AI will transform project management. Are you ready? - Transformation Assurance
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
www.pwc.ch/ta AI will transform project management. Are you ready? Transformation Assurance
AI will transform project management. Evolution of AI in project management
Are you ready?
Around 200 years ago the industrial Even though the application of AI What is AI? The future of project management will learning to natural language processing. intelligent and even human thinking.
revolution changed society in software to project management dates be heavily influenced by technological What they all have in common is the To date, a lot of the focus has been on
unimaginable ways for the time. Today back as far as 19872, it is only now breakthroughs, and there is no doubt that idea that machines could one day learn the automation – requiring a certain
another revolution is under way, with that it is really taking off. Beyond data “The designing and building of AI will change the course of how project by themselves, rather than having degree of standardisation – of tasks that
even farther-reaching consequences. integration and process automation, management tasks are delivered and to be spoon-fed every instruction or are already carried out. However, we
intelligent agents that receive
Artificial Intelligence (AI), experts are self-driven project management no controlled in the future. We are convinced merely acting in accordance with a pre- consider this as only the first phase in the
predicting, will change everything about longer looks like mere science fiction. percepts from the environment that AI will evolve from simple task programmed rule set. evolution of AI in project management.
the way we produce, manufacture However, as we have previously seen with and take actions that maximise automation to predictive project analytics, This first phase will be followed by
and deliver 1. the Internet, big data and all the other its chance of successfully advice and actions. However, there is Today the term AI is often used chatbot project assistants, machine
technological revolutions of recent times, something AI cannot do – be human. interchangeably with ‘automation’. learning-based project management and,
From manufacturing to utilities and there are obstacles to be overcome before
achieving its goals.” There is, however, a huge difference: finally, autonomous project management.
transport to financial services, AI is we reach this technological utopia. Over the years AI has been associated automation is a controlled process that
present in nearly every industry. AI Artificial Intelligence: with different terms ranging from follows pre-programmed logic and
will also change the course of project In this article, we will explain how AI A Modern Approach. Stuart Russell and cognitive computing and machine rules, while AI is designed to simulate
management practice. is set to change project management Peter Norvig (Pearson, 2009)
practice, what obstacles need to be
overcome, and how project managers
can prepare themselves to stay relevant
in a fully integrated, automated and
predictive project management world. Figure 1: Evolution of AI in project management
1
“Why Artificial Intelligence Will Change Our World and Why It Needs To Be Purposeful” (Forbes Magazine, May 2016)
2
“The application of artificial intelligence software to project management”, William N. Hosley (PMI Project Management Journal, August 1987)
Hello!
Integration & automation Chatbot assistants Machine learning- Autonomous
based project project management
management
2 AI will transform project management. Are you ready? AI will transform project management. Are you ready? 3Evolution of AI in project management
Hello!
Integration & automation Chatbot assistants Machine learning-based project management Autonomous project management
When it comes to integration and automation there is already AI chatbots serving as project assistants are considered to be the The third phase of AI in project management introduces Similar to self-driving cars, autonomous project management
a strong focus on streamlining and automating standardised second phase in the evolution of AI in project management. Bots machine learning into project management practice. Machine would only need limited input and intervention from a human
project tasks through workflow integration and process will take a role in human-computer interaction, mainly based on learning enables predictive analytics and can provide advice to project manager.
automation. For instance, project budget updates within a speech or text recognition. the project manager, for example on how to set up and steer the
database are directly integrated into the budget forecast report project given certain parameters, and/or how to react to certain Besides technical project management processes – which
without any manual intervention. Chatbots can take over menial tasks such as organising issues and risks to reach the best possible outcome based on are what the previous three phases primarily focus on – an
meetings, plan vs progress checks, reminding project team what worked in past projects. autonomous project management system will additionally
Project planning could also be made more robust by enabling members of scheduled activities, etc. Chatbots can even include need to comprehensively consider and master the project
auto-scheduling by means of programmed logic and rules, initial insights into the existing data. For example, project In the near future, AI could convert mind maps created by environment and related stakeholders. These AI systems
i.e. automatically tracking the progress and status of tasks assistants could answer questions like “what is my team working project professionals into a semantic network and derive tasks would therefore have to be able to apply sentimental analysis
performed by project team members and alerting a project on today?” or put these questions to team members. and their relationships from it. For instance, AI-based project algorithms to crawl through customer communications and
manager only for intervention in an exception-based scenario. scheduling could include lessons learned from previous projects understand stakeholder satisfaction and commitment at any
Interaction between incident management tools and project Current real-life use cases include: and suggest multiple possible schedules based on the context given point in time.
planning tools could be enforced to highlight potential delays and dependencies. Furthermore, project plans could be adapted
based on a high number of defects within certain workstreams. • Fireflies.ai is an AI bot for Slack that processes conversations and re-baselined in near-real-time based on historical team There are currently no real-life use cases supporting fully
within Slack and recognises tasks and assignments on this performance and project progress. An AI system could even alert autonomous project management.
Current real-life use cases include: basis the project manager to potential risks and opportunities by using
• Stratejos.ai sends team members reminders, tracks their real-time project data analysis. In our view, there might be dedicated areas where autonomous
• Interaction between MS Project Online and Wunderlist for project management could serve as an extension of machine-
performance and enables the project manager to recognise
task creation and scheduling There are currently only a few examples of the successful learning-based project management in the future, especially in
top contributors based on measurables
• Using online templates and workflows, e.g. in Slack or MS integration of machine learning in project management, for small, non-complex projects. However, looking ahead for the
Sharepoint, to reduce time and enhance quality of data In our view, analogous to the first phase of project task example: next 10 to 20 years, we believe there are unlikely to be purely
integration and automation, project assistants will continue to self-driven artifical project managers. Among other things
• Sending alerts when potential budgeting or scheduling issues take over basic project management tasks and relieve project • Altering scheduling views according to user permissions and this is because project budgets and portfolios will ultimately
are identified for the project teams of repetitive work creating little value. In this regard we preferences be controlled by humans to manage the risk of autonomous
expect to see the close integration and plug-in of existing and • Using social tagging to identify and connect users based on investment decisions.
In our view the trend towards integration and automation will
upcoming technologies relating to human-computer interaction their posted comments and to identify the best team for a task
continue in the next couple of years, mainly focusing on more
in project management. As a consequence, the role of
effective project management processes. Enhanced tools for • Machine-learning-based project analytics tool predicting
the classic project manager leading a PMO and its staff will
streamlining standardised project management will thus emerge the expected net promoter score (NPS), expected client
increasingly be replaced by intelligent project assistants
from both existing project management software providers, satisfaction and expected write-off for PwC-internal projects
(chatbots).
workflow management vendors and start-ups. This will increase
the quality of standard project management processes and In our view, predictive project analytics will be the most
reduce the effort and labour costs involved in basic PMO tasks. disruptive innovation in project management in the next ten
The resulting automated project management will reduce costs years. It will give project managers increased visibility into
and at the same time free up project managers to focus on more what the future may hold for a project, and will create value
complex project activities and manage the world outside the by enhancing the quality of decisionmaking. It will also help
project (i.e. stakeholder management). connect data to effective actions by drawing reliable conclusions
about conditions and future events and enabling decisionmakers
to identify potential risks and opportunities before they occur.
An AI equipped with machine learning could even be enabled
to take decisions by itself, which will usher in the fourth phase
of AI-based project management evolution. However, this phase
will require substantial investment to build capabilities in data
analytics and machine learning as a basis for modelling highly
complex social and economic project environments.
4 AI will transform project management. Are you ready? AI will transform project management. Are you ready? 5Table 1: Summary of anticipated evolution of AI in project management
How will AI transform project management
Hello!
AI creates the possibility of automated
processes and intelligent tools that will
reduce manual work. However, based on
our experience it will require a certain
degree of project management maturity. Integration & automation Chatbot assistants Machine learning-based Autonomous project
Furthermore, for AI to bring deep insights project management management
into a project or projects, it needs to be
Key elements Streamlining and automating Integration and automation with Enabling predictive analytics Combining the previous
equipped with a heavy data set from tasks through integration and additional human-computer and giving advice to the project phases, autonomous project
which it can learn what works and what process automation interaction, mainly based on manager based on what worked management leads to little-to-
doesn’t. Having large historical data sets speech or text recognition in past projects no human interaction in project
and current project information in a management
standardised form is truly one of the key
challenges when it comes to successfully Outlook Sophisticated project Chatbot assistants will take Predictive project analytics will Implementation of autonomous
implementing an AI-based project management tools will enhance over basic project management give project managers increased project management for smaller,
the quality of project management tasks, relieve project teams of visibility into the project’s future standardised projects involving
management system.
processes and reduce the effort repetitive tasks and provide more and enhance the quality of relatively little human/stakeholder
and labour costs interactive automation capabilities decisionmaking interaction
In addition, if you want to implement
an AI system in your existing project Challenges for the successful Technical project management Project managers can focus more The classic project manager Machine learning-powered Purely autonomous project
on complex project activities leading a PMO will be increasingly project management will give managers seem unlikely within
management environment, it’s imperative implementation of AI Technical project management encompas creating value for the project replaced by project assistants intelligent advice on project the next 10 to 20 years, since
to evaluate what benefits it can actually in project management ses the various tasks involved in managing scheduling and project risks certain skills such as emotional
bring to your projects, as well as your and running a project. We believe that intelligence, creativity and
business culture and risk appetite. Do When using AI in project management these are the areas primarily supported leadership will remain the domain
you want simple automation – a digital of humans
you also have to remember that project by the AI systems currently available.
assistant to take care of menial tasks management covers various disciplines. Intelligent project management assistants, Where we expect AI to support project management skills 5
for you – or do you need it to be more A project manager needs to master all bots and machine learning algorithms
sophisticated and challenge the project in of them to be successful. By contrast support project managers in their daily Technical
depth? Finally, you also need to carefully
evaluate what it will cost to realise these
with intelligent agents that operate
in a defined and stable environment,
work by analysing status and providing
data-driven insights and forecasts.
project
management
potential benefits. for example robots producing cars on
a production line, given the nature of Strategic
Strategic and business X X
We see great opportunities for projects 3, and the social dynamic and and business ( ) ( )
implementing AI-based project systems uncertain environment within which
management management
in large project organisations and in a project has to be delivered, a project Strategic and business management skills
project portfolio management as a way of management environment is without are required, for example, to analyse, X X X
facilitating predictive steering of complex doubt much more complex. judge (on the basis of both rules and
Leadership ( )
transformation projects and portfolios, emotions) or prepare business decisions.
and thus boosting project success and By way of example, the talent triangle AI can help by preparing parameters,
return on investment. from the Project Management Institute identifying interdependencies or The project manager This includes: In summary, we believe that AI will
assist, not replace, project managers. As
groups the various required skills forecasting business outcomes. The more of the future • Leadership
into technical project management, sophisticated the underlying models with every technology, AI alone will not
As stated initially, AI will undoubtedly • People and stakeholder management guarantee success. However, deployed
strategic and business management, and and the more accurate the data streams
change how projects are delivered and purposefully, AI can be a distinctive
leadership 4. available, the better AI can support the • Communication (verbal & non-verbal)
how project management as a practice accelerator and game changer for project
project manager.
will evolve. In the midst of this evolution • Storytelling managers and thus help increase project
it is important to remember that there is success rates. The project managers who
Leadership something AI cannot do – be human. • Empathy succeed will likely be those who manage
This area includes various interpersonal • Emotional intelligence to see beyond the bounds of ‘human’
This means that project managers will
competencies such as guiding, leading imagination, and answer questions
also stay relevant in the age of AI if • Negotiation
and motivating people/stakeholders. The about how this technology can add
they focus on the core skills of project
AI systems currently available can, for real value and drive positive change
management and progressively move into
instance, facilitate candidate selection in project management and business
work that emphasises human skills.
by presenting a short list or ranking transformations. This will ensure the
3
PMI defines a project as a ‘temporary endeavour undertaken to
based on a defined set of requirements strategic value of project management.
create a unique product, service or result’
(A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, pmi.org) and patterns – but they do not take
4
Talent Triangle https://www.pmi.org/learning/training-development/ emotional and/or social dynamics into
talent-triangle
account. Added to this, leadership and
team management are not considered in
current AI systems. 5
According to the PMI talent triangle
6 AI will transform project management. Are you ready? AI will transform project management. Are you ready? 7Contacts PwC Birchstrasse 160 Postfach, 8050 Zürich Marc Lahmann Manuel Probst Assurance Director Assurance Senior Manager +41 58 792 27 99 +41 58 792 27 62 marc.lahmann@ch.pwc.com manuel.probst@ch.pwc.com Peter Keiser Adrian Stierli Assurance Manager Assurance Assistant Manager +41 58 792 19 35 +41 58 792 21 69 peter.keiser@ch.pwc.com adrian.stierli@ch.pwc.com For more information: www.pwc.ch/ta © 2018 PwC. All rights reserved. “PwC” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.
You can also read
