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IoT in Project Management: Guide on Benefits and Applications

In this article, we are going to learn what is IoT and its impact on project management, benefits of IoT in Project Management, etc.
Submitted by IncludeHelp, on AUG 18, 2022

In the constantly evolving field of project management, increased organizational efficiency has been sought in new and improved ways. Project management is a crucial and critical process that requires a considerate amount of time and is highly prone to result in underperformance. We now witness a breakthrough with the Internet of Things (IoT) in project management. Let us discuss how IoT benefits project management and various IoT applications for project management.

What is IoT and its impact on project management?

By definition, IoT is a network of devices that contain software, electronics, actuators, and sensors that allow them to connect, exchange data, and interact. This network of devices could be different gadgets, home appliances, vehicles, and others.

IoT is advantageous in multiple practical applications in day-to-day life, let us look at its benefits and applications in project management.

Impact of IoT on project management

Let us take an example to understand the role of IoT in project management better.

Imagine that you are working with a remote team on a sensitive and critical project. On a video conference, you had assigned each team member with a task and a set deadline. However, keeping in touch with them to get an update on the progress of work, informing them about any additional work, or solving their difficulties and queries could be difficult. The scenario could be such that they were unavailable, busy performing the task on field, or just having dinner with family.

But due to this, the consequences would make the entire project suffer with the team not reaching its goal. Disturbance in the alloted timelines could lead to entire project failure. What can be done to solve this problem? The answer is Project Management Software.

As defined earlier, IoT is a network of devices with software that enables connection, interaction, and data exchange amongst them. Let us dive into the impact of IoT on project management to understand this better:

1) Hyper Speed Reporting

Manually collating all the data related to the project, team members, and their work progress could be time consuming and tiresome. With the help of IoT like project management software, all the information required could be accumulated quickly and you can learn about new developments in no time. This would make a significant improvement in management by enabling everyone to adhere to the project parameters set to achieve the overall organizational goal. If there is something that goes wrong, you can find out about it right away.

2) Business Intelligence

Studies have shown that billions of IoT devices have been fully operational since 2020. However, it is important to understand that with this development, big data analytics is the need of the hour. Big data is a business intelligence system that draws meaningful conclusions out of seemingly unrelated data. Big data works with IoT to offer precise operational insights and predictions. Users can put it to good use in a way that optimum benefits can be achieved for everyday business intelligence.

3) Quick Process Management

According to a report by IDC, 60% of manufacturers worldwide are already using analytics data collected from different connected devices to further analyze processes and identify them for optimization.

With IoT, you can engage in single-screen monitoring that allows you to keep an eye on the main dashboard. Simultaneously, you can also customize the dashboard as per your preferences, like you can highlight some features or remove certain elements that don't have an impact on your activities.

4) Performance Improvement

With better organization and automation, IoT allows organizations to improve their performance. It manages millions of units at the same time so that there is no need to process each device or user separately. With increased data volume, organizations can engage in better performance in their project management including managing teams and devices all at once.

5) Better Collaboration with Stakeholders

As companies adopt IoT, the marketplace tends to be transformed into a level playing field. Only the strongest and the fittest organizations have the scope to survive in such an environment. Hence, project managers also have higher standards for the stakeholders they work with. It would in turn enable better collaborations to take place.

6) Higher Expectations

With better processes and stakeholders, organizations would no longer have excuses like, "We do not have access to the data" or "We need some time to get back with the report". As someone leading the project, a project manager must be aware of all the technologies that would offer optimum efficiency and results. Expectations from the project manager would rise as they are also expected to enable their team members to use the technologies.

Benefits of IoT in Project Management

1) Faster Communication

IoT creates a network of devices that enables instant to almost instant communication. In project management, IoT devices and software allow real-time communication and collaboration amongst team members. Moreover, this would also help reduce the cost of communication significantly. The administrative systems of project management would stop working in silos and the IT systems, databases, and operations would become connected more quickly. With the help of these hyper-connected devices and automated systems, project management processes would speed up in the long-run.

2) Project Automation

IoT offers interconnectivity that allows most of the processes to become automated. This also applies to project management wherein multiple IoT tools help to make project management efficient, fun, and easy. As a project manager, you can connect multiple devices to enable them perform varied processes at the assigned stage of project cycle without having to keep a constant eye on the same. This would allow crucial and critical tasks to be performed at the right and desired time without any humane constraints or limitations. With automated processes, project managers would be able to track the data, resources, and check the progress of the project cycle. This could all be done remotely through effective connection of devices via IoT. As a part of project management, you could also track resources as well as maintain targets and deadlines simultaneously.

3) Everything Under Control

IoT allows you to control almost every device and process remotely. Hence in project management, teams can keep track of tasks, progress of work, and overall project anytime anywhere. With IoT connections, project managers, stakeholders, and the overall management could control and monitor activities in real time to enable a better and comprehensive system of work. The entire snapshot of the system is monitored on a single screen to resolve any glitch or interruptions immediately. Moreover, with the project getting more complex, the scope of activities, devices, and conditions that require monitoring would also increase significantly. In such a scenario, project management requires ease of use and environments in a critical manner.

4) Real-Time Data Analysis

IoT allows advanced, super fast, and real-time data analytics. It would make the entire process of gathering and supporting data, as well as in-depth analysis of data a cakewalk. Moreover, with IoT analysis, the predictive analysis would also become much easier. For project managers, data analysis and data handling would become cheaper, as the in-built analysis technology would be a part of the IoT processes. This will also allow the analysis to be engaged productively in much more technical components of the project. With a significant impact on Big Data, IoT would allow companies to come up with faster and better ways of data analysis in project management.

5) Lower Cost

A smart, efficient, and capable project manager is expected to complete the project successfully well within the budget. IoT helps in every stage of project management from tracking projects at each stage to eliminating unnecessary expenses through effective technical interventions. This would not only save money but also prove to be time efficient. For every IoT connected device ranging from smart appliances in the offices to remotely connected devices of companies, IoT has a far-reaching impact on cost-cutting. It would prove to be significantly helpful in complex and critical projects to enable them to run smoothly with no unnecessary expenses incurred.

6) Future Trends Predictions

The above-mentioned impacts and benefits of IoT on project management highlights that it is an effective tool that helps manage projects actively and in an optimum manner. Moreover, IoT can also become a proactive tool in predicting the future industry developments and trends. It proves to be a valuable resource that allows project managers to handle the project responsibilities by also preparing the company for future challenges. In this manner, the leader of project management could prepare and organize a team at the right time for a competitive edge.

Are you ready for the IoT revolution?

IoT is all set to change the way we work, interact, and survive in a business on an everyday basis. With the transformation having already begun, IoT is in full fledge to level out all overall competition and enable managers to continuously upgrade their project management skills, at both technical and managerial levels. With this, it is predicted that the next step would be IoP, i.e., Internet of People, that would require sensors implanted in people’s bodies. Are you ready for the revolution?