High 6 Undertaking Administration Tendencies to Watch in 2025

Quick-moving markets, shrinking budgets and rising scrutiny from shareholders are just some of the elements placing stress on at present’s undertaking managers. Tasks are additionally changing into extra advanced, because of the rising integration of rising applied sciences reminiscent of AI, elevated regulatory necessities and the necessity for adaptability in unstable economies.

It’s important that undertaking managers control what’s across the nook within the trade in order that they’re ready to reap the benefits of new processes or keep away from pitfalls. TechRepublic spoke with trade consultants to search out out the highest tendencies to look at in 2025.

Development 1: Improve in hybrid undertaking groups

Alan Zucker, founding principal of consulting agency Undertaking Administration Necessities

“I see curiosity in hybrid undertaking administration persevering with to extend in 2025. Curiosity in agile is waning, and lots of agilists say it’s lifeless. Hybrid tasks mix parts of a number of undertaking approaches. For many years, undertaking managers have pragmatically blended processes and practices based mostly on context and particular undertaking wants.

Hybrid permits undertaking managers to maneuver away from the binary waterfall agile world to at least one the place apply patterns embody lean, kanban and DevOps. Profitable undertaking managers should make deliberate selections when deciding the right way to execute their tasks.”

SEE: Discover the important thing options and advantages of hybrid undertaking administration.

Development 2: Group-based groups scale back forms

Jack Skeels, CEO of coaching agency AgencyAgile

“The shift to team-based groups displays rising dissatisfaction with conventional approaches and the perceived ineffectiveness of agile as it’s typically carried out. Leaders and stakeholders are uninterested in overly advanced administration constructions and costly undertaking administration software program instruments that do not ship significant outcomes.

As a substitute, leaders embrace easier, simpler fashions: small, self-managed groups — usually small teams of 5 to fifteen folks. These small groups embody the unique spirit of agile by working collectively and getting issues achieved shortly with innovation.

The mannequin encourages a tradition of innovation, collaboration and responsiveness to alter – key attributes for companies competing in fast-paced markets.”

Development 3: Shift to decentralized undertaking administration

Molly Beran, founding father of undertaking administration consultancy Tasks By Molly

“I anticipate to see many organizations rethinking their strategy to creating centralized undertaking administration workplaces. Prior to now few years, PMOs have been all the trend—corporations rush to set them up, construct templates and processes, after which often begin to see them slowly wither away.

Why? There are in fact many causes, however I discover that one of the frequent causes is that though there’s a rush for up-and-coming instruments and processes, there are hardly ever sufficient folks expert in undertaking administration to truly use the instruments and get the job achieved .

Within the rush to arrange an workplace, it is usually typical for corporations to lose sight of their bigger strategic or organizational priorities. In a way, they get so caught up in making a centralized PMO that they neglect why it exists within the first place—to get the work achieved that finest aligns with the strategic priorities of a corporation.

I predict that in 2025 and past, corporations will start to maneuver again on centralized PMOs and return to extra decentralized undertaking administration, the place every division or space has consultants in place who perceive the core enterprise processes, and are additionally requested to handle tasks.

SEE: Learn TechRepublic’s information to the prime undertaking administration certification.

Development 4: Give attention to AI literacy amongst undertaking managers

Cornelius Fichtner, President of Undertaking Administration PrepCast and host of The Undertaking Administration Podcast

“Undertaking managers ought to expertise a ‘impolite awakening’ as they acknowledge the restrictions of their present generative AI interactions. The distinction between profitable and struggling tasks relies upon totally on the undertaking supervisor’s depth of AI understanding.

Many undertaking managers neglect that not solely should they use AI on their tasks, however they may even be requested to guide tasks meant to carry AI capabilities to numerous departments of their firm. They want a really broad and stable understanding of what AI is and might do to serve advertising and finance stakeholders as these departments are augmented with AI.

SEE: 9 Greatest AI Undertaking Administration Instruments for 2024

Development 5: Accelerated job coaching by AI

Justin Tan, IT Undertaking Administration Workplace Chief at Thermo Fisher Scientific

“Think about AI methods that may immediately generate complete undertaking plans based mostly on the context and circumstances, predict potential dangers with higher accuracy, optimize useful resource allocation and supply contextual resolution help that traditionally required years {of professional} expertise.

Junior professionals with out in depth conventional expertise will use such AI-powered platforms to entry institutional data and finest practices, successfully compressing years of studying into actionable suggestions—accelerating studying and undertaking execution capabilities.

From my expertise enjoying a key function in main digital transformation initiatives, essentially the most profitable organizations might be those who strategically combine AI, not as a substitute for human intelligence, however as a collaborative instrument that enhances human potential.

SEE: Learn extra synthetic intelligence protection from TechRepublic.

Development 6: Useful resource administration software program is rising in significance

Michele Badie, Skilled Improvement Strategist at Expertise Recharged

“We’ll proceed skills-centric useful resource administration discussions and motion plans to match the best abilities to the best duties, whereas guaranteeing groups thrive and keep on process. Actual-time instruments—for instance, useful resource planning software program, AI-driven allocation, worker wellness, and collaboration and communication instruments—will help this in making useful resource allocation seamless.

On the similar time, undertaking managers, as integral components of the method, will concentrate on balancing workloads to prioritize psychological well being and job satisfaction. In 2025, there might be a good higher concentrate on not simply getting the job achieved – it is about guaranteeing that your folks keep away from resolution fatigue or burnout and in addition succeed of their roles.”

SEE: TechRepublic Premium’s Psychological Well being Coverage.

Will undertaking managers get replaced by AI?

AI is unlikely to utterly exchange undertaking managers, however it’s reshaping their roles. Analysis means that whereas AI can automate administrative duties reminiscent of scheduling, information assortment and reporting, it’s severely missing in different human parts important to efficient undertaking administration.

These human parts embody making selections and empathywhich helps with staff motivation and battle decision—two issues undertaking managers do virtually day by day.

Professor Adam Boddison, the Chief Govt of the Affiliation for Undertaking Administration, mentioned in an electronic mail to TechRepublic: “Hybrid work environments require stronger digital communication and management abilities, whereas sustainability and variety initiatives develop into an integral a part of organizational methods. Undertaking administration is certainly the long run – state planning.

“With APM analysis displaying that greater than 50% of companies anticipate a rise within the variety of tasks they undertake over the following three years, the significance of the undertaking career is obvious. The function of the expert undertaking skilled might be essential in all industries.”

It has been predicted that 25 million new undertaking employees might be wanted by 2030 to maintain up with trade demand. Take a look at TechRepublic’s information to changing into a undertaking supervisor to search out out if the function will go well with you.