Yes, I know it took awhile for part 2. Then again, its here... Hooray for me.
Mobility
The rise of the Smartphone, the influx of unlidata charges, and the proliferation of mobility tools have largely disrupted the way project management is done now. During the late 90's, the use of the personal computer started to become a must have tool for project management. Reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and our most loved project management tools for project tracking were all in the PC. PM's relied heavily on the PC to do most of their PM work. As the end of the first decade of the 21st century came, the computer left the desk and into the laps of various professionals. It was now easier to create those all important Gantt charts while on the go. Project Managers were now capable of doing work at the job site rather than the office. Location has been less of an issue.
As we are now on the second decade of the 21st century, personal computing is now jumping from the lap into the hand. We are now in the age of the Smartphone - and this is what Project Managers need to remember.
So here are three things that Mobility does to change the way we manage projects. Project Managers nowadays have no option but to adapt to these changes lest they come to a point that their projects become unmanageable. The one big mistake for a PM to make is to assume that these factors do not exist and try to bring things back to ancient times. It just won't work and will only hamper project success because it will go against how people now normally behave.
On my next post, I'll focus on the last Global Trend, Socialization.
Mobility
The rise of the Smartphone, the influx of unlidata charges, and the proliferation of mobility tools have largely disrupted the way project management is done now. During the late 90's, the use of the personal computer started to become a must have tool for project management. Reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and our most loved project management tools for project tracking were all in the PC. PM's relied heavily on the PC to do most of their PM work. As the end of the first decade of the 21st century came, the computer left the desk and into the laps of various professionals. It was now easier to create those all important Gantt charts while on the go. Project Managers were now capable of doing work at the job site rather than the office. Location has been less of an issue.
As we are now on the second decade of the 21st century, personal computing is now jumping from the lap into the hand. We are now in the age of the Smartphone - and this is what Project Managers need to remember.
- Work happens whenever, wherever. - Location is truly not an issue anymore. Whereas in the olden times, people choose to start work, nowadays people choose to be disconnected from work. The default mindset is that you are always capable of doing work (project tasks) unless you so decide not too. There is no such thing as a 9-5 job anymore. This is true even for projects that are on the same timezone. Project Managers are expected to be more responsive in communicating as they have the means to communicate anytime anywhere. While the tolerance level for this may vary from country to country, the general trend is still the same and there is no getting around it.
- There are a plethora of new tools out there. - Project Tracking on your Smartphone? Of course! The typical PM software and office productivity software are still very much in use nowadays - but these are not your only options. The need to be mobile has brought about new tools for online collaboration, communication, file sharing, video conferencing, and so many other needs that were not present before. Its now just a matter of identifying the most appropriate tools for you to manage your project. I personally use a lot of cloud-based file sharing tools like Dropbox and Google Drive. I also use online collaboration tools like Trello and Teambox. Some swear by Binfire or Basecamp. There are also others that are specific to software development and the list goes on.
- Your team is just as mobile as you. - Yes, for all you know, they can be programming in Boracay. What this means to you as a Project Manager is that you need to make sure you know how to connect to your resources in a variety of ways. You also need to know what is the best way to connect to your team given their level of mobility. This (the medium of connecting) is the added twist that a Project Manager needs to be conscious about when managing teams. Would a Skype call be better than a group chat for a resource that is in the train? Are your resources capable of reading long excel files in their Blackberry's (yes they still exists) or should you be sending them PDF's instead?
So here are three things that Mobility does to change the way we manage projects. Project Managers nowadays have no option but to adapt to these changes lest they come to a point that their projects become unmanageable. The one big mistake for a PM to make is to assume that these factors do not exist and try to bring things back to ancient times. It just won't work and will only hamper project success because it will go against how people now normally behave.
On my next post, I'll focus on the last Global Trend, Socialization.
