Rich Maltzman, Boston University
When building AI projects, project team members often focus on the technological aspects of AI. After all, AI tools are the most interesting and fun, and blocking requests or combining different AI libraries are easy and often fun to do. However, AI project success rarely has much to do with the choice of tools that are used, or even whether or not those tools are used at all.
As companies review their AI investments, 2024 is shaping up to be the year of increased focus on getting real returns from AI projects. The days of AI wonder and awe are rapidly giving way to a sense that AI projects must deliver or be out. As is too often the case, AI’s repeated promises and hype give way to its tendency to underplay that hype and promise. Organizations must focus on rationally defining goals and focusing AI solutions on the problems where they are best applied.
In a recent interview on the AI Today podcast, Boston University Master’s Lecturer Rich Maltzman shares insights on how the emergence of project management “power skills” is putting a dose of reality into AI projects and helping to ensure that technologies and AI give you really useful results. .
With over 40 years of engineering and project management experience at companies such as Nokia, Rich has focused on advances in project management, particularly the non-technological components that determine project success. He is currently writing a three-co-authored book on insights into how project team leaders can elevate their skills, leveraging AI and a core set of powerhouse skills.
As systems become AI-enabled, the need for human interaction increases
From Rich’s point of view, the project management battles of the past few decades between different approaches to project management are a bit misguided. He says, “We’ve had this long, ridiculous, useless battle between agility and waterfall. We think it’s kind of a pointless battle, that people are really going to take sides… It’s either waterfall or agile. No, no, it’s both… Like we say with AI, waterfall and agile, use what works… that combination.”
He continues, “To paraphrase our (forthcoming) book, it’s not about embedding AI into existing workflows or replacing human roles with machines, replacing humans with machines. It’s about fostering a dynamic and synchronized environment where AI and humans come together to drive project success.”
A key insight is that the interaction between people is far more critical to the success of a project than the specific methodology or technology used. “People bring to the table unique strengths, ethical considerations and uniquely human thinking. And we think that can be amplified and added like a laser if we use AI right,” says Rich.
Critical Skills Needed for AI Success
Next, Rich says there are a number of critical “power skills” that are key to effective project management. These include: communication, problem solving, collaborative leadership, strategic thinking, relationship building, accountability, adaptability, discipline, empathy, goal orientation, future-focused orientation, and innovative mindset. These powerhouse skills emerge from the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Pulse of the Profession 2023 report. Rich and his team have built on the results of that report to show that organizations that prioritize power capabilities have ten drivers that in turn deliver success.
According to Rich, “for organizations that place a high priority on power capabilities, 57% of them report higher maturity of business benefit management (BRM) … but for those that place a low priority on power capabilities of the project, the picture is almost upside down. 18% report high BRM maturity and 49% low BRM maturity… Organizations that place a high priority on energy capabilities have 64% high project management maturity and 11% low. On the other hand, again, almost upside down for organizations that place a low priority on power capabilities, 32% report high project management maturity and 40% report low project management maturity.
The insight is that project success is not so closely related to the specific method or approach used to plan or manage projects, or to the technology used to improve or accelerate those projects. Rather, success is in the interpersonal skills that can support or sabotage those projects for success, regardless of the approach or technology used.
Rich further concludes that “an interesting thing to note is that throughout this 2023 report … the word AI, or artificial intelligence, is mentioned exactly zero times. So we’re talking about the connection.”
It’s becoming clear that as organizations place more emphasis on using AI to increase their returns, what ends up becoming even more important are the people in those systems and the “power skills.”