Some weeks ago at the Women of Project Management Conference, many attendees questioned whether using AI in project management would eventually take over their jobs.

The short answer to that question is no.

Panelist Richelle Striggler, former AI Project Manager assured the attendees that “AI will not be taking over anytime soon”. 

In this era, efficiency and productivity are game changers when it comes to project management.

While it won’t replace your role as a project manager, it’s definitely going to make your life easier if you know how to use it. 

Below I’ll share a few project management tools and techniques used on the enterprise and personal level that use AI to better manage projects. 

AI in Project Managment: Tools

Notion

Launched in 2015, Notion has been gaining a lot of traction in the world of project management.

This extremely flexible tool does a great job at utilizing AI to suggest content headers, page types and templates.

It recognizes relationships between project content as well as patterns and can make suggestions based on that.

ClickUp

If you’re looking for a robust tool that is excellent for planning, organizing, and tracking project progress, ClickUp is at the top!

This tool uses AI to automate tasks, identify dependencies and generate data insights.

With the paid version you can take advantage of the unlimited workflow creations that helps to streamline project management. 

Smartsheet

A dynamic project management tool that excels (no pun intended) in workflow management is Smartsheet.

This tool uses AI to make resource management, workflow creation, and predictive analytics for projects more efficient.

Based on whatever conditions you set, AI can trigger updates, communications, approvals and so much more.

Reports and dashboards display dynamically where data can be visualized as a project progresses; this saves businesses plenty of time and resources.  

Smartsheet is also exploring the use of generative AI like Chat GPT and Dall-E. This takes project management and data visualization to the next level and helps businesses make better decisions faster and more efficiently.

AI in Project Management: Techniques

Have a deep understanding of the software and its capabilities.

One thing that was stressed at the Women of Project Management Conference was that, when using AI, it’s very important to have a deep understanding of the capabilities of whatever software you’re using.

To get the best out of your experience using AI in project management, understand the features of the software and how AI can be used to enhance project management efficiency. 

Stay in the know of project management best practices.

Another important technique is to be sure you’re up to date with the most relevant industry knowledge and trends.

Do this by attending conferences, joining group discussions and participating in continued education courses. PMI just released a new course “Generative AI Overview for Project Managers” that focuses on additional techniques and prompts to help refine the output of GenAI. This course also offers 5 PDUs!!

This will enhance your knowledge thus giving you better insight into how to use AI to manage your projects.

Use AI as a tool to enhance what you already know how to do.

Remember that AI is a tool to be used by you, the project manager! It should not replace the work you do, however, it does help you get more done faster enabling you to focus on tasks that maximize a positive project impact.

AI helps you work more effectively. 

The Benefit

The benefits are clear and simple. What do all project managers and businesses ultimately want to do? Save time and money while making a significant impact! And that’s exactly what AI can assist with.

At this point, it’s not really a question as to if it should be used or not, it’s becoming a required utility for improved project outcomes, error elimination, and overall project scalability. 

By, Airess Rembert, PMP, Member of Women Of Project Management & Blogger at The Nerd Bae

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