5 Project Management Trends & Forecasts for 2020

Our 2020 hindsight vision for project management is seeing project leads focusing not on the projects themselves, but rather the people who make up the team. In 2020 we’re predicting that: 

  • Project teams will have a more varied makeup
  • Project leads will work on developing soft skills
  • Getting a better idea of the strengths and weakness of your team
  • Working with unrelated projects and fields
  • Flexibility in your managerial philosophy

The upcoming decade will usher in a new age because it’s going to focus on the personal development of everyone involved in the projects you work on. By focusing on the people and building them up, you’ll be able to provide clients with a better product, and that will instill pride in your team.

Project Teams Will be More Diverse

Society is changing in big ways, more often than not for the better! We’re seeing more representation from various groups that historically are known as visible minorities in a variety of fields.

It doesn’t matter what age you enter the workplace, your degree level, if you’re apart of the LGBTQ+, a racial minority, or someone with a disability, these differences will be more commonplace. Rather than head for the hills, sort of speak embrace these differences.

Each person on your team will have different life experiences, due to a variety of factors, which means that you now how fresh and varying perspectives when it comes to tackling a variety of issues.

Besides personal traits, the workforce is changing in terms of employee makeup. The days of office workers being either salary or hourly are long behind us. This is partial because, with jobs and tasks shifting towards a heavy technological aspect, some companies are taking advantage of freelancers and remote workers.

Freelancers are great for short term needs and projects, and if they impress, they receive another project brief. Remote workers are taking traditional office jobs and allowing people to work from a home office, which reduces stress and boosts productivity and happiness. You could find freelancers on the portals like WriteScout and Subjecto.

Fostering Collaboration Between Unrelated Field and Projects 

We’re also predicting that previously related fields and projects will begin working together to save companies not only time, but also money when researching creative solutions, and developing products.

One instance of unrelated related fields coming together was Sociology and Myrmecology, a branch of Entomology focused on the study of ants.

Project Managers Will Need More Refined Skill Sets

Besides the technical skills a manager has, they’ll also need solid soft skills because colleges do a great job at teaching people industry knowledge, but don’t develop skills that businesses are looking for. Soft skills are the interpersonal skills that make people love or hate their manager.

A couple of examples of soft skills that managers need are the ability to accept feedback, creative and critical thinking, being flexible, and being a good communicator. A quick note on communicating, it’s more than talking, it’s also dependent on listening.

In 2020 we also think that tech will continue to trend as it has, and AI will become more important to businesses in 2020. Skills related to fields like robotics, computer science, and data analytics will be more important to companies.

Analyzing Not Only the Results But also Your Team

One thing that should be apparent to all project leads is that not all team members share the same skill sets. Each person has different skills that they offer, and as the manager, it’s your job to set up the team for success. However, the challenge lies in figuring out how to distribute tasks.

Managers Becoming Less Dogmatic With Their Management Philosophies

This is important because as the world changes around us, it forces management styles to be more flexible. By being able to alternate between different management styles, you can control things like decision making, job allocation, and you’ll have a defined leadership structure.

Conclusion

We hope you’re just as excited as we are for the dawn of a new decade. The future looks bright! Whether your a manager, a seasoned employee or a trainee, we’re all going to gain new skills. By developing people and setting them up for success, you’ll create a better product, and help shape the future.

Mamoun Wedyan Reviewed our PRINCE2 Course

Mamoun Wedyan is an Information System Consultant with more than 22 years of experience in the field of information technology. His field of expertise includes project management, project planning, databases, management, and troubleshooting. He is also knowledgeable in tools and technologies such as SQL, servers, operating systems, Java, Linux, and many more. He holds various certifications including:

  • Project Management Office Certified
  • PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner Certificate
  • ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
  • PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate in Project Management
  • PRINCE2 Practitioner Certificate in Project Management
  • P3O Foundation Certificate in Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices

Mamoun has reviewed our PRINCE2 course and provided his valuable feedback:

Mamoun Wedyan Reviewed our PRINCE2 Course

I took the uCertify PRINCE2 course for the PRINCE2 certification exam preparation. The course comes with pre-assessment and post-assessment practice tests. The course includes lessons, performance lab, and real-exam based practice questions. I found this course very helpful for certification exam prep.

The course is detailed and easy to understand. Overall, I will give uCertify 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who wants a self-paced study tool to prepare for their PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certification exam.”

To read the complete post, please click here.

Thank you, Mamoun, we are glad to have your honest and valuable feedback on our course.

To know more about Mamoun Wedyan, contact via his LinkedIn profile

The Millennial Approach to Project Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Management

In just a few years’ time, three-quarters of the world’s workforce will consist of Millennials — which is the section of the population born between the ’80s and the ’00s. While profiling such a large stratum is something people would stay away from, there is a sizable body of research that allows managers and CEO’s to be aware of the minute peculiarities of Millennials and their behavior in the workplace, compared to other generations. Thus, enabling them to calibrate their management styles. 

In this article, we’ll take a look into how Millennials work and the opportunities and challenges for project management that stem from the Millennial approach. 

Let’s dive right in, shall we? 

Management: Opportunities and challenges

Now that we have a basic understanding of this generation’s passions and fears, we need to outline the opportunities and challenges that Project Managers and management, in general, should be wary of. Professional help to students in research paper on project management subjects at Mypaperwriter.com

Millennials aren’t easily motivated by money

It’s not that they don’t care about income. To Millennials, money is but a means, not an end. Their work is a vehicle for satisfaction for them, which is why they seek professional mobility. Similarly, that is the reason why modern workspaces have changed so much in the recent years. Offices have become more comfortable and less stressful. 

This generation would rather have a few extra days off, student loan repayment assistance, or flexible work schedules, rather than earn more. 

Go beyond project management

As mentioned previously, the Millennials aren’t fond of hierarchies and the vertical distribution of power. They are brought up in a much more egalitarian and permissive environment, which explains why merely being a boss won’t cut it if you’re working with Generation Y. 

Millennials seek something different in a manager — they tend to work well with people that are approachable and are excellent communicators, rather than just people that give orders. 

As a project manager, you should be careful not to underline your authority too much, as this will end up defeating the purpose of motivating your Millennial colleague. Instead, consider engaging in a meaningful conversation with them and try to get to the bottom of their stagnation and search for ways to help them. 

The value of communication

Communication is an essential component of management in a Millennial team. Don’t hesitate to engage in transparent and meaningful conversations with them, helping them find out the reason of their stagnation. 

Create a strong company culture.

Millennials care about company culture a lot, which is why it’s imperative to not only have one on paper but also enact it. As we’ve mentioned previously, this generation doesn’t care only about money. Values are a vital component of their work. A well-paid job isn’t fulfilling anymore. There has to be meaning and contribution to a higher goal in their work. 

Not having a consistent company culture or not enforcing it properly might cause significant dissatisfaction in a Millennial worker, and it could eventually push them to reconsider whether they’re looking forward to working with your organization at all. 

Recognize their achievements

A quality that can also qualify as a shortcoming of the Gen Y is their continuous search for approval and recognition. They expect it from their peers and superiors in the workplace. Millennials have been conditioned to seek recognition due to their upbringing in the age of social media. 

Being able to how your recognition and appreciation for the work that they’ve done will allow you to connect with a millennial colleague and establish rapport. 

They need opportunities for professional growth

We’ve mentioned previously that due to the digital environment that Millennials have been brought up in, they’re used to a certain degree of immediacy. They want to grow quickly both in their proficiency in their field and the professional ladder. The potential to improve their skills is inspiring to them. 

“As a manager, you need to make sure that you provide your team members with an opportunity for growth.” – project manager Nick Terrin from BeGraded and Studyker is sure about.

Millennials are changing project management

The future is Millennial, we at least for a certain number of years, before the Gen Z replaces them. They bring a new perspective, principles, challenges, and opportunities to the workplace.

Organizations that have understood how to collaborate with Millennials and their predecessors will be able to extract most of the benefits that they can offer.

Francesco Orlando Reviewed uCertify PRINCE2 Course

Francesco Orlando is currently working as an IT Solutions Architect at Teleconsys. He has more than 15 years of experience in the field of information technology. His field of expertise includes cloud platforms, big data solutions, SQL Server DBA, data warehousing, and web design. Also, he is skilled in Linux, jQuery, Java, Shell Scripting, and Android. Francesco holds various IT certifications including: 

  • Scrum Agile Master
  • Prince2 Foundation
  • Prince2 Practitioner
  • MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure
  • MTA: Software Development Fundamentals
  • ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

He has reviewed our PRINCE2 course and provided his valuable feedback:

Francesco Orlando Reviewed uCertify PRINCE2 Course

I recently completed the uCertify PRINCE2 course and I would recommend it to anyone preparing for the PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certification. The course offers a pre-assessment at the beginning that identifies candidates’ weaknesses and strengths on exam topics.

Learning resources such as flashcards, quizzes, and practice tests gave me enough practice to be prepared for the certification exam. Overall, I found this course very helpful for the certification exam prep.”

To read the complete post, please click here.

Thank you, Francesco, we are glad to have your honest and valuable feedback on our course. 

To know more about Francesco Orlando, contact via his LinkedIn profile.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Impact Major Industries in 2020?

For years now AI has been predicted to have the biggest impact of all technological innovations across industries. As a result, futuristic technologies like AI and Big Data are forecasted to break records. That’s because despite their differences, all industries share basic processes like data accumulation, testing, and design among others. As such, AI can automate these processes and make them better and more efficient. Let’s take a look then at how AI will impact major industries this year.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Impact Major Industries in 2020

Healthcare

AI’s biggest impact is set to be in the healthcare industry where it’s primed to ironically re-humanize medicine by allowing doctors to focus more on patient care and better patient outcomes rather than paperwork and administrative functions. AI will also be increasingly used as a triage doctor assessing minor illnesses and conditions, allowing doctors to focus on more serious cases. Additionally, the adoption of robotic process automation for functions like revenue cycles, supply chain management, and patient scheduling will also become more accurate and more efficient, as AI helps automate components of these functions.

Human Resources

AI is quickly becoming a key driver behind candidate-job matching as well as automating communications with candidates and HR managers. Forbes explains that AI will be most effective at eliminating human bias and increasing efficiency in candidate assessment and communication. Apart from external candidate matching, AI is increasingly being used internally within organizations to assess internal promotions and leadership candidates. In an article by Marcus on how AI is changing the nature of business, the post outlines how certain businesses utilize algorithms to pinpoint leadership qualities among their employees. That information is then used to identify early-career employees that should be nurtured for leadership positions.

Project Management

Every company has projects that need planning, managing, and monitoring, however, the existing set of tools that do that are often very complex, and don’t always do enough to warn about potential problems or deficiencies at every level of a project. Managing risk is a critical aspect of project management and AI-powered decision support systems and automation can make projects more successful by reducing costs and mistakes and streamlining processes for better resources management. In fact, we noted how AI will help reduce project manager workload by as much as 20-40% and help gain better insights into project risks.

Finance

With the proven success of AI automation and machine learning, AI-driven algorithmic trading accounts for 75% of all financial market volumes. Machine learning is expanding to help major financial institutions cut down time spent on mundane administrative tasks, which can now be completed in a matter of seconds rather than several thousand hours. Machine learning is also used in banking and insurance to improve customer experience through chatbots, predictive analysis for products that customers might need, reducing claim processing times, and helping clients in savings and budgeting better by tracking spending behavior, among many others.