As the speed of business continues to increase, and as focus on an ever growing number of project data points is needed to keep business and project execution in control, new and innovative tools and techniques are required to help busy executives make efficient and effective decisions on where to place investments in money and resources. Because many of these decisions are made in the moment, using whatever facts are available, executives need timely, data-rich and easy to comprehend information. Lengthy, text-heavy project document artifacts consume too much time and effort to both generate and review. New research only confirms that information presented in this manner is both ineffective and inefficient. The fact is, in order for information to be conveyed most efficiently, it needs to be visual.
Today’s project manager has more to manage than just project scope, deliverables, communications and teams. They are also expected to manage large volumes of project-related data. And the expectation goes beyond just managing the data. It extends into creating great visualizations that allow stakeholders to fully digest that large volume of data in a manner that is quick, effective and clear. They are also expected to serve as facilitators in the use of visual thinking tools as a method for working through project issues, risks and problems. These new expectations require new skills. The era of multi-page, text-based project status reporting is over. The era of visual project management is here. Time to “skill up!” Time to become a Visual Project Manager!
