The eight topics below were part of project management discussions in 2023. Several, including remote work and change management, were already established practices rather than inventions of that year.
1. The ongoing digital revolution and remote work
If the global pandemic has taught us anything, it's that technology and telecommuting can keep teams connected across locations. Project managers face practical challenges: keeping people informed, coordinating tasks and agreeing on deadlines.
Time and task trackers and Gantt charts can support planning. Agile is an approach to managing work, not another software tool. Choosing an application does not by itself establish how a team will use it.
2. Empowering artificial intelligence (AI) and automation
Businesses can automate routine project operations, such as reminders and recurring status updates. These tasks do not all require artificial intelligence.
AI features may also help draft plans or summarize project information. Managers still need to check whether the output matches the project’s constraints and available data.
3. Change management
Change management focuses on helping people adopt changes to processes, roles or systems—for example, new regulations, equipment or positions. Teams need to understand what is changing and who is responsible for putting it into practice. This supports the wider work of planning and delivering the project.
4. Cloud solutions as a new business benchmark
Cloud-first means considering cloud services before other hosting options. For project teams, shared online documents and task boards can make updates available across locations.
Team members may work on the same project information without exchanging separate file copies. Access permissions, backups and data-handling requirements still need attention; cloud hosting alone does not make a workspace secure.
5. Priority Soft Skills
PMI’s 2023 Pulse of the Profession report highlighted four power skills:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Collaborative leadership
- Strategic thinking
Adapting to new tools matters, but a project manager must also explain decisions, listen to concerns and help colleagues resolve disagreements.
6. The need for cybersecurity
Project documents can contain customer information, budgets and access credentials. Sharing them online makes access control part of everyday project work.
Teams need to evaluate the software’s permissions, privacy settings and handling of sensitive information. An incident response plan should be prepared before a breach occurs, with clear contacts and responsibilities.
Review access when people join or leave the project, and train team members to recognize suspicious requests. Approved users need a workable way to access information without making it available to everyone.
7. More focus on data analysis and numbers
Project data can inform planning, quality control and risk assessment. Comparing planned work with completed tasks can reveal delays or a workload that needs redistributing. The same records can help estimate staffing and identify missing skills. A small project may need only a consistent task log and reliable cost figures.
8. AR in marketing
Augmented reality (AR) can add digital content to a view of the physical world. In marketing projects, an interactive business card or product demonstration is one possible application.
AR instructions may also show customers how to use a product. This is a type of project deliverable, rather than a project management method; its usefulness depends on whether the demonstration is clearer than a simpler format.