Will the widespread adoption of prompt engineering commoditize project management skills, or can it help PMs differentiate themselves and command higher value?
Director, Learning Design & Development| PMIAsheville, NC, United States
Hi PMI Community! I’m Sarah Philbrick, and I work as a Product Manager at PMI with a focus on our learning offerings. As we go on this skill-building journey together, I’m excited to engage in meaningful conversations, explore trending topics, and learn from each other.
Reflecting on one such topic, GenAI and prompt engineering, I am interested to hear your perspective on commoditization vs. differentiation.
Will the widespread adoption of prompt engineering commoditize project management skills, or can it help PMs differentiate themselves and command higher value?
Prompts Engineering help us to define the role as a Project MAnager, If well, we need to validate the info provided by Gen IA , this is and will redefining our role for the future, which, combined with soft skills and team leadership, will be of enormous value to project management. Saving Changes...
Many answers on this topic already, and sure there are a lot of good ones. Considering this, I would say that prompt engineering will replace in a medium term project analysis in a basic/ regular level. But in the end project management analysis will improve in complex projects, bringing accuracy, quality and robusteness. Project Mangement will become a more specialized, niche discipline. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
May 24, 2024 4:18 PM
Replying to Esha Srivastava
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I have been using a few gen AI tools, specifically chatbots, data analytics tools to simplify my work in day-to-day PM role. They work great for prompts like summarization, comparison and some level of data mining, but there are many use case scenarios where one can't totally rely on the AI tool to get the final solution. For e.g. I tried mining a spreadsheet and convert certain texts into shorter characters required to visually represent my data into a line/bar chart. While the chatbot wasn't able to give me the final graph, it saved me several minutes in getting an excel formula with examples, that I was able to use to convert the big spreadsheet into more sensical data table, and moreover it gave me steps to quickly create the line chart that I eventually wanted. All that within 10min.
So, I see potential in increasing productivity!
Thank you, Esha. Building on your quote, our methodology employs a “human-in-the-loop” approach to optimize the use of Generative AI in engineering. Since most of the details in this field are client- and licensor-specific—as well as confidential—AI prompts can be utilized to assist with structuring and defining functions, but they cannot and should not expose or handle exact sensitive information.
Therefore, it is crucial that domain experts always review and verify any AI-generated content to ensure its credibility and correctness. This ensures we benefit from AI’s capabilities while fully protecting proprietary information and upholding our rigorous standards for quality and security. Saving Changes...
It'll let us to add more value in the projects we manage. It'll make us better professionals, doing more for our stakeholders. Saving Changes...
Srishti PurohitMicrosoft Global Service Center (India)Hyderabad, TG, India
As long as we stay aligned with technological advancements, we will continue to remain relevant and deliver meaningful value within our respective domains. Therefore, I believe Generative AI will not replace informed Project Managers—it will empower them to operate more effectively and strategically. Saving Changes...
Srishti PurohitMicrosoft Global Service Center (India)Hyderabad, TG, India
As long as we stay aligned with technological advancements, we will continue to remain relevant and deliver meaningful value within our respective domains. Therefore, I believe Generative AI will not replace informed Project Managers—it will empower them to operate more effectively and strategically. Saving Changes...
For me, prompt engineering skill have definitely reduced the learning curve.
In my last task, I had to create a WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). On avarage, I spent arount 6 hours to complete it, including meeting with the the technical team and revisions. Recently, using prompt, I complete the task in 2 hours, and I received the positive FEEDBACK from the technical team saying the work was well done and practically complete. Of course, some adjustments were necessary.
Another example was related to Risk Management. The prompt helped me create a Risk Matrix, wich I used to track risks. One of the risks identified by the prompt actually materialized. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
AI's capacity to automate routine tasks—such as scheduling, data entry, and resource allocation—liberates time, empowering PMs to concentrate on strategic facets of project management. By harnessing AI-driven analytics, we can derive deeper insights into project performance, anticipate risks, and make data-informed decisions, ultimately enhancing project outcomes. Additionally, AI tools foster improved team collaboration and communication, allowing us to lead more effectively and drive innovation within our teams. While basic project management tasks might become more commoditized, in my opinion, AI could serve as a powerful ally, enabling project managers to transcend commoditization and command greater value in the dynamic landscape of project management. Saving Changes...
GenAI and prompt engineering certainly offers a lot of effective ways to document, summarize, and present information as well as for gathering ideas and recommendations that are public knowledge. In that capacity, those project management responsibilities might be commoditized. In industries where information, confidentiality, and proprietary knowledge is crucial, such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, and research, it may not be easy to leverage since most of the training data that GenAI and prompt engineering requires in order to provide relevant results can't be uploaded or shared with LLMs. Saving Changes...
Projects can be so nuanced that I think PMs will still be able to differentiate themselves enough to be necessary and valuable to employers. Saving Changes...
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