Project Management and AI. What can we expect?

Public interest

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Everyone tries to figure out where we can apply AI in project management. If I look at the surface, my first bet would be a cost and time estimation for large investment projects.

Several well-documented data are on project execution of Olympic games, highways, and public buildings (railway stations, nuclear power plants, etc.). It was to open the Sydney Opera House in 1963 (six years after the start), but the opening was made in 1973 (10 years delay). The net real value of the budget was more than 13 times higher. The Stuttgart 21 (main Railway Station) project is already 4 years delayed, and the budget has tripled. We could continue this list easily.

It will be fun to teach AI what politicians and experts initially stated about fast completion and moderate cost. We will also learn how costs exploded, new requirements were added to the scope during project execution, unforeseen problems arose, and completion was delayed.

And now, you can ask a well-trained AI. It will give an estimate based on historical data. Everyone will be shocked. The investment will be 2-3 times more and take twice as long as the politicians promise. My educated guess states it will be a rather good estimate. At least, we would have a modest guess of what we can expect. Are we strong enough to use these capabilities of Artificial Intelligence?

On the other hand, if we had known the final budget and timeline, several innovations and projects would have never started. Shall we start a business if AI says we have a 3% chance of surviving?

Bad news: the politicians do not convey messages to fact-checkers.

I am sure that we can find real opportunities. But do not forget, as all sound AI training states, that we must keep humans in the loop to safeguard them.

In the next edition, I will explore areas where AI could help companies/ managers succeed.

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#projectmanagement #interim #sixsigma #ai #medicaldevices

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