For instance, project teams can use a cloud-based messaging platform built
around natural language processing software to help reduce the time project
managers spend providing information to update the project status, Mr. Stogner
says. “AI applications are all about capturing information faster, in greater
detail, to make better decisions,” he says. “More tools are coming that will create
virtual project managers by incorporating machine and human knowledge into
rules and algorithms.”
AI could even bridge communication gaps to improve the ;ow of informa-
tion, says Adrian Müller, PMP, a professor in the department of computer
sciences and microsystem technology at the University of Applied Sciences
Kaiserslautern, Zweibrücken, Germany. For projects that have dozens of people
scattered across multiple time zones, AI could help analyze communication
patterns to determine which methods—such as email or online chats—most
quickly allow team members to access information.
“In large and distributed teams, it’s not feasible to collect the global picture,”
Mr. Müller says. An e;ective AI-based analysis algorithm will be able to see
trends over time, he says. For example, it could detect changes in the frustration level that team members have with particular problems, or the frequency
with which certain types of problems emerge in a project, or the amount of
time team members spend discussing a particular issue. “;e project manager
66 PM NETWORK JANUARY 2017 WWW.PMI.ORG
“AI IS GOING
TO ENABLE
AND ELEVATE
PROJECT
MANAGERS
TO DO
HIGH;VALUE
FUNCTIONS.”
—Boris Petukhov, Argo
Computing Services Pty. Ltd.,
Melbourne, Australia
“PROJECT
MANAGERS WON’T
BE ABLE TO MAKE
FULL USE OF EVEN
A FRACTION OF THE
REAL WEALTH THIS
DATA OFFERS, BUT
AI AND MACHINE
LEARNING ARE VERY
GOOD AT THIS.”
—Saravanan Mugund
PH
OT
O
BY
STUD
IO
A
