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What Is Project Management?
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve an organizations’ goals within a set of given constraints.
Some of those primary constraints include scope, time and budgets.
Other secondary constraints are linked to the planning, organization and optimum allocation of a company’s limited resources to execute a specific task.
Project management can involve a one-time project or an ongoing activity, and the resources managed include but are not limited to personnel, finances, technology, and intellectual property.
Keeping pace with the new project management trends discussed below will help your team save time and money, improve internal communication and make better business decisions.
1. The increased focus on Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics:
The Project Management Institute notes that 81 percent of professionals say that AI is impacting their organizations.
And the urge for business automation is expected to continue rising in the coming years.
Where organizations of all sizes generate copious amounts of data every day. Therefore, it is intelligent to leverage that data to drive decisions.
Data analytics and reporting can help project managers identify hidden opportunities, measure project progress rates, and more.
AI-powered analytics provide a complete picture of the entire organization and all projects.
2. Bringing Project Management and Change Management together
Moving through its lifecycle a typical organization goes through dozens or even hundreds of organizational changes, ranging from small adjustments to internal processes to total reform of a company’s products, services, supply chain, strategy, or structure.
In today’s business with the emergence of the coronavirus, organizations are forced to embrace those substantial change initiatives while also completing previously existing projects.
And project managers are now frequently left managing not only their own projects but the organization’s change initiatives as well.
This is evident in a recent survey conducted by the International Project Management Association (IPMA), stating that 63 percent of organizations conduct projects that include at least some form of change management.
The pandemic brought change management processes to the forefront as organizations struggled to embrace extensive change initiatives in a matter of days or weeks.
Another report by the International Project Management Association highlighted that only 30 percent of organizations feel that their capabilities in managing organizational change are effective.
To solve this, many organizations are counting on their project managers to drive change initiatives, such as digital transformation and adopting AI as explained above.
3.Green Project Management
Green Project Management is a model where organizations think green throughout their projects and make decisions that consider the impact on the environment.
It is a way to “greenthink” into every project management process.
2022 booming topics on GPM:
- Green Spaces: are areas of trees, grass, and other types of vegetation located within primarily urban environments. New York’s Central Park is one of the biggest sustainable development examples for that.
- Solar panels: are one of the most easily recognizable examples of sustainable development. They can be fitted to buildings of any shape or size. Solar panels could provide enough power to make a building completely energy-independent
- Waste-to-Energy Recycling: a method of turning waste into energy, these facilities use combustion to turn non-hazardous waste into steam energy and electricity.
- Waste Treatment Plants: these plants intake oily water, bases, and water-based acids and turn them into clean water that can be used for industrial purposes.
4. The Rise in Remote Working
Remote working was already increasing before 2020, but the pandemic boosted its adoption to unprecedented levels.
While organizations were forced to let employees work from home or telecommute due to safety concerns, it is likely that remote working will continue in the future.
This brings up numerous interesting challenges for project managers.
5. Increasing emphasis on Soft Skills and increased demand for emotionally intelligent leaders
Traditionally, the value of project managers depended on their certifications and their skills in deploying and implementing different methodologies.
Recently more organizations are shifting their focus to soft skills.
Where project managers are required to focus and strengthen soft skills such as conflict resolution, stakeholder engagement, negotiation, mentoring and training, decision-making, and team building.
Research confirms that developing these skills will help project managers deliver more value to their organizations.
This is also reflected in the rising demand for employing emotionally and socially intelligent leaders in recent years.
Preparing for the Future of Project Management
Successful project management isn’t just about keeping your resources and tasks organized.
In order to stay ahead of the curve, you need to keep up with the latest project management software and techniques affecting the industry.
Paying attention to these trends is going to help project managers lead with success.
Individuals working in project management should prioritize identifying, forecasting, and adapting to the constantly changing needs of their respective industries.
Even non-project management professionals can benefit from project management skills, considering project management is an aspect of all modern businesses and industries.
