Is Data Literacy a Soft Skill?

Why It Matters

Elevating data literacy transforms project decision‑making from intuition‑driven to evidence‑based, directly boosting delivery success and stakeholder confidence.

Key Takeaways

• APM released a five‑competency data literacy framework for project professionals.
• Data literacy enables confident data conversations and better decision‑making.
• Managing project information is foundational for trustworthy AI and analytics.
• Visualization and storytelling translate data insights into actionable project narratives.
• Organizations show uneven data literacy, needing cultural shift and skill development.

Summary

The APM podcast introduces the newly published APM Data Literacy Skills Framework, a practical toolkit that outlines five core competencies for project professionals: managing project information, foundational data concepts, interpreting and influencing with data, data visualization and storytelling, and decision‑making with data. The discussion highlights how inadequate data literacy hampers the adoption of data‑driven tools and can lead to costly missteps in high‑stakes programs such as national infrastructure and multinational digital transformations.

Gareth Parks explains that data literacy is the ability to speak confidently about data, turning raw numbers into a universal language that bridges project leaders and technologists. He stresses that every project is essentially a data project, and mastering the five skills creates a trustworthy evidence base, reduces reliance on gut instinct, and unlocks the potential of AI and analytics. Rob Lord reinforces this view, noting that data‑illiteracy limits the ability to ask the right "so what" questions and undermines predictability and stakeholder trust in complex, mission‑critical programs.

Key examples include managing disparate information sources to avoid multiple “versions of truth,” understanding basic statistical concepts to communicate bias, and crafting visual narratives that guide decision‑makers. Both guests agree that while tools are widely deployed, many teams still default to spreadsheets or intuition, missing the strategic advantage of data‑informed insights.

The framework signals a cultural shift for the project profession: data literacy must become a core competency rather than a peripheral skill. Organizations that invest in upskilling their project workforce can expect improved risk management, faster delivery, and more credible outcomes, positioning themselves competitively in an increasingly data‑centric market.

Original Description

*Find the APM Data Literacy Skills Framework at apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/what-is-project-data-analytics *

Emma meets Rob Lord, Director of Major Programmes at BT International, and Gareth Parkes, architect of the APM Data Literacy Skills Framework, who is Head of Data and Analytics at Sir Robert MacAlpine and one of the founding members of the Project Data Analytics Task Force.

The three discuss data literacy, how to improve your own, what data-driven decision-making looks like in real life, and how it can be used to make the delivery of projects more successful.

Join us as we demystify data and give you a bit more confidence in navigating this brave new world.