Today’s approach to project management is nowhere close to the wildest imagination of industry experts by the close of the 20^th century. For the most part, these unprecedented advancements result from advancements in technology and its incorporation in project management.

 

The future doesn’t seem any different, with technology changing faster than ever. There may not be any way of accurately predicting project management in ten years. However, by looking at past and present trends, one can get an idea of what the future holds.

 

This guide offers industry experts predictions on what project management may look like ten years from today.

 

What Is Project Management?

 

The best place to start understanding the future of project management is to understand what it means. Project management is a systemic approach to projects that blends leadership, organization, and strategy, which steers a project from conception to completion.

 

It involves having well-organized, time-bound, measurable steps to achieve the desired outcomes. By providing direction, project management ensures clarity of purpose and acts as a guiding beacon to ensure that businesses stay on top of their goals.

 

What to Expect In the Next Ten Years

 

More Artificial Intelligence

 

Artificial intelligence is arguably the biggest thing in the tech world and is poised to get even bigger. Traditionally, AI has been used to accomplish simple tasks, such as automating repetitive tasks and providing insights into data and risk management, although at a much lower scale.

 

While AI is still being used for the same purpose today, its role has expanded exponentially. Today’s AI handles intricate tasks such as predictive analysis, which helps with precise risk management, and it has advanced machine learning algorithms that make it smarter with every use.

 

There is no precise way of telling how AI will be applied in project management in 10 years. However, by today’s application and its fast-changing nature, AI will have advanced to levels where it can handle almost every aspect of project management with little to no human intervention in ten years.

 

Enhanced Security through Blockchain Technologies

 

Blockchain technologies are most popular in cryptocurrencies. However, the underlying technology is not limited to cryptocurrencies.

 

A blockchain is a digital ledger for holding information securely and transparently. It is more like a chain of interconnected blocks where each block contains data linked to the previous one, creating a permanent and unchangeable record of transactions.

 

Its use in project management has seen quite a significant increase thanks to its immutability, ensuring transparency and security and minimizing the chances of errors and fraud. Due to the increased need for secure and transparent systems, there is a growing trend of incorporating blockchain technology in project management, which will only become more extensive with time.

 

Remote Work

 

Remote working has been around for quite some time. But there has never been a way of testing its applicability on a large scale until 2020, with COVID-19 forcing people out of their offices. While the majority of employees have since returned to offices, many businesses realized the huge potential in remote working, which can sometimes come at a fraction of what it would cost to have employees in a physical office setting.

 

With remote working, businesses can hire talent from any part of the world, meaning they have a wider pool and a better chance of getting top talent. Also, the gig economy allows employers to hire talent for specific tasks, meaning employers have no obligation towards staff as is the case with traditional in-office employees.

 

Hiring from different parts of the world increases a business’s chance of getting fairer rates for the same quality of work. The perks of remote work are hard for businesses to ignore, which has seen remote work for project management increase significantly. This trend is expected to increase significantly going forward.

 

Cloud Computing

 

Traditionally, businesses have had to invest in powerful computers and software for the different tasks in the everyday running of a business. Cloud computing is changing all that. With cloud computing, you can have all your files and enterprise project management software tools in the cloud, eliminating the need for expensive computers and storage devices.

 

Besides helping with storage and access to online tools, cloud computing makes collaboration bliss. Contributors to a project do not need access to a physical computer in a centralized location; all they need is access to the cloud. These capabilities are especially critical in a remote working setting.

 

As long as a contributor has login credentials, they can contribute to a project just like in an in-office setting. As businesses seek to cut costs and tap the benefits of remote working, cloud computing will increase significantly in the next ten years.

 

Democratization of Project Management

 

Traditionally, every project had a project manager whose principal role was to oversee the execution of a project. While most businesses still have a designated project manager when executing a project, many are moving away from this approach.

 

Businesses are moving towards having different people oversee a project depending on the phase a project is at, democratizing project management. That said, project management skills are also becoming a must-have for everyone involved in project management.

 

As such, the next ten years will see project management become a requirement for everyone involved in a project, as basic computer knowledge is a prerequisite in almost every field.

 

Less Conflict

 

With changes come conflicts between the group that holds the old way of doing things as the most effective and the one that is quick to adopt new ways of doing things.

 

Ten years from now, many of these conflicts will have died down as project management experts find common ground on what works and what doesn’t. It will not be so much about who is right but finding which approach fits a specific situation best. At the end of the day, the outcomes will determine a project’s approach.

 

Final Words

 

Changing times necessitate a change in how businesses run. It is impossible to predict with precision what project management will be like in ten years. This guide looks at today’s trends to create predictions on what project managers can expect in ten years.