Flying cars, teleportation, the holodeck.
Science fiction has predicted countless impressive technologies that unfortunately have not yet made it into reality (although we are pretty close when it comes to flying cars).
What you may not realize, however, is that some of the technologies predicted by science fiction decades ago already exist and are becoming an important part of modern project management.
modern project management
In science fiction, technological breakthroughs often lead to disastrous results. After all, every story needs conflict.
The reality is that technological breakthroughs happen every year, and most of them help make life and work easier, faster, and (in the long run) less expensive. Technology is a project manager's best friend (well, technology and good people).
I took a look at four technologies, how they are portrayed in science fiction, what advantages they bring to modern project management and how they could be used in the future.
4 Science Fiction Predictions about Modern Project Management
1. Artificial Intelligence
modern project management
Come on, HAL, be cool...
Science Fiction
Artificial intelligence has not always been portrayed positively in science fiction, whether HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey” or Skynet in the series “Terminator”.
Typically, the plot involves humans making their artificial intelligence so intelligent that it develops self-awareness and becomes sentient. The AI then decides that humanity is a threat to its well-being and acts accordingly (extinction). Our soft flesh and emotions don't usually mesh well with their sharp metal parts and supercomputer intelligence.
(To be fair, science fiction occasionally shows artificial intelligence in a positive – or at least more benevolent – light. Just think of R2-D2 and Rosie the Robot.)
The reality
The good news: AI is not out there to destroy us. Instead, it is already a useful tool in many project management applications. The connection between AI and project management is by no means a new development.
Over 30 years ago, W. N. Hosley wrote an article titled “ The application of artificial intelligence software to project management .” In this article, he predicted that AI would one day be able to perform project management tasks such as preparing an optimal project schedule and budget or performing value and risk analyses.
AI-assisted planning, budgeting and risk management features are now standard in many project management software packages .
Another example is software that teaches you how to use it through built-in tutorials as you use it, or a chatbot that offers you help with your project management system.
What will the future hold? Imagine having conversations with your project management apps instead of typing, just like you ask Alexa or Siri for the weather or the latest news. "What's our budget, Pam?" or "Show me the most recent project timeline, Pam!" Gartner predicts that in 2020, the average person will have "more conversations with bots than with their spouse."
In the future, AI could analyze enormous amounts of data and use this analysis to make recommendations for companies. The amount of data is constantly growing, making traditional methods increasingly impractical. It is also possible to imagine a future in which you hire new employees based on cultural fit and soft skills, and your AI assigns them the ideal role in your company based on their quantitatively identifiable experience and suitability.
But don't get too carried away. While algorithms and voice assistants will help project managers in the near future, it may be a very long time before AI drones are our assistants or we can use robots in the workplace. In Gartner's Artificial Intelligence Primer for 2018 (the full report is available to Gartner clients), Whit Andrews and Tom Austin write: "The transformative potential of AI is shackled by excessive hype that leads to misunderstandings, inflated expectations and distorted assessments of AI's business value."
In other words, be thankful for our AI-powered risk management analyses and budget forecasts and look optimistically towards the humanoid cyborg project managers of the future.
2. Microchips
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This is a microchip, but only as a non-permanent tattoo
Science Fiction
In George Lucas' first film, "THX 1138," every person is marked with a code consisting of a three-digit prefix and a four-digit number and is controlled by robot police officers. In the 1974 film "The Terminal Man" - based on the novel by Michael Crichton - a mentally ill person has neurotransmitters implanted in his brain to control violent impulses. In "The Matrix," Neo has kung fu loaded into his brain via a computer.
Dr. Who's EarPods have the power to put their wearer into a trance and control them remotely or transform them into a superhuman Cyberman .
The science fiction community is still divided on whether microchips will be used in the future for super-efficient identification and tracking of individuals, for behavioral control, or for accelerated learning. If I had the choice, I would go for the latter option. Wouldn't it be great to learn to water ski in 10 seconds?
The reality
A few companies have already started implanting microchips in employees to identify them more effectively. (Voluntarily, of course.)
Last summer, the vending machine company Three Square Market offered its employees the opportunity to have microchips from the Swedish electronics company Biohax International implanted into the skin between their thumb and index finger.
The chip, about the size of a grain of rice, allows employees to identify themselves via near field communication to gain access to buildings and computers or to make payments at vending machines. It is not GPS-enabled, so employees do not have to worry about being tracked if they call in sick.
Three Square Market said more than half of its employees volunteered for the chip.
What does this mean for the future of project management?
Imagine you're sitting at your workstation managing a team of engineers. In your project management software, you not only see a photo of each employee, but icons on a map also show you - in real time - where each employee is, what task they're working on, and how long they've been working for.
Data privacy is certainly an issue, but on the other hand, managers have had the ability to monitor their employees' corporate computer usage and social media behavior for years.
Tracking employees is one way microchips can transform project management. DARPA is working on another project that could have global implications.
The Neural Engineering System Design program , which aims to connect the brain to external electronics, could in the future allow humans to interface directly with machines. DARPA says:
Such an interface would transform the electrochemical signals used by neurons in the brain into the zeros and ones that make up the language of information technology, on a much larger scale than is currently possible.
In practice, this could mean things like cochlear implants that translate into any language, artificial eyes that display information about what is seen, or cybernetic limbs. In other words, we are one step closer to a real RoboCop.
3. Video conferences
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Science Fiction
In Star Trek (the original series), Captain Kirk regularly communicates with friends and foes qatar telegram data via video conferencing. In the 1960s, this technology seemed breathtaking, although a rudimentary video phone was on display at the 1964 World's Fair .
Since then, everyone from The Jetsons to Star Wars has assumed that video conferencing technologies will be ubiquitous in the future. Even the bedrock of all science fiction films, Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), features a video phone.
Since the invention of the telephone and video, it has never been particularly difficult to imagine the two together. Adi Robertson wrote in The Verge : "Video calling is one of the oldest and most indestructible ideas in science fiction."
The reality
Video conferencing went from a fantastic science fiction concept to an indispensable real-life business tool seemingly overnight.
With Skype for Business, presenters can launch polls and share their screen with other call participants. Live streaming allows anyone with a computer or smartphone and an internet connection to broadcast around the globe.
Video conferencing has helped project managers break down barriers between remote teams and save tremendous amounts of travel costs when it comes to meetings.