1.3 Digitalization of Project Management

The Digital Age

We live in an era characterized by accelerating exponential change driven by a cluster of technologies, such as the internet, social media, mobile, big data/analytics, artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics. Beginning with the introduction of the very first personal computer in the seventies, today, with an Internet connection, one can use video and audio to communicate and transact anytime, anywhere, and anyplace. We live in a digital realm in what is loosely described as “cyberspace,” in which information is exchanged and shared in a space that is virtual.

Though these digital technologies have been developing for many years, it is only in the past decade or so that their cumulative impacts have become so deep-rooted, extensive, fast-changing, and profoundly impactful as to herald the dawn of a new age – the “Digital Age” or the Digital Economy. The cluster of technologies driving this is varyingly referred to as digital technologies or digital forces.

The role of digital technologies will continue to expand. This will occur because more devices are accessing the Internet; an ever-increasing number of people are using digital services and more value chains are being digitally connected. Therefore, access to digital technologies is a source of major competitive advantage for organizations, particularly when paired with the ability to use them to transform the way value is delivered to the market. In the education sector for instance, despite the challenges due to COVID-19, virtual learning environments have made it possible for academic institutions to continue seamlessly with their academic programmes.

The Organizational Response – Digitization, Digitalization, and Digital Transformation

The onset of the Digital Age and the availability of new technologies have been the enabling factor in organizational change and innovation. Organizations have been putting in place strategies and launching projects to become agile, profitable, and smart in order to cope with an increasingly competitive environment and the unpredictability of markets.

Given this, companies have been in a rush to become digital and they are going about it in different ways. Some of them are implementing digital technologies to engage in new ways with customers and others are completely transforming their way of doing business or creating an entirely new business model. To understand this, let us consider a simple process like performance reporting. Such reporting systems have moved from paper to spreadsheets to smart applications with digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

However, to reach the maturity of “smart reporting,” one would have to reimagine the way reporting is done in terms of the reporting formats, the periodicity, the flexibility in the use of variables, the application on which the reports are developed, and finally, the way the reports are presented. Such a move in reporting systems would also mean new ways in which we engage our customers who would be receiving, in real-time, such reports all laden with infographics.

To elaborate this further, historically, businesses kept handwritten or typed paper-based records. During this time, business data was in a stage which is referred to as analog, and if you wanted to move or share this data or information it was done through the physical movement of papers and documents.

When computers went mainstream, most businesses started converting all those paper records to digital computer files. This stage was called digitization, which is the process of converting information from analog to digital. Through the process of digitization, finding and sharing information became much easier, but the ways in which businesses used their new digital records largely imitated the old analog methods. Computer operating systems and thumbnails were even designed around icons of file folders to feel familiar and less intimidating to new users. Digital data was exponentially more efficient for businesses than analog had been, but business systems and processes were still largely using analog-era ideas about how to find, share, and use information.

Then organizations began the process of digitalization, which is the use of digital data to simplify the way work is done. A good example would be how call centres would use digitized data and information to provide customer service. Digitalization would enable call centres to provide better service by making customer records easily and quickly retrievable via multiple devices. The basic methodology of customer service did not change, but the process of fielding an inquiry, looking up the relevant data, and offering a resolution became much more efficient. In summary, digitalization is about the way business operations employ transformative digital technologies and information.

With digital technologies continuing to evolve and newer technologies becoming available, strategists have started generating ideas for using these digital technologies to improve existing ways of doing business, but more importantly, new ways of doing business. That is when the concept of digital transformation began to take shape. Organizations were now able to change their fundamental business models. Uber, for example, heavily incorporated digital transformation to change the way we rideshare.

Digital transformation is about changing the way business gets done and, in some cases, creating entirely new classes of businesses. With digital transformation, organizations are taking a step back and revisiting everything they do, from internal systems to online and in-person customer interactions. The questions being asked are, “Can we change our processes in a way that will enable better decision-making, increase efficiencies, enhance customer experience, empower personalization, and, most importantly, boost profits?”

Therefore, the organizational response to the capabilities provided by the Digital Age is to embark on a strategy of digital transformation of their businesses. Most organizations are integrating their digital strategy with their overall strategy to disrupt the marketplace.

Impact of Digitalization on Project Management

With a major percentage of organizations embarking on a strategy of digital transformation and disruption being the new norm, project leaders are becoming even more essential as organizations recognize that strategy is implemented through projects and programs.

So how exactly are the Digital Age and digital transformation changing project management? The impact is seen broadly at three levels in terms of skills, approaches to the delivery of projects, and the use of next-level tools and approaches that work. This creates both challenges and opportunities for project management and those who manage projects.

According to a recent PMI survey and subsequent study called, “The Project Manager of the Future – Developing Digital-Age Project Management Skills to Thrive in Disruptive Times,” project management will require organizations and individuals alike to embrace a full spectrum of competencies and approaches, along with a wide range of skills.

From skills and competencies perspective, project leaders will continue to need a thorough combination of technical and project management skills, leadership skills, and strategic and business management skills, which are already part of the PMI Talent Triangle. In addition to this important triad of skills, organizations will need project leaders to learn and keep pace with existing and emerging technology. In the reality of the “Digital Age,” a new digital overlay has been given to the PMI Talent Triangle to emphasize how digital transformation is impacting every aspect of our work.

The three points of the triangle (which represents the ideal triad of skills) are technical project management, strategic and business management, and leadership.

Technical project management skills are about successfully tailoring the tools, techniques and processes used. This domain also includes the ability to thoroughly plan, prioritize and effectively manage the scope, schedule, budget, resources and risks associated with a project.

Strategic and business management skills are about communicating a project’s organizational aspects, develop delivery strategies and maximize business value.

Some projects require specific organizational and/or industry knowledge. This knowledge can be defined by industry group (pharmaceutical, financial, etc.), department (accounting, marketing, legal, etc.), technology (software development, engineering, etc.), or management specialty (procurement, research and development, etc.). These application areas are usually concerned with disciplines, regulations, and the specific needs of the project, the customer, or the industry.

It is important for project leaders to embrace a life-long learning mindset as internal and external environments often change very quickly. During the “initiation stage,” project leaders assess the strategic and business management knowledge they have and its value to the new project underway. If necessary, effective project leaders seek to close their knowledge gaps through their own research and by seeking the support of mentors. As discussed earlier, it is important for project leaders to understand the organization’s vision, mission, and strategies.

Leadership skills are useful for all project team members whether the project team is operating in an environment with centralized authority or shared leadership environment. Some of the traits and activities associated with leadership includes;

• Establishing and maintaining vision
• Developing and applying critical thinking skills so you can recognize bias, identify the root cause of problems, and consider challenging issues such as ambiguity, complexity, etc.
• Understanding what motivates team members to perform and working with project team members to remain committed to the project and its outcomes.
• Developing interpersonal skills such as emotional intelligence, decision-making skills, and conflict management.

Success in today’s digital environment requires a combination of skills, some of which include data science (data management, analytics, and big data), an innovative mindset, security and privacy knowledge, legal and regulatory compliance knowledge, the ability to make data-driven decisions, and collaborative leadership. The crux of it is that technical skills are not enough on their own and must be paired with leadership, as well as strategic and business management, in order to support the longer-term strategic objectives of organizations.

How Project Leaders Manage Disruptive Technologies

With regard to project delivery, organizations have been using a spectrum of approaches— predictive, iterative, incremental, agile, hybrid, and whatever approach will come next to change how work is carried out. Most organizations have embraced the entire value delivery landscape to deliver their projects and programs. Project leaders in organizations see disciplined agile delivery and design thinking as the growing approaches or processes that will be needed.

The cluster of technologies available in the Digital Age is cutting-edge and disruptive. Organizations must be able to not only understand these technologies, but also to integrate these technologies and tools into their organization. Regarding projects being carried out, leaders and team members must embrace the next-level tools and technologies, applying and integrating them into their project work.

These tools and technologies are a combination of collaborative work management tools, as well as traditional tools, including spreadsheets and traditional project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management, Accolade, etc.), collaboration platforms (e.g., IBM Watson Workplace, Slack, etc.), agile planning tools (e.g., Atlassian, CollabNet, VersionOne, etc.), and collaborative work management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Trello, etc.). (PMI 2018).

In addition to these tools and technologies, project leaders are also relying heavily on technologies that enable effective cross-team communication. Traditional tools, such as email, are cumbersome when it comes to collaboration, as they are not designed for real-time dialogue. Important information is easily buried within endless email chains, and constant email overload negatively affects productivity. On the other hand, collaborative work management software allows team members and co-workers across departments to engage, connect, and interact in real-time, significantly cutting down on email clutter and saving loads of time in the process.

But more than just increasing the efficiency of intra-work communication, these technologies are improving its effectiveness as well. When team members are freed from filtering through hundreds of emails a day just to keep up with a project’s status, they are able to spend more time talking about project strategy — which is precisely where the bulk of your team’s conversation needs to be focused.

Along with facilitating more efficient, strategy-focused communication, modern work management technologies are making it easier for teams to truly collaborate. With the right platform in place, executives, project leaders, and team members can add comments, assign tasks, organize dashboards, approve assets, and handle just about everything else related to the project all in one convenient solution. This deep level of collaboration inevitably leads to a greater sense of shared ownership from teammates and helps foster a cooperative, synergistic environment. Workers who feel they are part of a collaborative effort have been shown to have greater engagement, lower fatigue, and higher success rates than those who are isolated from peers.

As digital transformation automates workflows and coordinates traditional project management tasks like scheduling, Project leaders are getting more time to focus on strategy optimization and project delivery. In fact, the PMI predicts that as digital transformation continues to touch companies across every industry and vertical, Project Leaders will be viewed more as strategic leaders in their organizations: With more digital tools and automated processes at their disposal, Project leaders are homing in on the best ways to align each project with the business’ strategies and goals — and delivering more successful outcomes in the process.

Digital transformation is providing project leaders with the analytical technology to make data-driven decisions, break down patterns and trends, and ultimately enhance project outcomes and success rates. This access to deep data also assists executives and managers in making better-informed decisions faster and easier than ever before. Robust analytic reports help managers keep projects on track and on budget with real-time cost and labour analyses. In-depth data sets can also be easily broken down for stakeholders and executives, giving them precise insight into business impact and return on investment (ROI) on every project and helping them strategically plan future initiatives.

As technology continues to advance at exponential rates, organizations must adapt to the digital landscape or risk getting left behind. Companies that have implemented a digital transformation strategy have been shown to increase performance and revenues. According to McAbee (2019) a project leader who is mandated to deliver projects for organizations carrying out digital transformation would need to focus on streamlining communication, improving collaboration, and shifting focus from project processes status to strategy and outcomes.