One of the things we’ve tried to do with Reality Bytes is bring the conversation back to assumptions.
Not just technical assumptions, but the broader ways we work in IT, deliver projects, and define “success” without always questioning whether we are oversimplifying important roles by relying on our tools instead.
Because the reality is, a lot of what we treat as “good practice” has slowly drifted into autopilot. We use the tools, follow the process, and we trust it’s working.
But sometimes it’s worth asking the uncomfortable question: what if the way we’re managing work is actually hiding the real problems? That’s the idea behind this hot take from Sophie Stokes, Principal Project Manager at Inde.
By Sophie Stokes, Principal Project Manager
Personal hot take: Everyone with a garden should grow their own vegetables
Professional hot take: Task tracking is setting your project up to fail
Audience survey results*: 63% agreed, 37% disagreed
*Inde survey at Reality Bytes event
The Project Management Software market is booming, new tools, new features, and big promises everywhere you look. But in reality, what these platforms actually deliver is a bit more limited than the sales pitch would have you believe.
According to Grand View Research, the Project Management Software market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 15.7%, expanding from USD 6.59 billion in 2022 to over USD 20.4 billion by 2030, with Asia Pacific emerging as the fastest-growing region.
At face value, this signals a category that is not only maturing, but accelerating. You could be forgiven, as a seasoned Project Manager, for thinking your early retirement might be just around the corner.
These platforms promise structure, visibility, automation, and control. The implication being project management, as a discipline, can be embedded into the tool. The reality is more nuanced.
Most project management platforms are highly effective at task orchestration, but far less capable when it comes to managing the broader dynamics that determine delivery success.
So, here are three unpopular opinions on why project management software isn’t managing your projects.
Task tracking creates a strong sense of control but in many cases, that control is superficial.
At the start of a project, a task board brings structure and clarity - work is broken down, responsibilities are assigned, and progress is made visible through simple status movements. This creates confidence, as stakeholders and teams can see activity and assume that momentum equals progress. However, task movement reflects what is happening, not whether the project is moving in the right direction. It does not account for shifting priorities, emerging complexity, or whether completed work still aligns with the intended outcome.
For example:
A six-week project progresses well initially, with tasks moving steadily across the board. By week five, that momentum slows and some tasks require rework, others reveal dependencies that were not previously visible, and progress begins to stall or even reverse. Despite this, the board continues to show activity, and this creates the impression that the project is still on track. In these cases, projects do not fail suddenly they drift, often in full view, but without meaningful intervention.
TOP TIP: In these situations, the tool hasn’t managed the project, it has simply tracked it.
Stakeholder and risk management are where projects are actually won or lost, yet they sit largely outside what most tools actively manage.
Done well, stakeholder management eliminates surprises, ensures issues are raised with clear options to resolve them, and keeps delivery focused on outcomes that sponsors are really looking for - not wasting your team’s time or virtue signaling a “result” whilst the stakeholders perceive you to be spinning your wheels (and burning budget).
TOP TIP: A mentor once told me that project management is, at its core, stakeholder management. The tools may evolve, but that principle doesn’t. In a world full of software, it’s worth remembering that alignment, trust, and shared understanding are still what determine whether a project succeeds or fails.
Risk management follows the same principle. It is not a one-off activity, but an ongoing discipline that requires regular checkpoints across actions and milestones. At each stage, teams should be asking what could go wrong, what the impact would be, and how likely it is to occur. By consistently updating and sharing a clear view of risk, project managers create transparency and ensure both teams and stakeholders remain informed. This allows potential issues to be anticipated and managed early, rather than emerging unexpectedly and disrupting delivery.
TOP TIP: The risk we’ve been tracking and trying to mitigate for the past week has proven unavoidable, but these are our potential options to address it is a much nicer conversation than blindsiding your project sponsor with a crisis.
People management is not always the most popular part of project management, but it is often the part that makes the biggest difference.
Tools can track progress, send reminders, and give you visibility, but they don’t create accountability or momentum on their own. A notification that a task is overdue is easy to ignore. It tells you something is stuck, but it doesn’t help move it forward.
In reality, progress is usually unlocked through simple human moments. A quick check-in, a conversation to understand what’s getting in the way, or bringing the right people together to figure it out. These interactions create clarity, shared ownership, and often just enough motivation to get things moving again.
The difference is easy to overlook. Tools can show you where work has stalled. People are what get it moving again.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Project management, when done well, is a lot more than asking “is it done yet?” and reporting on task progress. The tools don’t replace the human judgement, alignment, and intervention required to actually deliver an outcome.
Good project management doesn’t guarantee everything will land perfectly on time and on budget. What it does do is give you and your stakeholders the clarity, context, and confidence to adapt as things change, so when challenges arise, you’re ready for them.