Project Management is a highly sought-after profession and a skill that is in great demand today. It is a niche area with a wide-ranging scope of application over the entire spectrum of the industrial horizon. Be it in IT, Electronics, Automotive, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Construction, Defence, Space Exploration, Natural Resources Exploration, or Pharmaceuticals - project management is widely used across all these industries.

Project management has spread to all avenues of work today. Project teams are creating electric/hybrid vehicles, next-gen autonomous vehicles; developing renewable sources of energy, Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs); and exploring the farthest reaches of the oceans and outer space.

Evolution of project management

While Chandrayaan-3 is a recent manifestation of successful project management as well, its first application can perhaps be traced back to the Ziggurats built during the Mesopotamian civilization (3500 BC/considered to be one of the oldest civilizations in the world, which is in present day Iraq), to the Pyramid of Giza (2570 BC, Giza, Egypt), to the Great Wall of China, and even to the Qutub Minar in Mehrauli, Delhi, India. Such humungous structures couldn’t have been built without some order or system in place. Thus, project management has been in existence across eons. However, it was only during the late 1950s, with the birth of Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM) that the discipline of project management got formalized.

Most of the large engineering firms, construction companies, and the defence sector started using project management during 1960s and 1970s. Further, with the advent of personal computer and project management software during 1980s, many manufacturing and software development companies also undertook to manage their business activities through project management. And during 1990s, various sectors and industries started practising project management. Today, project management is no longer a special-need requirement. It has already established itself as a standard means of doing business.     

So, what is project management?   

In the words of Peter F. Drucker (father of modern management), “The primary purpose of the management in an enlightened organization is to introduce innovation — the rest is just routine business.” Projects are the vehicles for introducing these innovations. Today, they are the modus operandi for implementing strategies. In today’s dynamic business scenario and competitive world, it is those organizations, which envisage the right projects for innovation and change, and implement them successfully, that will sustain and make progress.

So the question to ask is: “how do you implement projects?” Well, it is with the help of project management that you implement them effectively (doing the right things — high goal attainment) and efficiently (doing things right — without wasting resources). Therefore, the need for good project managers is going to increase exponentially. More and more organizations are looking for people skilled in project management. One-third of the American GDP is invested in projects (which is almost 23-24% of the world GDP, total GWP = $ 112.6 Trillion).

Various opportunities and roles in project management for working professionals:

• Significant reduction in the product life cycle: One of the most important factors behind the demand for project management is considerable reduction in the product life cycle. The project life cycle is a subset of the product life cycle. New products with short life cycles are the order of the day. Time to market has become a competitive advantage. More and more organizations are pitching on cross-functional project teams to speedily get new products and services to the market — be it smartphone manufacturers, PC/Laptop/Tablet manufacturers, manufacturers in the automotive sector, consumer products’ manufacturers, or shoe & apparel manufacturers.

There used to be a time when Ambassador (1957), Fiat 100D (1964/Walchand Group under license from Fiat), Standard Herald Mark-II (1966/Standard Motor Products of Madras), and Premier Padmini (1974/Walchand Group) – these were the only cars that were mostly plying on the Indian roads. The first Maruti 800 was delivered to its customer on 14^th Dec, 1983. And then with the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1992, the rest is just history. Today we have a plethora of different makers and models available. These days, you have a new car model every 3-6 months. Forty-eight (48) new car models have been launched in India in 2023 till now. There was a time when the product life cycle used to be in the range of 10-15 years for new products. Today, it has come down to 3-6 months or maximum of 2-3 years. Hence, there is an urgent need to come out with new products and services at a much faster frequency. And this where, project management can come to your rescue.

• Innovation and knowledge explosion: This is the second factor that is worth considering. As we all know, industry across the world has moved from Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0. Today, additive manufacturing, industrial IoT, smart manufacturing, energy efficiency, 3D printing, and so on are the buzzwords in the manufacturing industry. Likewise, robotics, nanotechnology, cloud computing, big data, Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, AI/ML, and cybersecurity are the buzzwords in the IT/Electronics industry. In the automotive sector, HMI (self-driving and connected vehicles), IoT (allows vehicles to be connected to the internet and exchange data with other devices, enabling a range of features, such as remote vehicle monitoring, predictive maintenance, and real time traffic updates), autonomous vehicles, ADAS, EVs, 3D Printing, Blockchain, and so on are the areas of focus.

In today’s digital age, it is difficult to find a new product that does not have at least one microchip embedded in it. Product complexity has enhanced the requirement to integrate divergent technologies. How will you achieve this task? It is only with the help of project management that we will be able to build next-gen products and services.

• Sustainable development with high focus on renewable energy: The next important factor that can be considered as the driving force behind the demand for project management is sustainable development. The menace of global warming has made it imperative for us to adopt sustainable manufacturing and business practices. One can no longer just make profits at the cost of immense damage to environment and society. One is required to constantly make efforts to develop Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) in line with UN goals for a sustainable future. CFCs (R-11, R-12) used in refrigeration and air-conditioning were initially replaced with HCFCs (R-21, R-22) to reduce the ozone-depleting potential of CFCs. HCFCs have been further replaced with HFCs (R-32, R-410A) having zero ozone depleting potential. Please check the label on your home air-conditioning unit. But, HFCs have a high global warming potential and we are looking for ways (new products) to replace them. The intended outcome of these efforts is to try and ensure that the ozone hole will be completely healed by 2030.

 

Likewise, we are developing renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, hydro (debatable though, if it is sustainable!), wave, and geothermal power. India has set a target of increasing renewables capacity to 500 GW by 2030, which is a subset of the country’s vision to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070. We have achieved the target of 40% share of power generation from non-fossil fuel sources a decade ahead of 2030 timeline. India’s total installed renewable energy capacity touched 168.96 GW by Feb 2023-end. Out of the total 168.96 GW, Solar power is 64.38 GW; Wind is 42.02 GW; Hydro is 51.79; and 10.77 GW Bio power.

 

The Indian national electric grid has an installed capacity of 416 GW, as of 31 March 2023. Many developed nations like Belgium (2016), Sweden & Austria (2020), and France (2022) have already phased out coal-based thermal power plants and some have set ambitious goals for the future — UK (2024), Canada (2030), and Germany (2035). India and China will also have to take a call on this sometime between 2040 and 2050 or may be, earlier than that. Our automotive engineers are busy developing fuel efficient electric/hybrid/hydrogen-powered vehicles to create a sustainable future.

 

The Indian government has set a target of achieving 30% EV penetration by 2030. This has prompted car manufacturers to invest in EV technology. Our civil engineers are busy developing green and energy efficient buildings and infrastructure. Our mechanical/chemical engineers are working hard in developing CDMs. Our electronics/materials engineers are busy developing Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant electronic products, devoid of Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury. Our highly acclaimed IT engineers are busy harnessing the power of AI for sustainable development.

 

AI can assist in optimizing energy consumption to predicting equipment failures, all while reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact. By optimizing the generation, distribution, and consumption of renewable energy, our electrical engineers contribute to reducing carbon emissions and building a greener future. Electrical engineers can pitch into providing efficient energy storage solutions, such as batteries, super capacitors, and solutions for storage of excess renewable energy. They can develop power electronic systems for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient appliances. The importance of developing sustainable technologies cannot be overestimated. We need to reduce carbon footprint and utilize renewable sources of energy through effective project management only.

 

• Efficiency improvement: Another dominant factor that cannot be overlooked as a driver of project management is the need to build lean and efficient organizations. There was a time when quite a few companies diversified, especially into unrelated areas. But with time, most of them realized that they needed to focus on developing their core competencies to survive today’s global competition. So they need to go for restructuring and sometimes, even downsizing the headcount. Also, middle management can be considered to be a liability for the organization, sometimes. Today, project management is replacing middle management in some companies, as a way of making sure that stuff gets done. Companies have been outsourcing more and more of their work in the form of projects and hence the need for added project management.

 

• Customization of products and services: Increased competition has led to increase in customer focus. Customers have become very demanding as a multitude of options are available in the market. Ever since the Indian economy was liberalized in 1992, the product and service business scenario has changed completely. Customers today demand customized products and services that meet their specific requirements. Customer satisfaction is a part of our quality goals these days. Project management is crucial not only to the development of customized products and services, but also to sustaining fruitful relationships with customers.

The role of organizations and working professionals in collaboration with educational institutions

Today’s business environment is unprecedented. Time to market, speed, innovation, efficiency, and continuous improvement have created the need to undertake multiple projects. Organizations have hundreds of projects going on at any given time. Many of these projects are small projects whose cumulative impact on the bottom line is neglected. Measuring inefficiency of many small projects doesn’t simply exist. Many small projects can add up to large costs, not measured in the accounting system. Once again, project management comes to our aid by facilitating to develop a process for selecting, prioritizing, and preparing a portfolio of small projects that are aligned to the strategic intent of the organization.  

Many top-notch institutions across the world, including BITS Pilani Work Integrated Learning Programmes (WILP) Division, are in the vanguard of academic activity in the area of project management and leading the way in filling this skill gap in various industries and sectors. We at BITS Pilani WILP take great care and attention, when it comes to curriculum design, new programmes, and programme delivery, catering to the needs of working professionals. It is not surprising that our institution is recognized with some of the highest ratings for curriculum design and proactive approach by various rating and accreditation agencies, such as NAAC.

Many of BITS Pilani WILP programmes do include a course in project management; some of them are:

• Tech. Engineering Technology
• Tech. Manufacturing Technology
• Tech. Power Engineering
• Tech. Process Engineering

 

• Tech. Automotive Engineering
• Tech. Design Engineering
• Tech. Embedded Systems
• Tech. Manufacturing Management
• Tech. Pharmaceutical Operations and Management
• Tech. Quality Management

 

• MBA in Business Analytics
• MBA in Consultancy Management
• MBA in Hospital & Health Systems Management
• MBA in Manufacturing Management
• MBA in Quality Management

 

Most of the above programmes are complemented with an experiential learning component, such as “CESIM Project Management Simulation,” which gives a solid exposure to working professionals. CESIM Project is a team-based and interactive project management simulation, which allows the participants to experience the dynamics of managing a project that is part of a broader, multi-project program with manifold multi-project dependencies. This helps build the foundation to seek a fast-growing career in project management.

To encapsulate, no amount of focus from organizations on the need for effective project management and project managers is ever good enough. As for the working professionals, this is the best time to be studying a course in project management — as part of a programme of study offered to them by various leading institutions. The opportunities are unlimited and so are the possibilities. Good times await working professionals skilled in project management. Bon Voyage! 

Blog by Mahesh Kumar Hamirwasia, Assistant Professor, BITS Pilani Work Integrated Learning Programmes Division