By Linky van der Merwe
This article explores two major trends that we observe and attempts to understand what impact these trends will have on the skills of project management practitioners in order to position ourselves better for the future.
“We are looking at a future in project management where the definition of success is determined by the creation of business value. There will be continuous scope changes and customer involvement will be mandatory.” says Dr Harold Kerzner, Executive Director for Project Management for the International Institute for Learning. “Project staffing is now all about capacity planning and resource management. The metrics of the future will have to track tangible as well as intangible elements.”
Future of Project Management
According to Dr Harold Kerzner, business metrics will include:
- Business profitability
- Portfolio health
- Portfolio benefits realization
- Portfolio value achieved
- Portfolio selection and mix
- Resource availability
- Capacity utilization
- Strategic alignment
- Business performance
Major Trends
Let’s look at the major trends impacting businesses today and what it means to the future of jobs.
Trend 1: Customer Experience
By 2020 customer experience will become the key brand differentiator above price and products and customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.
Trend 2: Digitization
Digitization refers to things like Automation and Artificial Intelligence, the capability to move work offshore and the demands of the customer changing in frequency and complexity.
The impact of digitization to our workforce will mean huge reduction in jobs and big changes in skillsets. More than half of school children in primary school today will work in jobs that don’t exist yet.
The World Economic Forum is forecasting that 75% of businesses will become fully digital by 2020. According to McKinsey, organisations are responding by retraining, hiring and doing a mix between the two.
Impact on the Future of Jobs
The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum states that the industries which can expect the biggest disruptions, include:
- Financial Services and Investors
- Infrastructure
- Mobility
- Information & Communication Technology
- Professional Services
- Energy
- Consumer
- Health
- Media, Entertainment and Information
The skills that are in decline can be summarized as:
- Project Management administrative and tactical skills
- Data collection and data analysis
- Predictable work and repetitive tasks
By 2020 skills will need to transition to:
- Complex problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- People management
- Coordinating with others
- Emotional Intelligence
- Judgement and decision making
- Service orientation
- Negotiation
- Cognitive flexibility
Future Project Management Skills
For the past few years the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) emphasis on skills has changed to include a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise. The definition of each skill can be explained as follow.
- Technical project management: Knowledge, skills and behaviors related to specific domains of Project, Program and Portfolio Management.
- Leadership: Knowledge, skills and behaviors specific to leadership-oriented, cross-cutting skills that help an organization achieve its business goals.
- Strategic and business management: Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes.
The Strategic Execution Framework
Stanford University has developed a White Paper called The Strategic Execution Framework to help companies stay on track, aligning projects with key initiatives to achieve desired outcomes. It is based on the concept that the building blocks for strategic execution are projects, put in place alongside regular operations to achieve specific goals.
The framework consists of six domains easily remembered by the mnemonic: INVEST
The domains include:
Ideationis your company’s understanding of what it is and how it appears in the world, expressed through its purpose, identi ty and long-range intention.
Nature creates the conditions for strategic execution. It embodies the culture and structure within which, you operate.
Visionincludes the goals, metrics and strategy that form the foundation for your business.
Engagement connects the enterprise strategy to IT project portfolio investments and clearly demonstrates that your company is funding the right IT projects to further its strategy.
Synthesisis where engagement meets execution, ensuring you’re successfully executing IT projects and programs in alignment with the IT portfolio as well as the enterprise’s overarching strategies.
Transitionis the ultimate measure of success, where you move the results of IT project-based work into the mainstream of operations.
Each of the domains presents opportunities for improvement. The framework helps you identify disconnects and barriers to successful strategic execution and it provides a common language and way of understanding how businesses successfully execute, innovate, change, and grow. You can assess your organization within this context and make necessary adjustments to create a foundation for balanced strategic execution.
Skills Gap in the Digital Era
A Price Waterhouse Coopers Report, based on a survey among 1300 CEO’s, indicated problem solving as the most sought after skill, then leadership, adaptability, creativity and innovation, STEM skills, risk management and digital skills.
Considering the survey results, the skills that Project Professionals seemingly need to develop the most are:
- business acumen
- leadership skills
- versatility
- technology skills
- executive communications
- application of emotional intelligence attributes.
Continuous Learning
Considering how much growth and development is required to close the skills gaps, there are many ways to learn. You can learn by doing (on the job, stretch assignments), learn from others (mentors, shadowing) and finally formal learning, like a degree.
Also refer to this excellent research article by Louise Worsley called: Be a Project Management Professional Learner, providing a break-down of The Future Work Skills 2020 Report.
PM Skills Development Action Plan
Here are some recommendations for you in 2019 to position yourself as a Project Professional in 2020 and beyond.
- Develop an action plan
- Keep reading to stay on top of industry trends
- Grow others around you
- Take every opportunity to demonstrate leadership
- Be aware of culture as an enabler for project success
- Build diverse teams
- Always focus on your customers
Sources
- The future skillset needs for Project and Program Management by John Daly, a PMI Organisational Agility Conference 2018 presentation
- Future of Project Management by Harold Kerzner
- The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum, Forrester, Gartner, Accenture, Hay Group, 2020 Workforce
- Customers 2020: A Progress Report by Walker Customer Experience Consulting, 2017
- White Paper: The Strategic Execution Framework by Stanford University, developed by IPS Learning, LLC and Raymond Levitt and used in the Stanford Advanced Project Management Program.
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