Gartner thinks that AI will become so powerful in the next ten years that 80% of project management tasks will happen autonomously by 2030, including tasks such as data collection, tracking and reporting.
However, Gartner notes that the automation of these tasks will not wholly replace project management roles, but rather will allow them to fulfill their duties more efficiently by eliminating the need to perform repetitive and time-consuming jobs.
"AI is going to revolutionize how program and portfolio management (PPM) leaders leverage technology to support their business goals," said Daniel Stang, research vice president at Gartner. "Right now, the tools available to them do not meet the requirements of digital business."
As is the case across the board with AI, the focus will be on generating better user experiences for project managers, helping them plan their projects with more precision.
In just four years, Gartner thinks those using AI to push their project management processes forward will cause disruption of the PPM market and lead legacy providers to transform their operation.
The growing sophistication of AI-based project management tools will improve the outcomes of everyday tasks, eliminating the need for project managers to undertake such responsibilities and instead allowing them to focus on recruiting teams that can manage the AI and smart machines rather than analysing the data themselves.
"Using conversational AI and chatbots, PPM and PMO leaders can begin to use their voices to query a PPM software system and issue commands, rather than using their keyboard and mouse," Stang added.
"As AI begins to take root in the PPM software market, those PMOs that choose to embrace the technology will see a reduction in the occurrence of unforeseen project issues and risks associated with human error."
