In Mexico, we have a traditional board game called “Lotería”, made up of 16 playing boards featuring lottery images distributed in a 4 x 4 pattern. Each image represents distinctive symbols of Mexican culture, including fruits like the pear, animals like the heron, musical instruments like the harp, and iconic characters such as the drunkard, the brave man, the mermaid, the lady, the dandy (el catrín), among others.
This family-friendly and fun game begins when “el gritón” (the shouter) or “el cantor” (the caller), a voluntary or elected player, draws cards one by one from a deck of 54, which includes all the possible images that may appear across the 16 boards distributed among the players. As the caller draws each card, they announce the figure aloud (they literally shout the name), allowing all players to look for that image on their boards: “el gallo, la escalera…” etc.
The luckiest player is the one who finds the announced image on their board and marks it with a chip or a little bean – commonly called a “frijolito” – as the images are called out.
The first player to complete all the images on their board must shout “¡Lotería!” to indicate they are the first to complete the board with the images announced by the caller. This repeats each round as agreed upon by the players.
The Parallel: A New Paradigm in Project Management
But, dear reader, you may be wondering: what does any of this have to do with Business Acumen, Artificial Intelligence, and Project Management Offices? How could such a regional and culturally specific Mexican game help us metaphorically understand the current state of project, program, and portfolio management in an era of transformation driven by artificial intelligence and business acumen?
Well, in professional environments – and today more than ever in project management – knowledge and best practices evolve through cycles determined by paradigm shifts. According to Thomas Kuhn’s theory of Scientific Paradigms, there are two main types:
- Dominant Paradigm
- Revolutionary Paradigm
These paradigms drive scientific change and affect the mindset that shapes various schools of thought and applied knowledge practices. In other words, they determine how things are done – how projects, programs, and portfolios are executed to achieve results, products, services, and ultimately, benefits.
For this to happen, a scientific shift must occur, following a cycle. Yes, dear reader, a cycle much like the rounds of the traditional Mexican Lotería, although in this case, this “game of chance” is actually a controlled chance, within a framework known as the:
Pre-paradigmatic phase, in which – just like the 54 cards drawn randomly by the “caller” – there are many theories on how things should be done. Some are more solid than others, especially those grounded in mathematics, physics, nature, or organic laws. Gradually, as these ideas are tested and confronted with objective, undeniable, and tangible reality (beyond perception), the Dominant Paradigm emerges incomplete, improvable, with room for growth.
Anything outside this scientific framework may give rise to observable anomalies, leading to a kind of paradigm crisis, which in turn creates a Revolutionary Paradigm, serving two purposes:
- To refute practices from the Dominant Paradigm that failed to meet the needs of objective reality.
- To improve and evolve those practices toward ones that better align with that objective reality.
It is here that players in this controlled lotería can place chips on their boards, completing the new paradigm’s images – better aligning their projects, programs, or portfolios with reality. Through a paradigmatic lens, consensus emerges from the experience of the previous dominant model, enabling better decisions and fueling new cycles.
The Decline of the Agile Model vs. the Rise of the Hybrid Framework & Business Acumen
The waning popularity of the Agile model, the consolidation of Hybrid frameworks, and the growing momentum of Business Acumen represent just the tip of the iceberg in this Revolutionary Paradigm. This does not suggest that we are stepping into entirely new territory in project management practice – quite the opposite. What we’re witnessing is an evolution of the previous dominant paradigm, which had already been signaling to project, program, and portfolio managers the growing importance of business thinking when conceptualizing projects. That’s because benefits, ROI, results, strategies, and project outcomes all stem from the core of Business Vision. In other words, the project manager must expand their focus beyond documentation, processes, inputs, outputs, metrics, risks, estimates, and constraints – to a more integrated and business-oriented perspective.
Business Vision / Business Acumen
In the second quarter of 2025, PMI issued a special statement in its Pulse of the Profession 2025 report, highlighting:
“Business vision is a key factor in driving successful projects and professional growth in project management.”
At this point, I imagine many colleagues celebrating – those who already saw, on their Lotería board, that Business Acumen is essential for managing projects, programs, and portfolios. After all, the interconnections among all project elements are fundamentally based on economic interactions driven by business value.
But is this shift driven by its own momentum, or is it just a trendy fad? The answer, dear reader, is: No, let me explain briefly. This shift toward a new Business Acumen-focused paradigm in Project Management has been significantly amplified by the rise of Artificial Intelligence, especially Generative AI, which is beginning to replace many operational and managerial functions, such as report writing, indicator monitoring, risk prediction, documentation, compliance, among others.
The Project Manager as a scribe, administrator, or document handler begins to dissolve amid these emerging forces between Dominant and Revolutionary paradigms. This creates a critical need to “change their lottery board,” configuring a new set of business-focused images and strategically incorporating AI to enhance their role.
Paradigm Shifts and the Many PMO Variants
This relentless pursuit to improve how we respond to organizational realities through the functions and services of PMOs has led to a proliferation of different Project Management Offices. As Aubry and Hobbs (2010) explain:
“There exists a flawed paradigm suggesting that changes in PMOs, or even their discontinuation, are due to incorrect configurations that must be corrected by transitioning to new and improved PMOs, which will last longer than their predecessors.”
In this context, it is crucial not to lose sight of the real and natural purpose behind the creation of projects – starting from business strategy, expected results, and intended benefits. We must remember that projects are undertaken by and for people powered by technology in service of human creativity and vision.
And in this constant ebb and flow of new proposals, those of us playing this version of “controlled lotería” can overwhelm ourselves with overly varied boards, shaped by whatever trend is in vogue – or we can design precise boards guided by the natural and organic order, trusting in the sound judgment that only experience and wisdom can provide.
Wisdom gained by those who have crossed the thresholds of various dominant paradigms and succeeded in preserving what is good, irrefutable, and true – so they may help shape even better, clearer, and more powerful revolutionary paradigms.
- Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Trans. Agustín Contín, 4th ed.). Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2013.
- Aubry, M., Hobbs, B., Müller, R., & Blomquist, T. (2010). Title of the book or article in italics. Publisher or journal.
PMI Bajio Master in Project Engineering from Universidad Marista and Bachelor in Economics from UNAM, she holds various certifications, including PMP®, PMI-PMO-CP®, AI Project Manager Certificación (AIPMFPC) and Advanced University Program in Generative Artificial Intelligence from the University of Murcia. UCAM. With more than seven years of experience in IT project management, she has led the Project Office at Portfolio PMOit Consulting. She is convinced that managing project economics in a context of technological change is essential to efficiently addressing the current requirements of clients and users of Project Management Offices (PMOs).