I am writing this article in early July 2023, at the best time of the year to do so, as there has been much discussion about management, and new trends are establishing themselves as guidelines for what management should be in the coming years. In other words, we have moved from fads and opinions to established work strategies and tools.

I will not repeat the updates of the PMI methodologies, nor will I provide a master class on processes and software. I will try to establish, based on my experience, the three most important points for management, which many have likely internalized but it is always good to keep them in mind and adapt them to our daily lives.

Without further ado, let's talk about:

1. The incremental use of artificial intelligence and automation.
2. The continuous emphasis on remote work and virtual teams.
3. The rise of hybrid methodologies.

Each of these topics deserves an extensive article that explains them in depth, but in the spirit of agility, let's keep it short and sweet 🤗.

The incremental use of artificial intelligence and automation.

I start with this topic not because it has revolutionized my life and my profession, but because it is impossible to discuss anything without mentioning artificial intelligence. There is no escape. It is and will be part of our daily lives for years to come.

Basically, artificial intelligence is being integrated into all sectors as a virtual assistant capable of automating tasks and speeding up processes at an exponential rate. The entry of Open AI and Bard into the professional landscape is undoubtedly a game changer.

I could mention here the main tools (although still incipient, quite revolutionary), but it's not just about having more software. It's about how to adopt an AI mindset in every aspect of our work. I admit that my personal benefit from AI does not solely depend on the existence of these tools. It is more about my mindset of wanting to reduce the time I spend in front of a computer compared to the time I spend with my family, my constant interest in learning new things, seeking tutorials for everything, and asking Google for everything to make everything easier and faster, including replacing it with Chat GPT.

And that's why it's not all roses. Not all created tools are being used, and not all processes that could be automated have been or will be. It's more a matter of AI mindset than AI tools.

A review of published studies investigating the application of artificial intelligence in project management ("Towards effective AI-powered agile project management" by Hoa Khanh Dam, Truyen Tran, John Grundy, Aditya Ghose, and Yasutaka Kamei) found that the application of AI in project management is still in its early stages and has not yet been applied to multiple project management processes, particularly in stakeholder management, procurement management, and communication management. However, the most popular project management processes among the included documents were project effort prediction and cost estimation.

Some of the current benefits include task automation, providing analysis for estimation and risk prediction, and decision-making. Therefore, the rise of artificial intelligence has the potential to transform project management, especially in agile methodologies that focus on delivering rapid business value to customers and involve multiple iterations or sprints. The team selects items from a product backlog to complete during each sprint, and AI can assist with the creation of the user stories and tasks and increase project success rates (The Last State of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management by Mohammad Reza Davahli).

We can experience this immediate benefit of AI through Chat GPT plugins such as AI with Jira, NotesAISync, Idea Organiser, or directly with AI integrations in software like ClickUp or Notion. As of the date I am writing this, I cannot say for sure if Microsoft's Copilot is as magical as shown in demos, but I hope it is or will soon be, and using Microsoft Project doesn't feel like the Stone Age anymore, and using the same Excel for managing all our projects becomes a more modern and satisfying experience.

In conclusion, we are in the early stage of adoption. The application of AI in project management is still in its infancy, and while it has been used in some project management processes, there are areas where its application is not yet common. Its proper application can free up time for project managers to focus on more strategic and high-level tasks, increasing project success rates by improving efficiency, estimation accuracy, and decision-making.

The continuous emphasis on remote work and virtual teams.

Well, what can I say? This is another topic that has changed my life, and I don't plan on going back. The personal benefits that remote work has provided me are almost unparalleled compared to other aspects of my career. The stability, peace of mind, negotiation ability, and control over my time are almost worth more than the payment itself. But even in that aspect, remote work surpasses in-person work, of course, at a moderate level where I'm not the CEO or CTO of a multinational company earning six or seven figures a year just for being present.

However, remote work is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is important to recognize that not all jobs or industries are suitable for remote work. And even when working remotely, there are numerous challenges to face. That's why Elon has become an advocate for in-person work and a proponent of returning to the office (not to mention his feudal decision to build houses around his buildings to provide workers with convenience and speed).

Just as in-person work comes with its own issues (such as time wasted on commuting and rent payments, etc.), Chris Kimble, in his article "Building Effective Virtual Teams: How to Overcome the Problems of Trust and Identity in Virtual Teams", discusses the challenges faced when managing virtual teams:

• Lack of trust may arise when team members need to share unfinished work electronically. For example, software developers may be reluctant to share half-finished programs with others.
• Online communication lacks the richness of face-to-face interaction, which can hinder participation and the building of trust. Additionally, managing communication can be a serious problem, especially when you need to know who you are communicating with and how that communication should be handled.
• Technical issues are very common, such as unreliable systems, incompatible networks, slow computers, and poor response times at certain times of the day.

On the other hand, there are different tensions when it comes to remote work:

• When hyper-specialized tools lead to poor coordination but generalized tools reduce the productivity of individual teams.
• When aligning all work to the same schedule would create local inefficiencies, but not setting scheduling expectations hinders local progress.
• When an organization spanning borders can be too strong with a top-down policy, hindering the autonomy of individual teams, while one that is too weak may fail to identify and align important dependencies, creating policy conflicts.

In general, these are the issues and tensions related to remote work that are present in the daily lives of those who work in this mode. And like any good challenge, practical solutions must be found, even though there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all the challenges of remote work. Each organization and each professional must make their own choices about how to share knowledge among teams, who can cross team boundaries and when, and to what extent teams should have autonomy versus following organizational guidance.

For remote work, soft skills will always be relevant, such as effective communication among team members, adaptability to new technologies and opportunities, understanding the limitations of virtual work, fostering self-learning, and always seeking continuous improvement.

To conclude this topic, it is important to keep in mind that:

• According to a report on the state of remote work by Owl Labs, 56% of global companies allow remote work, while 16% of global companies are fully remote.
• Since 2009, the number of people working from home has increased by 159%, according to Global Workplace Analytics.
• Intuition found that 78% of a group of 669 CEOs believe that remote collaboration should be considered a long-term business strategy.
• 6 out of 7 managers believe that hybrid teams (remote and in-office employees) will be the new normal in the future.

Remember that as managers, it is our job to manage people to manage projects, so let's say GOODBYE TO MICROMANAGEMENT once and for all.

The rise of hybrid methodologies.

I have become what I swore to destroy. Or something like that.

When I first learned about agile methodologies and started my journey as a Scrum Master, Agile Facilitator, IT Product Owner, and so on, I thought, one, how is it possible that not everyone uses agile methodologies for everything? And two, I will use agile for everything.

Scrum, in particular, brought many benefits to my career as a PM. I use sprint-based programming and ceremonies in every project I have the honor to start. I train every team I work with in agile methodologies. I involve all scales in backlog development, and I have achieved very good individual and organizational results.

But the contrast exists because I started as a PM in conventional or predictive methodologies like Waterfall, filling Excel cells from 1 to 31 and color-coding the days when certain activities would be worked on. I worked with engineers and teams that planned schedules and budgets idyllically to the point where it seemed they made the rules just to break them. Impossible scopes, impossible timelines, and impossible resources were my daily frustrations as a young PM starting my journey.

Moreover, in Latin America, Waterfall is associated with the sluggishness of bureaucracy, the need for twelve signatures to approve a plan, not taking the first step until the contract is negotiated, filling out three different forms to inform three different people of the same progress. And getting stuck in monthly reporting processes that say nothing new or say the same things.

But after turning the tables with Agile, I now understand that Waterfall was not as bad as I thought. The "agility" has a lot of theory, and in practice, it resembles more good planning and staged management than hyper-speed.

Agile methods have inherent limitations, especially when it comes to large and complex projects or addressing technical debt. These methods do not scale well and may be inapplicable in certain contexts. No agile methodology completely replaces the classic Waterfall, and now I understand better that no methodology fits all projects.

I thought that in technology, there would only be textbook Scrum teams, well-oiled and perfectly synchronized. But the reality was that even under Scrum, Test-Driven Development, Kanban, or XP, there were always Project Managers using Waterfall in Jira, getting the minimum benefit from a great project management software. And it's not because of the PM's incapability, but because not every methodology fits perfectly with the unique needs and complexities of each project, especially in technology.

The benefits of using multiple agile methods can be unclear at best. This can lead managers to lean towards Waterfall, which is more familiar, proven, and historically capable of delivering functional products. But it definitely had room for improvement, which is why hybrid approaches are currently on the rise.

A hybrid approach is achieved by combining different methodologies to achieve better results. For example, using Waterfall for project planning, Scrum for short-term goals, and Test-Driven Development to ensure software correctness.

Ultimately, methodologies can also be frameworks and tools. Each PM uses the tool they consider appropriate at the right time. That's what experience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills demonstrate, rather than being an advocate for one methodology or another if it's not applied well.

I hope that you also have your three management trends that have changed your lives for the better.