6 Key Predictions for the Digital Enterprise In 2017
January 11, 2017 6:30 AM
6 Key Predictions for the Digital Enterprise In 2017
Only 10 percent of organizations believed they could master digital transformation in 2016. That will change in 2017, driven by new employee transparency, changes in the office of the PMO, new ways of tracking project success, and the growth of IoT in the workplace.
To adapt to shorter employee tenure, resource management and capacity planning for projects will change.
Gallup found that 21 percent of millennials have changed jobs in the past yearmore than three times the number of non-millennials, notes Eric Bergman, vice president of project management at Changepoint. In response to this influx of digital natives, forward- thinking companies will expand business planning to invest in the right technology to make managing churn simpler without sacrificing project success and to cater to demands for transparency with systems that communicate employee value to both employee and stakeholders.
Businesses will become IoT-ready.
Businesses will soon be the top IoT solutions adopters, which will kick start a boom in the number of connected devices from 10 to 34 billion, Bergman says. The rise of IoT brings with it a slew of conditions that will impact how IT and the project management office will need to manage technology across the business. Every one of these devices will need to be secured?and maintained. Who will manage the maintenance apps and communication systems? While implementation may be iterative, will ongoing maintenance lend itself to traditional execution methods? How will cross-departmental collaboration work in an IoT environment? One things for sure: IT will be in high demand.
Project success progress will be tracked in outcomes.
Tracking inputs such as resources and budget are outdated metrics that deliver an incomplete view of project success, Bergman explains. In 2017, for the first time, the project management office, project managers, and executive stakeholders will begin tracking progress in real-time and ensure plans meet business objectives no matter the execution method. And its about time. Despite available technology, 57 percent of PMO professionals still rely on delayed reporting methods including spreadsheets and outdated, disconnected systems. Moving forward, a strong foundation will crucial must have versus a luxury for smarter execution to deliver outcomes that support a businesss overarching strategic goals.
Professionals will finally know their own worth and so will their employers.
In todays information-rich society, employees demand a new level of transparency about their performance, Bergman says. Project software has advanced to enable a crystal-clear view across the enterprise, with high-tech data collection that enables stakeholders to know which employees are project keystones (mission critical to success) and which are low performers.
Portfolio managers are the next chief strategy officers.
Despite predictions of the death of the project management office, 97 percent of organizations believe project management is critical to business success, Bergman says. While overarching strategy and budget decisions will still be made by executives, planning processes will become more iterative. Organizations will look to portfolio managers for insights and information to guide smarter decision making that accommodates real time market shifts and ensures alignment of project execution to strategy. This move will ultimately secure strategic thinkers, like portfolio managers, a seat at the executive table under a title that communicates this change: chief strategy officer.
Business capabilities will take center stage.
With at least 3.9 trillion dollars likely on the table next year, the adapt to thrive mentality shaping todays businesses is expected to drive U.S. companies, Bergman says. The goal is to use new deals to drive business growth as business architects rationalize portfolios across the organization. Portfolio managers will play a part in identifying which initiatives the project management office can take on. It will also fall to the project management office to execute against these recommendations and provide outcome-specific metrics that convey successful workflow and benefits realization for the business.
