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?
It's very exciting to have new tools to improve or enhance our work. However, that excitement sometimes leads to over-expectation. With time, things will fall into place. Today, I would say that GenAI and prompt engineering serve as a booster for the role of a Project Manager. Although some activities and/or processes—but not all within a project—tend toward commoditization. Saving Changes...
Mohammad RizqIT Security Manager| Egyptian Bureau for EngineeringGiza, GZ, Egypt
Prompt engineering if used correctly and accurately by project managers; will surely optimize PMs performance and save a lot of time which surely differentiates Prompt engineering professional skills equipped PMs than their peers who aren't and Prompt engineering for sure commands higher value. Saving Changes...
Prompt engineering is a highly important skill, along with validation of the outputs. Without this knowledge, the results and outcomes gradually lose their quality. Saving Changes...
I used chat GPT to run a business case for lowering global emissions utilizing certain technologies and fuels. At first I was impressed with the results of the prompt, however upon a closer look I discovered some of the information being used was coming from politically biased (in my opinion) sources and not from reputable scientific sources. I reran the querry and requested only scientific journal data to be used in the evaluation. I again received information from apparently biased sources. I further had to refine the criteria to only use official government sourced data. This gave me the result that I expected to see in the first place. My point is that I think great care will need to be taken in evaluating the results of the LLM's to ensure reputable and trustworthy sources are being used. Saving Changes...
AI will automate basic PM tasks, but skilled PMs can stand out by using it for better decisions and efficiency.
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Taka SugimotoProject Leader| Sun PharmaIbaraki, Osaka, Japan
Jul 09, 2024 6:58 AM
Replying to Bledar Beqiri
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Thanks for initiating a discussion on this matter, Sarah! Indeed, prompt engineering could have an effect on both, depending on perspective. Regardless, the widespread adoption of generative AI gives rise to the need to reinvent the role of a project manager. As with adoption of computers in executing tasks, generative AI tools will need to be deployed in a way that redefines how we work, nevertheless, with great oversight. As we see, despite exponential development, generative AI struggles to give us definitive results. I would argue that the project manager has an increasingly important role in making sure that project results are delivered efficiently - and correctly!
Great points, Sarah! I completely agree that generative AI is reshaping the role of project managers, much like computers did in the past. While these tools enhance efficiency, human oversight remains critical to ensure accuracy and alignment with project goals. As AI adoption grows, project managers must focus on integrating these technologies effectively while maintaining control over outcomes.
Adoption of prompt engineering will enable project managers to become more effective, focus on strategic tasks and position themselves as leaders in their respective areas. It is important to note that the PM needs to provide detailed prompts with specific needs to be enable AI provide the correct responses and thus without an experienced PM, prompt engineering will not work effectively. Saving Changes...
Many or our skills, specifically hard ones, are or will be outperformed by technology, but that leaves us with the opportunity to embrace and improve the soft skills,which are entirely / exlusively human (so far). This combination means that in short term we will command higher value, because we may concentrate on the leadership and human relations parts of a PM, while we are assisted in the other side by AI. Saving Changes...
Kanak LimbuIT Project Manager| Kraft HeinzWarrenville, Il, United States
The advent of Gen AI will put a strain on PM's to do more with less. As AI tools are increasingly reducing the need for technical engineers, developers this will correspond to PM's having less technical resources to complete projects going forward and having to rely more on AI tools. Saving Changes...
Andri AgusmanSouth Jakarta, D.K.I Jakarta, Indonesia
As a PM, stay attuned to your natural mindset as a leader. Prompt engineering is just a tool or supplement that can support PMs by making data processing easier. If we look back 20 or 30 years ago, Excel or computers were not yet invented, right? With computers, PMs are now able to better fulfill their responsibilities Saving Changes...
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