In what has often been referred to as the “new normal”, the predictable economic cycles which could formerly be relied upon are not predicted to reappear any time soon, and business growth is generally slow. In this economic climate, many organizations are implementing initiatives designed to streamline their processes, reduce costs or improve efficiency.
A concurrent business development in recent years, which may be directly related to this new economic environment has been an extensive growth in project-based working in organizations and an expansion of the project management profession. According to one source, the most successful companies now have around four fifths of their employees involved in project-work rather than traditional routine tasks. The use of systematic project-based working, rather than a more ad hoc to organizational change, potentially gives organizations greater control over the implementation and outcomes of their initiatives, particularly when highly qualified and experienced project managers are employed.