Project Management is Ready to Disrupt for Success

The following scenario has played out in numerous organizations with the same result. Disruptive technologies are innovations that significantly alter how an organization operates. Strategies utilizing these disruptive technologies are devised and implemented with great optimism, only to have results fall short of predictions.

A November 2018 thought-leadership report by the Project Management Institute (PMI) titled, “Forging the Future: Evolving With Disruptive Technologies,” lists several reasons why transformations fail to yield results. Among them are: (a) the difficulties of selecting the appropriate new technology, (b) lack of funding, (c) resistance from employees and (d) gaps between strategy and execution. Executive-created strategy can get lost in translation when it reaches the execution phase.

The failure to translate strategy into practical day-to-day implementation means tangible gains (such as increased efficiency, lower costs and increased profits) aren’t realized.                                                                   

Successful Projects Have a Common Link

Some organizations did achieve success, though, implementing a minimum of 75% of their transformative projects. According to “Forging the Future,” those organizations credited project management’s involvement as essential to their projects’ success.

These successes provide the project management office (PMO) with an important opportunity to expand by managing strategic delivery and project outcomes. The move comes with support from chief executives, with 90% agreeing that the PMO’s role in their organization’s transformation is vital and growing. 

Successfully integrating disruptive tech, such as artificial intelligence, cloud technology and the internet of things, can lead to benefits for the organization as a whole and elevate the role of project management (at least for companies ready to face a future in which near-constant disruption is the norm).

A February 2018 PMI report, “Next Practices: Maximizing the Benefits of Disruptive Technologies on Projects,” summarizes the benefits of using disruptive technologies for project management.

• Cloud solutions: Cloud computing provides minimal effort to access shared system resources and services, meaning that tasks that once took months may now be completed in minutes. The cloud makes possible greater levels of collaboration and information access, allowing for more focus on projects and customer issues.

• Internet of things (IoT): This network of devices (that can collect and exchange data within the infrastructure of the internet) offers project management vastly increased and constant connectivity. Automatic transfer of data can help make communication more effective and efficient. According to the “Next Practices” PMI report, 62% of innovators said IoT has given their organization a competitive advantage.

• Artificial intelligence (AI): AI’s information gathering abilities help eliminate bias and human error in tasks such as creating budgets and schedules. It also can reduce the time and resources needed for project monitoring. This allows project managers to focus on their interpersonal communication skills and team building and keep projects on track toward helping the organization meet its goals.

Opportunities for Project Management

The implementation of disruptive technology provides an opportunity to utilize project management to convert strategy into success. As explained in the “Forging the Future” report, project management offices (PMOs), established in the corporate chain of command as the leader on all things project-related, should be enabled to establish a culture of constant change within the organization, focusing on innovation, agility and critical thinking.

For this to happen, organizations must evolve from a top-down structure to one that prioritizes collaboration between corporate, project leaders, middle management and any other department that’s part of a transformative project.

Collaboration will be key to successful transformation, according to the report, as will an atmosphere of constant change and innovation. For that to occur, as summarized in the “Forging the Future” report, the organization must: 

• Invest in continuous learning
• Fully engage employees
• Elevate project leaders to change advocates
• Create a data-powered enterprise
• Eliminate fear of failure

According to the PMI report, project management offices are prepared to deal with disruption because they are in position to bring together employees from across the organization to collaborate. Prioritizing collaboration helps make PMOs qualified to deal with the disruption created by new technologies. Next-generation project management offices should be poised to experiment with new ways of working and be prepared to help employees adopt new technologies to help their organizations reap desired results from disruptive strategies.