Four Trends That Will Make or Break Project Management Team

Project management teams can be difficult to manage. While many trends and technologies are introduced to help teams manage projects and get more work done, they can end up ruining relationships and causing missed deadlines. It’s important to get the balance right and use the trends in the right way.

Here’s a look at the four trends that can make or break project management teams. Following the right way to use them will help to ensure the former.

Technologies Close the Gap on Project Collaboration

Technology is extremely useful when it works as intended. Project management software allows teams to work remotely or in different parts of the office. There’s little need to pick up the phone to clarify something when the software and technologies are used correctly. Meetings can be kept to a minimum, mostly to discuss the larger elements of the case.

More people are using Skype, Google Drive, Slack, Asana, and more for their collaboration needs. Instant communication across the world is easier and it allows people to get on with the tasks at hand while they discuss the project as if the person was in the other room.

The technologies also make it easier for people to work from home on certain days. Parents taking time off for sick children or needing to wait in for the boiler repair man can push project deadline dates behind. People can be more efficient at home because they’re in a familiar surrounding and happier with their job. It’s also possible to hire the best people, as the hiring net can be cast wider than ever before. The ability for in-office workers to sometimes do work at home and still be contactable with the rest of the team is useful.

How can the technologies cause problems? Well, there’s the issue of the tech being used incorrectly. One person not updating a board in Trello can push deadlines behind because the next person in the team doesn’t mean it’s their turn to work on something. This new trend relies on everyone working together.

Agile Everywhere

Being agile in the project management world is essential. This trend helps members of the team grow and helps project managers learn more about them and what they do. Customer expectations rise and competition always tries to stay one step ahead of each other. By being agile everywhere, businesses are able to see these changes and implement their own changes should they need to.

To help build the project management team, a manager has to be open to change. They need to embrace the agility within the project and focus on the bigger impact within the business. Agile project managers will help to encourage the team to do the same; growing in a way to continue building the business.

But of course, agility can break the team. Well, more like lack of agility can break the project management team. If one person isn’t willing to make changes and see where they can expand, the whole project can fail. This can also lead to ill relations between team members, compromising specific elements of the business and project.

The Project Management community matters

Connection and community are essential in project management teams. While there is one manager and other members of the team, they all have a role to play and a job to do. Communication between each other and respect for the individual jobs is essential.

But this isn’t just about the members of your own team. The latest trend is to become a community with others in the project management sphere. People learn from other individuals who have worked in similar situations or on similar projects will help to bring a new insight into a problem. It can help teams look from another angle to help keep the projects on target.

Becoming part of the professional communities can also help spur innovation and creativity in other aspects of the job and within the team. It’s easier to figure out a way to use specialist skills better and understand more about individual roles within the team. You’ll also learn about new technologies or techniques sooner, along with benefits and downsides, to help expand and grow.

Not getting involved in the communities can leave the business stagnant. You’ll end up using the same techniques and ideas over and over again, falling behind the competition.

Matching Skills Training to the Right Projects

Learning never stops. However, you need to get the right learning for individual roles and projects. There’s no point learning more about the basics if you’re looking at taking on more senior roles and vice versa.

To make this work, you’ll need to consider the projects and the skills/positions of individuals. From there you can look at the training to help them advance in their particular area. You’ll be able to find the training that matches specific project needs. The whole project lifecycle will benefit, as employees become more efficient and knowledgeable.

Plus with the right training, members of the team feel valued and appreciated. They enjoy building their skills and abilities, as it helps them push for promotions and work their way up the career ladder. People who feel valued work harder, are happier and are more productive. More gets done in less time and they want the business and project to succeed.

Not getting this part right can break the team and the project. Without spending time on the trend, team members focus on the wrong areas to advance. They may be areas they’re interested in but they do nothing for their careers at that moment in time.

There are many areas to grow and expand when it comes to project management teams. Trends can help to make a project management project successful, but only when used properly. It’s time to consider how to use them in your team to make sure your project remains on time, within budget, and ahead of the competition.