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?
I believe that it is important that project managers adapt to this evolving technology and embrace it. Prompt engineering will add value to project managers and make them more effective. Saving Changes...
kevin zelinaSr Project Manager| CDWBroadview Heights, Oh, United States
I see AI as just another tool in the PM toolkit. In the 70's and 80's for example robots were supposed to replace humans in manufacturing. That didn't turn out the way folks thought - plenty of manufacturing jobs still. The technology is exponentially accelerating, but remember machines work for humans, and to be successful we just need to be the PM's that know the best way to use them. Saving Changes...
Christina DietrichCustomer Project Manager| Nokia of North AmericaSeattle, Wa, United States
Just now coming up on 10 years in the field, I feel like a relative newcomer to project management. To be presented with a transformative idea like evolve or die/be replaced is challenging/a bit scary. I'm trying to develop equanimity around it and thoughtfully proceed with learning everything I can to try and ride the AI wave. Saving Changes...
Oladotun Omololu TemowoInformation Management Analyst| Government of Northwest TerritoriesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
I believe the adoption of prompt engineering will promote the value of PMs roles and also enhance standardization of work and consistency in mode of project documentation while the PM is able to combine his Communication, Technical , Soft and Analytical skills to leverage on the Gen AI and prompt engineering platform offerings Saving Changes...
Vinayak DeoSr. Project Manager| FedExCollierville, Tn, United States
Great question, Sarah! I am thinking, the PMs who passively rely on AI may face commoditization, while those who integrate AI strategically will differentiate themselves and increase their value. The future belongs to PMs who master AI-enhanced decision-making, stakeholder management, and complex problem-solving. Saving Changes...
Aaron GosselinLighting Project Manager| LineWorks EngineeringBrandon, Fl, United States
I do not believe that prompt engineering will commoditize project management skills as we are all still independent thinkers. Engaging with the LLM's in the way our own "voices" are spoken and heard should still cause a substantial differentiation in the AI Model's output. The more we use the tool and the more it learns about our style and our way of thinking- the more it should become a compliment of our thought and voice style. The differentiation will come from the PM's who arm themselves with the capability to create the strongest prompts and use the LLM's most effectively to be able to tailor the responses to the projects they are working on and have that response mirror one of their own more complex solutions. This will help those individual PM's command higher value with their ability to work faster and smarter to manage more projects at once or more complex projects and produce successful results. 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 also strongly agree with you. Project managers are always smart amoung stakholders. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
The combination of intelligent use of GenAI prompt engineering and strong soft skills will make a difference for Project Management. While a PM can increase productivity in difficult project management tasks such as documentation and control through GenAI support, the skilled PM will have more time to manage the human aspects of a project such as motivation, guidance, coaching, ... Saving Changes...
Mimi CuffProject Manager| Conference of State Bank SupervisorsWashington, Dc, United States
Prompt engineering with LLM's will assist PM's better define themselves in the industry. It will change the way we work for the better if we use it properly but it should not be something we rely on. Saving Changes...
George Wardell, PMPIT Project Manager| PMI Atlanta ChapterKennesaw, GA, United States
GenAI is going to have the same effect on Project Managers that the spreadsheet had for analysts back in the 80's. It will not completely replace PMs, but will increase the value for PMs that know how to use it. Saving Changes...
PMI Team Member
