Project Management is a fast-developing profession. I see many new words and phrases which I did not come across during my career.
For example over recent months, I have seen the following terminology used:
- Transformation project
- Project data analytics
- Learning legacy
- Net-zero
- Built environment
- Third sector projects
- Reflexive learning
- Engaged scholarship
- Reference class forecasting
- VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous)
- Psychological Safety
The following questions spring to mind:
- Why has the new terminology sprung up? Has the profession genuinely become more complex or is it just people making stuff up?
- This has always been the case during my career as new ways of thinking are explored. Is it accelerating?
- Are these words genuinely new concepts, or just rebadging the old?
- Is there benefits to injecting new language into the profession? Does it keep things fresh/bring extra impetus?
- Are we making it too complicated for project managers at the coal face?