Want PDUs for learning AI? If not, I summarize the course.
Everyone loves free stuff.
If you're a PMP like me, you're always scrounging for the easiest way to get some free PDUs (Professional Development Units) to renew your license.
Even though you have 3 years to get these units, I'm always pushing up to the deadline to renew.
Plus, I'm always looking around for something interesting to watch or listen to fulfill the requirements - the basic principles of project management get kind of stale after you rehash them every year.
But what if I told you that you can watch a few videos that are a primer on Generative AI and get 5 PDUs for… wait for it… the low cost of zero dollars.
No cost to learn about AI from a trusted project management source.
Zip. Nada. Nothing.
Of course, this seemed like a pretty good deal to me, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for you, my subscribers, to know about.
The course is offered by the PMI (Project Management Institute), and it is called Generative AI Overview for Project Managers.
You need to be a member of PMI.
The course contains:
An introduction to GenAI
Solving PM problems with GenAI
The Voice of the PM (includes 3 interviews with PMs using AI)
ChatGPT Lab
AI tool library
Quiz or a knowledge check (to affirm your knowledge and get those PDUs)
As I mentioned, you get 5 PDUs after you complete the course.
4 PDUs are for “Ways of Working”
1 PDU is “Business Acumen”
My 2 Cent Review
It's a pretty rudimentary course, but it may be worth checking out if you are new to AI.
The section on solving PM problems with GenAI is pretty well done and they try to tie it into the three aspects of the “Talent Triangle” which is broken into “Ways of Working”, “Business Acumen” and “Power Skills”.
If you’re expecting “The Voice of the PM” to be illuminating - you’ll be disappointed. Only one PM talks about AI and its use in the business. They don’t give any real concrete examples. Two of the speakers seem to be plugging items into ChatGPT. Overall, this section was pretty disappointing.
The ChatGPT lab had some prompts you could use, but nothing really earth-shattering. I’ll probably be offering a couple of these prompts in future newsletters.
Finally, unless you are looking at AI for the first time, the AI tool library contains nothing particularly useful. Tools like ClickUp, Google Bard, and ChatGPT are listed, and the rest of the tools didn’t make me say, “Whoa, I need to check that out.”
If you are pressed for time - the course was short and took me less than an hour to complete.
PMI is offering the content, so the course is legit. The PDUs transfer instantaneously after the course is completed.
My summary notes of the course if you aren’t a PMI member
An introduction to GenAI
What is Generative AI?
Artificial Intelligence
The simulation of human intelligence in machines that can perform tasks, learn from experiences and adapt to new situations.
Generative AI (GenAI)
A type of artificial intelligence that results in new data, such as images, music, text, or code.
How can Generative AI enhance project work?
GenAI can act as:
Proactive personal assistant
Automate repetitive tasks
Automating report generation and timeline updates
Analyzing datasets and providing summaries
Suggesting corrective actions to stay on track
Generative AI in project management can lead to:
Cost savings
Better risk management
Increased stakeholder satisfaction
Greater adaptability
More accuracy in data-driven decisions
Happier project managers
What should you consider when using Generative AI for project work?
Six Generative AI challenges to consider
Data quality and availability - obtaining relevant, current, and clean data is difficult.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Research and assess AI tool providers
Understand data limitations
Set up alerts for anomalies
Continuously validate outcomes
AI model selection and integration is complex and time-consuming.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Conduct a needs assessment
Run a pilot test
Consult with cross-functional teams
Develop an integration roadmap
Ethics - AI systems can inadvertently have a persistent bias.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Conduct an ethical assessment
Include diverse perspectives
Implement fairness safeguards
Monitor and audit outcomes
There are security and privacy concerns that need robust security measures.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Conduct a security audit
Implement authentication and access controls
Encrypt your data
Adhere to compliance and documentation
Human involvement is integrated into the AI solutions loop using the human-in-the-loop approach.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Identify key decision points
Train team members
Implement feedback mechanisms
Regularly review and update your approach
Training staff is difficult.
Solutions to help solve this problem:
Don't stop learning
Get hands-on experience
Network within your industry
Share knowledge internally
Solving PM problems with AI
In a RACI chart - project managers will always be "A" accountable for:
Their own actions
Actions taken by the team
Project performance
AI will always be “C” for consulted
Ways of working
The questions being asked of Gen AI - you are responsible for how the questions are formulated. Skilled questioning will lead to helpful answers.
Consider:
Training your team on prompting to create a unified approach
Examining ethical considerations when crafting questions
Holding lunch-and-learn sessions to drive experience
The accuracy, safety, and utility of the answers - Using Gen AI can be career-accelerating or career-ending based on the guardrails you put in place.
Consider:
Sharing approaches for ensuring accuracy, like validating citations and fact-checking.
Having frequent team discussions about which data is useful for decision-making
Ensure policies are in place regarding proprietary data use and that the team is trained in their use.
The decisions made due to those answers - The project manager is responsible for decisions based on that input and the resulting performance.
Consider:
Gaining an understanding of the data set the AI is drawing from to understand how it aligns with the business objectives
Role-playing a possible stakeholder conversation with your favorite chatbot
Understanding your accountability with this tool will help you as a project manager.
Power skills
GenAI is a power skills optimizer.
Project manager as purely administrator. Honing power skills through crisp and powerful delivery and messaging.
Gen AI can be a powerful solution to the age-old problem of poor information delivery from the project manager.
It can serve as a tool for effective interactions with project stakeholders.
Power skills - make yourself more effective by:
Defining your "why"
Context: Provide a description of your project and how it connects to the strategy and culture.
Purpose: Inform the AI of your intent and the future-state vision so it can suggest content aligned with that purpose.
Audience: Describe the audience profile of the AI. The AI will adjust the complexity and tone to fit your readers.
Scope: Ask your AI to keep it's response to 3-5 sentences.
Defining your "what" and "how"
Pyramid Principle: Ask the AI to structure content based on the Pyramid Principle. Provide raw content or main points. AI can help you prioritize and structure them from the main takeaway to the supporting details.
Revise and Edit Ruthlessly
Draft first: Ask the AI to create a starting point
Trim the fat: The AI can optimize for brevity
Simplify: Ask the AI to rephrase sentences for readability
Use Visuals: While text-based GenAI might not create visuals directly, it can indicate or suggest where visuals may be useful.
Business Acumen
Business Acumen is situational. Generative AI can play the role of an expert coach in the moment.
Project managers are often asked to lead efforts when they don't have business skills. A quick primer on recent product trends or risk factors and how they perform refined by the team.
Gen AI can provide access to expert-level guidance in real-time, making you more adaptable and capable of leading projects across diverse domains.
Business Acumen: Make yourself more effective by:
Identifying the problem: When encountering a challenge, articulate it clearly to your favorite GenAI.
Gathering the data: Ask the AI to source information on the specific industry, function, or challenge, drawing from a vast database of knowledge and real-world examples. remember to consider ethical data sourcing.
Generating solutions: GenAI presents possible solutions, best practices, or steps tailored to your context. It might also run simulations or predictors if required. Keep in mind that solutions should be vetted against business objectives and project requirements.
Utilize human-in-the-loop: Apply the AI's suggestions and give it feedback on the outcomes. The AI refines its future responses based on this iterative learning.
Voice of the PM
Michael McCullough
Project Manager, Amtrak
Uses AI currently to:
Summarize meetings
Summarize notes and relevant tasks
Assign them to the relevant people.
Project requirements built in an AI app.
AI has limitations
Lack of understanding
What it is, what it isn't (Skynet)
Need to get folks to understand how AI can play a vital role in an organization
Succeed through small wins
Fix an immediate problem with AI and show results
Maple Rose Furigay
Managing Director, Inplico, LTD
Consider using AI since PMs should be more frontward facing. AI frees us from being behind our screens.
PMs touch every point of a project - AI is better at seeing improvements. PMs need to be present with their team, and where AI should be taking care of things, we don't need to.
Generative AI is learning from other projects and project managers in another industry.
Kristian Bainey
CEO, K-Pic Systems
In data-driven decision-making tools, humans make the final decisions.
Rest of the course
ChatGPT Prompts
Al Tools
Knowledge check, aka a quiz
That’s it - I hope you enjoyed the tip if you hold a PMP certification and the notes on the course if you do not!