INNOVATIONS AND INSIGHTS
IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT THE MAP TO GUIDE OUR JOURNEY THROUGH A DIGITAL WORLD? The Australian Institute of Project Management and Aurecon recently interviewed a range of industry strategic thinkers to get their pulse on the role project and portfolio management is currently having in guiding the digital transformations.
NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE According to recent research by Aurecon, 83% of surveyed businesses believe change will be considerable in the next 2-5 years and a majority feel their organisations are not properly prepared to handle it. While most agree significant strategic initiatives will be needed to improve, transform and
develop organisations. Many grapple with pinpointing where to start and what specific steps to take. Connecting and navigating the digital landscape is a common challenge. For centuries, humans have relied on maps to guide them through unfamiliar landscapes, and this new digital terrain should be no different. As change permeates more deeply into our everyday lives and organisations look for better ways to navigate the ever-transforming world, is project management the map we need?
THRIVING IN THE FUTURE Our industry insights reveal that although the role of project management in digital transformation is well understood, the extent to which it is embraced across an entire organisation greatly varies depending on business maturity and the size and scale of projects being implemented.
“There’s a whole bunch of projects that kick off when your competitor has done something, so you have to now do it as well – or else you get a massive draining of business. The ROI of staying in the game is pretty clear.” Ian Sharpe, Associate Director Business Transformations, Western Sydney University
However, the role of program and portfolio management for the many smaller to medium sized projects is not always clearly, or uniformly defined. This subset of projects often lacks structure and investment for how they are approached and collectively managed – not realising value for the organisation. In isolation, success or failure of smaller projects may not have a huge impact, but collectively the impact can be significant.
LINK TO STRATEGY Large and highly complex projects driven by strategic intent apply this same approach to digital — a business case is created, and a governance process undertaken to launch the project. However, for a significant number of projects the strategy is less clearly defined, and businesses are keeping pace either with competitors, regulatory changes, customer expectations or with technology.
Aurecon research shows businesses believe that change will be considerable in the next 2-5 years (Source: Aurecon)
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