The project manager must understand that clients are people too. Even a perfect plan can be destroyed by one failed message, and some of the principles and values ​​of the Agile Manifesto, created more than 20 years ago, have already lost their relevance.

We looked at what trends will change the field of project management in 2023, what PM skills will be in demand in the future and whether project managers should be afraid of AI.

We prepared this article together with Technical Program Manager Taras Fedoruk. Taras is the vice president for professional development at the Ukrainian representative office of PMI. Has more than 10 professional certificates, including PMP (Project Management Professional) and PSM II (Professional Scrum Master II). He was awarded as “Best Project Manager in IT” by Ukrainian IT Awards in 2019 and PMI Rising Leader in 2022.

Taras publishes more insights for project managers in his Telegram channel.

What’s new in project management
Over the past few years, the industry has undergone significant changes in the context of the organization of work on projects. Standards and frameworks that have been known for many years are being tested and given a fresh vision.

For example, previously the location of the team in the same office was a requirement for the implementation of Agile approaches. There is even a principle:

“The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.”

However, the pandemic and lockdown have shown that even separated teams can be just as productive as those working in the same office.

In my opinion, these challenges for project managers will remain in the near future:

Employee engagement management
The Microsoft Work Trend Index study showed that in 2022, teams preferred a remote or hybrid work format. About 30% of employees were ready to quit if they could not work remotely.

However, after the transition to work-from-home, it became more difficult to keep team members engaged. Therefore, project managers need to improve remote facilitation skills, manage expectations and motivation, and improve communication skills. It’s also important to have a plan in case the remote team burns out. According to a Gallup study, 80% of workers have faced this problem at least once.

Risk management
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has forced companies to implement at least basic risk management. A risk is any negative event that can affect the project. For example, a new law or the temporary absence of a developer. The sooner the project manager identifies and works through the risks, the cheaper their compensation will be.

Data-driven approach and frameworks
Due to the pandemic, employees have switched to remote work, and business demands on project managers have increased. Therefore, there was a need to use a data-driven approach in project work.

When a team works around the world, the company expects the manager to work on challenges based on specific measurable metrics and results. Data analytics and reporting help measure the speed of project execution, identify budget overruns in the early stages, etc.