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?
GenAI should be seen as a tool rather than competition. It is true that it has widely replaced certain professions like Graph designers up to a certain point, but as them, we as PM should start treating it as a tool to improve our deliveries and even our processes. The technology is far from being perfect and human expertise is even more relevant now to corroborate results. Saving Changes...
I consider GenAI as a new powerful tool, that is here to stay, not necessarily in its actual form or shape, but the concept will remain.
Those project managers who adopt GenAI capabilities like prompting in secure and ethical ways will be compliant with the evolving market, meaning won't lose position.
However GenAI outputs will be as good as a) your inputs (based on your experience, communication skills) and b) the training given to that GenAI (based on the company's proper implementation of LLM).
Therefore like excel or powerpoint were once a disruption, depending how good you were doing ppts but also capturing attendees attention, driving teams, etc. Now with GenAI prompting you'll be able to either stay in the average of adopters or excel in the top star players. Or you can consider to avoid GenAI and one day, you'll realize you are left out. Like those who decided not to adopt productivity software suites like Excel, PowerPoint or similar. Saving Changes...
Teiichiro InouePM I| Mitsubishi Electric CorporationDuesseldorf, Germany
How you use prompts is also a part of your skills, and I think that's where your individuality comes out. By using prompts, we can achieve a minimum level of project management and raise our baseline. I think we can also achieve project management that makes the most of our individuality. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I see an advantage in using AI to gather information and to structure it into a well-presented document. Where previously a lot of my time was used to reading and summarising case studies, analyzing data, and compiling the information into a document, I now focus on checking and ensuring that what I present is accurate in less than 50% of the time it took me to perform the same work previously. Saving Changes...
While leveraging prompts can help accelerate tasks for us as PMs, I do not feel that LLMs will ever fully replace the "human" side of project management required to bring a senior leader's ideas to life. The relationship management and emotional intelligence that are integral to our success cannot be replaced. Saving Changes...
Tera MontgomeryProgram Manager| QuarterhillAustin, United States
The widespread adoption of AI and prompt engineering can enhance project management by automating routine tasks, improving decision-making through data insights, and enabling better resource allocation. This allows project managers to focus on higher-value strategic activities, fostering innovation and leadership. PMs who embrace AI tools can differentiate themselves by leveraging these technologies to deliver projects more efficiently and adapt to complex scenarios. However, risks such as over-reliance on AI or poorly designed prompts must be managed through continuous learning and ethical oversight. By positioning themselves as skilled integrators of AI, project managers can command higher value in an increasingly tech-driven landscape. Saving Changes...
The widespread adoption of prompt engineering will likely augment rather than commoditize the role of project managers. As with any technological advancement, those who embrace it and leverage it to improve efficiency, decision-making, and value delivery will be well-positioned to command higher value and differentiate themselves in the market. In this new era, the most successful PMs will be those who can harness the power of AI while continuing to apply their strategic thinking, leadership, and *human-centered skills* to ensure project success. Saving Changes...
I feel that GenAI can certainly commoditize certain aspects of a project managers role, which will in turn allow a project manager to focus more fully on the project outputs. Is my time best spent analyzing reports and creating charts, or is my time best spent developing, creating, and implementing solutions that can be uncovered more quickly through the appropriate use of AI tools. Saving Changes...
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