The Impact of AI-Infused PM Platforms

The Impact of AI-Infused PM Platforms

By George Pitagorsky

Opportunities and challenges are faced in adopting integrated AI-augmented PM platforms to manage projects better. In a recent survey-based white paper, the authors concluded that AI is

“… reshaping project management landscapes. However, the success of AI integration depends heavily on building trust and acceptance among project teams and stakeholders. This trust is fostered through transparent AI systems, ethical usage, and seamless integration with existing tools.”[1]

PM Platforms

Integrated PM platforms are suites of

• Project planning and control software,
• Workflow automation,
• Social media (intranet) tools,
• Reporting and document and knowledge management,
• Templates,
• Methodologies, standards, and policies.

The PM platform’s purpose is to increase the power of project managers and decision-makers at all levels of the organization, reduce the effort of performers, and promote quality, consistency, and control across multiple projects.

AI Infused Platforms

AI-infused platforms can change decision-making at all levels, from portfolio planning and project initiation to design and execution decisions. They can

• Reduce administrative burden
• Improve communications
• Promote consistency
• Aid in estimating, scheduling, resource allocation, risk, and communications management.

But Beware!

Unless your project management environment is successfully using an integrated platform, expect a major change effort.

As in all applications of process automation, the benefits require careful selection and implementation, or upgrade of an existing platform, procedures and methods, training, and the active buy-in of stakeholders from senior executives to individual performers.

Now, AI needs a significant amount of human guidance and control. Since bots learn quicker than humans, it’s unclear how long it will be before humans are the ones being guided and controlled.

What AI-Infused PM Tools Do

I am not recommending any AI-related products. It is up to you to do research and select based on your situation.

A recent presentation on Zoom’s AI Companion identified features that include annotating videos, creating meeting summaries, project status reports, and to-do lists. It can schedule appointments based on the content of a meeting. The platform enables team interactions, document and calendar management, and more.

SharePoint and Monday.com are other platforms that support project and operational work. They integrate project management tools, document management, team communications, and more.

ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, integrated into the platform, can create reports and images. They can answer questions that would require hours or days of human effort. AI interacts with human operators in the same way a systems analyst or project administrator would, asking questions to refine answers. And AI delivers results in seconds. It can provide post-project or interim performance summaries and analyses.

While content editing and verification are required, AI-generated content is achieved faster and with less effort. And the writing is as good as or better than what many humans can deliver.

AI-Supported Decision Making

When asked “Can AI make decisions based on project data to predict schedule and budget outcomes?” Search Labs AI said

“Yes, AI can utilize project data to make predictions about future schedule and budget outcomes, … analyze historical data and identify patterns that can forecast potential delays, cost overruns, and overall project success rates, allowing for more informed decision-making by project managers.”

AI can estimate task durations, risks, and multiple scenarios of schedules and budgets based on dependencies, resource allocations, historical performance, current budget, and performance data.

Tools like Forecast can provide dashboards that show who is working on what and where resource loading needs to be adjusted.

AI Requirements

AI-infused PM platforms support administration, reporting, planning, control, and decision-making. How well it does this depends on

• Data
• Skillful selection
• Patient, persistent implementation, management, support and use.

Data

AI reminds me of Audrey II, the human-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors. Audrey’s refrain is “Feed me“. AI doesn’t eat human flesh and blood like Audrey II, it eats data:

• past and current project plans,
• schedules and estimates,
• resources,
• task assignments,
• planned and actual accomplishments, effort, and costs,
• process definitions,
• calendars,
• documents, recordings, images, descriptions, and prompts or questions.

The most challenging data to collect are current actuals. Project performers must accurately enter their hours and accomplishments. Administrators or performers must enter costs tied to project tasks, changes, and risk events.

In some cases, collecting effort and completion effort can be entirely automated. For example, if a project performer is working on tasks on a workstation or mobile device, effort can be captured. Task completions can be inferred upon the completion and submitting deliverables for review or testing.

More commonly, actuals are entered by performers. The easier it is to use and the more proactive the data collection tool is, the more likely the data will be entered. Its accuracy depends on the person making the entry and the way the tools have been implemented.

Selecting and Implementing the Platform

Selecting and implementing the right platform for an organization depends on the types of projects being performed and the current and planned states of the enterprise’s application architecture. Selection criteria are

• Easy tool integration and implementation
• Integration with existing enterprise infrastructure and tools
• Security
• Scalability
• Flexibility to enable multiple project types
• Ease of use
• Supportability, sustainability, and support
• Cost of acquisition, implementation, use, and ongoing maintenance and enhancement.

Implementation, Management and Use

Implementing a project management platform is part of a performance improvement program aimed at increasing effectiveness, reducing costs, and increasing quality.

The program’s complexity and duration depend on the current state of project management. Adding new tools and functions is relatively easy if the project management culture is mature with well-working tools and processes, a functional project office, and effective training and knowledge management.

Where there is less maturity, significant cultural and organizational change must be expected and managed. The basic needs for implementing a PM platform are the same as for implementing any work process automation:

• A realistically planned and managed program
• A platform designed to fit within an enterprise architecture
• Reliable, easy-to-use, and supported software
• Procedures and methods
• Cultural change management and training
• Skillful and experienced implementors
• Executive-level support and funding
• Patient persistence.

Manage the Change

Borrowing a phrase from Bob Dylan “The Times They Are A-Changin“. The age of AI and integrated project management platforms is upon us. Adapt or be left benind.

Take a breath, step back, and assess where you and your organization are in the evolution of your project management career, process, and knowledge. Then decide where you want to be in terms of your career and organizational health.

[1] The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management: A Survey, Dr. Elissa Farrow, Ph.D. & Dr. Leon Herszon, Ph.D., International Institute for Learning, https://blog.iil.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Impact-of-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Project-Management-A-Survey.pdf