The acceleration of information technology – some will call it an explosion – has largely transformed the labour market, but it has forced various professionals such as project managers to reassess and adapt to a fast-changing global landscape

Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Bronman, in a presentation on the “Progress of information technology” during the past two decades, said radio could penetrate a market audience of only 50 million in 38 years, while television managed to reach that same audience in 13 years.

The Internet conveyed the marketing message to those 50 million recipients within four years. The iPod took three years, and Facebook two calendar years.

“It is estimated that four exabytes (four billion gigabytes) of unique information will be generated this year. This is more than the previous five years,” they said.

Challenging universities

“The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years. For students starting a four-year technical degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study,” said the scientists in their YouTube presentation.

By 2013, a super computer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain. Projections are that, by 2049, a $1 000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species, according to the three scientists.

South African project managers and software companies have access to these technology accelerations, says André Calitz, professor in Information Technology at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Competing with the best in the world

“Social media is increasingly playing an important role in users’ social and business lives,” he says. “The number of mobile devices per total populations exceeds 100% in developed and in some developing countries. This implies that people have access to more than one mobile device.

“The Apple 45 sold more than two million phones in three days when released this quarter.”

Prof. Calitz says that in South Africa information technology (IT) and project management professionals are developing software and business applications that compete with the best in the world.

Leading and groundbreaking applications are developed in South Africa for businesses such as Microsoft, Amazon, Syspro and other large business corporations.

Yet, ignorance and the wrong attitude could potentially undermine the cutting-edge technologies, he warned.

“Education and lack of skills are, in my opinion, major challenges facing project managers in South Africa. Business can implement the best and the latest modern technologies. If the people do not have the skills and the willingness to learn, the investments are fruitless.”

Failure to embrace new technology, blaming security

Kimberley Wiefling, author of Scrappy Project Management, said on www.projectsmart.co.uk that large so-called global businesses are still hampered by issues such as an inability to videoconference from work; or the fact that no storage location is created where files can be stored and where every employee in the world can access it.

Furthermore, there is no cross-divisional team collaboration website created that can serve as a project dashboard and team memory for projects.

Some organisations have a standard retort that their IT group will not allow them to use these available resources due to security issues.

Wiefling said that if e-mail had been invented today, it might have been forbidden by IT departments worldwide due to similar concerns.

“Any one of these 21st century super-cool tools won’t necessarily work for a particular environment, but it’s up to the project manager and the information technology people to work together to figure out what will work.

“The question we should be asking is: ‘What will make it possible to efficiently, effectively and securely share files, documents, and other critical project information in today’s global business environment?’” she said.

“I’m truly stymied by encountering the brick wall of ‘It’s not possible’ year after year with various clients.” (Source: www.projectsmart.co.uk, 26 February 2011)

Addressing company culture

Peter Drucker, also on www.projectsmart.co.uk, warned that the wrong company culture could undermine the strategy or technology of a company.

He said that if you cannot get the company culture right, it will not matter what kind of bug-tracking software you implement.

“You find that most work environments fail to implement even the most basic elements required of healthy, vibrant work environments: corporate cultures capable of fostering and enhancing business results,” he added. (Source: www.projectsmart.co.uk, 26 February 2011)

Wiefling resonated with Drucker’s insights on the matter, adding that in order for software companies or project managers to create a best-in-class culture, practices should be implemented, such as ensuring everyone who is working together gets to know each other face to face.

Another worthwhile practice is to ensure each individual knows what is expected of him/her, and has the tools and skills to do it.

There should be a clear line of sight from individual goals to organisational goals, mission and purpose, Wiefling added.

An appropriate strategy required

Herman Steyn, professor in the Graduate School of Technology Management at Pretoria University, said managers of project-orientated companies will need to develop an appropriate technology strategy for their specific situation.

“My interpretation of ‘the wrong attitude’ or ‘wrong company culture’ equates to a lack of such a strategy and/or failing to implement an appropriate strategy – something that could cost them dearly,” he added.

Change control by aligning executives and managers

Francois Retief, managing director of Managing Planning Systems, says: “We are in a position to implement project portfolio management systems. We maintain that our biggest challenge is the human element. Organisational change control is vital.

“The approach we take is to first implement a high-level portfolio view of the enterprise projects. We start by giving executives benefits. This includes asking questions on whether a project charter has been completed, if a budget has been approved and to what extent the project aligns with corporate objectives.

“Once executives are obtaining benefits, we implement the system to provide project managers with benefits (better tools, saving time by not doing monthly reports, better usage of resources),” he added.

“Our work is completed when both the executives and project managers are benefiting from the system. We call this the ‘virtuous cycle’. Thereafter, the system should grow and mature organically.”

People, processes and tools

LeRoy Ward, executive vice president in product strategy and management at ESI International, said that all good project management starts with a solid foundation. This means following the golden edict of “people, process and tools”.

In practice, it means teaching your people the skills and knowledge they require; putting in place consistent processes for them to follow; and providing the tools for them to apply their knowledge effectively and follow the processes efficiently.

In addition to skill development, strong team development is essential to the “people” portion of building a solid foundation to improve project outcomes.

Rather than fixating on hiring or technology as the cornerstones, organisations need to invest in creating a team-oriented culture that actively breaks through the outdated approach of project managers working in silos, each handling their own piece of the project management pie. (Source: www.electricenergyonline.com).

Multi-skilled practitioners

Prof. Calitz agreed, saying research has emphasised the importance of soft skills together with solid business and technical skills.

“People pursuing a career in project management today need excellent soft skills and, more recently, international knowledge. The most IT projects today are developed in different countries, time zones, using disparate teams and team members. Managing projects that use teams in different locations require the use of modern communication technologies including social media,” he noted.

“Industry requires people with multiple skills, and IT professionals must be aware of being specialised in a technology that can quickly become outdated and obsolete.

“Project managers must constantly reskill themselves and remain knowledgeable about new and emerging technologies,” added Prof. Calitz.

The Gautrain example

Prof. Steyn emphasised the same multi-skilled abilities of the project manager, as well as experience.

“Project management is often a second career. You cannot manage a major project without some knowledge of the vital core technologies and industries involved.

“In the case of the Gautrain, the project manager has a solid foundation of various aspects of transport and of other aspects of civil engineering, without which he would not have been able to deliver the system,” he said.

Experience is vital and invaluable, and seems to be underestimated in some South African circles, Prof. Steyn noted. ☑

Fanie Heyns

Heyns completed an honour’s degree at the University of Stellenbosch, and was a specialist journalist at “Die Burger” before venturing into freelance journalism in 2003. He writes for a diversity of specialist publications on a variety of subjects, covering business, education, local government, the medical industry, sport, technology, project management and transport.

Heyns can be contacted via e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .