Project management: Soft skills, use of AI could enhance value delivery, says stakeholders

Project management stakeholders have called for the adoption of new technologies to improve results and deliver value to businesses in Africa.

The stakeholders, who spoke at the 2022 Project Management Institute (PMI) Africa conference, held recently in Lagos, said practitioners also need soft skills for successful project delivery.

According to them, project management organizations (PMOs) can utilize artificial intelligence to solve problems.

Samuel Pownall, insight consultant, PwC Research, said recent years have been exciting for the sector in Nigeria and Africa.

According to him, this is because, global data shows that in Nigeria and the African region, there is a  greater strategic alignment of projects with the organisational goals.

“And what helps create this strategic alignment is firstly, project managers and their strategic acumen which is vital, but also the use of technology to help align projects with strategy. And there’s a few ways that technology can help with this alignment,” Pownall said.

“The most impactful ways we found are increasing the visibility of projects to senior decision makers so they can make decisions about their project portfolio with the most up-to-date information and also using technology to enhance collaboration and communication between stakeholders. So, the whole organization is moving together.”

Pownall, while speaking on skills PMOs and practitioners could focus on, he said soft skills are important for what the role of project management is evolving into.

He said because of this, at PWC, project managers are called ‘project influencers’ adding that project influencers understand the strategic goals of the company.

“They are adaptable, they build relationships with stakeholders, and they influence outcomes. So, soft skills are vital to this role. Particularly around building relationship and also being more of a leader,” he explained.

“Research shows that the most valued skills in project managers are soft skills. So, the first as we talked about the most valued skills were strategic thinking, collaborative leadership, adaptability and strong communication skills.

“So even thinking career wise, building up a really strong and evidence of a strong soft skill set is going to really help the project manager progress in their career.”

The PwC researcher added that the project economy also makes a massive contribution to the gross domestic products (GDPs) of economies as it goes across sectors and industries.

As a result, he urged the government to pay attention to the sector and ensure that project managers are represented in spaces where important decisions are made, especially when infrastructure is involved.

Speaking on a panel at the event, Taopheek Babayeju, chief executive officer, (CEO), iCentra Consulting, said over the years, there has been increased awareness of the “very inevitable role that project management plays in achieving not only business objectives, but also achieving national development”.

Like Pownall, Babayeju also believes that the project economy contributes significantly to the GDP of the country.

He said the sector’s role is through its services which enable businesses thrive either in the oil and gas or construction sectors.

“Just like technology, the services of project managers you can’t say hey, this is how Microsoft has contributed to the economy but it is an enabler,” he said.

“Because business results are being delivered through projects. How effectively are we using our expertise to deliver value in terms of services in oil and gas or in terms of services in construction, and enable services in different sectors? Yes, project management has contributed. It is an enabling, factor to the success of all the industries.”