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?
Prompt engineering is an exciting opportunity for project managers to work smarter and focus on what really matters. By automating the busywork, AI lets PMs spend more time on strategy, collaboration, and driving impact. Those who learn to use it well will stand out and bring even more value to their teams! Saving Changes...
While prompt engineering may streamline certain aspects of project management, skilled project managers who combine technical knowledge, soft skills, and strategic thinking could be continue to command higher value.
I believe that Prompt Engineering is a tool that will help us resolve project management issues and will be useful every day and will allow us to accelerate our knowledge." Saving Changes...
With the new generation of generative AI portfolio/program/project manager and business analyst role "are dead" at least in the way they were originally defined. I think a good source to understand that are the two courses on generative AI delivered for free by the PMI, mainly if you see the 3 layer model.
While Gen AI will help with managing and making projects easier, we still need to apply our domain/technical knowledge which requires good prompting, critical thinking too. As AI is also learning from our prompts we still need to tailor and structure to have a more defined response as opposed to a generalized and vague output Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Adopting prompt engineering won’t commoditize project managers. It will sharpen skills and boost his strategic impact. By automating routine tasks like scheduling, resource allocation, and risk analysis PMs can focus on aligning projects with business goals and solving complex challenges. The organization will see higher value, but the real difference comes from the insights their PMs drive.
Project managers who embrace AI tools stand out by making faster, data-driven decisions and delivering measurable results. By integrating AI into workflows, PMs may become an indispensable strategic partner in organizations success. Saving Changes...
Prompt engineering may automate routine PM tasks, risking some skill commoditization. However, PMs who harness GenAI to enhance strategic thinking, communication, and innovation can strongly differentiate themselves and deliver higher value. Saving Changes...
Prompt engineering may automate routine PM tasks, risking some skill commoditization. However, PMs who harness GenAI to enhance strategic thinking, communication, and innovation can strongly differentiate themselves and deliver higher value. Saving Changes...
Richard KwiatkowskiProject Planner (aka Project Manager)| Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences CentreThunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
I believe that prompt engineering will not replace human skills that make project managers valuable. It can however streamline tasks, freeing more time for management, more value added services, or more workload capacity... GenAI and prompt engineering will quickly become the norm, and thus project managers themselves will likely be unable to command higher value / pay, especially in the long term; short term maybe. Saving Changes...
I strongly believe that the advent of Gen AI will not outrightly replaced the informed Project Managers but rather empower them to function optimally. Just keep up the pace of the technological evolutions and as Project Managers, we will always be relevant and adding value to our respective domains.
I agree- Gen AI is a tool for good Project Managers to have and use, but the human element of a Project Manager can't yet be replaced. A PM with good prompting skills is more competitive than a PM who outright denies the value of using AI Saving Changes...
With the new generation of generative AI portfolio/program/project manager and business analyst role "are dead" at least in the way they were originally defined. I think a good source to understand that are the two courses on generative AI delivered for free by the PMI, mainly if you see the 3 layer model.
Electricians used to troubleshoot the electric systems of cars, say 40 years ago, with what now might seem archaic tools: maybe a simple volt meter and a 12 volt circuit tester. Overtime, computers and self diagnostics systems have been installed in cars and the price of a code readers is affordable, even for seemingly sophisticated readers. Was the job of automotive electricians eliminated by this technologies? Absolutely, not. Why not? Because computer and computing were used not only to make cars more affordable, which increased the numbers of cars on the road needing service, but also to install more sophisticated electric and electronic systems in those cars. Thus, instead of eliminating the need for electricians, it has actually created high demand and it has made it an specialty.
I believe the future of PM is bright. That is, for those who are willing to see the limitations that AI seeks to address, and who are willing to invest the time to upskill. I think we are geared for more and more complex projects that are going to increase the need for all of us. Projects that will need to be delivered faster and more efficiently. However, we will not be able to do this with the tools of the past. We need to strengthen the core principles of the profession, and embrace the possibilities offered by new technologies. Saving Changes...
With the new generation of generative AI portfolio/program/project manager and business analyst role "are dead" at least in the way they were originally defined. I think a good source to understand that are the two courses on generative AI delivered for free by the PMI, mainly if you see the 3 layer model.
Electricians used to troubleshoot the electric systems of cars, say 40 years ago, with what now might seem archaic tools: maybe a simple volt meter and a 12 volt circuit tester. Overtime, computers and self diagnostics systems have been installed in cars and the price of a code readers is affordable, even for seemingly sophisticated readers. Was the job of automotive electricians eliminated by this technologies? Absolutely, not. Why not? Because computer and computing were used not only to make cars more affordable, which increased the numbers of cars on the road needing service, but also to install more sophisticated electric and electronic systems in those cars. Thus, instead of eliminating the need for electricians, it has actually created high demand and it has made it an specialty.
I believe the future of PM is bright. That is, for those who are willing to see the limitations that AI seeks to address, and who are willing to invest the time to upskill. I think we are geared for more and more complex projects that are going to increase the need for all of us. Projects that will need to be delivered faster and more efficiently. However, we will not be able to do this with the tools of the past. We need to strengthen the core principles of the profession, and embrace the possibilities offered by new technologies. Saving Changes...
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