Lily MurariuResearch Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council CanadaCantley, Quebec, Canada
In a digital era, project managers are called to enhance and acquire new skills that will help them manage transformation projects in support of new digital technologies. What skill set and competencies do you think project managers should have? How do you suggest them to acquire these skills and competencies? What role has ethics in these transformative times? Saving Changes...
I hate buzzwords, as they are usually ill defined and don’t really add much meaning or clarity. As someone who does lots of technical writing, I do find great value in very well defined technical terms. If you went to a doctor who didn’t know the difference between a liver and a spleen, I would advise getting a second opinion from someone qualified.
I must completely disagree with Sergio that nothing has changed in the last 20-30 years. The availability of fast processors and the vastly lower cost of memory has changed theoretical concepts into everyday reality.
For one, the tools, methods, and processes used by the technical teams are very different than a few decades ago. From a PM perspective, changing the way the work is done changes the time, cost breakdowns, constraints, and qualities we wish to manage for a desirable outcome. A 2nd major difference I have seen is the ways we can communicate. 25 years ago, the cost of phone service meant 4+ techs shared a single phone making virtual conferences impossible. Now they have laptops, cell phones, and other capabilities that greatly increase the ways our teams can collaborate.
I agree that the core of what we do is unchanged. Time, money, and quality are all critical management aspects of running a successful business and they must be supported by how we manage projects. The explosion of computing technology however has, in my mind, greatly changed the methods we used to manage and execute projects, to get the desired results.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Sep 17, 2019 3:55 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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@Keith, I talked about the core, as you mentioned. I agree with you about the environment has changed then PMs has to transform themself to survive, growth and develop. But it does not mean that we need to confuse people tying to sell things like "agile project manager", "digital project manger", etc, etc. The basement is there form long time ago and the first step to fail is when people do not know about it. Is like in science where Newton´s Laws (for example) still remains no matter that other has modified them to adapt them to new realities. But it is not new. From long time ago people took the PMBOK but they did not use most of the tools and techniques. In my case, what I always use is the knowledge areas listed inside it because it is diffcult to me after making research and presenting papers to get knowledge not agree about they are not the knowledge areas we need to take into account when we start an initiative to get an opportunity. Other example from my personal life. I am a researcher on IA from long time ago including I published a book in 1990 that was taken as the basement for today called blockchain technology. My field of reseach is the simulation of human consciousness and today it is possible thanks to quantum computing, a field I am reasarchig from five years ago too. Because of these stuff my current work place included me in a group because they start the group bying some related buzzwords. My first message was "nothing new below the sun". The escence did not chage. The foundations are there from long time ago. What changes are the tools and techniques, some of them, to take advantage of new pradigma.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Sep 17, 2019 2:13 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
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I hate buzzwords, as they are usually ill defined and don’t really add much meaning or clarity. As someone who does lots of technical writing, I do find great value in very well defined technical terms. If you went to a doctor who didn’t know the difference between a liver and a spleen, I would advise getting a second opinion from someone qualified.
I must completely disagree with Sergio that nothing has changed in the last 20-30 years. The availability of fast processors and the vastly lower cost of memory has changed theoretical concepts into everyday reality.
For one, the tools, methods, and processes used by the technical teams are very different than a few decades ago. From a PM perspective, changing the way the work is done changes the time, cost breakdowns, constraints, and qualities we wish to manage for a desirable outcome. A 2nd major difference I have seen is the ways we can communicate. 25 years ago, the cost of phone service meant 4+ techs shared a single phone making virtual conferences impossible. Now they have laptops, cell phones, and other capabilities that greatly increase the ways our teams can collaborate.
I agree that the core of what we do is unchanged. Time, money, and quality are all critical management aspects of running a successful business and they must be supported by how we manage projects. The explosion of computing technology however has, in my mind, greatly changed the methods we used to manage and execute projects, to get the desired results.
@Keith, I talked about the core, as you mentioned. I agree with you about the environment has changed then PMs has to transform themself to survive, growth and develop. But it does not mean that we need to confuse people tying to sell things like "agile project manager", "digital project manger", etc, etc. The basement is there form long time ago and the first step to fail is when people do not know about it. Is like in science where Newton´s Laws (for example) still remains no matter that other has modified them to adapt them to new realities. But it is not new. From long time ago people took the PMBOK but they did not use most of the tools and techniques. In my case, what I always use is the knowledge areas listed inside it because it is diffcult to me after making research and presenting papers to get knowledge not agree about they are not the knowledge areas we need to take into account when we start an initiative to get an opportunity. Other example from my personal life. I am a researcher on IA from long time ago including I published a book in 1990 that was taken as the basement for today called blockchain technology. My field of reseach is the simulation of human consciousness and today it is possible thanks to quantum computing, a field I am reasarchig from five years ago too. Because of these stuff my current work place included me in a group because they start the group bying some related buzzwords. My first message was "nothing new below the sun". The escence did not chage. The foundations are there from long time ago. What changes are the tools and techniques, some of them, to take advantage of new pradigma. Saving Changes...
Ioana GaneaProgram Manager| GenpactBucharest, Romania
I strongly believe the digital era will and should bring changes in the way we as Project Managers perform our work.
I have been recently thinking about this too and writing on linkedin (link is at the bottom if interested)
As in any profession we should be able to develop new skills and focus on:
- innovation (be in a constant lookout for new, improved ways of working)
- digital / tech savvy
- change management oriented (digital changes will bring not only changes in activities but also an enhanced level of uncertainty for the people involved and this needs more attention than ever)
From an ethical point of view, PM should stick to the Code of Ethics and be on constant lookout for breaches that tech might pose.
The desire to learn and acquire new skills is the most important skill that a Project Manager needs to acquire. This ability to learn does not stop when you have completed your educational qualifications but instead every interaction in your personal and professional life should be seen as a potential opportunity to learn something new either about yourself or about new approaches, tools and techniques or a chance to expand your professional network. Managing projects gives us the opportunity to constantly meet new situations that we have not met before so this ability to deal with the unknown greatly enhances the skill base of a Project Manager. Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
There was a good analogy (forgive me, I can't remember the source) to digital technology and electricity. A century ago, many businesses had departments and senior executives in charge of electricity. Today, it's taken for granted. Certainly, we still have electrical engineers and skilled electricians to help us when things go wrong, but everyone is expected to know how to flip a light switch or plug in their own machines.
That's how information technology will eventually go. Project Managers won't necessarily need to be the highly skilled professionals that make IT work, but along with everyone else in the workforce, there will be a base level of competency that you'll be expected to have. And that base level will continue to change as technology evolves, and will likely be dependent on your location and industry. Saving Changes...
