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Author  Allan Thomson, Axelos PPM Product Ambassador

July 9, 2019 |

 3 min read

  • Blog
  • Agile
  • Communication
  • Programme management
  • Project management
  • Stakeholder management
  • Benchmark
  • AgileSHIFT
  • PPM

We have recently published the third instalment of our Global PPM Benchmarking series and it makes for compelling reading. The report has been designed to offer market insight into the status of project and programme management highlighting the growing trends and key issues year-on-year.

Some key findings from our research.

Doing more with less

Due to wider economic factors and volatile markets powered by disruption as a result of ever-increasing rates of technological change, pressure is increasing on organisations and the PPM teams. This means that project and programme managers are faced with the prospect of meeting increased stakeholder expectations of delivering greater competitive advantage with reduced budgets in tougher timeframes. Due to this focus, eight out of ten project managers now say that PPM is becoming a more fundamental aspect of overall business success which can be viewed as good news.

Effects of AI and GDPR

Is AI seen as a friend or a foe? From the research, significantly more project managers recognized automation and AI as opportunities rather than threats. From a project manager’s perspective this makes perfect sense as when correctly utilized they can provide timesaving tools that increase project efficiency rather than threatening their roles. However, GDPR has the potential to slow project and programme development as resources are channelled into this ensuring that the project or programme adheres to regulatory standards.

Poor Communication

Poor communication continues to be the biggest challenge hampering projects and programmes. Even with the introduction of new communication technology, many project teams still fail. When probed further project managers endorsed the development of “core or soft skills” such as communication could help the situation.

What can we all learn from successful project management teams?

Delivering the basics

We need to ensure that the team has processes in place that are monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis. Included here being that project reviews are being conducted and ensuring that lessons learned are identified and applied to future projects. We have seen a small increase since the last survey, but the use of project end reviews is still low. For project end reviews to be undertaken at increased levels there needs to be commitment from senior management for them to take place and an understanding that they are an integral part of the project. It is interesting to note that successful organizations are more likely to conduct project end reviews.

The Role of Senior Management

It is helpful for the PPM team to have representation at a senior management level, so the other senior managers see the value that the PPM team brings and appreciate the challenges they face.

Ensuring agility

Successful teams are likely to work in an agile way and this is backed up by the research which states “three quarters of respondents claim to be working in agile way and believe this is having a positive impact on business success”. However, the primary barrier preventing more teams adopting agile is the lack of support and understanding from the wider organization.

These are some of the key findings, but there is much more detail behind these and others in the report itself.

Download your copy of the AXELOS 2019 PPM Benchmarking report.

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