Published on December 3rd, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

The Ever-expanding Role of Project Management in the IT Sector

Project management is quickly becoming one of the most important sought-after skills in the IT world. Staying ahead of the competition is vital to surviving as a business, and this means that companies need to massively cut back on waste. If teams don’t have a clear vision about what they’re supposed to accomplish, timing delays can become common. Communication breakdowns and other bottlenecks become the order of the day in any organization that lacks strong project managers.

Individuals interested in pursuing this interesting field may be surprised to learn that the sector is still growing very quickly. A number of top organizations who didn’t have project managers in the past are suddenly putting up virtual help wanted signs.

Perhaps the most telling sign of this increased demand is the fact that several groups have decided to offer training programs designed to help people become more accustomed to the concept of project management.

Education for Project Managers

Two primary courses are available for those who want to take their career to the next level. Both the Project Management Professional (PMP) and Prince2 certification programs are excellent choices for those who want to validate themselves to potential employers. However, there are a few key differences that are worth taking a closer look at.

Both programs offer a proven approach to managing projects effectively. Students who apply for a PMP certificate are empowered to work with any methodology used by any industry. This flexibility has made the course popular with technicians in the European Union and Japan, but it’s still enjoying a bulk of its popularity at home in the USA.

Prince2 courses are run by an organization based in the UK that teaches a specific project management system. Nevertheless, it’s so broad and taught from such a high-level that companies can use its techniques on almost any type of project. Graduates of the Prince2 system often prefer to divide a large project plan into small bits that make it easier to execute the project. Divide and conquer could very well be the Prince2 slogan.

Students who aren’t sure which program to take don’t have to choose between them, since they could just as easily apply for both. You’ll want to get a better grasp on the fundamentals before making any career decisions, however.

Significance of Project Management in Modern IT Departments

Larger enterprises often develop their software in house. Even if they’re installing it from prebuilt binary packages, they have to make sure to set configuration options correctly on countless machines. Data retrieval processes are increasingly complicated.

Teams that don’t have experience describing resources required to finish a project are putting a project at risk. Have you ever tried to fix a computer problem that isn’t clear? Many personnel don’t know how to explain things beyond saying that something is broken, which isn’t helpful when dealing with large cloud-deployed Unix servers.

As a result, managers have to deal with all of the following tasks:

Planning for the future
Organization of existing human resources
Overseeing technology implementation and migration
Controlling a company’s specific goals
Ensure everyone meets their deadlines

Telecommuting has become a major part of the equation as well, which means that managers don’t even have to be located on property to make an impact. They do, however, need to be good communicators.

Emotional Intelligence in the Computer Lab

The ability to identify and manage emotions is referred to as emotional intelligence, and it’s a vital set of skills for new project managers to have. Situations in any sized IT department can get heated very quickly, but shouting matches don’t solve problems. Managers need to be aware of their own emotions and those around them to prevent pointless bickering before it becomes an issue.

They also need to harness emotions and apply them to tasks as well as manage emotions. Think about how many problems in your own organization could have been solved merely if someone was either cheered up or calmed down.

Communicating ideas can be difficult too. Details regarding different processes aren’t easily grasped by those who aren’t close to the systems they’re employed with. Project managers are becoming more important than ever before because they’re capable of communicating these complex concepts without causing frustration.

Emphasizing Nontraditional Collaboration Tools

Traditional project management software isn’t necessarily on the way out, but industry-specific tools aren’t quite as popular as they used to be. As of 2017, Slack, Mailchimp and various alternatives overtook more traditional competitors.

Applications that are already in use have seen the most growth. For instance, say an organization already deployed Yammer or Jive to handle projects. Managers will see this and encourage others within the organization to use these tools.

Companies have traditionally made departments switch to whatever tool seemed useful at the time. This meant that each time they adopted something new, personnel would have to be retrained so that they could work with new apps. Leveraging existing paradigms can greatly reduce costs as well as cut down on confusion.

NPD PPM & Other Jargon

New Product Development Project Portfolio Management or NPD PPM software is certainly a mouthful, but widespread adoption of it is yet another reason that management staff is vital to success these days. Agile development schemes and information collected from IoT devices is fundamentally transforming the way companies create new products.

However, they still need a solid strategy to prioritize, select and execute projects since they can’t rely merely on data. NPD PPM apps leverage all of this information so that project managers know exactly what kinds of products consumers want. Companies that are rapidly monetizing data will certainly want skilled project management officers to look over information and make informed decisions.

The Human Role in Information Technology

Countless firms continue to emphasize automation above everything else, but there’s a human aspect to project management they’re missing. Machines won’t always make the best decisions. They can’t understand the kinds of emotions that members of a development team might be feeling. Bringing a skilled project management officer onboard can mean the difference between chaos and order in the IT room.

Tags: ever-expanding, IT sector, project management, role

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.