Trends That Will Shape The Future Of Project Management

Just like any other industry, technology had a very severe effect on project management. With the apt rise in technology and now this post-covid world, the project management world is changing rapidly. To give you an idea of these changes, we have come up with this blog, which will talk about all the major trends that are going on in project management.

5 Disruptive Trends in Project Management

1) Rise of Digital and Remote Teams

Project management is no longer confined to the walls of an office or a site.

Owing to several factors like the gig economy turning out to be a better option, greater internet connectivity, & changing corporate values, teams nowadays prefer to work remotely, and even project managers want their team to work remotely. Instead of physical face-to-face meetings and printed work reports, project management teams now meet through Skype or Zoom and collaborate on tools like Trello and To-doist to submit and maintain their work. 

According to the estimates, almost half of U.S project management teams are telecommunicating and working remotely. 

But again, it also poses a challenge in front of project managers in maintaining work quality. There are tons of things that get hindered because of remote work like team collaboration, project alignment, and other project management tasks, which need all the team to be present.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that remote teams are not productive. There are numerous benefits of remote work, such as an excellent work-life balance and less chance of employee burnout. 

2) Closing Gap Between Products, Strategy, and Projects

Traditionally, project management was only used for physical projects like launching a product or building a dam, etc. In that sense, a project was nothing more than a temporary endeavor having a finite beginning and end, and project managers' responsibility was only limited until completing the project. 

However, there have been a lot of changes in the project management field. These days, project management is used for successful completion and being applied to strategies and other initiatives. And project managers also need to make sure that the end-user is satisfied with the product and make changes if needed.

Project managers need to become skilled enough to overarch strategic goals & make more intelligent decisions so that organizations can keep moving forward.

Also Read: Benefits of PMP Certification

3) Hybrid Project Management Approaches

Not so long ago, organizations used to follow a single project management methodology for all their projects.

Though there were a few changes in how they were used to implement it, reliance on a specific framework was the norm.

Well, in past years, a lot of organizations have started to adapt to different kinds of methodologies and sometimes even mix different methodologies to meet the unique goal.

This increase in adoption of different methodologies like Agile, Kanban, and Scrum and changing corporate values have made project management more flexible and even increased the success rate of projects. 

According to a survey, more than half of organizations and project managers use a combination of different project management methodologies to complete the project, and those who use a hybrid approach also tend to get better results & satisfaction.

While it is crucial for project managers to specialize in a single framework, but the future only belongs to those who continue to evolve and become familiar with all of the major methodologies. 

4) Increasing Importance of Soft Skills

A project manager's job is not only to complete the project but also to manage the people associated with the project. They also need excellent analytical and management skills to complete the project effectively.

According to PMI's report "Pulse of the Profession," organizations these days are putting equal emphasis on soft skills as they do technical skills.

Their core work lies in understanding and managing people in a way that will yield the best results. And to successfully do that, they need an array of soft skills.

Project managers should be able to understand the needs, hopes, and motivations of their team members. 

In today's era, skills like Communication, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, and interpersonal skills are crucial for project managers. 

5) Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics

Artificial Intelligence is something that has taken this world by storm! Hardly there would be an industry that is not affected by AI. 

Project management is also supposed to be severely impacted by the rise of AI, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics.

But what this impact will look like is tough to predict as project management consists mostly of management skills that AI can't replace. However, data analytics has already established its place in project management. Unlike earlier, now all the decisions related to the project are taken after collecting and analyzing the data. 

As for AI, one impact that we can expect is the automation of many administration-focused tasks like project balancing, scheduling, and resource allocation. But anyways, the adoption of AI in project management will only lead to more productivity and success.

Automating less critical tasks will only help project managers focus on completing more important tasks that have a greater impact on the project's success.

Conclusion

Professionals who are already working in project management or plan to join the project management bandwagon should prioritize understanding and adapting these trends. This will help you stay up to date with the upcoming demands & needs in project management.