On the future of project management innovation: A call for discussion towards project management 2030

Rethinking Project Management (PM)∗ has been a recurring theme for some time [1]–[9]. In context of the current era of Digital Transformation, which is also referred to as the time of VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) it seems fair to assess if the current PM curricula match the needs of the market, both public and private. Professional bodies like IPMA† and PMI‡ similarly re-assess such which then leads to new editions of their standards to emerge. The current paper provides a short overview of the current developments of the profession. As well, it identifies related recent, current and ongoing research addressing similar questions regarding the success chances and rates of projects in light of the use and application of various PM methods. It aims to propose a new approach to learn using “Research through Project Management” (RtPM). Understanding the impact PM can have on the manner in which products, services, processes and systems are being developed, and the manner in which PM is performed. The authors propose the profession of PM will need to develop itself different from the way it has been conducted to-date and refer to it as “Towards Project Management 2030”, having the profession develop itself in a much more continuous manner. The paper ends with suggesting how to organize such ongoing research on, learning of and adoption by PM in practice embracing lifelong learning.

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