ESI International Releases Top 10 Trends in Project Management

SINGAPORE, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ESI International, the world's leading project management training company, today announced the release of its top 10 trends in project management for 2015. The 2015 trends reveal that project managers (PMs) will be impacted by many changes this year, including more hybrid environments, an increasing demand for talent management, and a growing need to more closely align project outcomes with organisational strategy.

"All too often people talk about strategy and execution independently. In the coming months, we will see a heightened focus on managing the critical links connecting the two as more organisations begin to view strategic execution as a core discipline," said Raed S. Haddad, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, ESI International. "The impact on project management is substantial. Project managers, who are typically held accountable for delivering project outcomes, will now also be responsible for how those deliverables impact the business. This will require a retooling of their skill sets, but in the end it elevates the PM's role as a critical enabler of business strategy, and that's a very good thing for project managers who can make the jump."

ESI's top 10 trends for project management include:

1. Lofty expectations: PMs need to become adept at managing gaps between the constraints of cloud-based platforms and the business' expectations
2. Out-of-whack: Talent management within the PM community comes back into focus
3. Fuel for the hybrid: As the pace of change continues to accelerate, hybrid project methods will become the norm
4. A day late and a dollar short: The ability to find and hire top PM talent is dwindling
5. Bottom's up: Organisations must build bottom-up processes to link project outcomes to organisational strategy
6. Ignore them at your own peril: Project managers will continue to be ignored and not get the coaching and mentoring they are screaming for
7. Run!: Project managers continue to sacrifice project transparency as they flee from conflict and avoid difficult conversations
8. Change is coming: The disciplines of change management and project management continue to merge as PMs become responsible for delivering project and business outcomes
9. Knocking at the door: Project management and business strategy better align to the benefit of the organisation
10. Culture shock: Organisational culture becomes a bigger consideration in risk management practices

"The project manager's role will continue to evolve in 2015," said Haddad. "Savvy PMs will see the writing on the wall and work to upgrade their competencies in some critical areas. Improving interpersonal skills, learning the discipline of strategic execution, and becoming well versed in change management practices should be on every PM's list of New Year resolutions."

ESI's top 10 trends in project management is put together annually by ESI senior executives and subject matter experts.

To download ESI International's top 10 project management trends, please visit:
http://www.esi-intl.com.sg/pdf/POV/SGPOV_2015_Top_10_Project_Managment_Trends.pdf

About ESI International

ESI International is a global project-focused training company, helping people around the world improve the way they manage projects, contracts, requirements and vendors through innovative training in project management, business analysis and contract management. In addition to ESI's more than 100 courses delivered in more than a dozen languages at hundreds of locations worldwide, ESI offers several certificate programmes through our educational partner, The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1981, ESI's worldwide headquarters are in Arlington, Va., USA. To date, ESI's programmes have benefited more than 1.85 million professionals worldwide. For more information visit www.esi-intl.com.sg.