Tomorrow's Data Empowered Project Management

Digital information technologies are changing project management.

Project managers are in charge of mustering the right processes, technologies, materials, and skilled people to complete a set of tasks and reach a defined goal. Deadlines and financial constraints, along with a project’s many interrelated activities, add complexity to their job – and so does the changing nature of project management itself. The profession is evolving with the advent of digital information and its associated technologies, which create conditions that necessitate flexibility and agile decision-making.

New technology is radically changing business practices. For example, project managers used to be able to make many decisions in advance and stick with their established options. That’s no longer possible in many cases; often, they must continually reassess and adjust their decisions. However, new technology also enables them to turn to data analytics to improve their decision-making and problem-solving processes and to monitor the state of remote projects.

The extensive data now used in project management offers opportunities for innovation, although it also increases the risk of ...