Top 6 Project Management Trends to Watch in 2025

Quick-paced markets, shrinking budgets, and growing shareholder scrutiny are just some of the elements piling stress onto at this time’s undertaking managers. Initiatives are additionally changing into extra complicated, because of the growing integration of rising applied sciences like AI, heightened regulatory necessities, and the need for adaptability in unstable economies.

It’s crucial that undertaking managers control what’s across the nook within the business so they’re ready to make the most of new processes or keep away from pitfalls. TechRepublic spoke to business specialists to seek out out the highest traits to observe in 2025.

Pattern 1: Enhance in hybrid undertaking groups

Alan Zucker, Founding Principal of consulting agency Undertaking Administration Necessities

“I see curiosity in hybrid undertaking administration persevering with to extend in 2025. Curiosity in agile is waning, and plenty of agilists say it’s lifeless. Hybrid tasks mix parts of a number of undertaking approaches. For many years, undertaking managers have pragmatically blended processes and practices primarily based on context and particular undertaking wants.

Hybrid permits undertaking managers to maneuver away from the binary waterfall-agile world to at least one the place patterns of apply embody lean, kanban, and DevOps. Profitable undertaking managers should make intentional selections when deciding how one can execute their tasks.”

SEE: Discover the important thing options and advantages of hybrid undertaking administration.

Pattern 2: Squad-based groups cut back forms

Jack Skeels, CEO of coaching agency AgencyAgile

“The shift to squad-based groups displays rising dissatisfaction with conventional approaches and the perceived ineffectiveness of agile because it’s typically applied. Leaders and stakeholders are weary of overly complicated administration constructions and costly undertaking administration software program instruments that fail to ship significant outcomes.

As a substitute, leaders are embracing less complicated, more practical fashions: small, self-managed groups—sometimes small squads of 5 to fifteen individuals. These small groups embody the unique spirit of agile by collaborating and getting issues completed shortly with innovation.

The mannequin encourages a tradition of innovation, collaboration, and responsiveness to alter—key traits for companies competing in fast-paced markets.”

Pattern 3: Transfer to decentralized undertaking administration

Molly Beran, founding father of undertaking administration consultancy Initiatives By Molly

“I count on to see a whole lot of organizations re-thinking their strategy to creating centralized Undertaking Administration Places of work. Previously few years, PMOs have been all the craze—corporations rush to set them up, construct templates and processes, after which normally begin to see them slowly wither.

Why? There are numerous causes, in fact, however I discover that some of the prevalent causes is that whereas there’s a rush to stand-up instruments and processes, there are hardly ever sufficient individuals expert in undertaking administration to truly use the instruments and get the work completed.

Additionally, within the rush to arrange an workplace, it’s actually typical for corporations to lose sight of their bigger strategic or organizational priorities. In a way, they get so caught up in making a centralized PMO that they overlook why it exists within the first place—to get the work completed that finest aligns with the strategic priorities of a corporation.

I predict that in 2025 and past, corporations will begin pulling again on centralized PMOs and return to extra decentralized undertaking administration, the place every division or space has in place specialists who perceive the core enterprise processes, and likewise get requested to handle tasks.”

SEE: Learn TechRepublic’s information to the high undertaking administration certifications.

Pattern 4: Give attention to AI literacy amongst undertaking managers

Cornelius Fichtner, president of Undertaking Administration PrepCast and host of The Undertaking Administration Podcast

“Undertaking managers ought to expertise a ‘impolite awakening’ as they acknowledge the restrictions of their present generative AI interactions. The distinction between profitable and struggling tasks hinges totally on the undertaking supervisor’s depth of AI understanding.

Many undertaking managers overlook that they not solely want to make use of AI on their tasks, however they will even be requested to steer tasks meant to convey AI capabilities to varied departments of their firm. They want a extremely broad and stable understanding of what AI is and might do with the intention to serve stakeholders from advertising and marketing and finance as these departments are augmented with AI.”

SEE: 9 Greatest AI Undertaking Administration Instruments for 2024

Pattern 5: Accelerated job coaching by means of AI

Justin Tan, IT Undertaking Administration Workplace chief at Thermo Fisher Scientific

“Think about AI techniques that may immediately generate complete undertaking plans primarily based on the context and circumstances, predict potential dangers with higher accuracy, optimize useful resource allocation, and supply contextual resolution help that traditionally required years {of professional} expertise.

Junior professionals with out intensive conventional expertise will leverage such AI-powered platforms to entry institutional information and finest practices, successfully compressing years of studying into actionable suggestions—accelerating studying and undertaking execution capabilities.

From my expertise enjoying a key function in main digital transformation initiatives, probably the most profitable organizations will likely be people who strategically combine AI not as a substitute for human intelligence, however as a collaborative instrument that amplifies human potential.”

SEE: Learn extra synthetic intelligence protection from TechRepublic.

Pattern 6: Useful resource administration software program grows in significance

Michele Badie, Skilled Growth Strategist at Expertise Recharged

“We’ll proceed skills-centric useful resource administration discussions, and motion plans to attach the fitting abilities to the fitting duties whereas guaranteeing groups thrive and keep on activity. Actual-time instruments—for instance, useful resource planning software program, AI-driven allocation, worker well-being, and collaboration and communication instruments—will help making useful resource allocation seamless.

On the similar time, undertaking managers, as integral components of the method, will give attention to balancing workloads to prioritize psychological well being and job satisfaction. In 2025, there’ll proceed to be an amplified give attention to not simply getting the work completed—it’s about guaranteeing your individuals keep away from resolution fatigue or burnout and succeed of their roles, too.”

SEE: TechRepublic Premium’s Psychological Well being Coverage.

Will undertaking managers get replaced by AI?

AI is unlikely to exchange undertaking managers fully, however it’s reshaping their roles. Analysis signifies that whereas AI can automate administrative duties like scheduling, knowledge assortment, and reporting, it lacks severely in different human parts which are important for efficient undertaking administration.

These human parts embody making choices and empathy, which assists with workforce motivation and battle decision—two issues undertaking managers do virtually day by day.

Professor Adam Boddison, the Chief Government of Affiliation for Undertaking Administration, advised TechRepublic in an electronic mail: “Hybrid work environments demand stronger digital communication and management abilities, whereas sustainability and variety initiatives have gotten integral to organisational methods. Undertaking administration is, in impact, future-state planning.

“With APM analysis exhibiting that over 50% of companies anticipate a rise within the variety of tasks they undertake over the subsequent three years, the significance of the undertaking career is obvious. The function of the expert undertaking skilled will likely be pivotal throughout all industries.”

It has been predicted that 25 million new undertaking professionals will likely be wanted by 2030 to maintain up with business demand. Try TechRepublic’s information on how one can turn into a undertaking supervisor to seek out out whether or not the function would swimsuit you.