In the first part of this two part series we discussed the changes that we are starting to experience as a result of the 4th Industrial revolution. In this second part, we are going to discuss the impact of these changes on the project manager role and the skill set they require.
Why does it impact on jobs?
The World Economic Forum predicts that as the 4th Industrial Revolution takes shape there will be a net loss of over 5 million jobs in the next 5 years across developed and emerging economies. This will be due to automation, the restructure of job roles to meet the changing nature of work and redundancies due to efficiencies.
At a recent APM North Conference, Dr Mark Batey (Academic Lead for the Manchester Creativity and Innovation Programme) posed an interesting question:
“What effect will the 4th Industrial Revolution have on the role and skills required of project managers?”
It provoked a lot of interesting discussion amongst the delegates.
In our local discussion, we focused on the development of a range of PPM tools (such as artificial project assistants) which could automate some of the routine tasks which Project Managers currently perform, including:
- Analysis of complex data sets
- Task scheduling and resource selection
- Budget management
- Requirements gathering
- Provision of a more holistic view of project and programme delivery within the context of anorganisation’s BAU calendar
As PPM tools become increasingly intelligent, and able to capture more sophisticated data, some of the task we currently do as PMs may well change. But, before we all start running to the hills in fear of our jobs, we should not overly panic for a number of reasons:
- The introduction of these tools will in fact help you to perform your role more efficiently, enabling you to dedicate more of your time on doing the things that matter
- That being said, many organisations still have a huge way to go in terms of having a sophisticated toolset and even more so, the ability and appetite to collect the type of project data which these tools require
- Even with such tools in place, for the foreseeable future, most complex projects will still require a human being to do the heavy lifting in terms of greasing the wheels to get decisions made, unlocking resources and removing barriers
What does this mean for PM skills?
Given the current situation of immature tools and data strategies in many organisations, what are the key skills which project managers will need in the next 5 years as they manage increasingly complex projects?
- Bringing creativity – Dr Mark Batey felt that this was one of the key skills which will be required, which is not one traditionally associated with the role of a Project Manager. The ability to generate new and innovative ideas, to solve complex problems will be highly prized.
- The ability to interpret data – as our workplaces and projects become more reliant on data, PMs will need to be able to analyse and interpret more complex data sets to aid decision making.
- Fantastic facilitation skills – this skill will never go out of fashion. The Project Manager is the conduit by which decisions get made, risks get understood, giving meetings purpose and impact and ensuring that key stakeholders get a true sense of what is happening in their projects
- Aligning project delivery and benefits – as increasing project data sets will be able to shed light on the level of project benefits realised by organisations over time, supporting stakeholders to question the alignment between the projects selected for delivery and the benefits that these will realistically deliver will become even more important
- An understanding of Change management principles – As tools will be able to do more of the routine essentials and possibly more technical areas of project management over time, there will be more scope for the people change elements of projects to be fully considered.
- Leadership and communication skills – as projects become more complex, with a plethora of new technologies and also new people change configurations as traditional working patterns change, Project Managers will need to communicate complex ideas simply with impact, be able to influence and negotiate and lead from the front in role modelling the changes they wish to see implemented.
In summary, the ones that make us human!
