We are at the end of another year. 2021 would be history…soon!
Globally, what does 2022 have in store for businesses?
What could be the “project management trends in 2022?”
What shifts do we expect in Project Management Software/Project Management Tool?
These are some questions that must be driving the curiosity of project management professionals as well as business leaders.
It is a no coincidence that Harvard Business Review Research predicts that by 2027, some 88 million people around the world are likely to be working in project management, and the value of project-oriented economic activity will have reached $20 trillion.
Let us try a ‘crystal ball gazing’ about the top project management trends in 2022!
Shifting the momentum of project management
It is very clear that the pace of project management is shifting gears. This momentum is seen across industries – be it technology, professional services, pharma & life sciences, EPC, FMCG, consumer durables, etc. The projects could be small-to-mega in size and value and simple-to-high in complexity. Business leaders and decision-makers must be the ‘change agents’ if they are serious about transforming organizations.
Professionals across the industry spectrum must embrace project management. Senior management must focus on building and enhancing project management capability. Professionals must invest their time and effort in gaining and enhancing project management skills.
Coexistence of Predictive and Agile
The debate about the choice of project management approaches is set to rest. Project practitioners need to realize the relevance and value that businesses can exploit by the right choice of predictive, agile, or hybrid approaches to managing projects. Organizations must develop project management practices, processes, and workflows based on predictive, agile, or hybrid approaches. The implication for project professionals – become adept at delivering projects with ambidexterity of predictive meticulousness and agile lightweight!
Global Collaboration Explosion
Projects will see greater globalization with team members spread across continents. Organizations would have greater access to global talent. However, the challenges of effective collaboration will increase. The focus on ‘bringing people together’ was never so much! If not managed well, virtual teams have the potential to drive-down organizational efficiency, speed, and business value.
Another dimension of collaboration involves customers and vendors who may be local or global. Collaborating with customers and vendors is of a higher order. Depending on the category of customers/vendors, organizations must invest in different skills ranging from transactional, relationship-based, or strategic.
Business leaders must ensure the availability of collaboration platforms that can be tailored to the unique needs of customers, vendors, and team members to develop trust, transparency, and collaboration. The choice of online project management software with inbuilt collaboration capabilities is no longer a nice-to-have!
Governance
Governance is about right decisions and right execution in the right way by all concerned. The difference between business success and failure is the speed and confidence with which senior executives take decisions about programs and projects. Every new year puts tremendous pressures on leaders and their ability to take decisions – at the right time.
Project management software must empower such top management executives who end up struggling with the ‘right data’ instead of decision-making.
Some Things Don’t Change
In addition to the above, business leaders would continue to deal with the usual stuff such as –
- New product idea generation and evaluation
- Evaluation and selection of projects based on business value
- Meticulous proposal creation
- Resource capacity vs. business demand mapping
- Resource utilization
- Dynamic project scheduling
- Cost control and profitability protection
- Accurate Revenue recognition
- Zero Revenue Leakage
- Risks & issues management
- Quality and compliance
Project Management Software Vendors need to scale up!
A vast majority of vendors of project management software/PM tool have a myopic view of the project management world. Their focus is rather very narrow and restricted to scheduling, resources, and to some extent costs. Further, they try to force ‘their way’ of project management to their customers when the ground realities and business problems are very different. It is natural to find that customers are ‘not satisfied’ as they are unable to ‘extract business value’ from these COTS (commercially off the shelf) project management software.
The makers of online project management software/PM tool must take a hard look at the complete design strategy behind their solutions and align it to the ‘customer’s way’ of work. Digitalization must be at the center of the next-gen online project management software.
Project management trends, 2022: Closing notes
With every passing year, business leaders realize that the opportunities are growing, and alongside the challenges of competition, cost control, and employees’ well-being must be balanced well. Else, decision-makers put organizational growth at risk – chaotic vs. managed.
A top-class Project Management Software/PM tool is no longer a nice-to-have, but a key catalyst for organizational profitable growth. Kytes PSA Project Management Software is designed for today and tomorrow.!
