How Projects Can Start Strong

The most significant improvements to the methodology for managing projects can be found in the book How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardiner. The research findings were mainly targeted for megaprojects, although some aspects surely apply to all projects. One insight is to get off to a good start. This seems intuitive, yet many project plans are rushed or planned for updates as the project progresses. Once funding is in place, it can be difficult to wait before starting a project, especially with stakeholders who expect immediate, visible progress. Being proactive and creating comprehensive, accurate project plans takes time. However, with AI-based solutions, the ability to get off to a good start changes this. A project manager can use AI to validate the project budget, duration, and risks. The project scope can be analyzed for gaps and inconsistencies. If set up properly, AI analysis can take minutes or hours instead of days or weeks.

Getting off to a good start means that within the first months of the project everything runs according to plan. Research suggests that a strong start increases the likelihood of overall project success. Maintaining that momentum serves as an incentive for project professionals to continue using AI to predict risks and minimize other potential variances. As always, using AI requires knowledge, data collection, and effective implementation. Although I often promote an overall integrated project solution for applying AI in project management, using AI for individual project documents is a reasonable approach to get your project off to a good start.