What is the Metaverse, exactly?
The term ‘Metaverse’ was explained by author, Neal Stephenson, in his science fiction novel, ‘Snow Crash’ as a vast digital universe that exists alongside the actual world. It is a virtual reality environment where users can communicate with a computer-generated environment and other participants. Over time, it will essentially act like a 3D version of the internet.
Mark Zuckerberg, from Meta, predicts that it will take 5 – 10 years for the Metaverse to become mainstream. However, we are already seeing the Metaverse actively at work in how we play, learn, shop, socialise, travel, and work in a shared digital space of multiple worlds.
The more the Metaverse is gaining popularity, the more people are talking about its problems & disadvantages in society. It might solve many problems and offer great improvements to how we operate across industries, but we could end up with irreparable damage to how we relate and interact with one another, severing the fibres that keep us all connected in a real and tangible world.
Metaverse in Project Management
A good starting point is to recognise the dangers and risks we are currently facing within the Metaverse, and with that in mind, put the right boundaries and protocols in place that will protect our relationships and operations with our stakeholders in project management. It might be wise to approach the Metaverse with caution, recognising its benefits and taking full advantage of it, whilst being aware of its intrusive and threatening nature. The world appears to be hastening into this new Metaverse reality, however, it’s worth approaching slowly, with eyes wide open, rather than being swept along into a reality created by Big Tech, Big Business, and Big Corporate.
It’s worth noting that when everyone rushes in one direction, it gives room for anyone who decides not to. Project Management companies that can straddle between the old and the new, incorporating better ways of working whilst upholding the values and principles that make for strong relationships between themselves and their stakeholders in project management, will have an advantage above any company that evolves into all things Metaverse.
Some of the benefits of the Metaverse in Project Management
- It could reshape how projects are planned, executed, and monitored and also enhance team collaboration, improve decision-making, and streamline project workflows.
- It would bring people from all corners of the world into a digital space without physical boundaries.
- It would increase data-driven insights. By integrating data analytics within virtual environments, project managers can access real-time project performance metrics, identify bottlenecks, and make data-informed decisions.
- It could open up new opportunities for project managers to create new products or services within the Metaverse.
For project managers to operate effectively in the Metaverse, they will need to develop expertise in virtual collaboration, understand immersive technologies, and embrace data-driven decision-making.
Some of the risks of the Metaverse in Project Management
- The cost of using the Metaverse with all its required equipment and training, will add to the budget of the stakeholders in project management.
- There will be an increased privacy and security risk as everything will be captured in a digital world.
- It can have a negative mental impact on all parties involved, as it simulates reality, rather than being a reality, emphasising feelings of isolation, loneliness, and separation from real people.
- It will open up more opportunities for harassment and intrusion from hackers.
- It will add continual pressure on experienced project managers to unlearn old traditional ways of working, replacing them with intangible new realities.
- It will add pressure to stakeholders in project management as they, too, will need to acquire this technical knowledge.
- It can cause physical unwellness, i.e. motion sickness and claustrophobia.
- If the Metaverse is commonly used and embraced, it can take the liberty of choice away from those companies who prefer to work outside of it, essentially giving more power away to the monopolies of our day.
Overall, it is safe to say that project management is all about people in the real world, working on real projects with real outcomes. Whether the project management system and tools are operational through an online or fully virtual system, every aspect of the project and all parties involved should be considered, especially its health and well-being as a whole.
For some stakeholders in project management, the idea of popping virtual reality goggles on at all hours, in any corner of the world, accessing up-to-date information on their projects, will excite them and drive them to learn all they can to move in this Metaverse direction. For others, it might be too far from the reality they enjoy, and they might prefer to pick up the phone and have a real conversation or be directed to a user-friendly app or online portal. They might enjoy the old-fashioned approach where people are connected through real relationships that glue projects together.
Saving time is at the top of everyone’s list. However, time allocation for relationship-building and real connection is a necessary investment in the longevity of any project management company. Our stakeholders are not mere emojis on a clipboard, they are real people who represent real companies in the real world. As such, they deserve the best systems and protocols that will grow and enhance projects, both now and in the future.
We often think the grass is greener on the other side, but we often find, the grass that’s beneath our feet is the best in the field. This is the grass we can feel, see, touch, smell, and appreciate, and it’s the grass we know.
We have to ask ourselves, is the Metaverse an ideology pushed onto us, threatening to take our freedoms and sovereignty away or is it the next best thing that we just won’t be able to live without? That’s a question worth exploring.
The dynamic, interactive, and spontaneous aspects of life, together with our intellectual reasoning, critical thinking, and intuitive responses, are all part of the colourful nature of living and working together in an ever-evolving world. Life, whether it be business or personal, is not static but very fluid, flexible, and ever-changing. As project managers, we are stewards of our stakeholders’ projects and also avid learners and explorers of new technologies, systems, and tools that will benefit them in the long run. We need to use a creative approach to take the best from the old, combining it with the best of the new, so that what we end up with is an eclectic solution to today’s problems and challenges.
We are weighing up the pros and cons of new technology at all times, along with the best practices that we can offer our clients. So, for us, Metaverse or no Metaverse, we seek to find ourselves on the cutting edge, in places others haven’t been and setting a new standard that others can follow.
