I recently completed the PMI's "Generative AI Overview for Project Managers" course, a journey that culminated in the usual fanfare of a certificate. The course is structured to provide project managers with a hands-on understanding of AI's role in our field. The PDF reference documents were particularly beneficial, offering a comprehensive look at generative AI applications in project management. These resources covered a wide array of project deliverables, from innovation strategies to the nitty-gritty of SOWs.
Video Content: A Missed Opportunity
While the written materials were a hit, the course’s video content was less impressive. The videos suffered from a lack of engaging delivery, reminiscent of an AI-generated script — an unfortunate choice for a course designed to be interactive and engaging. The slow pace of the videos contrasted sharply with the dynamic nature of AI itself, making for a somewhat tedious viewing experience.
Practical Applications: Prompt Engineering
A bright spot in the course was the section on prompt engineering. It provided actionable examples of how to effectively use AI to enhance project management tasks such as:
- Generating new ideas
- Conducting competitive analysis
- Summarizing projects
- Developing business cases
- Crafting project charters and SOWs
The course gave many specific examples and encouraged me to use ChatGPT and Bard to see how it would work. For example, when I entered:
A company requires an airline mobile app to allow frequent flyers to view and manage their upcoming flights. The app should enable users to make flight changes easily and stay organized. Success will be measured by the number of successful logins to the app, the number of flight changes made, and overall user satisfaction with the new feature. This data will inform future improvements to the app’s flight management functionality.
Create an agile user story in two tables. Use the following as a guideline: for the user story, create a sentence using the phrases “As a [persona],” “I want [what],” and “so that [desired outcome]”. The acceptance criteria use the Given-When-Then formula.
It outputted this:
Pretty freakin’ sick!
Tools and PMBOK Areas
The course also introduced tools relevant to key Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) areas, like “Show Me Diagrams” for Planning and “Smartsheet” for Time and Cost Management. These tools are useful, though they represent just a fraction of what’s out there, with the AI tool landscape changing daily.
To sum up, the PMI's Generative AI course is a mixed bag. The reference documents are valuable, and the course does provide a decent overview of how AI can be applied to project management. However, the video content could be significantly improved. Still, for project managers looking to get a basic understanding of generative AI, this course is a step in the right direction, but be prepared to supplement it with additional resources to fully grasp the power of AI in project management.
