AI is no longer limited to the most advanced IT and technological fields. Project Management is one of the more conventional and non-technical fields where it is progressively encroaching.

What effects will this have on project managers? What information are PMs required to have in order to fully utilise this technical beast, which has a significant impact on the future of work?

Approximately $48  trillion is invested in projects per year across the globe. However, only 35% of projects are successful, according to Standish Group. The wasted efforts and unrealized benefits of the unsuccessful 65% are mind-boggling.

Research data from Harvard Business Review These failures could be caused by varied reasons. One reason is the lack of advanced tools for project management. We are still stuck with Excel sheets, presentations,  slides, etc. These do not work in a time when everything is real-time and available at your fingertip. Imagine how the success rate will turn around after applying cutting-edge technologies to project management and the implications of that for organisations, institutions, society, and individuals!

As per Paul Boudreau, there will be a few major aspects where AI will take over project management; however, it might not completely annihilate PMs on all aspects. Administrative tasks such as meetings and project reports Software called robotic process automation (RPA) makes it simple to create, use, and manage software robots that mimic how people interact with computers and software. This can look at the availability of project team members and block the calendar for meetings. Can also generate reports, etc., at the click of a button.

Guess what could be the second thing AI can easily take over? Its decision-making and problem-solving I don’t have to add more to this, as we all know how powerful AI is in these aspects.

KPIs for AI projects are challenging to establish because they require substantial experimentation. Thus, when used for DS (data science) or AI projects, “conventional project management practises” seem to be of poor effectiveness. This is where AI will take over.

Last but not least, this is not something you could guess. Therefore, I’ll end the suspense now. It’s “Team Building.” . Yes, you read it right, because an AI-powered tool will give each member of the project team personalised, unbiased feedback.

There are many such scenarios or use cases that can be thought about. I leave it up to you to add to this list.

This makes us all, as project managers and PMOs, reconsider whether, if we start learning and implementing AI-based tools, there is a chance we will still survive the AI tornado. Once more, this makes me consider the various ways in which AI and PMs may collaborate to increase success rates and speed up delivery. AI-based tools and applications can assist in keeping projects on budget and on schedule. Guess what? All these amazing feats can be achieved only by implementing AI projects at organisational levels. And who else is better equipped to achieve this than our very own traditional project managers?