Project planning

World Wide Web

Engineering

Project management 2.0

Agile software development

Systems engineering

Originality

Computer science

Business

Qualitative research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Mechanical engineering

Process management

Digitization

Work (physics)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Sociology

Project management

Medicine

Software engineering

Knowledge management

Pandemic

Engineering management

Extreme project management

Digital transformation

Disease

Computer vision

Pathology

Social science

OPM3

Journal of Business Strategy

Purpose Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, project management was undergoing gradual shift and moving from traditional ways of working toward embracing digitization. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this transformation. This paper highlights the importance of digital project management (DPM), its adoption of digital technologies, the changing role of digital project manager, significant and abrupt swing in the rise of virtual teams and the benefits and challenges of remote project teams. This paper aims to discuss the latest development in project management and to lay out the rationale why DPM is here to stay even after the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The author has based this research on reviewing publications from the project management journals and publications, interviews of project management professionals and analyzing data from a project management consultancy. Findings The pandemic accelerated the digitalization of project management including the adoption of digital tools and technologies, embracing an agile approach to implementing projects; working collaborative in remote teams; and breaking traditional barriers of geography, time zones and fundamentally how project teams collaborate. Practical implications Project management is being digitized, changing how teams work. Fueled by the pandemic, DPM accelerated its momentum. The rate of adoption is likely to be strong after the pandemic. Organizations and individuals should consider embracing DPM but with the full knowledge of both benefits and challenges. Originality/value DPM is still in its early days even though the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated its use. Today and likely after the pandemic, organizations and people are increasingly embracing digital technologies, remote teams and agile project management approaches to project management. It is likely that in the foreseeable future, nearly all project managers will be digital project managers, giving rise to the importance of understanding the challenges and benefits and building the digital skills for both individuals and organizations.

Digital project management: rapid changes define new working environments