Like everything else, artificial intelligence is having a deep impact on the way project managers work.
A lot of the mundane, repetitive tasks that PMs perform are increasingly being taken over by AI, allowing PMs to focus on more strategic elements and creative endeavors.
Unfortunately, traditional PMs who aren’t learning and using this new technology will be at a disadvantage, and their jobs may also be under threat.
The role of project professionals is changing faster than ever, and only those willing to adapt will thrive in this new age of AI.
What is an AI-literate project manager?
There is a difference between simply using AI and being AI-literate.
An AI-enabled project manager may use ChatGPT or another AI tool and use basic prompting to write a project update or summarize a meeting. An AI-literate project manager goes one step further.
They understand what AI can do, where it can help, where it can make mistakes or hallucinate, and how its output should be carefully evaluated before it is used to make a project decision or put critical information into a project document such as a business case.
Project professionals are also expected to understand the use of different AI-enabled tools and how they can be applied in different project contexts.
Some of these tools existed before the birth of AI and have now added AI capabilities. For example, Miro AI can help project teams with brainstorming, refining ideas and conducting retrospectives. Similarly, tools such as Easy-Peasy.AI can help project professionals create a first draft of acceptance criteria from requirements.
These tools can cut days or several hours of work down to minutes. The only thing project managers need to do is verify the outputs and check whether they make sense.
The fact is, there are no limits to becoming an AI-literate project manager because AI itself is rapidly expanding its capabilities. The things that PMs can do using AI will also keep evolving.
AI Integration into the Project Management Profession
The growing importance of AI is not limited to the workplace. As the prevalence of AI increases, education around its use is also evolving.
For example, the PMP certification, a globally recognized and respected credential pursued by professionals who can demonstrate project management experience, is also going AI-enabled.
PMBOK8, the latest reference guide for project professionals now includes AI topics and guidance for project managers
This is an important development.
The message is not that project managers need to become technical AI experts. Instead, project professionals need to learn and understand the different ways AI can be applied within project environments to augment their work.
For professionals who are preparing for the PMP certification, this means that understanding modern project management increasingly involves understanding how technology and AI can support project delivery.
What should project managers do now?
As a Project Manager, these are some concrete steps you can take to become AI-ready.
1. Update yourself on AI vocabulary and emerging concepts
Investing in project management education, such as studying for and getting the PMP certification, can help you stay abreast of current project management practices, including emerging AI-related terms, capabilities, and use cases. This can help you build your AI project management vocabulary and understand how these concepts are being applied in real-world projects.
For professionals looking for a structured way to prepare for the PMP certification, the CareerSprints PMP Blended Programme combines structured learning, study materials, practice, and personalized coaching.
2. Learn how to prompt better
Simply knowing how to use ChatGPT or another AI tool is not enough. Prompting is a skill that you can only get better at with practice. Learn how to provide the right context, define the desired outcome, and give the AI enough information to produce useful results.
Better prompting can help with stakeholder communications, document summaries, risk analysis, and workshop ideas. However, you should always review and validate the output before using it in a project.
3. Learn the major AI-enabled project management tools
If you are a project manager, you do not need to learn every new AI tool that enters the market. In reality, that is impossible because of the sheer number of tools entering the market every day.
Instead, identify the tools that can help with the work you perform. You can identify these tools by scanning job descriptions, running AI searches for tool suggestions for your specific use case, or talking to your peers and colleagues.
In short, AI is unlikely to eliminate the need for project managers because nuanced human judgment isn’t going anywhere. So, rather than competing with AI, PMs should learn how to work with it.
