Industry Highlights
To best serve our stakeholders, it’s important that we understand the latest news and developments impacting projects today. Throughout the year we conduct research and publish a variety of thought leadership and content to keep our members informed of the latest trends in their profession, including notable projects and programs around the world and the people who drive them to success. Here’s a selection of these stories.
Survey Says…Greater Project Success after Years of Decline
For the first time in five years, more global projects are meeting original goals and business intent AND being completed within budget.
Our 2017 Pulse of the Profession® research findings continue to show what we advocate at PMI—that when proven project, program, and portfolio management practices are implemented, more projects are successful. We have also evolved our definition of success. That’s because the ability of projects to deliver what they set out to do—deliver the expected benefits—is just as important in this competitive environment as traditional measures of scope, time and cost. For the first time, when determining project success, we looked at levels of benefits realization maturity as well.
The resulting media coverage across print, online, television and radio—everything from Yahoo! Finance to Chief Financial Officer magazine—was positive and helped PMI deliver Pulse news to the global business community.
Bright future for project management jobs
What profession offers career growth, competitive pay and the chance to make a difference? Project management, of course!
Every four years, PMI conducts a “talent gap” analysis. Released in 2017, the report points toward an exceptionally bright future for project professionals.
By 2027, employers in highly projectized industries will need nearly 88 million people working in project-oriented roles. This figure reflects job growth of 33 percent, taking into account people leaving the profession (including retirement) and newly created positions. China and India will see the most growth.
Demand for project managers is growing faster than demand for workers in other occupations. For both current and prospective project professionals, PMI offers tools and resources to support their career opportunities. For organizations and project leaders, we provide information through our thought leadership reports about how to develop, retain and grow project talent. It’s essential insight to help them fill these open positions.
From the PMI-published PM Network® magazine
Our annual jobs report focuses on the economic outlooks for India, Germany, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, United States, China, United Kingdom and Brazil. Practitioners give their thoughts on how the role of project manager will evolve in 2017. A sidebar presents brief profiles of five emerging economies with good project management opportunities.
There are many levels of stakeholders, but one of the most famous rock ‘n roll groups in history—The Rolling Stones—brought a new level of meticulousness to a project involving a traveling exhibit of the band’s history. This graphic case study gives details of how the project team brought satisfaction to the high-powered Stones. One example was successfully upgrading what was to be a regular concert video to 3-D, just months before the immovable opening date for the exhibit.
LinkedIn had not changed its user interface since it was founded in 2002. A recent one-year project aimed to streamline and simplify navigation. The team used a hybrid approach to carefully incorporate user and stakeholder feedback, and engaged users from around the world. Strong communications and good collaboration helped this project succeed.
Manufacturers are transforming their factories to keep pace with digital disruption. Organizations are looking to “smart” factories or retrofitted facilities to forge new ways of cutting production times, costs and waste, incorporating robotics, 3-D printing and sensor-enabled machinery. Taking an agile approach allows for fast iterations and feedback so stakeholders can see how the new technology works and how it will deliver benefits.
Recognizing Excellence in the Profession
The PMI Project of the Year Award recognizes memorable projects that deliver lasting benefits by solving a long-term business challenge, preventing a future crisis, or meeting an array of stakeholder needs.
The 2017 award went to the Hanford Double Shell Tank AY-102 Recovery Project, run by Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC. Tank AY-102 is a one million gallon capacity double shell tank commissioned in 1971 storing radioactive and chemical waste. In August 2012, this storage tank was found to be leaking nuclear waste. The nuclear waste needed to be removed and transferred to a double-shell tank for safe storage. The project closed ahead of schedule and US$8.7 million under budget.
The PMO of the Year Award honors a PMO that has demonstrated superior organizational project management abilities by adding value to its organization through its support of successful strategic initiatives and a positive impact on business results.
We honored The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)—Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital—with the 2017 award. The PMO supports portfolios across the organization and ensures alignment with the vision of CAMH. It has an enterprise reporting strategy to ensure accuracy in its clinical and financial dashboards and information. Its initiatives have helped improve patient safety and operational procedures.