North East Branch ‘Projecting the Future’ Event – Tuesday 18th February 2020

With close to 40 members in attendance despite Storm Dennis, last Tuesday night’s North East Branch ‘Projecting the Future’ Event was lively and exhilarating.

The event had a friendly and open atmosphere and I was impressed by how far people had travelled to be there just to get involved!

Having stressed from the outset that the session was to be “as interactive as possible”, no further encouragement was required – indeed members who’d travelled from across the region and who represented many different sectors and career stages provided thoughtful contributions and robust challenge in a lively session that was a joy to attend.

From my perspective, a high point in the evening was an uninterrupted period of at least 15minutes of discussion between attendees themselves – contending certain ideas relating to technology, 4IR, AI, and the Project Profession.

A low point may have been simply that we did not have more time!

• Challenge around the “PM 1.0 to PM 4.0” model

o Quite robust challenge from academics/senior PMs in the room

o Facts relating to PM1.0 and information on the Polaris missile programme (research required)

o What does PM 4.0 look like, what are the enablers?

• Discussion about whether project managers do de facto deliver/manage change

o Project change (scope increase/decrease) vs Business change (people, processes, governance, hierarchy, tools/technology, branding, organisational change, whole business optimisation).

• Discussion about ChPP vs CEng

o Value, benefit and credibility vs other professional bodies

• Challenge around the nature of (and inevitability of) AI

o Hot topic, Machine learning vs true AI.

• Discussion about business preparedness for AI/Data/Automation

o Social value of automation (Finland case discussed) 

• Broad discussion of tech

• Broad discussion about the future of jobs – tying in with automation

• Broad discussion about future skills and PM as a life-skill

o PM skills in earlier stages of education GCSE level > PMs in teens to early 20s

Written by Stephen Rooney - FRSA Policy Manager, Association for Project Management.