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?
Obviously, the human side of project management remains very vital. Thus, the PM's ability to prevent, resolve or manage conflicts is a key ingredient for a successful project management that can deliver results within time and budget. AI or prompt engineering as a tool, can enhance and leverage the the technical aspect, shorten the time and allow the PM ample time to focus on the soft skills to achieve high customer satisfaction. Saving Changes...
Let's assume prompt engineering will, at first, be a differentiator for top project managers, as we learn how best to engage with LLMs to make us more effective and efficient. That said, I see that LLMs want to continue to engage with you - they aren't programmed to be efficient, but to keep users engaged (think "social media"), so the question I have is this: Will LLMs get better at asking users for more information to complete a CREATE/RTF/etc. framework to provide answers quicker or will it continue to be inefficient - to keep you engaged? Regardless, each of us is accountable for our work, even if we use tools to generate it. So, however we use LLMs, we need the results to be high integrity in order to maintain our reputations as effective project managers. Saving Changes...
As A project Manager, Prompt Engineering has to commoditize the project manager's management skills with AI and by integration both skills the PM can create higher managment skills Saving Changes...
Ahmed MadkourBusiness Analyst III| Eastern Province MunicipalityDammam, 04, Saudi Arabia
I believe from BA prespective, the Prompt engineering will commoditize routine outputs (drafting user stories, first-pass process maps, meeting notes) with careful and responsible verfication. But BA's who use AI to accelerate those tasks and reinvest the time into complex problem solving, strategy & policy alignment, stakeholder engagment, and inventing new ideas will differentiate and get paid for outcomes, not just documents. Saving Changes...
Asha NaikProject Manager| JanisonSydney, Australia
Prompt engineering enabled me to create AI agents that connect with various project management systems such as Smartsheet, Confluence, and others. These agents assist in locating resolutions to issues, retrieving the latest project documentation, and streamlining workflows. By acting as a virtual assistant, this approach significantly improved my productivity and enhanced decision-making across project phases. Saving Changes...
Tim CurtisTechnology Services Manager| Nike, Inc.Phoenix, Az, United States
I am still trying to understand the benefits of AI in an over-all sense. I think that if you have a great set of documentation in your particular line of management - for example, network infrastructure projects where you have compiled a lot data and can input it into the model for output - Someone still needs to either create that or have it available. Saving Changes...
Prompt Engineering Won’t Replace PMs—It Will Redefine Them
As generative AI tools become more integrated into project workflows, the role of the Project Manager is not being diminished it’s being reinvented. The consensus across global voices in the PMI community is clear: prompt engineering and GenAI are catalysts for transformation, not termination.
PMs who embrace AI as a strategic partner—leveraging it for data mining, summarization, and decision support—are already seeing productivity gains.
The true differentiator lies not in mastering prompts, but in creatively applying GenAI to solve complex, human-centric challenges.
As one member put it, “AI can relieve PMs of cumbersome tasks, liberating their mental space for creative and strategic thinking.”
Let’s stop asking whether AI will replace PMs. Instead, let’s ask: How will PMs evolve to lead in an AI-powered world?
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!
Hi Esha,
In my opinion, GenAI is a very useful tool that increases efficiency by reducing the time spent on tasks ranging from simple, routine and repetitive activities to more complex analytical processes. I agree with you, Esha, that it makes us more productive. However, I would like to raise a small ethical point regarding the Jevons Paradox as it applies to AI and automation. If we are more productive, will that lead to an increase in workload, resulting in more projects and tighter deadlines? This could cause more stress and leave people with less free time.
BR,
Yolanda V.
Saving Changes...
Adrian MarableFounder & CEO| Groopwork, LLCConcord, Nc, United States
May 24, 2024 7:55 AM
Replying to Md. Golam Rob Talukdar
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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 agree, but I am also seeing a lot of companies looking at the bottom line and not value PMs as much. They feel they can get a new PM in who knows AI and can pay half the price of an experienced PM. As good as AI can be, it lessens the perceived value of even the most experienced PMs. Saving Changes...
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