Bantter BlogThe world is getting more digital by the minute. There are ever-evolving technological and managerial trends that continuously shape and re-shape job roles in every field. It’s important to be aware of new project management trends and how they impact your teams, clients and approach.
Today’s companies are using the efficiency-enhancing power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce the need for human intervention in repetitive rules-based tasks, creating the ability to automate anything from simple scheduling to complex data visualization. For digital project managers, AI can assist in prioritizing projects and allocating resources thanks to its real-time sensitivity which can adjust to sudden changes in the inputs of the process – like resource availability, client needs, schedule changes, and so on. From a decision-making perspective too, there is far more consistency in decisions made by machines that can quickly understand the process, risks and outcomes of hundreds of scenarios across multiple projects in a project manager’s portfolio.
One of the better outcomes of automation is that it relieves project managers of spending hours and hours on mundane and repetitive operational activities, giving them the time to focus on opportunities, foresee bottlenecks, manage stakeholders and improve project quality.
Needless to say, while AI can automate, standardize and enhance many project management processes, there is very little that can replace the need for empathy, tact, and sheer experience. So, if you’re worried that a bot will be doing your job one day… it can’t. But you can use it to make you better.Emotional intelligence can never be replaced by machine learning, AI, IoT or any of the other components of today’s digital transformation. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum’s Report on The Future of Jobs, “social skills” were ranked the second most desired skill among employers – second only to “complex problem-solving skills”.
As project managers, we must continue to remain adept at using the intelligence of machines for our benefit without losing the most necessary human needs of showing empathy, anticipating needs, tactfully negotiating, and being a motivational leader. Now and into the future, it will be important to continuously hone the people skills that are critical to managing smooth operations and happy teams.
Making the most of everything that AI has to offer is worthwhile. And you can start small. Project management tools, like Gantter, help a project manager automate tasks like:
- Defining the scope of a project
- Aligning with other business areas
- Recommending tasks, resources, vendors
- Analyzing risks
- Developing project schedules, timelines and milestones
- Assigning tasks to the appropriate resources
- Assessing project outcomes
- Tracking costs, resources
- Comparing baselines
Try Gantter free for 30 days, and see how much time you’ll save by automating the things you’re spending too much time on now!