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?
Andra TaylorPresident/CEO| TaylorMade GlobalAtlanta, GA, United States
I believe that at least initially, it will help PMs differentiate themselves and command higher value. However, as this technology evolves, I anticipate the potential for commoditization of project management skills. There are several variables that impact this transition, so it is still too early to accurately gauge at this time, in my opinion. Saving Changes...
while prompt engineering may lead to the commoditization of some project management skills, it also offers a pathway for PMs to differentiate themselves. By embracing AI tools and developing expertise in prompt engineering, project managers can enhance their strategic impact and command higher value in their roles. Saving Changes...
I believe the adoption of prompt engineering can provide a balance of both commoditization and differentiating. For e.g. while LLM's can produce standardized templates, reports, lesson's learned, best practices from other projects, and various other tools and processes, the Project Manager still needs to thread with caution and use oversight to see that that what the prompts have generated is accurate and relevant to the project. In addition, the skill of the project manager to differentiate themselves to command higher value will be visible in 2 ways:
1. In using CREATE prompts, where they can get very specific and request outputs. For e.g. by providing their own templates or workflows in the past, requesting adjustments providing examples like workflows or templates they have used in the past, or requesting adjustments or extras and evaluation criteria.
2. And the soft skill of the PM and experience is invaluable in any project. One such example is that the language models will not quite understand the internal knowledge and workings of the organization the PM works for and therefore, the PM has it within themselves to utilize data to perfect it on the presentation side to the stakeholders. In addition, Project Manager's technical skills can never really be replaced by LLM's. Neither can emotions of stakeholders unless the LLM can be programed to become AEI (Artificially Emotionally intelligent) and that I believe is a long way away... Saving Changes...
I believe the adoption of prompt engineering can provide a balance of both commoditization and differentiating. For e.g. while LLM's can produce standardized templates, reports, lesson's learned, best practices from other projects, and various other tools and processes, the Project Manager still needs to thread with caution and use oversight to see that that what the prompts have generated is accurate and relevant to the project. In addition, the skill of the project manager to differentiate themselves to command higher value will be visible in 2 ways:
1. In using CREATE prompts, where they can get very specific and request outputs. For e.g. by providing their own templates or workflows in the past, requesting adjustments providing examples like workflows or templates they have used in the past, or requesting adjustments or extras and evaluation criteria.
2. And the soft skill of the PM and experience is invaluable in any project. One such example is that the language models will not quite understand the internal knowledge and workings of the organization the PM works for and therefore, the PM has it within themselves to utilize data to perfect it on the presentation side to the stakeholders. In addition, Project Manager's technical skills can never really be replaced by LLM's. Neither can emotions of stakeholders unless the LLM can be programed to become AEI (Artificially Emotionally intelligent) and that I believe is a long way away... Saving Changes...
I believe the adoption of prompt engineering can provide a balance of both commoditization and differentiating. For e.g. while LLM's can produce standardized templates, reports, lesson's learned, best practices from other projects, and various other tools and processes, the Project Manager still needs to thread with caution and use oversight to see that that what these prompts have generated is accurate and relevant to the project. In addition, the skill of the project manager to differentiate themselves to command higher value will be visible in 2 ways:
1. In CREATE prompts, the PM can get very specific and request comprehensive outputs that are specific for all projects. For e.g. they can prompt that the outputs are creating using a sample of the PM's own fed in templates or workflows; they can request data is further refined or adjusted based on the PMs own knowledge set (v.s. industry standards) and can also request as streamlined data as possible by providing these LLM's with evaluation criteria that may be specific to the project.
2. And the soft skill of the PM and experience is specifically differentiating and invaluable in any project. One such example is that the LLM will not quite understand the internal knowledge and workings of the organization the PM works for and therefore, the PM has it within themselves to take the data produced by LLM"s and perfect it on the presentation side to the stakeholders. In addition, Project Manager's technical skills can never really be replaced by LLM's. Neither can emotions of stakeholders unless the LLM can be programed to become AEI (Artificially Emotionally intelligent) and that I believe is a long way away... Saving Changes...
It will be a power tools in the right hands and a weapon in the wrong hands(which may cause self injured). just a brief description for generative AI Saving Changes...
It will be a power tools in the right hands and a weapon in the wrong hands(which may cause self injured). just a brief description for generative AI Saving Changes...
Vasco MarquesIT Manager| lcs valanticLisboa, Portugal
Will the widespread adoption of prompt engineering commoditize project management skills, or can it help PMs differentiate themselves and command higher value?
For simple and common delivery patterns prompt engineering will commoditize project management, i.e. status reporting; risk management; scope management, etc... but for innovation, i.e. using a new technology or a completly untested strategy, for unexpected or unforseen changes in the project landscape/ context, for managing the human interactions, human project managers can and will always provide added value, AI can assist and provide alternative strategies or tactic aproaches to solve the issues/ situations that the PM faces in the daily life of a project, but specially when it comes to the human interaction, i.e. expectaions and conflicts, it will be always up to the PM to choose the most suitable solution for a specific issue in a particular moment in time Saving Changes...
Anonymous
We need to be sure and use our powers for good, and leverage both a healthy balance of technology and people skills. Leadership in this ever-changing world will help with the change management process by far! Saving Changes...
Prompt Engineering verse knowledge based project managers with technical knowledge and soft skills is a critical game change especially to those empowered with the following, adaptability oversight, critical thinking, and creativity. Nevertheless a combination of this in a making defines a real portfolio/program/project manager and business analyst roles as the best fit for organisations. Saving Changes...
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