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?
The adoption of prompt engineering will give value in project management to those who have a good capacity to adapt in this disruptive world.
Wisdom, experience, and better communication both in tone and relevance/focus with brevity are differentiators.
Each of us must actively experiment with these new tools identifying ways we can work smarter - faster - on tasks that used to be a heavier lift. AI has collapsed that effort and perception of value on those activities. AI now offers us the opportunity to add more value with the time we can apply to other nuanced, dynamic and/or complex aspects of every project, program or portfolio initiative.
Our immediate opportunity and mission (I propose) is to engage and learn to leverage AI in ways that are valuable to us. "STAY in the room" so to speak, "be part of the conversation, experiment, expose yourself to different use cases and tools to locate & apply what's useful to you. You will impress.
The PMI e-learning courses on the Practical Application of AI for PM's is stellar. It will inspire other scenarios and use cases you sense value in and then go experiment. For yourself personally (career development or job pursuit use cases and workflows you can create to help yourself). And professional, re-occurring meetings and use cases or account, channel and program or project specific solutions with company approved AI tools and data.
We have much to do and benefit. Waiting for it to become relevant and for someone else to tell you and show you - you'll command less value and arrive not with the early adopters but the followers. More risk there when solutions and use cases and workflows become commoditized. Better to be experimenting now, all year 2025 - and doing so for personal and professional opportunities. Saving Changes...
I expect both results over time. For example, the ability to use AI effectively in project management could differentiate a PM within organizations and lead to hiring, promotion to positions of trust, etc. I could also envision someone in an organization attempting to 'go around' a PM by using AI to get reports, either because of a lack of trust in that PM or as an experiment to see if a PM is actually needed for that task or not. Saving Changes...
In the way that the info and data of each process and project are more structured and standardized, the role of the AI agents will grow. Nowadays, making a good prompt is like using a formula in Excel correctly. Saving Changes...
The introduction of AI will undoubtedly lead to the emergence of new definitions and evolving roles, particularly in project management. As AI tools enhance decision-making, streamline processes, and automate routine tasks, project managers will increasingly take on strategic, oversight, and leadership roles, focusing more on guiding teams and shaping long-term goals. Saving Changes...
Pradip NaikProgram Manager| MI-GSO|PCUBED (Program Planning Professionals Inc.)Canton, Mi, United States
I strongly believe, the AI tools are another set of tools in PM's toolkit. It has a potential to improve efficiencies and strengthen the decision-making abilities of a PM to analyze large datasets as well as have a peer to help support and evaluate the approach, action, or recommendation that PM is about to take, perform, or suggest.
It's significantly important to learn these prompt engineering skills and leverage them in the day-to-day life by the PMs to increase the value of the PM function!
I do use multiple of them - like I mentioned, these are tools in my toolkit. As I use them more, I understand, for which purpose I should use which tool!
Prompt Engineering plays a significant role in utilizing these tools to their best potential. Saving Changes...
Hugo MonteiroBuilding Project Manager| TabocasSanta Catarina, Brazil
May 24, 2024 5:41 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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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.
Hi Sergio.
Respectfully, I don't agree with your statement. Poor management of good tools undermines any technical standards. Furthermore, AI is meant to be applied as a time-saving support tool and cannot take on management responsibilities.
The Project Manager's role could evolve from being a task overseer to a strategic orchestrator, guiding AI-driven insights toward better project outcomes. The key differentiator will be how effectively a Project Manager can harness prompt engineering to drive business value, rather than being replaced by it. Saving Changes...
Glenn BoettgerIT Project Manager| Express Computers IncSurrey, British Columbia, Canada
So interested to see how we can user our internal information, in a safe way, to get really useful outputs from Copilot, which we use extensively. Saving Changes...
Ricardo GuardadoERP Transformation Director| Carrier CCR - HaierLisbona, Portugal
It will certainly help a lot, like 'bringing facts to the table' and speeding up redundant or even more complex PM tasks. However, one of the essentials of being a project manager is the ability to lead in an uncontrolled environment. Reasoning, management judgment, and experience are not easily replaced by a robot Saving Changes...
The rise of prompt engineering won’t commoditize project management; rather, it presents an opportunity for PMs to enhance their strategic value. While AI can streamline documentation, reporting, and even decision support, project management is fundamentally about leadership, problem-solving, and stakeholder alignment—skills that AI can’t replicate.
PMs who integrate AI effectively will differentiate themselves by focusing on high-value activities like critical thinking, risk management, and cross-functional collaboration. AI can handle the grunt work, but it’s the PM’s ability to ask the right questions, interpret insights, and drive execution that will set them apart. Those who embrace AI will be able to manage more complex projects, deliver faster results, and command higher salaries.
Instead of fearing automation, PMs should leverage it to become more efficient, strategic, and indispensable. The key is to evolve with the technology rather than resist it.
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