20 Emerging Strategies And Trends In Project Management
Technology professionals haven’t just played a leading role in building the tools we use in the modern workplace. They’ve also led the way in developing leading-edge processes and procedures for planning, tracking and carrying out daily work. And just as technology tools rapidly evolve, so too do project management philosophies and trends—from Waterfall to Agile to new and emerging hybrid methodologies.
Of course, as project management systems change, so too do the roles, routines and responsibilities of a project manager and the tech team members they work with. Below, members of Forbes Technology Council detail some emerging strategies and trends in project management that organizations, PMs, teams and even clients need to know about.
1. Establishing A Value Management Office
An emerging trend in project management is the value management office, which shifts the focus from project delivery to maximizing value. With a VMO, organizations align initiatives with strategic goals, optimize resource allocation and enhance agility. This approach responds to increasing complexity and the need for continuous improvement in today’s dynamic business environment. – Anand Santhanam, Amazon Web Services
2. Relying On Senior Talent
A new trend in project management is to rely more on senior talent and reduce traditional oversight. This shift is driven by complex modern projects that need experienced professionals who can make quick, informed decisions. Emphasizing product ownership skills helps project managers deeply understand and align projects with business goals, enhancing agility and innovation. – Denys Vorobyov, EltexSoft
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3. Using AI For Resource Optimization
A key trend in project management is using artificial intelligence for resource optimization, especially with distributed teams. AI helps manage the complexities of coordinating efforts across locations by providing data-driven insights, automating tasks and improving communication. This enables project managers to allocate resources efficiently and anticipate issues, leading to better project outcomes. – Ramiro Gonzalez Forcada, The Flock
4. Shifting To Hybrid Methodologies
One emerging trend in project management is the shift toward hybrid project management methodologies. This approach combines elements of traditional project management with more flexible and adaptive methods. The change has come about because businesses today face rapidly changing environments and increasingly complex projects. – Jacob (Yakup) Kalvo, Live Proxies
5. Communicating Progress Asynchronously
Increasingly, project statuses and updates are communicated in asynchronous fashion through tools such as Slack and Jira and then automatically compiled in a status update using AI agents. This change is driven by a distributed workforce, a bias against meetings and the integration of AI across the business stack. – Mark Carter, Vimeo
6. Extending Agile Principles To Entire Project Portfolios
Agile portfolio management extends Agile principles beyond individual projects to entire project portfolios. It emphasizes continuous alignment with business goals, iterative progress and flexibility in resource allocation. It has become increasingly relevant due to rapid and continuous market changes, and it has the added benefit of helping to ensure efforts are aligned. – Chris Dolezalek, Hum Capital, Inc.
7. Achieving More With Fewer Resources
In project management, there’s a growing expectation for teams to achieve more with fewer resources. As advanced tools and AI boost productivity, companies now demand greater efficiency and continuously refine their resources. This shift, driven by the need to maximize outcomes while minimizing waste, makes resource optimization a key factor for success in today’s competitive world. – Melkon Hovhannisyan, Direlli
8. Blending Careful Planning With Agility
In recent times, there has been a rise in remote work. This has changed how team members collaborate and communicate with one another. Hybrid project management addresses this issue by combining traditional and modern methodologies as one emerging strategy. This approach is better suited for remote environments, as it allows teams to blend careful planning with the ability to quickly adapt to changes, regardless of team members’ locations. – Manjula Iyer, 98point6 Technologies
9. Aligning Efforts Through AI-Driven OKRs
One emerging strategy is the rise of the objectives and key results framework, optimized by AI. AI-driven insights help PMs set precise OKRs and predict outcomes, helping them align team members’ efforts toward project delivery. In my experience, combining AI with OKRs sharpens focus and accelerates goal achievement, particularly in critical initiatives where team alignment and data-driven decisions are vital. – Varun Milind Kulkarni, Cisco Systems Inc.
10. Shifting Project Management To Business Integration Management
With the rapid changes in the digital world, project managers need to become business integration managers. A business integration manager defines and leads all the changes required in both the physical world and the digital world. The days of managing tasks on a spreadsheet are gone. – Gregory Pitstick, AXIA Consulting
11. Rapidly Adapting To Changing Business Environments
Project management has traditionally been a mostly Waterfall-based approach; everything was sequential. In the past five to seven years, being nimble and agile has become a key focus as time to market has become more important. This has transformed project management as we seek ways to ensure the IT function is well-aligned with a fast-moving business environment and changing strategies. Adapting to an ever-changing business environment has become the norm. – Vishal Patel, Webster Bank
12. Leveraging GenAI For Enhanced Decision-Making
As projects grow more complex and data-driven, the use of generative AI has become an emerging trend. It’s being leveraged to enhance project management through predictive analytics and insights, thereby enabling better decision-making. For instance, H2O.ai, an open-source machine learning framework, can be leveraged to build predictive models for project management. – Santhosh Vijayabaskar
13. Merging Agile Methods With DataOps Practices
The integration of Agile methodologies with DataOps practices enables rapid, iterative development, ensuring data pipelines are reliable, scalable and efficient. This strategy has gained traction due to the growing need for real-time insights, continuous data delivery and the increasing complexity of data environments. – Abdul Muqtadir Mohammed Zubair, Snapchat
14. Enhancing Business Agility With AI
The emerging trend of focusing on business agility in project management is being profoundly influenced by AI technologies, which enhance flexibility, speed and data-driven decision-making. AI’s ability to predict outcomes, automate tasks and provide real-time insights directly supports Agile methodologies, enabling teams to respond more quickly to changes and continuously align their work with evolving business needs. – Andrea Prazakova
15. Stressing The Importance Of A PM’s Soft Skills
There’s an increasing focus on a project manager’s interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Technical skills have always been important for project managers. However, in today’s complex, hybrid and AI-driven work environments, there’s a growing recognition that interpersonal skills—especially emotional intelligence—are equally important. – Debdutta Guha, Google
16. Prioritizing Eco-Friendly Practices
Sustainability and green project management have become both essential and a point of pride. The unprecedented environmental damage and increased awareness that have stemmed from recent global events are leading business leaders to prioritize eco-friendly practices. The focus is now on minimizing the environmental impact of projects and promoting sustainable practices throughout the project life cycle. – Nitesh Sinha, Sacumen
17. Planning Farther In Advance
Organizations migrating to colocation or scaling up a data center deployment are being forced to plan farther in advance. Supply chain challenges that emerged during the pandemic are now driven by the unprecedented demand for AI-capable servers and infrastructure. Organizational leaders need to anticipate how they will interact with customers in the future and plan infrastructure accordingly. – Juan Font, CoreSite
18. Focusing On MVPs And Ongoing Impacts
There are three interesting trends emerging across industries that aren’t really new but are having significant impacts: MVPs, ongoing impacts and project control. First, companies are increasingly focusing their strategy on MVPs—developing minimum viable products for clients. Second is the evaluation of the ongoing impacts not only from the project’s design, but also from the main project decisions. Clients are therefore being pushed to the core of project governance. – Cyril Korenbeusser, BNP Paribas
19. Managing Higher Costs Due To New Environmental Policies
Many companies are implementing environmental policies that come with a cost impact on projects. Integrating environmentally friendly practices can often lead to higher upfront costs, including the need to use sustainable materials, adhere to stricter regulations and access broader skill sets. These costs can be offset in the long term through lower energy consumption, reduced waste and taking advantage of tax incentives. – Stan McHann, SparkMeter
20. Slowly Phasing Out The PM Role
One of the biggest trends in many organizations is a lessening need for project management. As transparency becomes more mainstream and AI and ML become embedded into current work management tools, having someone to oversee the status of work is no longer needed. Project managers need to future-proof themselves by understanding how their skills can be leveraged as job automation increases. – Laureen Knudsen, Broadcom
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