By Dr. Harold Kerzner
January 8, 2025
As we move into 2025, the landscape of project management is evolving in exciting ways. The predictions I provide here highlight the many positive changes shaping the future.
1) Trust
Project management continues to grow and gain widespread acceptance each year. New methodologies and project management practices are providing executives with more accurate and timely information to support their decision-making needs. The has strengthened trust between executives, project teams, and stakeholders alike.
2) Project selection
For decades, the waterfall approach to project management was forced upon the project management community, delivering results but often leading to delays, budget overruns, and outdated outcomes by project completion. Today, flexible approaches and educational programs have empowered senior management to pursue more creative and innovative projects. Regardless of the economy, companies are leveraging project management to drive new business opportunities, with project success rates steadily improving.
3) Project redirection
Traditional project management using the waterfall approach often discouraged any changes to the original project plan. Techniques such as Agile, Scrum, and hybrid methodologies allow for changes to plans to be made quickly to take advantage of business opportunities. Success rates on projects will increase.
4) Customer and stakeholder knowledge
For decades, customers and stakeholders relied on contractors for project management expertise. Today, their understanding of project management has grown significantly, leading to greater involvement in decision-making and rapid increase in collaboration.
5) New definitions of success
Success is no longer defined solely by time, cost, and scope constraints. Some companies now measure success by the creation of business benefits and business value at project completion. But even this definition, which we teach in project management courses, is about to change. The new definition of success will be the creation of a lifetime strategic partnership between contractors and their clients. This is happening more frequently now because of the increased collaboration between all parties and greater project success rates.
6) Metric libraries
In the past, we relied heavily just on time, cost, and scope metrics for project execution. Today, we believe that we can measure anything. Companies are creating metric libraries that may have more than 50 metrics. In many companies, the Project Management Office (PMO) will take on the role of guardian of the metric library, auditing project teams to ensure proper and effective use of metrics.
7) Customer/stakeholder supplied metrics
Today, project success is increasingly defined by clients rather than contractors. With their growing knowledge of project management, customers and stakeholders now specify the metrics they want project managers (PMs) to use in status reports to ensure success aligns with their expectations. PMs incorporate these client-defined metrics alongside their organization’s metrics in their reporting efforts.
8) Artificial intelligence (AI)
The growth in AI has identified the need for at least one person on each project team to be an expert in AI to maximize the benefits to projects. The person assigned must also work closely with the legal department to ensure that all decisions based upon AI material are legal and ethical.
9) Certification boards
The availability of project management certifications has grown significantly, and companies are recognizing their value. Many organizations are funding certifications and are also establishing certification boards to guide the workforce on which ones are most beneficial. Some companies cover certification training costs only for certifications approved by these boards.
10) Ethics
The behavioral or human side of project management is growing significantly. Emphasis is being placed upon project teams acting in an ethical and moral manner. This includes selecting the appropriate project leadership style that supports ethical decision-making, establishing a corporate and project culture that enforces ethical behavior, and emphasizing the importance of ethics in diverse and global teams. Perhaps the next certification program for PMs will be in project and business ethics.
The path ahead for project management is one of innovation, teamwork, and progress, setting the stage for unparalleled project success. The future is bright. Let’s seize the opportunities.
He has authored or co-authored more than 60 textbooks/workbooks on project management, including multiple editions of his seminal works. His books include Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling; Project Management Metrics, KPIs and Dashboards; Project Management Case Studies; Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence; The Future of Project Management; Using the Project Management Maturity Model; and Innovation Project Management.
Dr. Kerzner holds an MS and Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Utah State University. He taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University, and for 38 years taught project management at Baldwin-Wallace University. A testament to Dr. Kerzner’s profound influence on the field is the establishment of the Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year Award. This prestigious award, presented annually by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which recognizes outstanding project managers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and contributions to the project management profession.
