Future practitioners of project management – are we disciples of Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott?

Abstract

To peer into the future, we need to explore the tracks we have left behind as well as the prism through which we envisage what is yet to come. In this paper, the author examines the nature and historical role of project management, the forces that have defined the role of the project manager in society, and the challenges that lie beyond our immediate horizons. Stanley Kubrick provided images of inspirational projects that future project managers might one day deliver, while Ridley Scott gave us a far bleaker view of the failed legacy of project managers of the future. The author then discusses the challenges facing education and training in the development of future project managers. What are the appropriate attributes? Who are the key players moulding future generations of project managers? What are their visions of our future heroes who may be asked to manage the very existence of the human race?