EMERGING ISSUES AND TRENDS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

The top Global Project Management Trends for 2011 include such key themes as building the project managers (PM influence! accelerating ne" leadership and communication skills! and increased use of informal learning approaches such as social media and e#periential training$ These are e#plained as under% Leadership Skills Will Be the PM s Criti!al S"!!ess #a!t$r % &eadership skills! such as critical thinking! crucial communication and organi'ational change management! "ill be strategically imperati(e project management competencies to master$ )n 2011s project management landscape * featuring more comple# projects and greater use of (irtual teams * being on time and on budget "ill re+uire not just a laser,like focus on the triple constraints! but on the re+uisite leadership skills necessary for an indi(idual PMs success$ The challenge for organi'ations "ill be to clearly define "hat -leadership. means in the project and program management conte#t$ N$ I&d"str' Will Be Spared (r$) the War ($r PM Tale&t , /a((y talent management and retention strategies "ill be essential to "ard off poaching in 2011$ 0lthough economic reco(ery has been une(en "orld"ide! PMs "ith the greatest mobility and e#perience "ill ha(e the best opportunities for career gro"th through -o(erseas. assignments$ )n particular! )ndia and 1hina "ill continue to be plagued by a dearth of competent and e#perienced PMs to manage large and comple# infrastructure and )T projects$ 0dditionally! as mega, projects at the 2ing 0bdullah 3conomic 1ity north of 4eddah and 2ing 0bdullah 5inancial 6istrict on the outskirts of 7iyadh kick into high gear! more opportunities for "ork in the Middle 3ast "ill become a reality$ A*ile Will Be See& ($r What It Is+a&d Is& t , Project management organi'ations embracing 0gile soft"are and product de(elopment approaches "ill continue to gro" "hile being faced "ith the challenge of demonstrating 78) through 0gile adoption$ )n addition! they "ill need to disabuse their stakeholders and e#ecuti(es of the e#pectations set by )T consultants! the media and the (endor community that 0gile is the ne#t -sil(er bullet$. 8rgani'ations that do it right * including selecting the right projects for 0gile * "ill reap significant re"ards$ C$)pete&!' M$dels Will Be C$re t$ Ma&a*i&* Pr$(essi$&al De,el$p)e&t a&d Pr$)$ti$&s ($r PMs , 0s project management gains greater acceptance as a discipline! the hiring! assignment! promotion and professional de(elopment of PMs "ill be based on comprehensi(e competency models$ )n order for these models to be effecti(e! they must be company,specific$ 1ompetency models illuminate the beha(iors re+uired for a PM to be successful and take on larger and more comple# projects$ 0ccordingly! the 1&8 (or senior 97 e#ecuti(e ! business unit heads and the enterprise project management office (3PM8 need to "ork shoulder,to,shoulder to identify and codify organi'ation,specific competencies! thereby building a frame"ork for talent management success$

E-perie&tial Lear&i&* Will Be M$re the N$r) tha& the E-!epti$& , The professional de(elopment of PMs "ill increasingly focus on reality,based learning and on,the,job training! an approach certain organi'ations in 0sia ha(e taken for many years$ &earning pro(iders "ill be re+uired to send PMs back to the job from such sessions "ith the ability to immediately apply "hat they learned to their current projects$ 3(en the many uni(ersities that offer project management degrees "ill face the challenge of making their courses and programs rele(ant! practical and pragmatic based on participants real projects$ The lecture mode is dead and any training pro(ider or uni(ersity "ho ignores it does so at its peril$ I&($r)al Lear&i&* ($r PMs Will Gai& M$)e&t") , 8rgani'ations "ill continue to de(elop and e#ploit informal learning approaches such as communities of practice (1oP ! (arious forms of social media! as "ell as coaching and mentoring$ :ith millennials joining the "orkforce in greater numbers! "e "ill "itness more effecti(e use of social learning technologies and approaches! such as "ikis! blogs! (ideos! podcasts and other methods of communication$ :ith four generations no" in the "orkplace! it is not only the millennials "ho "ill benefit by such relati(ely ne" forms of learning$ 9o"e(er! the great ;en k<an +uestion of the day is! -)f informal learning becomes formal! does it become formal learning=. )f the ans"er is yes! do "e search for more informal learning to formali'e= Pr$.e!t Sp$&s$rship Will Be!$)e a& Area $( #$!"s , The roles and responsibilities of the project sponsor "ill be a key focus as organi'ations try to accelerate their structured approach to project management$ /uch organi'ations are trying to a(oid the e#perience of others in their industries around the "orld "hose -spotty. record of success in project sponsorship has contributed in "hole! or in part! to less than successful projects$ O"ts$"r!i&* Will Re)ai& a Risk' B"si&ess , The continued gro"th of outsourcing "ill force organi'ations to pay more heed to its associated risks and conduct better due diligence$ 0s a response! organi'ations "ill strengthen their risk management cultures and recogni'e the (alue of best practices in contract management$ More than a euphemism! the "ord -sourcing. "ill replace the term outsourcing as it more accurately describes the resource allocation approach both internally and e#ternally for many organi'ations$ PMs Will Tea) /ith 0Cha&*e Part&ers1 a&d Use Str"!t"red Meth$ds t$ #a!ilitate Ad$pti$& , Projects initiate change and PMs are change agents$ >et! they ha(e been ill,e+uipped to facilitate the type of change re+uired to adopt the product or ser(ice the project deli(ers$ )n 2011! "e "ill see more organi'ations de(eloping and assigning -change partners!. also kno"n as change management e#perts! to projects to assist in such adoption$ Moreo(er! project teams "ill slo"ly! but steadily! increase their use of change management methods! "hich "ill be packaged as methodologies$

The PMP Will C$&ti&"e its 0W$rld D$)i&ati$&21 3"t Will N$ L$&*er Be E&$"*h , :ith ?00!000@ holders! the PMP "ill continue to be the most popular project management credential in the "orld! outpacing e(ery one of its ri(als as the -credential of choice. among practitioners$ :hile most organi'ations "ill continue to support their PMs in earning the credential! the (alue of pro(en e#perience and demonstrated competency "ill take on e(en more rele(ance beyond ha(ing the certification itself$

1. Greater concentration on communication and training 2. Coordination between agencies participating in a project 3. Commitment from the counterparts 4. Strengthening of design and 5. Better understanding and management of institutional uncertainties 6. A oidance of multi faceted projects