There is no doubt that project management throughout the years has been constantly evolving. This is so not only because of the tough competition among project management providers but also of the fact that more and more businesses are seeing the advantages of such industry. However, the question remains if project management will be able to cope with the constant changes and ever-changing demands of many businesses.
The answer to this is a resounding yes. Project management is one of the few fields that can be applied and incorporated into various industries. Therefore, it has kept itself growing in order to meet the demands of its clients. Furthermore, because of its rapidly increasing popularity, there has already been numerous project management software created to help increase the efficiency and productivity of project management teams. Aside from that, no single project management method is perfect for all projects which is exactly the reason why this field relentlessly searches for new solutions, tools, approaches, and methods.
Project management will only grow
Again, there is no doubt as to the direction project management will grow in the coming years. In fact, according to the Project Management Institute or PMI, the demand for project managers will reach 87.7 million by 2027, especially in China and India. This is paddled by the fact that many project managers will be retiring and that there will be an increase in the jobs that require project-oriented skills and demand for project talent.
What is expected from project managers in the coming year?
As the demand for project management heightens, so does the need for project managers to raise their skills and capabilities. They are, therefore, expected to acquire a wide variety of skills to complete a project. This includes technical knowledge of how a project should be completed. Having business acumen is also seen as an advantage, as well as leadership skills, which is necessary for leading remote teams. There will be a need for a broad set of people skills because their team members may be from all over the world, with various cultural and social backgrounds.
What are the future trends in project management?
For a field whose services are in high demand, its future trends are definitely expected to change. And for the coming year 2020, here are the foreseen trends of project management.
Increased demand for project managers. As already mentioned above, project managers who are retiring will need replacements. Given the fact that projects are activities broken down, deadlines constantly arrive that need to be met. Thus, more project managers are needed to manage data, time, costs, scope, and more.
The use of Artificial Intelligence. This is already happening today as seen in the presence of chatbots, autopilots, smart devices, and more. However, the use of AI will intensify in the coming year, not just in project management but also in almost all other fields. The role of artificial intelligence in project management is to help allocate resources, prioritize tasks, provide scheduling of operations in real-time, and help teams arrive at sound decisions during the project implementation stage. It is perfectly understandable for people to fear being replaced by machines. However, it should always be understood that machines need people to program and drive them right.
High demand for freelancers. It isn’t new anymore for people to hear about freelancers or those people who trade their ‘9 to 5’ work schedule for remote work. Right now, this is already a trend despite conservatives thinking that it is not good to have little to no control over their staff. However, with its perks like not having to leave home for work and enjoying flexible times, this has become more attractive to a lot of people. There might be challenges related to the workers living in different time zones but if they are allowed to work from home, a lot of time is saved and they can become more productive.
Training of new performers. There is no question as to the need for skilled and expert-level performers in project management. This has remained a trend for so long. However, this is starting to change and will continue to change in the coming year as project managers are no longer just looking for team members who are skilled. The less-skilled and beginners are now being welcomed more because of a variety of reasons. For one, they are open to new ideas and have a fresh look. And since they have no reputation to keep yet, they are more determined to prove themselves. So, the manpower pool will no longer be just limited to experienced workers but will be open to ‘ambitious beginners’ as well.
Embracing the Kanban Board. Since many project management teams are working remotely, they need a tool that will immediately allow everyone in the team to have an overview of a project anytime. The Kanban Board, an agile methodology, is this tool and it is seen to be embraced by more teams in the coming year. Originally used in Japan for identifying project bottlenecks that cause the lead in delivery, it is an efficient visual workflow tool that allows progress tracking. The ‘post-its’ on the board contain the tasks, who are in charge of them, what have already done, what still needs to be done, and when it should be done. Users don’t anymore have to switch from one app to another as everything is already in the Kanban Board.
More skills than certifications. It is true that having certifications can definitely help advance one’s professional rank. However, what project management needs are people who have the skills to adapt fluidly to the many constant changes that happen to the tools, processes, methods, and frameworks of business. These include combining scientific calculations and experiential instincts. Therefore, workers who have an eye for detail, updated skills, and hands-on knowledge will be better preferred in the field of project management.
These are just among the many trends that are seen to happen not just in the coming year but in the coming years. Therefore, aspiring project managers and freelancers should start enhancing their skills that are relevant to the aforementioned trends. No matter what the trends, we should always remember that skills, creativity, independent thinking, and intuitiveness are the keys to success.
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