Being a project manager means using different kinds of skills: organization, leadership and listening. All may be needed, including an open mind, to contend with the shifting quicksand that artificial intelligence can feel like. The 16th Annual Project Management Symposium brought further clarity to the relationship between the two as the winds of change and technology blow.
Taking place May 20-21 at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, one of the main focuses of the event was the question of whether AI is a tool which could make a project manager’s job easier or could it, as some might fear, put them out of a job? The former was clearly the dominating message, but the possibility of the latter wasn’t completely dismissed.
Greg Saunders, enterprise project portfolio manager for The Exchange, the military retailer, said in his talk, “Does AI or HI (Human Intelligence) Make a Better PM?” in the first-day session that there was no denying AI’s presence.
“IBM says 77 percent of new entrants in the workplace are going to have their work affected by it,” he stated.
At the same time, he underscored what is indeed artificial and where AI can’t replace a human, especially in the area of leadership.
“We can protect someone’s esteem, okay?” he said. “We can protect their character and get them on the right foot again. That is something we do (that a) machine can never do…”
After the talk, he said he wanted the audience to also understand that fear needs to often be replaced by curiosity, despite showing that AI could easily beat him when it came to getting some answers.
“We focus on risk and people need to know that, yes, this is risk but you can still have your job with your company,” he said.
The symposium, like AI, is an opportunity for the Jindal School. John Barden, dean of Executive Education in the Jindal School, said the event is a valuable and informative feather in the business school’s cap in multiple ways.
“It introduces you in a deeper way to the value of project management,” he said. “We have classes in the business school that relate to it and we need to have project management be even more a part of our offerings. With this event, it’s an important chance for people to come together, share ideas and network. Project management means different things to different people. It’s important to know how positions in the field are evolving and the techniques to do their jobs better.”
Barden feels this is also a moment that can galvanize project management by coming together when AI is clearly putting many people ill at ease.
“AI is a hot topic as is project management and supply chain,” he said. “The symposium hits on all of these and more. This is a win-win for the university and faculty but also the community because project management is a huge part of the future of business. It’s about keeping AI going not just for 12 to 18 months as the latest popular phrase but for years to come in instruction. Some of our keynotes bring that mirroring of practical experience with theoretical and that is crucial in AI and project management.”
Frank Murphy, a program manager at USAA and managing member of Strategic Disruption Consulting, LLC (SDVOSB), in his day one talk, “Project Management Leadership – Does AI Change My Role?,” was quick to point out where he doesn’t want AI near a project or where it should be kept in limited scope.
“We always want to reduce risk,” he said. “If it’s a decision that doesn’t make much drama out of anything, no impact, or anything else, let it ride. If it’s a bigger decision, citing political stuff, anything like that, don’t do it.”
After his talk, he said AI may have helpful tools but make sure to look at what the background is and how they are working for you.
“Leverage your experience as opposed to giving it up automatically to a tool,” he said.
He also reiterated where the buck stops when it comes to accountability when using AI technology, finding comparison to tools used by a financial analyst.
“I can’t blame it on Excel,” he said. “I’m still beholden to that answer whatever that answer is.”
Lucas Smith, director of agile & program services, for Toyota Connected North America, in his talk “Navigating the AI Revolution in Project Management,” said he believes the world changed forever on Nov. 30, 2022. This was the day ChatGPT was born. Part of one of his slides declared: “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy.”
He reminded the audience that companies need to be prepared for products that they are using that will be later rolling out AI tools and said after his talk that he hoped the audience would realize that “people have a better perspective on how to manage different types of efforts…not everything fits in one size, but there’s a lot of different spectrum(s) on that. Hopefully you get the tools so when you encounter the technology you know how to go about managing it.”
And he knows the fear is palpable.
“I think the biggest fear is how will this impact me and my job,” he said after his talk. “We know it will be impacting a lot of careers…But this is bigger than the industrial revolution and this is going to provide a lot of changes. Now change is also opportunity. If you are in the midst of it, the question is do I take advantage of the opportunity or not…? The question is can you harness it? Do you understand how?”
Barden moderated a roundtable discussion called “Navigating the AI Revolution in Project Management.” Panelists were Natalia Fisher, president of the PMI Dallas Chapter; Jason Andrews, a technical specialist at Microsoft; Silvia Davis, senior technical product marketing manager at Atlassian; and Mei Lin, assistant vice president and project manager at Texas Capital.
Andrews talked about how best to utilize AI to drive value.
“You aren’t going to use ChatGPT for any of your customer data,” he warned. “You will get your company in trouble, if not yourself.”
Even so it is a tool that can get ideas going.
“The ability to brainstorm is the untapped,” he said. “Working on this project helps me identify all this risk. It can be your best pal to brainstorm.”
Attendee Jeff Henson, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma IT project manager, appreciated that the symposium gave an arena to focus on AI.
“It’s important because you have to start preparing now for that,” he said. “You need to have some sort of vision to accommodate rapid growth coming. It’s important to relate to a process and repeat it. We want to see what others are doing in different forms and different ways and from different-sized companies, from profit to nonprofit. It’s important to see how everyone is adapting and overcoming to meet challenges.”
Shannon Ivey, project manager at Vistra, was particularly impressed by the second day keynote.
“The best session was the one called ‘A Star is Born’ where the speaker (Kimia Penton) talked about being engaged more with stakeholders, being more involved overall and giving a real-life perspective with real-life case studies,” she said. A case study that stood out to her in the session was one when a company chose renovation as a solution.
“I found myself nodding my head in how the session related to our environment,” she said.
Khavya Ramachandran, project manager at Vistra, valued that session but keynote speaker Kandyce Ormes-Ripley, associate vice president, data analysis & strategy at Buckner International, also stood out to her.
“She came from a nonprofit and some of the stories were sad but it showed you learn from so many life situations relating to project management and taking into account the emotions you put into your work as you try to make a timeline,” she said.
Barden believes many people got more comfortable with AI through the event and can take confidence and further direction back to their positions.
“When I look at it, I see AI as being in the business analytics area and we’ve been a part of that area for a long time, so, in a way, there can be comfort there,” he said. “AI will be with us and you have to see there is an art to it like anything else. AI may land the plane but we will schedule where it lands, we can be the one who decides so much of the why. Make it work for you. AI isn’t the first disruptive technology — and it won’t be the last.”
Fisher said the collaborative effort between UT Dallas, PM World Journal and PMI Dallas brought together leading minds in project management to share knowledge, foster innovation, and build lasting professional relationships. The two panel discussions, including the one in which she participated, were highlights of the event for her.
“The discussion was highly energetic and interactive, engaging both panelists and the audience,” she said.
David Pells, managing editor of PM World Journal, an online publication devoted to thought leadership related to program and project management, said he and his company were honored to team up with UT Dallas and the PMI Dallas Chapter again for a “very successful” symposium this year.
“The UTD leadership and team were outstanding, the best ever, leading to our first sold out symposium,” he said. “Keynotes, track speakers, facilities and logistics were all first class.”
