members, dependencies, required resources, and estimated timelines.
2. System design: Specify what hardware and software you’ll use to build features and products.
3. Implementation: Begin the full development process outlined in the requirements and system design phases.
4. Testing: Hand the project over to the quality assurance team for them to start finding bugs and issues.
5. Deployment: Deploy the product feature or launch the final version of your product.
6. Maintenance: Continue to patch and update your product to ensure it works.

Use the Waterfall methodology if you have well-defined projects to keep small, straightforward, and simple. However, if there’s a high degree of uncertainty or you want to rely on a feedback-driven approach, this might not be right for your product management team.

Pros:

• Predictable
• Structured
• Well-defined requirements
• Comprehensive documentation

Cons:

• Challenging to change
• Lacks customer-driven feedback
• Long feedback loops

5. Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology

Rapid Application Development (RAD) is an Agile-inspired methodology that prioritizes speedy development and iterative prototyping. It focuses on delivering working software quickly through collaborative, time-boxed development cycles.

RAD connects developers and end-users to provide real-time feedback for improved alignment and product quality. It helps you quickly build a minimum viable product (MVP) or, better yet, a minimum loveable product (MLP).

RAD follows four basic steps:

1. Requirements: Make a broad list of product requirements.
2. Prototype: Build prototypes with different features and functions. Focus on speed.
3. Construction: Create a working model of your product using feedback and product reviews.
4. Deployment: Deploy your product or features into a live production environment. Scale, test, document, customize, and simulate the product in action. Once you’re satisfied, ship it.

This is the go-to product development methodology if you have the time and resources to listen to your customers. However, if there’s limited end-user involvement, you’re better off sticking with one of the other options.

Pros:

• Fast development
• Customer involvement
• Rapid prototyping
• Adaptive to change
• Reduced development cost

Cons:

• Doesn’t provide much product documentation
• Dependent on customer availability and quality interactions
• Challenging to manage large projects
• Requires developers and designers familiar with rapid prototyping

6. Rational Unified Process (RUP) methodology

The Rational Unified Process (RUP) is a comprehensive and iterative software development methodology providing a structured approach.

1. Inception: Determine the project’s purpose, success criteria, risks, estimated cost, timeline, and required resources.
2. Elaboration: Analyze the requirements and necessary architecture, build the project plan, and eliminate any high-risk elements that could derail the project.
3. Construction: Develop all of the product’s features and test to satisfaction.
4. Transition: Release the completed product to the public. Update the product according to end-user feedback.

It is most suitable for large and complex projects that require detailed planning, risk mitigation, and adherence to regulatory standards. However, RUP can be overkill for small, straightforward projects with limited resources and stakeholder involvement.

Pros:

• Structured approach
• Risk management
• Iterative process
• Flexibility
• Focus on quality

Cons:

• Complex
• Slow
• Resource intensive
• Documentation overload

7. Spiral methodology

The Spiral methodology is a risk-driven and iterative approach to software development. It combines the developmental nature of Agile with risk management, making it better suited for projects with a high degree of uncertainty and evolving requirements.

The Spiral model follows a cyclic process of planning, risk analysis, engineering, and evaluation—allowing teams to manage complexity and reduce risks before it’s too late.

1. Planning: Gather business requirements and identify systems requirements.
2. Design: Decide on the design of modules, product design, and final design (in successive spirals).
3. Construction: Build a proof of concept, test it with users, and adapt based on feedback.
4. Evaluation: Identify and eliminate scheduling and budgeting issues. Test the final product with users and begin plans for future patches and upgrades.

Choose this methodology to safely manage long-term, high-risk projects with greater uncertainty.

Pros:

• Risk management
• Iterative and incremental
• Adaptable
• Efficient resource allocation

Cons:

• Complex
• Time-consuming
• Documentation overload
• Requires experienced teams

8. Lean Startup methodology

The Lean Startup methodology is an innovative approach to product development that aims to build and iterate on products lean and efficiently, minimizing waste and maximizing value.

It’s inspired by Lean manufacturing principles and is popular among startups and entrepreneurial ventures.

• Build: Create an MVP as a research tool to address key business questions.
• Measure: Test and gather feedback from your customer segments. Make changes to your MVP to address customer concerns.
• Learn: Use your MVP and customer feedback data to decide whether to proceed with business development based on interest or pivot to a new approach.

Pros:

• Rapid validation
• Customer-centric approach
• Iterative improvements
• Cost-effective
• Flexible

Cons:

• Product market fit risk
• Short-term focus
• Requires adequate time and money
• Learning takes a back seat

Simplify the product development process

Remember, you don’t need to stick to a single product development methodology. Find the one that resonates the most with your product, industry, and development team, and mold it to fit your unique needs.

DigitalOcean helps keep your project simple, streamlined, and affordable regardless of your chosen methodology. Our cloud-hosting services help you build everything from SaaS applications to websites and ecommerce stores. Whether you’re a brand-new startup or a fast-growing enterprise, we have the capabilities to accelerate and scale with your company.

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