Page 88 - Global Project Management Handbook

3-20 STATE OF THE ART OF GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

government in the different knowledge areas. Regarding the processes of project man-
agement, the trend was toward planning and control.
Based on the identified trends, a few of the predictions are (selected) as follows:
● Standardization of processes and tools, as well as standardization of terminology, is
expected to contribute to project management success.
● There will be greater use by practitioners of Web technologies for enterprise communi-
cation and collaboration.
● Major companies will engage in more outsourcing of project management.
● The project manager’s role will evolve to demonstrate more leadership than project
management. Advanced training for project managers will be offered through compa-
nies, universities, and professional organizations.
● There will be a movement away from “superprojects.”
● Refinements will occur in how project scope is defined and related to business require-
ments and measurable benefits.
● Selection and prioritization of projects will continue to evolve as a large issue for both
government and industry.
● Increased emphasis will be placed on formal project management training and certifica-
tion and verification of what training really works.
● More emphasis will be placed on risk management in general and specific training for
project managers on risk identification, contingency planning, risk mitigation, and man-
aging risk events.
● There will be increased focus on communications and communications planning, particu-
larly as it relates to stakeholder management and communications in times of project crisis.

Archibald, 2003. Here are a few of Archibald’s conclusions and predictions about
where the discipline of project management will be in the year 2008:

● Characteristics of project management. The basic characteristics of project man-
agement have not changed appreciably in the past 10 years and are not expected to
change much within the foreseeable future.
● Major project management trends. Three major project management trends are observed

that will continue: (1) linking strategic and project management through project portfolio
management practices, (2) broadening the application of project management to include
the total project life cycle from concept through to full realization of project benefits, and
(3) continued discovery of new application areas for the project management discipline.
● Organization capabilities and maturity in project management. Rather than continue to
be developed as a separate specialty within organizational management disciplines, the
principles and practices of project management will merge gradually with other areas of
management and be an important part of every manager’s responsibilities, much like
financial management is today.
● Project management maturity models. There will be at least three major models com-
TM
peting in the global marketplace: PMI’s OPM3 , Japan’s P2M, and outgrowths from
the United Kingdom’s OGC PRINCE2 TM approach.
● Individual capabilities in project management. Certification of individuals in project
management will be much more heavily based on proven capabilities, almost entirely
focused on specific areas of application and/or specific categories of projects, awarded
at several levels: program manager, project manager, and several project specialist cat-
egories (cost, estimating, scheduling, risk, and others).