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Attend an industry trade show. Read an industry
trade journal. Speak with your colleagues. Regardless of the medium, the
message being delivered heralds a change in project management. Once dominated
by construction managers and software engineers, project management is
now widely practiced in all areas of business. Indeed, individuals are
even "career pathing" themselves into official project management roles,
rather than landing in them accidentally.
In an attempt to analyze this new "renaissance" in project management,
a Research Program Team from the Project Management Institute (PMI) put
together a study entitled The Future of Project Management.
Conducted in 1998, the team recently reported several key findings to
the PMI board of directors. These results, coupled with the latest research
published in several industry trade journals, yielded the following conclusions:
Changes to the Profession
- Project management is now viewed as a "profession" and not simply
a "task-oriented activity."
PMI has contributed to this phenomenon. As a professional organization,
PMI has established a set of standards and a body of knowledge used
to define project management today. Many organizations encourage their
employees to become certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs),
a title awarded by PMI. Other companies conduct their own internal project
management training and certification programs.
- Projects are becoming more complex.
Today's project managers must frequently manage multiple vendors, lead
virtual teams, and implement a process methodology within their organizations.
According to PMI, "the complexity of projects and their cycles are increasing,
placing greater demands on managers."
- Team dynamics are changing.
It's not unusual for project team members to reside in many different
geographic locations across the globe. Cultural backgrounds are varied,
thereby making communication more challenging.
- "People skills" are now considered crucial to project success.
The value of "people skills" in managing a project is becoming more
widely accepted and recognized. Because motivation and influence are
two of the biggest factors in project success, team members need to
focus on the human side of project management.
- Technology has increased efficiency and communication.
Technology is not only enhancing our ability to communicate across distances,
but it is also enabling project team members to manage their projects
more efficiently. With tools like Microsoft Project and other software
planning instruments, it has become easier to create and track project
milestones and deliverables.
- Technology projects are demanding better project management skills.
With the growth in technology projects, there is a demand for project
management mentoring, training and support. Today's IS/IT professionals
know about technical project management diagrams and network planning,
but they need to understand how to effectively manage stakeholders and
motivate others to achieve a desired outcome.
Changes to the Role
- Project managers must become more accountable for their actions.
Project managers are assuming more responsibility and accountability
for project success. It's not only important that a project is developed
on-time, within budget and to specification. Rather, organizations are
now interested in a project's return on investment and its contribution
to the bottom line. Business skills are quickly becoming as important
as behavioral and technical skills when it comes to managing a project.
- Project managers must act as relationship-builders.
Project managers are often called upon to be ambassadors of customer
intimacy. They must be committed to delivering a high-quality product
or service that is best for the client. In order to achieve this result,
project managers need to build trusting relationships with their vendors,
sub-contractors and outside resources. Fairness and neutrality are a
must.
- Project managers must possess the right mix of behavioral, technical
and business skills savvy.
Having the right mix of competencies makes for a successful project
outcome. If a project manager is only focused on the "people skills,"
he or she will lose sight of deadlines and the financial return of the
project to the organization. If the project manager is only focused
on the technical components of project, his or her team members will
become disgruntled and the project will fail to achieve a return on
investment. All three competencies need to be exercised within each
stage of the project - from inception to completion.
In short, today's business trends are dictating these changes to project
management. Doing more with less people, shortened product life cycles,
and stiffer competition for market share have prompted the need for project-oriented
skills. Those project managers who possess the know-how to be successful
will enjoy greater visibility from senior management, not to mention the
opportunity to work closely with those outside their functional department.
It's the ideal time to be a project management professional, especially
if you're not intimidated by a little change.
End of Article
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Future of Project Management
This report was generated by the 1998 PMI Research Program Team. It was
presented to the PMI board of directors, and also to those in attendance
at the PMI March meeting in Dallas, Texas. According to PMI, "The report
is the first of an annual activity…to help [us] better assess and plan
our future. And to better understand and anticipate changes in the project
management profession." --- PMI Today, March 1999
For more information on this report, contact Lew Gedansky, PMI Research
Department manager, at r&d@pmi.org.
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