Proportion of Time Spent on Projects Continues to Rise
In Germany, for example, the proportion of working time spent on projects has already risen significantly—by 22.1 percent across the various industrial sectors—and is expected to rise further (see Exhibit). This has led to talk of the “projectification” of work (e.g., Nieto-Rodriguez 2021, p. 5).
There are two reasons for this increase in projects, not only in terms of number, but also in terms of content, which has also been noted by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) (2018). First, securing the future of companies is based on projects—especially due to the adjustments or transformations required in times of increasing complexity and uncertainty. Second, project work is increasingly becoming the normal modus operandi in the daily core business of many organizations.
Is your organization experiencing an increase in the size and importance of projects?
References
GPM Deutsche Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement (2023) Projektifizierung 2.0: Zweite Makroökonomische Vermessung der Projekttätigkeit in Deutschland [Projectification 2.0: Second Macroeconomic Survey of Project Activity in Germany] (UVK Verlag, Munich, Germany).
International Project Management Association (2018) Will project-based organisations be the new normal? Accessed October 19, 2022, https://www.ipma.world/will-project-based-organisations-new-normal/.
Nieto-Rodriguez A (2021) Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook: How to Launch, Lead, and Sponsor Successful Projects (Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, MA).