Project management is rapidly evolving with AI, remote work trends. Discover 7 key stats shaping the future, including AI automating 80% of PM tasks by 2030 (Gartner). Adapt with new skills like strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, and data analytics.
Project management is going through its biggest transformation yet.
With the rise of AI and remote and hybrid work, the industry has experienced massive disruption, in hopefully, the best way.
It can be easy to view some of these changes as a negative, but really, all it means, is project managers are now allowed the opportunity to do more strategic work.
And the best project managers will grow and thrive as a result of these changes.
In the article below, we’ll dive into some of the most impressive stats we’re seeing in the project management space, and showcase how these statistics are shaping the future of the industry.
What are the most impressive project management statistics of 2024?
Gartner, the leader in expert-led, practitioner-sourced, and data-driven research has run some of the most impressive surveys in regards to the future of project management.
Below, you’ll see some of the stats that we found most insightful.
As we move into the trends, you’ll see how many of these findings are directly impacting the path forward.
- By 2026, Gartner predicts that two-thirds of project managers’ skills and roles will be redesigned to meet the needs of their new operating context. (Gartner)
- By 2030, it’s expected that 80% of project management tasks will be automated by AI, utilizing big data, machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) (Gartner.)
- Additionally, project managers are expected to be one of the fastest-growing project management office (PMO) roles across the next two to three years (Gartner.)
- Over 85% of businesses actively use project management software and the market is expected to reach a valuation of $7 billion by 2026. (Gartner.)
What will be the major trends in project management for 2025?
We selected seven trends below that we believe project managers should start thinking through for 2025.
All of these are trends that are focused quite a bit on career development and growth.
To enhance the practicality of each one, we’ve recommended a resource, or tool that can help project managers take advantage of each trend.
Trend #1 - AI will continue to enhance project management tools
For project managers, the integration of AI means less time spent on routine tasks and more on strategic decision-making.
AI tools can predict project risks, automate repetitive work, summarize meeting notes, optimize resource allocation, and even assist in scheduling.
This allows project managers to focus on higher-level planning and stakeholder engagement, ultimately driving project success.
Practical next step: Jump to the bottom of this article to see a list of approachable tools you can start using in your day-to-day routine to improve efficiency and become proficient in AI.
Trend #2 - Project manager skills will evolve as AI takes over admin responsibilities
As AI takes over administrative responsibilities, project managers will need to enhance a new set of skills.
The new breed of PMs will need to be strategic thinkers, skilled communicators, and masters of stakeholder engagement.
Specific areas where PMs can specialize include leadership, customer-centricity, and cross-functional collaboration.
Spoiler alert: becoming adept with technology and data will also be crucial, but we’ll talk more about that, later.
Practical next step: Of course, expanding upon your certifications whether that’s through the Project Management Institute, or in a specific area of expertise like SCRUM or Agile is always a good idea.
There are also highly respected online leadership courses through institutions like Harvard Business School and even Columbia Business School.
With that being said, if you have a library card, you can also access a ton of helpful courses online for free through LinkedIn Learning.
Trend #3 - Project Managers will need to showcase a willingness to explore and adopt new technology
A willingness to explore and adopt new tools, whether AI-powered, virtual assistants, or advanced data analytics platforms, will be essential for success.
Currently, most project management solutions are integrating AI into their tech stack.
And, they are heavily investing in AI, and continuing to evolve their product with its help.
Keeping track of the latest updates your tools offer can help showcase you as a tech expert at your company.
Practical next step: As we’ve already alluded to, the best way to start is by becoming an expert in the tools your organization already uses. For example, let’s say your company uses Monday.com for project management, can you become the go-to expert on this tool?
What tutorials can you take to really understand the product and its benefits?
Once you are an expert in the tool, you can start to see the areas where you wish it performed better, and even start making proposals for new tools to be incorporated into your tech stack.
Trend #4 - Virtual assistants will become more and more crucial for project managers
AI-powered virtual assistants can handle everything from scheduling meetings to transcribing notes, freeing up your time and mental bandwidth for more critical tasks.
And you’ve likely been using AI Virtual Assistants for years now, whether that’s through Siri, Alexa, or Google. But these tools continue to evolve, removing mundane tasks off team members’ plates.
This could be anything from breaking down intensive project briefs, into details tasks or even, reprioritizing an entire team’s workload.
Practical next step: The best AI Virtual Assistant for project managers is undoubtedly, Motion.
There are two ways in which Motion helps project managers remove mundane tasks from their plate.
Motion can expertly help you plan, schedule, and rearrange tasks for your team members based on their availability, meetings, the task's priority level, duration, and due date.
With its “auto-schedule” feature, Motion will automatically schedule that task for a time that works best for the team member.
And if for some reason the task has to be pushed back, Motion will reassign it to them at a time that works best for them.
Trend #5 - Project Managers will need to rely heavily on automations
Time is a precious commodity in project management, and automations will become critical in order to streamline processes and minimize manual effort. From task assignments to progress tracking, automations will ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
This is honestly one of the most important trends on this list because, unfortunately, if your company sees the work you do as something that can be automated, that’ll be an easy way for them to dissolve your role.
Practical next step: If your current project management tool has automations, the best place to start would be there. See what tutorials they offer on setting up the automations, and learn how you can use them to your advantage.
Motion has automation built-in with Project Workflow Templates. These are perfect for projects that follow a repeatable process. They streamline your workflow by automatically creating and assigning tasks, scheduling them on calendars, and moving the project forward as tasks are completed.
Motion built this feature to help your team projects get delivered on-time without you having to manually spend 10 hours a week on planning whoʼs doing what, tracking progress, following-up with people, and following complicated SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). Motion can automate away most of that work.
Trend #6 - Project Managers will need to have a deeper understanding of data analytics
Project managers must become adept at using data analytics tools to gain insights into project performance and make informed decisions.
This skill will be invaluable in identifying issues early, optimizing processes, and demonstrating project value to stakeholders.
The use of data analytics and visualization tools like Google Data Studio, Power BI, and Tableau is becoming more prevalent.
These tools help make data-driven decisions and track project progress in real-time.
Practical next step: I’m a big fan of Udemy because it offers quite a few online courses at an affordable price.
As a team lead, I often encourage my direct reports to take one to two Udemy courses a quarter to stay up to date on their skills.
Udemy does have a comprehensive course on Data Analytics for Project Managers with a 4.6 rating, and 242 reviews.
The Project Management Institute has a handful of data analytics webinars, as well.
Trend #7 - Organizations will become deeply focused on resource management
As projects become more complex and resources more scarce, organizations will prioritize resource management.
Additionally, effectively managing your team’s workload can lead to increases in costs, underutilization of team resources, and even, burnout for your high performers.
Project managers will need to excel at efficient resource allocation, ensuring the right people work on the right tasks at the right time.
This will mean that project managers will have to search and become experts in tools that offer resource management features.
Practical next step: Recently, we created a list of our favorite tools for workload management.
Some tools that really shined in this area were Float and Smartsheet specifically.
Even if a tool like this isn’t in your budget quite yet, evaluating how they showcase resource management via dashboards and spreadsheets can help you track the right metrics, and create your own resources.
Is AI going to replace project managers?
While 77% of individuals fear job losses due to AI, it is actually expected to create approximately 97 million new jobs globally (Forbes).
It’s likely many roles, not just project management roles, will change and evolve as AI gets more intelligent, but a full replacement is unlikely.
How can I best embrace AI as a project manager?
As project management continues to evolve, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and statistics is essential for success.
Embracing AI and automation, developing new skills, and understanding emerging methodologies will position project managers to lead their teams effectively in 2024 and beyond.
- Learn how to use tools like Zapier and Make to create automations.
- Utilize NLP within the tools you already use to recap project status, draft summaries, and answer quick questions. Tools like Notion, ClickUp, and more have this baked into their tool stack.
- Try out a tool like Fireflies.ai, to record your meetings, and automatically recap action items after the fact.
- Use a tool like Motion to automatically assign tasks to your team at a time that works best for them, and automatically reschedule yours and their priorities if something comes up.
What else can Motion do?
Motion stands out with features like:
- Project management: Integrates task lists and deadlines with your calendar, automatically re-prioritizes tasks, and uses AI to schedule tasks based on your availability.
- Daily planner: Acts like a personal assistant, managing your time with AI, tasks mixed with calendar events, and time blocking.
- Calendar app: Adds quality-of-life features like Travel Time and meeting scheduler pages that reflect your availability, and protect your time.
- Mobile app: Fully-featured iOS and Android apps for managing tasks and schedules on the go.
Get started with Motion
Stay ahead of the curve by embracing these trends and leveraging tools like Motion to enhance your project management practices.
