Why this is a good time to start exploring AI

Even though OpenAI's ChatGPT release was in November, its impact on general availability and knowledge of generative AI has been mind-blowing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the workplace. Only being widely used a few weeks (!) ago, numerous tools are available and popping up instantly. At the same time, the underlying technology progresses at astounding rates, propelled by the OpenAI/Microsoft vs. Google rivalry. We agree with the many experts who are, at this stage, expecting nothing less but an "industrial revolution" scale impact on how we organize work - and maybe society - in the future.

People can use AI to automate routine tasks, enhance decision-making processes, and streamline workflows. However, despite its potential benefits, many people are hesitant to adopt AI tools at work out of fear of making themselves superfluous, ultimately seeing their jobs replaced by AI — we will argue that AI, on the contrary, will increase people's productivity and workplace satisfaction, rather than replace them.

Not as new a topic as many believe

1. According to a global survey by McKinsey QuantumBlack from as far back as 2021, the adoption of AI had already increased in 2020, with more companies using AI to improve their operations and decision-making.
2. The report "Customer Success: The Next Frontier of AI" by Bain highlights that AI is becoming increasingly important in customer success. The report explains how AI can help companies improve their customer service by providing personalized recommendations and insights into customer behavior. It also discusses the potential benefits of using AI in customer success, such as increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Accenture's report "responsible AI" emphasizes the importance of implementing ethical guidelines and governance structures to ensure the responsible use of AI. The report highlights the potential risks of using AI and the need to address issues such as bias, transparency, and privacy.
4. Deloitte's "Fueling the AI Transformation " discusses the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses meet the challenges of the current economy and society. The authors emphasize the need for companies to focus on realizing the value and potential of AI rather than just adopting it for efficiency. The article outlines four key actions businesses can take to harness AI's potential: investing in culture and leadership, transforming operations, orchestrating tech and talent, and selecting high-value use cases.

Consequences for the rest of us

Sure, Small and medium-sized enterprises typically have a different level of resources or talent than the customers of these big consulting companies. However, the shift from specialized AI models in the past to the new generation of AI Models that process natural language has made it far easier to leverage the potential of AI:

1. Leverage existing tools and technologies: Rather than investing in building custom AI solutions from scratch, small and medium-sized companies can leverage existing AI tools and technologies.
2. Develop an understanding of your business objectives: Most companies have different pain points than large global enterprises and should identify areas where AI could provide value.
3. Invest in talent development: Small and medium-sized companies should develop their employees' skills and knowledge in AI. This can include providing access to training and education programs, as hiring new employees with AI expertise will challenge these companies in a tightening labor market.

Low hanging fruits: A playful start with AI in the workplace

Proofreading with DeepL Write or Notion's AI

• DeepL's Write Beta and Notions AI allows employees to write a text as well as they can and then have it pre-corrected for spelling and grammar and provides suggestions on how to rephrase. While this is not foolproof, it allows companies to re-organize writing duties, with the most linguistically proficient employees being able to concentrate on lecturing and fine-tuning pre-written content.
• For experimenting with AI, it's quite fun to do a "type as fast as you can't" challenge and have your mess of typos and pseudo-words corrected by the AI!

Workshops with ChatGPT: Another Perspective in the RoomIdea Generation:

• Using ChatGPT to generate new ideas based on prompts or questions related to the workshop topic can effectively spark creativity among team members, especially when teams are small. For example, if the workshop is about product development, you can ask ChatGPT to generate new product ideas based on customer feedback or market trends. ChatGPT must be made aware of the team's culture, norms, values, or existing ideas and knowledge; it may suggest unconventional, humorous, or preposterous ideas. However, this can be advantageous in encouraging the team to think outside the box and explore new possibilities.

Q&A:

• During the workshop, use ChatGPT to facilitate Q&A sessions. Participants can submit questions to ChatGPT, generating answers based on its topic knowledge. This can help ensure that all team members have a common understanding of the topic and can contribute to the discussion. At the same time, it exposes the limitations of the AI to the group & helps them realize that while it can be helpful, it still requires human input and assistance to function effectively.

Devil's Advocate:

• Use AI to act as the group's "Devil's Advocate" by asking it to explain why the team's ideas are bad. This removes the burden from anyone in the room who might feel uncomfortable taking on that role. Depending on the social dynamics of the group, such a role might intimidate certain participants and discourage them from voicing their ideas, or it might allow higher-ranking individuals to avoid scrutiny. AI can make the process more objective and less influenced by individual biases.

Things to watch out for in the next months:

• Both Google (Google Workspace) & Microsoft (365 Assistant) have announced embedding AI assistants into their respective office suites shortly, with both their products offering tools for online meetings & workshops. So go experimenting now so you and your teams are comfortable and proficient at interacting with their AI Assistants as these become part of more and more regular software.

Next steps: Leveraging the power of AI for more complex challenges

Once an organization has playfully experienced how the power of AI can transform the way we work, we believe project management to be one, if not the field where it becomes possible to move beyond pre-trained generative AI and leverage existing organizational knowledge and data even without resident experts: AI-powered project management tools can analyze historical data from past projects to predict more accurate project plans. This analysis will help determine the estimated duration of each task, the resources required, and the potential roadblocks that may arise during the project execution.

Project Management with AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform how we work and manage projects. As a result, AI-powered project management tools are more available in the market, offering many benefits to project managers and their teams. In this part, we will explore the advantages of using AI in project management and how it can improve project outcomes.

1. Streamlined Project Planning

• One of the critical advantages of AI tools in project management is streamlined project planning. AI-powered project management tools will analyze historical data from past projects to predict more accurate project plans. This analysis will help determine the estimated duration of each task, the resources required, and the potential roadblocks that may arise during the project execution.

2. Improved Risk Management

• AI can also help improve risk management in project management. AI tools will analyze data and predict potential risks before they occur. For example, an AI-powered project management tool can analyze a project's historical data and identify potential risks that may arise during the (subsequent) project's execution. This analysis will help project managers take preventive measures to mitigate potential risks.

3. Increased Efficiency

• AI-powered tools will boost and increase efficiency by automating repetitive tasks. For example, AI will allow project managers to automate tasks such as data entry, progress tracking, and reporting. This automation will reduce the time and effort required to complete these tasks, allowing project managers to focus on more critical tasks that require human intervention.

4. Enhanced Decision Making

• AI will also help by providing enhanced decision-making tools for project management. These will analyze data and provide insights to support decision-making. One example could be that the AI-powered engines will analyze project progress data and suggest project plan changes to improve outcomes and maintain the critical path.

More Effectiveness and Time-Saving Options - with a caveat

AI-powered project management tools will offer even more effectiveness and time-saving options. For example, AI can analyze team member performance and suggest ways to improve productivity. It will automate scheduling meetings and sending reminders, saving project managers time and effort and helping them focus on customer interaction. At the same time, lawmakers in Europe are already planning regulation on AI with hefty fines attached, and labor laws in some states like Germany outright forbid surveillance on workers, with few exceptions. Hence, despite our enthusiasm about the possibilities, it remains imperative for companies to check the AI tools they consider introducing for compliance with their local legal requirements.

In addition → Nonetheless, AI-powered project management tools can optimize workflows by identifying inefficiencies and suggesting improvements. For example, an AI-powered tool can analyze the order in which tasks have been completed and offer alternative sequences to improve efficiency.

AI-Powered Software Solutions

Several newer and more advanced AI-powered project management software solutions are available in the market. Here are a few examples:

• ClickUp - This project management tool uses AI to help automate tasks such as time tracking and resource allocation. One neat feature is alerts and the task toolbar. Task assignment is also managed innovatively.
• Forecast - This AI-powered project management tool uses machine learning to help predict project timelines and resource needs. Its AI-powered engine aims to create insights for project teams and reduce time spent on repetitive operations, to empower the people behind the project.
• Wrike - This project management tool uses AI to help automate tasks such as scheduling and workload balancing. Its focus is on the latter by helping organize tasks between team members and ensuring a reasonable allocation of resources based on availability. There is a transparent allocation of space for navigation, tasks, and subtasks for a clear project-based overview.

Results

AI transforms project management by streamlining project planning, improving risk management, increasing efficiency, and enhancing decision-making. AI-powered project management tools will become increasingly used in the market, and project managers need to embrace this technology to improve project outcomes.

As a Project Manager, you are missing out if you are not trying out these new innovative tools to help you do your work more effectively without jeopardizing your output's quality. However, it is essential to note that while AI can be helpful in certain areas, it has yet to be a silver bullet solution for all project management challenges. Project managers still need to have strong leadership skills and experience to manage projects to train their tools effectively, and AI should be seen as a tool to support their work rather than a replacement for their expertise.

People and companies who embrace AI tools as "companions" at work early on not only give themselves a head start, thereby averting the very superfluous scenario; furthermore, especially for small and medium-sized companies, now is still the time to get comfortable with AI tools by just experimenting with them, before the chasm between them and bigger competitors has widened too far.