PM Network - May 2015

We have no way of knowing what the next technological breakthrough will be, however. But regardless of what the future holds, tech trends will almost certainly impact how we manage projects. There are no tricks for keeping up: You just have to keep your nose in the tech world.” —Joseph Mayes, PMP, IT security project manager, Citizens Property Insurance, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Various Tools for
Varied Stakeholders

Collaboration, mobility and social networking
are some of the tech trends increasingly
responding to a dynamic and changing world,
not just within teams but also among stakeholders.
Collaboration tools support groups working together to
accomplish a specific task. Mobility allows those groups
to collaborate from anywhere. Social networks allow
people to build stronger personal ties.
But project managers should be careful when
identifying the proper channel to reach stakehold-
ers. To allow people to interact in ways they are
most comfortable with, use a variety of tools such
as instant messages, phone calls, web conferences,
online forums, wikis, and whiteboard and document
collaboration tools. Always keep in mind which tools
have been approved by stakeholders’ organizations
before choosing one to support a project.
Also remember that stakeholder buy-in to spe-
cific collaborative tools will vary depending on each
tool’s usability. Whatever the big tech trends of the
moment, a project manager’s ability to sell the ben-
efits of the appropriate communication and IT tools
has a direct bearing on the project outcome.”
—Vânia Neves, PMP, PgMP, IT director, GlaxoSmithKline,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Unite Virtual Teams

Using the Internet to communicate
between virtual teams around the world
is increasingly part of the technological
future of organizations. In this project-heavy world,
many global teams comprise members from several
countries speaking different languages and working
in different cultural environments.

To keep communications precise between virtual, multicultural teams, projects I’ve worked on have adopted clear technology standards. These have included establishing English as the common language and using Skype for video conferencing and screen-sharing. To help bridge language gaps, team members took free online or paid courses.” —Marconi Fabio Vieira, PMP, CEO, InfoChoice, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Sensing the Future

One of the top tech trends of 2015, the Internet of Things, is rooted in sensors: the little pieces of technology that gather, monitor and transmit data from a parking spot, refrigerator or coffeemaker. The growing investment in these sensors indicates how much and how fast the Internet of Things will impact the project landscape. For more on the Internet of Things, check out the November 2014 issue of PM Network.