{"id":508,"date":"2014-10-15T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=508"},"modified":"2016-07-13T13:06:54","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T18:06:54","slug":"the-evolving-field-of-project-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/the-evolving-field-of-project-management\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolving Field of Project Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

Project management is an evolving field offering numerous opportunities and challenges for new graduates and seasoned professionals alike. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), demand for skilled project managers (PMs) is increasing, with a projected 15.7 million new roles<\/a> created between 2010 and 2020. Accompanying this demand are requirements for additional education and certification.<\/p>\n

Don Gottwald<\/a>, PhD, CCP, PMP, and Loran Walker*, DMIT, PMP, Capella University faculty members who teach project management in the School of Business & Technology, share their history in and thoughts about this growing field.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. How did you get into project management?<\/h4>\n

A. \u201cLike everybody else\u2014by accident,\u201d says Gottwald with a chuckle. Walker had a similar path: \u201cI was already doing it, but didn\u2019t know it had a name,\u201d he says. \u201cThen I took a class for my master\u2019s and learned it did have a name, a rhyme, a reason, and a process.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. What aspect of project management is most interesting to you?<\/h4>\n

A. \u201cThe completion of the project, when you\u2019ve done a great job, and the customer is happy,\u201d says Walker. \u201cThe planning is most onerous, but the end is most satisfying\u2014that\u2019s the payoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gottwald is fascinated by leadership of virtual teams (work groups that primarily interact electronically). \u201cVirtual teams need to work harder to communicate, and not just the to-do lists, but the assumptions and expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. How is the project manager\u2019s role changing?<\/h4>\n

A. In a nutshell, it\u2019s becoming increasingly more professional and more demanding. \u201cProject management has been around for a while, but now it\u2019s being recognized,\u201d says Walker. \u201cThere are new certifications and degree programs, accreditation, and PMI, which offers Congresses and symposiums.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to be that someone would recommend a project, the steering committee decided to do it and developed a charter, and a PM was assigned to deliver,\u201d Gottwald adds. \u201cPMs didn\u2019t do requirements analysis and didn\u2019t necessarily understand the end-user needs. But today, a PM needs to look at the bigger picture, dig in, and develop a common, shared vision of success for the initiative, where everyone speaks the same language.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. What\u2019s the most important skill that a successful project manager needs?<\/h4>\n

A. \u201cThere are three: communication, communication, communication,\u201d says Gottwald with a smile. \u201cA PM must be able to speak the language at every level\u2014from the executive level down to the final end-user.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker concurs. \u201cThe so-called \u2018soft skills\u2019\u2014people skills\u2014they\u2019re critical. PMs need to be able to convey messages, recognize talent, and move people along. They need to be well-organized and understand another discipline\u2019s language, because it\u2019s likely the work they do will be multidisciplinary. And they must be able to analyze strengths and weaknesses of plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. What are the top challenges you see for project management professionals in the next five years?<\/h4>\n

A. \u201cThe biggest change is requirements analysis,\u201d says Gottwald. \u201cPMs need to understand what success is, what it looks like. Every project is different, and that makes it difficult. They all need unique approaches, and they need to take internal and external dependencies into consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker outlined\u00a0two major challenges. \u201cEmployers are not investing in employees,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want fully trained employees from day one and aren\u2019t doing internal training the way they used to, so many PMs are facing gaps in skills.\u201d He notes that virtual teams have these same issues and more: \u201cThe multinational corporations will hire the best of the best, and that means a team can be scattered all over the world. There can be language barriers, culture issues, time zones to manage\u2014it\u2019s much more challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. How is Capella addressing those issues?<\/h4>\n

A. Gottwald points to the fact that Capella\u2019s bachelor\u2019s- and master\u2019s-level project management degree programs have been accredited by the PMI, and the university is in the process of applying for accreditation for its doctoral programs. \u201cAccreditation is rigorous, and puts us in the same framework of what is being recommended nationally by the PMI,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Walker points to the coursework itself. \u201cEach course is a project,\u201d he shares. \u201cStudents can apply what they\u2019ve studied immediately in the workplace. We\u2019ve heard that many times from graduates\u2014\u2018I used this immediately\u2019 or \u2018It really helped my career.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q. Why is it important to be a member of PMI or other professional organizations?<\/h4>\n

A. \u201cYou\u2019ll stay in tune with what\u2019s going on, what new training you need to acquire, the best practices, and networking,\u201d says Gottwald.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a large mentoring society,\u201d Walker adds. \u201cYou meet and learn from current practitioners who talk about problems, solutions, and new processes. You can also find a shoulder to cry on\u2014someone who understands what your plight is when a project isn\u2019t going well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Capella offers <\/em>project management degree programs<\/em> in both business and information technology (IT):<\/em><\/p>\n