You were hoping to log off at five on a Friday evening and enjoy your weekend, but a minor mishap from the data management team forced you to step in and manually check a few sheets yourself. Before you knew it, you were stuck working until eight and were too tired to honor your plans.
Life in project management can be tricky, whether you’re an intern, a marketing head, or a project manager overseeing the entire office. If only there were a way to automate the data management process over the weekend — or, better yet, a tool to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place.
What if we told you that with artificial intelligence, you can achieve both, and then some?
What’s artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, is an emerging technology that allows computers and machines to mimic the way humans think and learn.
Similar to how people use their brains and bodies to solve problems, AI uses algorithms, natural language processing, and machine learning to simulate human abilities and accomplish tasks like language comprehension and image recognition. Over time, AI evolves and starts understanding preferences, behaviors, and patterns, offering more desirable and accurate results.
What’s the role of AI in project management?
Project managers incorporate AI to support human tasks and streamline workflows. While it can't fully replicate human activities, AI can perform endless automated tasks, including numerous project management processes like:
Automated project management — perhaps the most popular use of AI is task automation. You likely have many mundane and repetitive clerical tasks, like data management or weekly scheduling updates. Delegate these activities to AI and free up time for other things, like team building and networking.
Data analysis — AI can swiftly analyze vast volumes of data and discover patterns that would be challenging and time-consuming for humans to see, allowing project managers to assess previous projects, spot trends, and make informed, data-driven decisions.
Real-time monitoring — let AI track your project's development and notify you when you hit a milestone or struggle to achieve a deliverable. With AI you can happily focus on other tasks or promptly intervene when something needs your attention.
Resource allocation — all projects involve multiple resources, including personnel, budgets, and time. AI can distribute resources to ensure your team completes tasks on schedule without overloading any specific project area.
Risk mitigation — AI can forecast potential hazards and their effects on your project. It examines previous data and external variables you may not have seen coming, allowing you to create measures and backup plans.
AI brings complex computational abilities to the table to support your preexisting human skills. It scans vast amounts of data, makes predictions, optimizes workflows, and takes specific tasks off your plate by automating them. In essence, AI is a helpful assistant that can boost your odds of achieving your goals.
What are the benefits of AI in project management?
Aside from analyzing data, predicting outcomes, dividing resources, and managing risk, AI provides a few benefits to help with project planning and management.
It saves time and money
Human error is common in any work setting. You've likely entered the incorrect data into a sheet or know someone who has. Maybe you got distracted while taking notes during a meeting and had to rewatch the entire recording. However unintentional it may be, making mistakes is unavoidable.
That's where AI comes in. AI minimizes the scope for manual errors, rectifies them, and cuts down on the labor required to perform tasks, even taking over and completing them for you while you turn your attention to more important things. This saves you both time and money.
It allows you to be more creative
While AI handles monotonous tasks like data analysis, you can put your thinking cap on and get those creative juices flowing. AI automates parts of the content creation process, like scheduling and posting on social media, making it an excellent time-saver and ticking one more thing off your to-do list.
But it can do so much more than that. AI can also develop concepts and ideas and identify trends. Instead of opening hundreds of tabs for research, tell AI what to do, and it'll quickly sort through millions of resource banks, optimizing references for you. Plus, it can help with basic content writing and graphic design, giving you a solid base to start with if you're looking for inspiration.
It helps you scale
As your company expands and takes on multiple projects, you'll find traditional management techniques to be restrictive or outdated. With AI, you can effectively address these issues and enable scalability.
First, AI helps manage the increasing data produced by different teams and projects. With limited resources, you can quickly derive insights from AI's ability to process data, find potential risks, and provide recommendations for improvement.
It also improves cooperation and communication within and across teams. The more employees a company has, the more challenging it becomes to stay on the same page. AI can update schedules, generate reports, and send notices to the relevant individuals and groups.
How will AI impact project management?
AI is a crucial component of the current wave of next-gen technology. The sooner you realize AI's benefits, the sooner you can use it as a personal project management tool. Here are a few ways this tech will impact the industry and how you can use it to your advantage.
Project selection — AI helps you choose which projects to pursue and prioritize. By accessing historical data and using predictive analysis, these tools can determine which projects will likely provide the greatest value to your company.
AI assistance — ChatGPT, Siri, and Google Assistant have already shown us how AI can analyze enormous volumes of data and return real-time insights and updates. Many websites also use chatbots to cater to users. As these AI-powered assistants continue to learn, they'll deliver accurate output that provides value to project managers and clients.
Your role as a project manager — Project managers' responsibilities are changing. While automating tasks may seem daunting, those who leverage these intelligent systems will reap their benefits. Your role won't become obsolete — in fact, far from it. Recognize the uses of AI, and you can propel your career by staying up to date with the opportunities new tech provides.
Manage your projects more efficiently with Notion
Regardless of your role on the team, there’s always scope for you to use your abilities for more important tasks. With Notion AI, you can manage projects from ideation to execution with content planning templates to boot.
There’s even a five-part guide to help you or a team member learn Notion AI. From prompt libraries to product localization, get ahead of the competition and incorporate AI into your daily workflow for smooth-sailing projects.
