The Future of Project Management: What Does the Next Decade Hold in Store?

The world moves at a faster pace than ever. We see this in every industry, project management included. 

But for project management, the evolution is bound to be a bit more convoluted than in other fields.

Why?

Because project managers are deeply embedded in the main driver of these changes: the evolution of technology, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a tech company that doesn’t place great importance on hiring the right project managers. 

Right now, the demand for project management specialists is still on the rise. Will we still need project managers? What will their jobs look like?

First, let’s take a look at the trends and drivers that influence the evolution of project management.

Trends and Drivers — What Lies Behind the Future of Project Management?

To understand the evolution of an industry, we need to look beyond itself at the broader picture to figure out how changes in other fields can influence project management. Some of the megatrends and drivers we can quickly notice today are:

A Global Talent Shortage 

According to a recent study, we are currently facing the most extensive talent shortage in sixteen years. You can see this in every field, including project management. 

PMI estimates that by 2027, organizations will need at least 88 million employees in project management roles. Granted, PMI is an organization serving project managers, so you’d expect them to push the increased demand.

However, there is more than a self-serving bias to the study above. Yes, project managers will still be in great demand, especially given the worldwide talent shortage.

They will be the ones to come up with better resource management solutions — a much-needed skill when most skills are in short supply.

Tech Advancements and Their Impact on The Job Market

Technology doesn’t steal our jobs; it transforms them. Industry 4.0 means that blue-collar jobs are simplified while white-collar jobs are enriched. 

We may not need as many blue-collar workers in the future. With technology-infused and digitalized industrialization, many blue-collar workers will move to white-collar jobs. 

Along with this shift, project management itself will be transformed. Future project managers must carefully anticipate this job scope change in their respective fields and ensure their organization and its workforce are prepared for it. This can include using advanced enterprise project management software as well as investing in their own skill development.

They will need to manage a more diversly-skilled workforce, as digital competencies will be demanded in every role, along with the core competencies required for each position.

The Future Is Hybrid and Flexibility Becomes the Norm

Hybrid teams, hybrid approaches, hybrid work — we see this word more and more often. In a hybrid world, flexibility becomes the norm, replacing the rigid approaches to work and roles from the last decade.

Project managers will be expected to pivot and adapt on the go, allowing for more flexibility within their teams and within their own job scope. Even if you want to do something as simple as conduct better meetings, embracing hybrid methodologies will ensure that communication remains seamless and effective

Increased Number of Stakeholders

Until recently, stakeholders and shareholders were used interchangeably. Today, we know better.

We know that an organization can have a handful of shareholders but millions of stakeholders. Everyone is a stakeholder, from employees and clients to the community directly or indirectly impacted by the organization.

And the project managers have to cater to them, too, coming up with new solutions to keep everyone in the loop according to their specific interest levels.

Now that we’ve set the big picture, let’s zoom in and see what each of these trends and drivers mean for the future of project management. 

Looking Beyond the Horizon — Project Management in the Next Decade

Transformation and flexibility are the core values for project management in the next decade and beyond. But what exactly does that mean for project managers? How will their jobs be transformed, and how will flexibility be factored in?

Resource Management Becomes a Critical Skill for Project Managers

With scarce resources growing scarcer by the day, project managers will have to grow more creative. Interdisciplinarity and the ability to approach challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective will become part of a project manager’s set of core competencies.

It’s important to note that we’re not just talking about the shortage in global talent and human resources management here. Many other resources (remember the chip shortage? It’s still going on!) are scarce, especially those fueling tech companies.

Hybrid Approaches Bring Changes in Project Management Methodologies

Only 47% of organizations use agile methodologies for delivery today. Scrum becomes harder to implement in hybrid teams with remote and in-office workers, so project managers must develop a more flexible approach, borrowing from different methodologies instead of sticking to a single one. 

This could signal the birth of an entirely new methodology to replace the once extra-popular Agile or simply a period of transition in which every company mixes and matches approaches in a way that fits their culture.

One thing is sure, though: the era of by-the-book project management is gone. In the future, the best project managers will be the ones who write their own books.

Project Management Will Have a Broader Scope

Project managers must look beyond assigning tasks and reporting to stakeholders and shareholders. Their work will grow increasingly analytical and, yes, even creative.

Problem-solving was always a core skill for project managers, and now it has become more critical than ever. Since they have a bird’s-eye-view over the entire project, they will have to come up with solutions to fix every issue — and more often than not, on their own.

In this context, it’s also essential to remember the increased complexity of projects (due to the talent and resource shortages, the rise of the gig economy, the increased pressure from various stakeholders, etc.). Thus, it becomes evident that project managers will be more involved in different business areas, from human resources and accounting to sales forecasting and marketing. 

Project Management Goes Increasingly Visual

Diverse teams, an increased number of stakeholders, remote working, and the growing need for digital competencies mean that project managers will have to cater to more diversified audiences than ever.

Visual collaboration and project management will become pivotal in delivering bit-sized messages to various audiences. Moreover, our attention span is declining by the minute, so project managers will have to grow more apt at creating visual representations of business processes.

Project Managers’ Rise in the Hierarchy 

By now, it has become clear that project managers’ roles are more critical than ever. In a collaborative thought leadership piece, Arup expects that by 2030 top 100 companies will have at least one project management professional in a C-suite role.

Project managers bring the analytical skills that C-level executives need and their in-depth knowledge of business processes. In short, they are the most apt to move from a granular view to an overarching perspective.

Summary

Project management is here to stay. But, like most fields, it will undergo significant transformations. 

While project managers are known for their ability to pivot and adapt even in the face of the most unexpected curve balls, the future decade will test this skill even further. Most often, they will not simply need to pivot and adapt but be the vector of change and transformation themselves.

The next decade’s project managers will be leaders in the truest form. 

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