101 Essential Project Management Software Statistics: 2024 Market Share & Data Analysis

Project management is a dynamic field where meeting the stakeholders’ goals is the primary consideration. Almost always, project managers feel the heat. Not only do they have to meet increasing demands, but they also have to contribute to the betterment of internal processes. But equipped with the right project management software, they can deliver both internal and external objectives.

In this article, you’ll learn all about the latest trends and project management software statistics that are shaking up the field. From the state of project management to career outlook and software development, project management professionals can catch a glimpse of the changes that are shaping the industry. With this knowledge, you can face the challenges of the profession head-on and deliver projects on time and within budget in 2022 and beyond.

General Project Management Statistics

Project management software statistics of 2022 indicate that although organizations have attained some degree of project management maturity, a majority of project management professionals are not satisfied with existing levels in their organization, if not fear to outrightly suffer total project failure. Only about a third say they are satisfied with said maturity levels. As far as working styles are concerned, an overwhelming majority believe in maintaining a daily to-do list and keeping tabs with what their teammates are doing to achieve efficiency. But at the same time, they believe that team collaboration can still be improved.

State of Project Management Statistics

• 52% of respondents are somewhat or very dissatisfied with the current level of project management maturity within their organization. The figure has grown steadily since the 45% rating in 2016 (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 35% of organizations say that they are somewhat or very satisfied with their level of project management maturity (Wellingtone, 2020).
• Only 6% of project managers in Australia said the pandemic had minimal impact on projects (KPMG, 2020).
• 61% of projects in Australia have highly involved sponsors (KPMG, 2020).
• 40% of the project and program governance activities of organizations in Australia are considered very effective (KPMG, 2020).
• 58% of project management professionals work remotely while only 14% work together in a central office (ProjectManager, 2021).

Working Styles of Project Management Teams

• 95% of people feel that having a list of tasks to do every day is good for their mental health (Project.co, 2020).
• 94% of people believe that having visibility into what their teammates are doing improves business productivity and efficiency (Project.co, 2020).
• 92% of people believe that collaboration with teammates can be improved (Project.co, 2020).
• 51% of teams use templates for their tasks (Cord, 2021).
• 20% of tasks are assigned upon creation while 20% are assigned by a manager. Another 15% are assigned in a planned meeting while 45% are a combination of methods (Cord, 2021).
• 85% of teams discuss tasks in a meeting, 79% use the comment function in their task manager software, and 75% chat about it on Slack (Cord, 2021).
• 90% of teams use subtasks, which make task assignment and management more difficult if not done correctly (Cord, 2021).
• 78% of managers participate fully in task management while only 49% of executives do (Cord, 2021)
• 57% of teams summarize projects to leaders in meetings, while 49% create an entirely separate report. On the other hand, 43% compose a separate summary on email or Slack (Cord, 2021).
• Only 16% of people say that they always hit their deadlines (Project.co, 2020).
• People who make task lists are 68% less likely to never meet deadlines and 31% less likely to rarely hit deadlines (Project.co, 2020).
• 60% of people who track time on projects say they don’t retrospectively utilize data to pinpoint efficiency in their projects (Project.co, 2020).
• 15% of businesses that bill clients based on time spent on projects do not actually track time at all (Project.co, 2020).

Project Management as a Career Statistics

Experts predict that there will be continued demand for project management roles well into 2030. As such, around two million roles related to project management need to be filled every year to address the talent gap. Those who seek to enter the field should arm themselves with a degree plus, certification to improve their career prospects. Moreover, they should have the mental fortitude to weather job churn and other uncertainties. For instance, construction project management statistics revealed cancellations and delays due to the pandemic. Project managers with well-balanced hard and soft skills will thrive despite the challenges.

Project Management Job Outlook Statistics

• There were around 603,120 project managers in the United States in 2021, based on job profiles (Zippia, 2021)
• The average age of project managers in the US is 46.6 (Zippia, 2021).
• 60% of project managers in the US are male while 36% are female (Zippia, 2021).
• From July 2020 to June 2021, there were 306,300 business and financial project management professionals in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, there were 79,400 IT project and program managers and 64,800 construction project managers and related professionals (Office for National Statistics, 2020).
• 36% of project managers stay on a job for one or two years. On the other hand, 18% stay for three to four years while 15% stay for five to seven years (Zippia, 2021).
• 29% of project managers in the US work for Fortune 500 companies. Other top employers were technology companies (15%), finance companies (10%), healthcare companies (6%), and telecommunications companies (5%) (Zippia, 2021).
• By 2030, there will be a demand for 25 million project management employees to fill global talent demands (PMI, 2021).
• 2.3 million people will need to enter project management-oriented employment every year to address the talent gap (PMI, 2021).
• 61% of organizations provide project management training while 47% have a well-defined career path for project professionals (PMI, 2020).
• Almost one in five project managers have thought of leaving their jobs in the past year (Girl’s Guide to Project Management, 2021).
• 51% of organizations require project professionals to have some type of certification for their role (PMI, 2020).

Education and Salary Statistics

• On average, Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate holders earn higher median salaries by 22% than those without PMP certification (PMI, 2020).
• As of November 2021, the average salary for a project manager in the US was $68,188 per year (Salary.com, 2021).
• 69% of project managers in the US have a bachelor’s degree. Meanwhile, 18% have a master’s degree and 9% have an associate degree. Only 1% have a doctoral degree (Zippia, 2021).
• Project managers in the US who have a doctoral degree earn the highest compared to other types of degree holders. They earned an annual median income of $121,283 versus $113,249 for master’s degree holders and $102,040 for bachelor’s degree holders (Zippia, 2021).
• The most well-paid project management professionals work in Switzerland, where they are paid an annual median salary of $140,983. In contrast, the lowest-paid project management professionals are located in Pakistan where they have an annual median salary of $13,803 (PMI, 2021).
• In April 2020, 15% of construction projects were either cancelled or delayed due to the COVID-19 virus (GlobalData, 2020).

Data on Project Planning and Execution

Project planning is a crucial step in project management for without it, there is no groundwork from where to start the project. Part of project planning is identifying team members who will perform tasks. In this regard, data shows that most project teams tend to be small, with less than 10 people on the team. As teams move to the execution stage, teams use defined project methodologies, such as agile project management and change management.

Manpower for Project Management Teams

• 39% of project teams are made up of six to 10 people; 30.5% have more than 10 people; another 30.5% are composed of one to five people (Girl’s Guide to Project Management, 2021).
• 72% of PMOs are expected to increase in scope and responsibilities, up from 61% in 2019 (Wellingtone, 2020).
• In Australia, 57% of organizations use a centralized PMO to synchronize project activities (KPMG, 2020).
• Over two-thirds (69%) of project professionals state that their senior leaders value project management (PMI, 2020).

Techniques and Methodologies Used

• 54% of project management practitioners do not have access to real-time project KPIs (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 61% of project managers say that they mostly or always apply a defined project methodology (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 50% of organizations mostly or always baseline their project schedules for performance tracking (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 67% of organizations in Australia incorporate project change management in their initiatives (KPMG, 2020).
• Project professionals manage 23% of the company’s initiatives by incorporating AI and expect that this will increase to 37% in the next three years (PMI, 2020).
• The top agile techniques and practices used in organizations are daily standup (87%), retrospectives (83%), sprint/iteration planning (83%), Kanban boards (77%), task boards (67%), and spreadsheets (66%) (Digital.ai, 2020).
• 67% of project managers in Australia believe that the complexity of programs and projects has increased over the past decade. (KPMG, 2020)
• 84% of CEOs in Australia have hastened the development of a next-generation operating model and the digitization of operations (KPMG, 2020).
• 23% of projects in Australia do not include change management initiatives. However, 32% of organizations with formal change management activities deem them extremely effective (KPMG, 2020).
• 59% of organizations in Australia conduct independent project performance reviews (KPMG, 2020).
• Around 28% of organizations believe that adopting agile methods has improved their project success rates (KPMG, 2020).
• Organizations with high maturity in project management capabilities outperform low-maturity organizations. They met their goals 77% of the time compared to 56% for low-maturity organizations (PMI, 2020).
• 60% of project management professionals said they use a Gantt chart for 50% to 100% of their projects (ProjectManager, 2021).

Most Popular Project Management Software

1. monday.com is an award-winning project management platform that provides a visual and collaborative space for teams to plan, organize, and track project progress. It has a simple and intuitive interface for easier onboarding and faster adoption of your team. To know more about its full features, you can check out our monday.com review.
2. Wrike is a cloud-based collaboration and project management software. It provides real-time reports and status updates on your projects. You can find out more about its features in our Wrike review.
3. Smartsheet is a flexible project management software suited to organizations of all sizes. It has planning, automating, and reporting tools to give your team a more effective workflow. Know more about its features in our Smartsheet review.
4. Asana allows you to track and manage all your projects on a single platform. It streamlines communication across your organization and lets you plan and set goals with your team. More details about its features can be found in our Asana review.
5. Jira is perfect for developer teams for planning, tracking, and releasing a software. It lets you create a custom workflow that best suits your team. You can learn more about its tools in our Jira review.

Key Statistics on Project Performance

When it comes to project delivery, project management statistics gathered by industry experts show that less than the majority deliver the full benefits of projects and have a track record of success. Only about a third of organizations meet project deliverables on time. The most cited reason for projects exceeding the budget is the need for additional technology. To achieve the purpose of project management, organizations employ risk management, set up dedicated project management offices (PMOs), and focus on technical skills in employee development.

Project Delivery Statistics

• 40% of organizations say that they deliver mostly or always the full benefits of projects (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 51% of organizations in Australia deliver projects that meet the business objective or original goal. Meanwhile, 52% of organizations deliver projects that satisfy stakeholders (KPMG, 2020).
• Organizations with high-maturity project management capabilities deliver projects on-time 63% of the time. In contrast, low-maturity organizations can do the same only 39% of the time (PMI, 2020).
• 47% of project management practitioners say that their companies have built a track record of project success (Wellingtone, 2020).
• In a survey, 50% of respondents said the top reason for budget overages is the need for additional technologies. Other top reasons were the expansion of initial project scope, project staffing was underestimated, technical issues, organizational issues, and data issues, which were all cited by 37.5% of respondents (Panorama Consulting, 2020).
• In the same survey, 26.7% of respondents said that organizational issues are the top reason for project duration overages for ERP implementations. This was followed by scope expansion (20%) and data issues (20%). On the other hand, 6.7% of respondents cited unrealistic project timelines, technical issues, resource constraints, COVID-19, and other issues (Panorama Consulting, 2020).
• 29% of organizations report that projects are mostly or always completed on time (Wellingtone, 2020).

Project Delivery Best Practices

• 60% of PM practitioners always or mostly engage in some form of risk management (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 68% of organizations prioritize technical skills in talent development in support of successful projects, while 65% prioritize leadership skills (PMI, 2020).
• About 36% of project management practitioners spend one or more days annually collating project reports (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 89% of organizations have one or more PMOs, with 50% having more than one (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 26% of PMOs are less than two years old (Wellingtone, 2020).
• The Scaled Agile Framework is the most popular scaling method with 37% of organizations applying it (Digital.ai, 2021).
• Most project managers (59%) run two to five projects simultaneously. 15% work only on one project, while another 15% take on more than 10. Meanwhile, only 11% do six to 10 projects at a time (Girl’s Guide to Project Management, 2021).
• Customer satisfaction (59%), business value (58%), and business objectives achieved (50%) are the top three measures of agile transformations (Digital.ai, 2021).

Project Failure and Management Challenges Statistics

• If management takes five hours or longer to make decisions, it leads to a failure rate of 22% for agile projects (Scrum, 2021).
• 58% of project managers in Australia stated that the pandemic has brought a moderate or significant impact on projects and caused delays of projects and programs of work (KPMG, 2020).
• 25% of organizations sometimes or never create scoping documents for projects (Wellingtone, 2020).
• Organizations with low-value delivery maturity have a project failure rate of 21%. In contrast, organizations with high-value delivery maturity have a failure rate of 11% (PMI, 2020)
• 25% of organizations do not have the right team collaboration tools for working on informal projects, even as this task comprises 20% of their work time (Wellingtone, 2020).
• The biggest challenges to adopting agile techniques in an organization are inconsistent processes and practices (46%), cultural clashes (43%), and general organizational resistance to change (42%) (Digital.ai, 2021).
• 46% of the projects in companies with low project management technology maturity go over budget (PMI, 2020).
• 47% of agile projects are late, have budget overruns, or result in unhappy customers (Scrum, 2021). Moreover, 11% of agile projects fail outright and end up delivering nothing (Scrum, 2021).

Project Management Software Statistics

Only less than a third of organizations use project management software, with a significant chunk opting to use Excel for resource planning. A majority has also said that they don’t have effective team collaboration technologies. However, with the current trajectory of the modern workplace, many businesses are hard-pressed to keep up with digital transformation.

As such, industry figures show that a majority of organizations have initiatives in place, which support artificial intelligence and agile practices. They also tend to use task managers usually for tracking tasks related to product development.

Project Management Software Key Developments

• 56% of organizations already have in place a digital transformation strategy that incorporates AI (IPMA, 2020).
• Organizations anticipate that AI will mainly take over the roles of PM assistant (52%), PM advisor (42%), and PM substitute (3%) (IPMA, 2020).
• 52% of organizations say that either a majority or all of their company’s teams have adopted agile practices (Digital.ai, 2021).
• 75% of project professionals believe that the usage of collaboration tools for teams will increase in the future (Wellingtone, 2020).
• 35% of executive leaders identified organizational agility as the top factor in achieving success in the future. (PMI, 2020)
• 32% of executive leaders say that selecting the right technologies is one of the top three biggest factors in future success (PMI, 2020).
• 31% of executive leaders say that learning relevant skills is one of the top three biggest factors in future success (PMI, 2020).
• 70% of companies put a high priority on creating a culture that focuses on delivering customer value (PMI, 2020).
• 92% of tasks tracked in task managers were related to product development. Other task types categories include engineering (88%), marketing (48%), operations (44%), and sales (21%) (Cord, 2021).
• 60% of teams have members in Slack or Google Workspace but don’t have access to their task managers (Cord, 2021).
• 49% of teams frequently create private tasks while 32% aren’t sure if they do (Cord, 2021).
• 75% of people use email to collaborate with other people in a team. Meanwhile, 68% use phone conferencing,
• 59% use online collaborative tools, and 38% use a project management tool (Project.co, 2020).
• 44% of people don’t use a project or task management software to keep deadlines visible (Project.co, 2020).

Project Management Software Adoption

• The top three reasons for adopting AI include the ability to handle changing priorities (64%), accelerating software delivery (64%), and boosting team productivity (47%) (Digital.ai, 2021).
• Only 23% of organizations use portfolio project management software or resource management software (Wellingtone, 2020).
• The project management software market is projected to register a CAGR of 10.67% from 2020 to 2026 (Mordor Intelligence, 2020).
• The project management software market is estimated to be worth $5.37 billion in 2020. By 2026, it is projected to grow to $9.81 billion (Mordor Intelligence, 2020).
• 35.5% of project managers use MS Excel to build resource plans. Meanwhile, 17.5% do not use any software tools while 17.47% use an enterprise project management solution. Only 5.42% said they use a resource management solution (Wellingtone, 2020).
• On average, 67% more of projects end up as outright failures in organizations that undervalue project management as an essential element for driving change (PMI, 2020).
• On average, 11.4% of investment is wasted as a result of poor project performance (PMI, 2020).
• 54.2% of project and portfolio practitioners say they do not have effective technology to collaborate on information projects. Only 38.6% said they have access to such technologies while 7.6% said they don’t know (Wellingtone, 2020).
• The top tools used for agile project management include Atlassian Jira (81%), Digital.ai Agility (70%), Azure DevOps (66%), Broadcom Rally (62%), Trello (59%), and Atlassian Jira Align (52%) (Digital.ai, 2021).
• 64% of teams use multiple task managers (Cord, 2021).
• 49% of executive team members tend to pick Notion for high-level tasks and Jira for tactical tasks (Cord, 2021).

Future of Project Management Software

The landscape of project management software is rapidly evolving, driven by technological advancements and changing work dynamics. Here are key trends shaping the future of project management tools:

• Increased Automation: Automation features are becoming standard in project management software. Tasks such as scheduling, reporting, and resource allocation can now be automated, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive tasks. This shift enhances efficiency and reduces the likelihood of human error.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration: AI revolutionizes project management by providing predictive analytics and data-driven insights. AI tools can help project managers identify potential risks, optimize resource allocation, and improve decision-making processes. As AI technology advances, its integration will become increasingly sophisticated, offering even more valuable insights.
• Remote and Hybrid Work Support: The rise of remote and hybrid work models is prompting project management software to prioritize features that facilitate collaboration among distributed teams. These include real-time updates, integrated communication tools, and mobile access to ensure teams can work seamlessly regardless of location.
• Emphasis on User Experience (UX): A focus on intuitive interfaces and user-friendly designs is becoming essential. As organizations adopt project management tools, user experience will be critical in software selection. Platforms prioritizing ease of use will likely see higher adoption rates and greater user satisfaction.
• Customizable Solutions: As businesses increasingly seek tailored solutions, the demand for customizable project management software will grow. Companies will favor platforms that allow them to adapt features and functionalities to their specific needs, enabling them to manage projects more effectively.

Sharpen Your PM Toolkit

Project management software statistics and industry news from experts offer interesting insights into the industry. One of these is despite the levels of project management maturity and team collaboration, there is much left to be desired. Moreover, less than half of organizations are able to deliver project value and finish projects on time. Despite these, project management professionals have utilized agile methodologies and change management to avoid delays and manage risks. As they grow into the role, a well-balanced mix of hard and soft skills should make project management professionals marketable to employers, even with the looming talent gap for project management jobs.

Sifting through industry data to identify trends might be extra work for project management professionals. Yet taking that added step might well be worth it as they uncover new ideas to apply to real-life situations to enhance processes or increase the likelihood of success of their projects. Aside from taking to heart the industry knowledge one has gained, having the top online project management tools at one’s disposal is also key to being ahead in the game.

References:

1. Cord (2021, May 7). State of Project Management in 2021 Report. Cord.
2. Digital.ai (2021). 15th State of Agile Report: Agile adoption accelerates across the enterprise. Digital.ai.
3. Harrin, E. (2021, March 22). The 2021 Project Management Report. Girl’s Guide to Project Management.
4. IPMA (2020, October). Artificial Intelligence impact in Project Management. IPMA.
5. KPMG (2020). Project Delivery Performance in Australia. KPMG.
6. Mordor Intelligence (2020). Project Management Software Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021-2026). Mordor Intelligence.
7. Office for National Statistics (2021). Annual Population Survey – Employment by occupation by sex. Office for National Statistics.
8. Panorama Consulting (2021). 2021 ERP Report. Panorama Consulting.
9. Project.co (2020). The State of Project Management 2021. Project.co.
10. Project Management Institute (2020, January). PMI 2020 Signposts Report. Project Management Institute.
11. Project Management Institute (2020). Pulse of the Profession® 2020 Ahead of the Curve: Forging a FutureFocused Culture. Project Management Institute.
12. Project Management Institute (2020, January 21). Summary of ‘Earning Power: Project Management Salary—Eleventh Edition.’ Project Management Institute.
13. Project Management Institute (2021). Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Twelfth Edition. Project Management Institute.
14. Project Management Institute (2021). Talent Gap: Ten-Year Employment Trends, Costs, and Global Implications. Project Management Institute.
15. Salary.com (2021, November 29). Project Manager I Salary in the United States. Salary.com.
16. Scrum Inc. (2021, January 29). Why do 47% of Agile Transformations Fail? Scrum.
17. Wellingtone (2020). The State of Project Management Report 2020. Wellingtone.
18. Zippia (2021, September 9). Manager, Project Management. Zippia.

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.