AI, Project Success, and Strategic Alignment Dominate Conversation with PMI’s Global Executive Council

The AI transformation of project management

• AI has already transformed the way projects are run (the automation of routine tasks, for example), but the future lies in AI projects themselves. All companies and organizations are undergoing some level of AI-driven transformation, and project professionals need to be skilled in leading these critical initiatives.
• Clean data is key. The old axiom, garbage in equals garbage out, remains true, even in the age of AI. And the quality of your data is only half the battle. You can also feed too much data into your AI, thereby training your systems on noise. That can be a real problem when driving adoption of the new system. As Kathleen Walch, Director, Product Management, User Acquisition & Engagement, and co-founder of PMI Cognylitica, said during a panel discussion, “you need to trust your AI or you’re not going to use it.”
• Know the why. Like other large-scale technology implementations, it’s crucial that organizations understand, and clearly communicate, why they’re developing an AI solution. And “because everyone is doing it” isn’t good enough. If leadership, and those who will be charged with leveraging AI, don’t understand the “why,” the transformation is in jeopardy of low usage, backlash, and waste.
• Communication and consistent messaging need to be prioritized. AI fears are real. Leaders need to tackle the issue head on. Explain how an AI solution will benefit—and not replace—those who use it. Explain how AI can make work more fulfilling, so employees can work on more complex tasks. Talk in terms of how jobs will evolve because of the AI, not how jobs will go away because of it. Remember that the emotions of change are powerful and can impact your transformation endeavors significantly.
• Beware of overreliance. Automating simple, repetitive tasks can save the organization time and money, but the loss of institutional knowledge is a concern. It’s important to document how a task was performed before the AI solution was implemented. That will make sure you can fix the system if there are issues. It’s important to note that, while AI isn’t a brand-new technology, its introduction into the workforce has taken place much differently than other technologies. The tech has been introduced to a large swath of professionals who were not properly trained on using it and solving problems.

PMI offers multiple Thought Leadership reports on AI in project management, including the benefits of adopting AI, prompt engineering essentials, and more.

Strategic alignment between projects and organizational priorities

• Project professionals need to speak up and be heard. The need to have a “seat at the table” is a widely discussed notion among project professionals. But, according to Council members, this starts with project managers themselves and playing it safe can lead to missed value. Project professionals need to speak up, advocate for themselves and their projects, and communicate in the language of executives. Operating with a sense of ownership—and acting as if you were the CEO of the organization running the project—is the quickest path to relevance.
• For a PMO to succeed, it must be integrated into the organization. PMOs often are set up by seasoned project professionals, sometimes consultants, who have a level of experience that is different than others in the organization. The result, in too many cases, is a PMO that operates parallel to the organization itself. This leads to misalignment, miscommunication of needs and value, and, ultimately, failure. A better approach is to embed your PMO within your organization. Upskill internal resources to supplement external support, so you’ll have the necessary talent on hand to maintain your PMO’s success in the long run.
• Executive sponsorship is a must. The best way to ensure that project goals align with organizational strategy is to have real executive engagement with the projects. Executive sponsors help break down barriers and free up resources, and they can be important advocates for the project, both with their fellow executives and other key stakeholders.

Check PMI’s Thought Leadership reports often for the latest research, project management best practices, and more.

A fresh look at project success

Following the largest research study in its history, PMI recently revealed a fresh, reframed definition of project success. Successful projects deliver value that is worth the effort and expense. There was quite a bit of discussion on this topic at the Global Executive Council Meeting.

• Methods matter too. While the new definition of project success focuses on value (as it is perceived by key stakeholders), delivering projects with excellence also matters. Project managers need to be capable and skilled at delivering projects efficiently and effectively. Same as always. But their accountability is now greater than ever and expands to ensuring that their projects ultimately provide value.
• Customer first. Success is often based on perception. When developing success metrics for any project, it’s wise to include customer-facing indicators, such as customer satisfaction. What gets measured gets done, so keeping the ultimate arbiter of value top of mind is critical to delivering that value.
• Iterate and innovate. As projects become more complex and multifaceted, defining value up front can be a challenge. Often, part of a project is to explore the possibilities and define value. Effective project managers need to consistently reassess the ultimate objective (the value) their projects are aiming to deliver. In these reassessments comes the potential to innovate, identify opportunities, mitigate threats, and demonstrate to key stakeholders an added level of competence and reliability. In fact, problem seeking (in addition to problem solving) can be a quality that differentiates the most successful project professionals.

To close out the session on Project Success, Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO of PMI, shared a few thoughts. This portion of the discussion would become the M.O.R.E. framework, which explains the implications of this research on the project profession and is shared in the new Project Success report, available here.

• Manage Perceptions: Our new definition transcends the hard metrics. While they remain critical, they are not enough, perception matters. For a project to be considered successful, the key stakeholders—customers, executives, or others—must perceive that the project's outputs provide sufficient value relative to the perceived investment of resources.
• Own Project Success beyond Project Management Success: This implies that project professionals need to rethink their roles and take ownership of the entire breadth of a project. They need to move beyond literal mandates and executing on requirements. and take accountability for delivering tangible and perceived value that is clear to key stakeholders while minimizing waste. In short, while developing exceptional executional skills, project professionals need to recognize that they will be associated with project success and not just to project management success because this is what truly matters to stakeholders.
• Relentlessly Reassess Project Parameters: The world does not remain static during the lifecycle of a project. There are inevitable changes in consumer needs, competitive activity, stakeholders, technologies, funding or even internal parameters. Project professionals need to recognize this reality and continuously, in collaboration with stakeholders, reassess the perception of value and adjust plans.
• Expand Perspective: Ultimately the goal of this research and the call we are making to project professionals is to expand our perspective. All projects have impacts beyond just the scope of the project itself. We all must consider the broader picture and how the project fits within the larger business, goals or objectives of the enterprise, and ultimately, our world.

The latest research and insights from PMI are delivered by the PMI Thought Leadership Team, led by Edivandro Conforto, Emil Andersson, and Jill Diffendal. View all of our Thought Leadership resources here.

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