AUSTIN, Texas — Oct. 13, 2021 — Nearly 90% of project teams work in multiple locations, with 48% in multiple locations in one country and 39% in many countries, according to a new report published today by ProjectManager, a leading project and work management solution for hybrid teams.
The new Global Trends in Project Management 2022 report also found that not only are teams in more locations than ever before, they also work in a variety of different ways. Only 26% of respondents had an established project/work methodology (agile or waterfall) in their organizations. Thirty-nine percent used a combination of agile and waterfall, 18% used many styles within a single project, and 17% had no established methodology at all. Both trends point to the hybrid nature of today’s workforce.
“Hybrid teams – those that are spread out across many locations, using many work styles and processes – are faced with a number of challenges that traditional project management practices and tools are not equipped to address, particularly when it comes to effective collaboration,” said Shawn Dickerson, VP of Marketing for ProjectManager. “A new kind of solution is needed – something we call hybrid work management – to support these teams and provide a better way to organize, collaborate on and accelerate their work, regardless of location, work style, or project management expertise.”
Challenges to Successful Project Management
The number one challenge to successful project management is poor cross-team collaboration, which garnered 26% of the survey respondents. Other top challenges include outdated or ill-suited processes (15%); difficulty working in a remote environment (13%) and ineffective scheduling (12%). While this data again points to the hybrid nature of project teams, the survey results also show that nearly 50% of respondents use meetings as the primary way to collaborate, and almost 25% use chat and email – neither of which are very effective in these modern work environments.
Similarly, the primary way people are tracking the progress of projects is also by holding in-person or virtual meetings, at 29%. Project management software came in second, with 20% of respondents using those tools, and 13% use spreadsheets.
Project Manager Skills
Another common aspect of hybrid teams is the need to balance the varying skill sets of team members, with some being trained in classical project management and others who simply need to manage ad-hoc projects. The survey reported that nearly 30% of respondents weren’t specifically hired to be a project manager, and yet are consistently managing projects. In addition, nearly 30% of respondents have never participated in a formal project management certification program.
Survey Sample
The report findings were based on a survey of more than 600 project management professionals conducted in September 2021. To download a copy of the Global Trends in Project Management 2022 report, visit https://learn.projectmanager.com/global-trends-in-pm-2022.
For more information about ProjectManager, or to begin a 30-day trial, visit www.projectmanager.com/pricing.
About ProjectManager
ProjectManager is an award-winning SaaS project and work management software solution that supports the unique needs of hybrid teams. By uniting team members in different locations, with varying work styles and experience levels, in one solution, ProjectManager enables faster delivery, better resource management, and more engaged workers. ProjectManager is simple enough for anyone to use, yet powerful enough for managers to make data-driven decisions and for businesses to manage projects of all levels of complexity. Organizations such as NASA, Avis, and the University of Washington rely on our software to manage their teams, their projects and do amazing things together. To learn more, visit www.projectmanager.com.
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