Project Management Software Trends and Its Future in 2019

“Project Management Software Trends and Its Future in 2019, SelectHub, 2/1/19.

Widespread Agile and the Tools You Need

There are several project management principles a business can put into effect, but one seems to be rising above the rest. Founding Principal of Project Management Essentials, Alan Zucker, shared his thoughts with us. He says, “One of the biggest trends is the dramatic shift to Agile. We have reached a tipping point with over 70 percent of organizations (based on PMI’s Pulse of the Profession survey) using Agile at least part of the time.” But what does this mean for the future of project management software?

Zucker predicts, “With the rise of Agile, tools that integrate Kanban or task board interfaces into the project management ecosystem will become more prevalent. There are many vendors that have Kanban interfaces, but most of them are not integrated into a broader ecosystem that includes traditional views such as the Gantt chart.” So instead of having to choose one visualization tool over another, project managers are now going to have more options when it comes to managing their resources in an Agile environment.

More Collaborative Workspaces

For many companies, project management software is a tool used to keep track of their processes and teams. However, many businesses find themselves working inside other systems such as Google Drive or Dropbox and using their project management system as a sophisticated to-do list.

But Zucker expects more working space inside project management solutions when he says, “Another major trend is the shift to collaboration workspace management tools, which allow teams to work and collaborate online. These tools make it possible for remote or distributed teams to create information radiators that are available to all team members.” According to Planview, 59 percent of all projects are made up of dispersed teams. This makes centralized collaboration even more important.

Data and Artificial Intelligence

And lastly, in line with his earlier predictions surrounding the Agile principle, Zucker also believes data’s presence in project management will increase:

“As teams mature in their workflow based Agile practices, the use of predictive analytics that help estimate the time and effort required to deliver stories will also increase. Using these predictive analytics may prove to be the best way of estimating project cost and duration.”

Alan Zucke

Alan Zucker has over 25 years of experience working in Fortune 100 companies leading projects and large organizations. He has delivered thousands of successful projects and managed major strategic initiatives. Alan has led large organizations and managed multi-million-dollar programs with hundreds of resources. In 2016, he founded Project Management Essentials to provide training and advisory services. His areas of expertise are project management, Agile, and leadership. He is a keynote speaker and provides customized training. He is also an Adjunct College Instructor.