This happens every year.  We make predictions so we know we can look back and see how wrong we really are.  No one really looks back though, so I'm just going to accept that this is a fun exercise and I'm going to be wrong.

However, you can listen to episode 164 of the Project Management Podcast and hear my project management predictions for 2011 along with a handful from other people.

Lean/Agile

I think we will continue to see momentum in the direction of Lean and Agile.  Technology will enable this in more ways than one, and Lean/Agile projects will enable technology implementations.  It's a virtuous cycle that will continue in 2011 and probably pick up the pace.

Distributed and virtualized systems and technologies in particular will increase in adoption as more and more knowledge workers become distributed.  There will be a struggle between the benefits of co-location and distributed teams, a struggle I am going through now myself.  

Education

I'm a volunteer for the PMI Educational Foundation and have seen increases in both awards and candidates for scholarships and grants for project management education.  I think that will continue in 2011.

Also, the offerings of project management courses and training has grown.  I plan to offer more courses myself through pmStudent e-Learning and other venues, so the choices available will be ever-expanding from me and other providers like here at Gantthead, which is great!

Social Networking

I expect to see increased adoption, and a consolidation of platforms.  I'm spread so thin across so many platforms and groups within those platforms, I think it's time to simplify.  And I think a lot of other project managers involved with social media will feel the same.

For Me Personally

I will continue to develop the lean/agile approach my teams and I have been working on.  Eliminating waste in process has become a bit of an obsession for me, and I will continue to evolve my approach over the course of 2011.  I'm also planning on focusing a bit more on Systems Engineering than I have in the past, and perhaps become INCOSE certified in the process.

What are your predictions for 2011?