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?
Prompt Engineering can add more value to PMs by streamlining tasks and thus enabling them to take on more projects ($). Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Let’s be real. Prompt engineering isn’t about replacing the creative, human side of project management. Think of it as a trusty sidekick, not the hero. It’s here to help teams work smarter, not harder. By automating repetitive tasks or quickly brainstorming ideas, it frees up time for what really matters: solving complex problems, collaborating with people, and keeping projects moving forward.
Sure, tools like design thinking and risk mitigation still drive the big decisions, but prompt engineering can quietly handle the grunt work. Imagine spending less time drafting status updates or organizing data and more time listening to stakeholders, mentoring your team, or innovating. That’s the sweet spot.
At the end of the day, it’s about balance. I'm convinced that we should use tech to lift the administrative weight off your shoulders, but never let it drown out the human conversations, creativity, and critical thinking that make projects successful. After all, people run projects and machines just help them run smoother. Saving Changes...
Nitin ShahFounder and Director| Kosmos Telecom ConsultantsPune,, India
Prompt Engineering is a tool for the Project Managers to seek near solutions or results. But the task of vaildating it would still largely be based on his expereince and experise of Project Management. It has been observed that many of the Project Managers are mostly depenedent on the inputs provided by the team members and if s/he depends similarly on the output generated by his team member, then he will have to put in additional effort in guiding the team memebr to formulate the right query for the LLM. Hence in the short term his work would increase, but in the long term, he would gain. Saving Changes...
Thanks for initiating good discussion. The Prompt engineering won't commoditize project management—it will raise the bar. PMs who use AI to boost decision-making, communication, and productivity will stand out and command higher value.
I believe humans are born with a natural intelligence that Gen AI cannot compare. This natural intelligence will showcase itself ,making the project manager, a notch apart from what the gen AI tools can plug in. Definitely the mundane ,rote tasks can be automated by this intelligent project manager to complement his/her or their work to free up their time for strategic decision making. The prompt engineering skills will definitely provide higher value to the project manager , who are able to use the AI tools creatively to their advantage. Saving Changes...
AI is good thing for the PMs but it is drastically going to reduce the jobs and only those with updated and advanced knowledge of AI will thrive. PMs with AI will have great career scope and demand whereas majority will be idle, creating a huge unemployability scenarios in future. Saving Changes...
This will be an assistant to any PM, but as every PM is different, so it will be the way s/he particularly puts prompt engineering into practice. I don't expect it to become a commodity, rather a tool to become more effective and efficient within tha particularities of each professional. Saving Changes...
wir nutzen seit einer Weile verschiedene KIs in unserem Unternehmen. Es ist durchaus eine Erleichterung und führt teilweise zur Steigerung der Produktivität. Wie bei jedem anderen Tool ist es jedoch essenziel zu verstehen, wie das Tool funktioniert, um es optimal anwenden zu können. Das sehen wir auch langfristig gerade bei KI als Herausforderung. Es kann tatsächlich einen Unterschied für Projektmanager machen, jedoch sollte prompt engineering bewusst angewendet und optimiert werden, da es sonst den Zweck verfehlen kann. Saving Changes...
John DuRousseauFunctional Manager| BAE SystemsYork, United States
The widespread adoption of prompt engineering is poised to significantly impact project management skills, but rather than solely commoditizing them, it presents a dual opportunity for growth and strategic differentiation. By embracing prompt engineering, project managers can augment their core skills, enhancing traditional capabilities such as planning, coordination, and risk management with the precision and efficiency offered by this technology. Moreover, prompt engineering enables PMs to foster strategic differentiation, transitioning from tactical execution to high-value activities like innovation catalysis, strategic advising, and effective change agency. Ultimately, this strategic integration can empower PMs to command higher value, demonstrating adaptability, delivering enhanced outcomes, and pursuing new opportunities, whether in leadership roles or specialized consulting services focused on the intersection of project management and AI-driven technologies. Saving Changes...
Sandra MaughonProfessor| Piedmont CollegeCleveland, Ga, United States
When used properly, gen-AI can reduce the time it takes for repetitive or administrative types of tasks. It can help to organize thoughts quickly and suggest additional considerations. In those instances, it would certainly help to set apart a PM because of their increased efficiency.
However, as a college professor, what I see in our future workforce is an attempt to use gen-AI the same way they would use a Google search; they are completely inept and need a LOT of training. Even when I give them crafted prompts, some will either ignore them or (worse) copy in the assignment instructions and take what AI gives them as their submission. Sadly, I'm not kidding. Saving Changes...
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