Project management is going through lots of up-gradation and changes to suit the requirements of the fast-moving world. New opportunities like Agile practices, implementation of Artificial intelligence, Automation, Remote working, Agile & Worldwide teams, cross-cultural boundaries have really brought plenty of advantages in overall functioning. Let's review the trend setter in Project managment & opportunities associated with them.
1. Remote working
The number of professionals willing & choosing to work remotely has sky-rocketed in the last couple of years. And the trend is here to stay. According to surveys, “Remote working has been on the rise over a period of times & the desire to work remotely is here to stay and it isn’t limited to a few select industries.”
` The times of COVID since last 15 months, the remote working has really grown to the even greater number.
Impact: Remote project management has its own benefits in many regards.
more flexibility in the schedule
Not having to commute to the office every day.
Project costs are also reduced.
An opportunity to work with a diverse talent pool.
On the flip side, remote working needs a great deal of planning & support to bring out the best in remote teams.
Some practical tips listed below shall be useful -
Weekly or biweekly Connect - Meetings and calls to know how things are progressing
Team members accountability - Regular status updates
Online collaboration tools
Performance reviews - at a predetermined schedule
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Automation
Artificial intelligence has become a buzzword these days and it’s applied in various areas of day-to-day life. Just an example 'Alexa' at your home to make it simple. Like software development, aerospace, healthcare, and finance, the impact of artificial intelligence and automation can also be seen and felt in the project management sector.
Impact: Many companies have already started using AI in project management
To perform their daily tasks that require human effort through task automation. The effect goes beyond automating simple tasks but is also quite helpful in obtaining performance insights.
Project managers can use automation to perform complex tasks ranging from scheduling to data visualization and make informed decisions based on the captured insights.
Considering these impacts, let's see how we can go about it.
Being in for successful projects, companies should embrace AI in project management and then learn how to leverage it for successful project completion. Getting into AI mode and leveraging its benefits to automate data, project execution will be much easier than before.
It helps in building meaningful relationships with your team members and clients. AI has enabled better risk estimation as many deadlines are pushed ahead either due to bad estimation or unknown external factors. AI helps us to get the right estimation of a project’s duration, costs, and progress helping you predict realistic timelines for your project.
3. Hybrid project management approach
There are numerous kinds of projects, teams, methodologies to execute the projects. Not all projects are made similar and not all teams can stick to one specific methodology. So hybrid project management concept is gaining popularity these days.
Just to make it simple, Hybrid project management combines approaches from traditional Project management and the agile world.
Impact: The hybrid model demands to bring all your projects, tasks, people, and communications to one place helping you make the right business choices.
Just for example combining the traditional approach with the agile methodology, team members with different views, working styles can work together in their own way making way for more stability, engagement, and efficiency.
The project manager has to wisely understand these Pros & Cons of individual processes and apply them during the project life cycle to get the best of both worlds.
Normally, the traditional approach recommended for simple & clear projects whereas agile for complex projects.
3. The impact of emotional intelligence (EQ)
It makes somebody wonder that where emotions come in between the sophisticated business world and contribute to the project success. Well, it has been observed over a period of time that emotions do play a vital role. According to a survey, it was found that 58% of respondents believe that emotional intelligence is one of the strongest predictors of performance irrespective of the nature of your job.
Impact: Managing projects not only revolves around defining the scope, making deadlines, deciding the budget but also Project managers have to manage people as well and that means more complications.
People are the most important component in Project management like any other area of business. One must make an effort to understand team members’ emotions which could lead to a lot of emotional activity in a team. Altogether that's not an easy task.
So, what we can do about it and make Project management a grand Success! Since we are dealing with different personalities and ensuring project success, we should understand the emotions of ourselves and of others we are dealing with.
Understanding emotions become a crucial skill leadership skill for project managers all over the globe. That's why learning the art of understanding emotions and what drives people is becoming more important than ever to predict project success in the future.
4. More focus on data analytics and numbers
The world is driven by data and all the businesses Project management involves a lot of data. It is said nowadays that "Data is next Oil!” Project managers can Leverage data insights to make informed decisions to handle projects in a better way and increase business growth.
Impact: The areas like project planning, quality management, or risk estimation started making use of big data analysis. And data analytics has already started shaping the project management world. The collected data is useful to learn how to form teams, the size of the team, how to include and position team members, skill sets needed to manage projects better.
So, how to leverage this! The smart and wise ones leverage technological advancements to stay relevant. Data analytics, if used the right way has the power to produce a lot of business value. That reminds us of the quote by great management guru, Peter Drucker, “What gets measured, gets managed”.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like numbers, find the tools that can do the work for you. Project analytics tools offer strategic parameters that could help you get the complete picture of all project activities.
5. Advanced project management tools and solutions
In today’s digital era, project management tools have become an indispensable part of project management. Research numbers tell the same story. According to research, 77 percent of high-performing projects use project management software to plan, execute, and control all aspects of project management.
Impact: Project management tools and solutions play a good role and can have a game-changing impact on the project lifecycle. Below are some ways how these tools are making meaningful changes in project management.
Project planning: Consolidated data from previous projects helps to plan better
Scheduling and time tracking: Tracking of time spent on tasks and manages scheduled events, meetings, milestones, and deadlines
Communication and collaboration: Share critical information with team members, clients, stakeholders
Budgets and deadlines: Deliver projects within the allocated budget
Progress tracking: Tracking of the ongoing projects if they are on track or not, if resources need to be adjusted or not.
So, what's in for Project managers: It goes without saying that project management tools are of much help to project managers to plan and deliver projects on time? Those tools enable team members to communicate & collaborate well.
Thus, it becomes important for Project Managers to keep themselves attuned to the recent trend in Project management. It will help the project manager to be impactful & contribute to a better extent to make projects successful!
Rupesh Pimple
Project Management Expert
Insightful...keep it up Author