The evolving role of Project Management: Current Trends and the road ahead
While the term itself might not have been there in its original form, the Pantheon, Pyramids of Giza, the Colosseum, and several other historical masterpieces bear witness to the usage of Project Management skills and techniques since time immemorial. Somewhere between the 1900s and 1950s, as the Gantt Chart was introduced by Henry Gantt, the foundations of planning and scheduling projects were laid down. This further led way to formal tools and methodologies to deal with myriad complex projects. Terms and techniques like Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Critical Path Method (CPM), and Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) came to the fore. Professional PM entities namely International Project Management Association (IPMA) and Project Management Institute (PMI) were established over the course of the adjacent decade. With the dawn of a renewed era, Agile Project Management and the incorporation of innovative and disruptive modern-day technologies are the new arrows in the PM quiver.
With the emergence of complex scenarios and landscapes, shorter times to market, intelligent demands of the customers, hyper collaboration, and agile organizations, it is very important to observe the changing facets of Project Management, join the bandwagon for contemporary trends, and use intelligent practices and toolsets to deliver projects –
- The best of both the worlds [the Hybrid Model]: Just like the cliched saying, “One size doesn’t fit all “, similarly, the nature of the project and deliverables play a key role in deciding whether it should be a pre-defined waterfall approach or a more iterative and adaptive, agile methodology for project management. However, many times, the complexity of the project requires a blend of the exclusive features of both. Hybrid project management comes to the rescue here by collating traditional structures and procedures like WBS and schedule with agile aspects like increments and sprints.
2. Thriving with Disruption [AI and ML]: Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning are so deeply engrained in any conversation today that they are no longer new or unexplored territory. With almost every possible field and an area showcasing the possibility of AI or ML use cases, how can Project Management be aloof? Gartner Says, “80 Percent of Today’s Project Management Tasks Will Be Eliminated by 2030 as Artificial Intelligence Takes Over”.AI and ML would bring about breakthrough innovations and revolutions for Portfolio, Program, and Project managers to ride on the latest technological innovations to plan and deliver near flawless and efficiently. Chatbots, Virtual assistants, Conversational agents, robots would foster the development of fully equipped AI-enabled PPM.
3. Upskilling and Training [ Developing the new age PMs]: Learning, unlearning, and reskilling oneself has never been as critical as in today’s era. With an extremely fast-paced work environment, schedules, and delivery priorities, old tools and methods would not produce the desired results. Hence, all the leaders spearheading projects should find it imperative to focus on their development and training needs with respect to change management, emerging technologies, digital transformation, collaboration, innovation, and many more.
4. Mindset for Innovation [Envisioning and Productizing ideas]: Creativity and ideas are not restricted to the new development community. On the contrary, the flair for innovation, the intent to transform ideas to vision, and the unyielding dedication to resolve critical problems should be a behavior that every aspiring or practicing Project Manager should emulate to produce results that are distinct and effective. Whether it is the exploration of new tools and techniques to plan, execute, monitor, and control or onboarding totally new ways to track, measure and report, an innovative approach is a secret sauce to guarantee the Project Manager’s success and meeting the desired outcome.
5. Modern Day tools and methodology: Is it necessary to devise new ways to complete old tasks? Isn’t the age-old method rewarding enough for all the projects to be executed in a similar manner for the desired outcome? The answer to these questions lies in the ability of the Project leader to foresee the future and adapt accordingly. New problems cannot be solved using old ways, although traditional learning and principles should always be present to guide. Whether it is planning, collaboration, scheduling, quality management, or reporting, the market today offers various tools and Project Management Software that can be customized to specific needs. The usage of the provided powerful features aids the leader to orchestrate the various tasks and achieve strategic gains.
6. The splurge of Data and Analytics: The effective and strategic use of data can provide invaluable support to Project Managers in decision making, channelizing teams in the right direction, allocating resources effectively, reducing costs, and managing risks. The usage of Business intelligence and Analytics not only helps in evaluating project performance, predicting challenges but also predicting challenges and providing optimal outcomes. Having access to older and current project data and effective tools for real-time data analysis fortify the strength of the Project Leader in terms of better resource planning and allocation, reducing errors and cost, as well as taking better-informed decisions.
7. The impact of Automation: If there is a key that can handle monotonous, mundane, and repetitive tasks so that the leader for the project can focus on tasks of strategic importance along with saving valuable time and the project resources can work on continuous improvement, it is Automation indeed. In line with the DevOps principle which talks about “Automating everything you can”, the impact of automation in Project Management is extremely valuable. The Project manager along with the team can dedicatedly focus on complex and strategic tasks, innovation, and conflict management through the efficiency gains derived out of automating redundant tasks and processes. Automation is a boon whether it is automating data gathering activities or workflow and task automation because of the value adds, and the time benefits gained to ensure that the right skills are channelized in the right direction.
8. Remote Collaboration is here to stay: The pandemic, apart from creating havoc in everyone’s life, has also ensured that working virtually and collaborating remotely is established as a norm that will not fade away soon . With the new normal and new project setting being virtual, it is inevitable that the Project Managers also have to transform the ways that they use to communicate with the project team, stakeholders, and sponsors as well as the methods that they adopt to plan, execute and deliver. While we cannot deny the benefits of meeting the team and collaborating in front of a physical scrum or Kanban board to get the tasks updated and bottlenecks reduced, it is inevitable to adapt to the various tools and software available today to connect, communicate and perform the various tasks virtually and use it to thrive.
9. The Transforming Role of the Project Manager: The current era of digital transformation and disruption ensures that the role of the project manager is all set to transform immensely. The reasons for this upheaval and the need to adapt are the changing dynamics and equations associated with the lifecycle of a project. To start with, the term project manager is significantly being replaced by Project Leader or Delivery responsible Manager. The Project Manager of the present and future needs to rely more significantly on the human capital as compared to the tools and artifacts. With the advancements in tools and technology taking care of the mundane tasks, the PM must focus more on several other vital skills like empathy, Thought Leadership, Strategic thinking & Response, Influence & Motivation, creativity, and a lot more. The right balance of digital expertise and people management skills can propel a Project leader from being good to exemplary.
10. IQ, EQ, and CQ — The changing equations: In continuation to the previous point, the right concoction of Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ), and Culture Quotient (CQ) have become the recipe for Project Management success. The fail-proof combination of intellect, personality, and cultural awareness is the niche skill that every aspiring or practicing Project leader should be aiming to build. With the diverse set of people in the modern-day organization belonging to different genders, sexual orientation, age, nationality, race, ability, language, etc., the onus lies on the Project Leader to be empathetic, a good listener, understanding, inclusive, communicative, and trustworthy to garner the success of the project with impeccable bonhomie.
While there is no magic wand, or rulebook to ensure that all the stages of project management are flawless and challenge-free, from inception to culmination, there are pointers laced with scientific backing, which propel the project in the right direction and establish the Project Leader as the apt captain to steer the vessel in the right direction. Over the past decades, Project Management has evolved by leaps and bounds and would continue to do so. In such a scenario, adapting, innovating, and improvising would continue to remain the key.
