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 would answer as a consultant... it depends!! if prompt engineering is well used by a PM, it will add value and agility to the project, if not we, PM, can have a hard time ahead to show our value not to be replaced by AI. Saving Changes...
Cesar PacherresSpecialist Web Channels Systems| BBVA ContinentalLima, Peru
Hello, I think every project it's different because every company, every client or every stakeholder it's different. But if we use GenAI as a knowledge database of lessons learned consultant, I think can enhance our power skills and bring more value to our teams and projects. Saving Changes...
Prompt engineering and AI can empower PMs to add more value in their roles, allowing them to focus on the complex, high-level tasks that drive project success. By embracing AI as a tool to augment their work, rather than replace it, PMs can stay relevant and potentially command higher value by offering more efficient, data-driven, and strategic project leadership. Saving Changes...
Julie ClarkProject Manager| Audio Acoustics Inc.Springfield, Mo, United States
I believe it will help differentiate PMs. What I have found when reading the AI information, I am naturally prompted to think outside of my original thoughts regarding the subject at hand. Ultimately, I end up asking more questions or resubmitting additional information for a more comprehensive response. Each of us thinks about our roles and responsibilities in unique ways, so AI opens the door to expand our thoughts even further, creating many additional possibilities and opportunities for differentiation. Saving Changes...
Timothy RichterPrincipal Consultant| Matera LLCWilliamsburg, Virginia, United States
May 24, 2024 8:28 PM
Replying to George Freeman
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Hi Sarah,
Prompt engineering finds its merits in the novelty of GenAI and the interim gap we find ourselves in, in which full-blown NLP-based instructions lack (for at least now) the structural instruction-set qualities provided by prompts.
Even now, “prompt engineering” is largely circumvented through GenAI’s evolved features that have realized native “prompt refinement” capabilities and through “prompt wizards and assistants” that provide the tooling one needs to get desired outputs.
Unfortunately, the hyperbole surrounding GenAI has created a unique and concerning economy whose currency finds its primary basis in fascination.
I recognize this is a strong statement, but I caution any professional from using a rapidly evolving, relatively immature, destination-unknown, and ethically unresolved “tool” as a personal key differentiator in the marketplace—a minority opinion.
George
George, I think my views tend towards your own. I acknowledge A.I. possesses the disruptive power to revolutionize our industry, I feel that could be a negative if used in an undisciplined way. Similar to people who trust factor of safety calculations in engineering software without being able to query the underlying math, we could be unleashing a worrisome series of mistake-prone and unaccountable project risks in our future Saving Changes...
Just to add, the widespread adoption of prompt engineering won't commoditize project management skills but it will empower PMs to automate routine tasks and focus on high-value strategic leadership, stakeholder alignment, and innovation, allowing them to differentiate themselves and command higher value in an AI-augmented landscape.
By mastering prompt engineering, PMs can enhance efficiency while deepening their human-centric expertise, ensuring they remain indispensable as orchestrators of both technology and teams.
Positive Perspective: This will augment PMs’ value, those who leverage AI to automate routine tasks (e.g., reporting, risk logs) can focus on strategic leadership, stakeholder empathy, and innovation, commanding higher differentiation.
Developmental Approach: PMs who master AI collaboration (e.g., prompt-driven analytics, agile automation) will upskill into hybrid roles (e.g., "AI-fluent strategists"), turning disruption into a career accelerator.
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 totally agree with you. Project Managers who stand out with exceptional soft skills and strategic thinking will definitely command higher value. Saving Changes...
I think any technology that can automate parts of the project management chain can commoditize project management skills once it becomes commonplace. GenAI could be the most powerful such technology that we have seen yet, at least in the recent past. That said, there will always be room to use it as an enabler for managing more complex tasks, e.g., tasks that involve more human to human interaction. We are only scratching the surface of how it can be used and for the foreseeable future, I think it can help differentiate Project Managers if they are open to embracing it and experimenting with it. More than prompt engineering, it will be about being creative in identifying new use cases that GenAI could solve.
I think any technology that can automate parts of the project management chain can commoditize project management skills once it becomes commonplace. GenAI could be the most powerful such technology that we have seen yet, at least in the recent past. That said, there will always be room to use it as an enabler for managing more complex tasks, e.g., tasks that involve more human to human interaction. We are only scratching the surface of how it can be used and for the foreseeable future, I think it can help differentiate Project Managers if they are open to embracing it and experimenting with it. More than prompt engineering, it will be about being creative in identifying new use cases that GenAI could solve.
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