In today’s fast-paced world, managing projects can be overwhelming. But with the support of AI tools like ChatGPT, you can simplify the process and get a quick start on project setup, budgeting, and team planning.
1. Kick-off: Setting Up the Project
The session starts by outlining how you can leverage AI to get a first rough idea of your project. Whether you’re a seasoned project manager or new to the role, AI can help you lay the foundation for your plan. In this case, we used ChatGPT 4o to generate initial project management details.
Here’s the initial scenario:
• Project Type: Software as a Service (SaaS) application for project management
• Budget: €50,000
• Timeline: 6 months
The goal was to outline a rough project framework, focusing on the core elements: team setup, necessary skill sets, and estimated requirements. And you are already in the game of AI project management with ChatGPT.
2. Prompting: The Power of Clear Instructions
To just start, we input a clear prompt to ChatGPT, asking it to break down the core requirements for the project. Here’s an example of the prompt used:
Prompt Nr.1: “Hi - I am a project manager in the software field and I have an idea for a Software as a Service (SaaS) application for project management. I already have the requirements, but I am missing an overview of a possible team setup, necessary skill sets, and approximate efforts. Can you help me step by step to roughly develop this so that I can get a first idea for a potential implementation?
[Your rough requirements]”
ChatGPT responded by identifying the necessary team members (developers, designers, project managers), skill sets (coding, UI/UX design, DevOps), and key phases for implementation.
Prompt Nr.2: “How much effort are we talking about for what? Please provide an estimate in hours/days as well as in story points.”
3. Getting a Gantt Diagram Ready
The next step was translating the AI-generated framework into a Gantt chart, a common tool in project management that visualizes time frames and dependencies between tasks. ChatGPT helped create an initial Gantt diagram, giving an overview of work packages, timelines, and critical project phases.
Prompt Nr.3: “Could you please create a Gantt chart based on your suggestions regarding the team setup, work packages, budget, timeline, and the possible efforts or complexities?”
So, there you have it! A first attempt at project planning with AI is a great way to get an overview quickly. Don’t forget to adjust for real-life factors like team availability and budget constraints as you move forward.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, using AI tools like ChatGPT can help kickstart project planning by generating a quick and clear project overview. Whether you’re outlining team requirements, planning work packages, or visualizing timelines through a Gantt chart, AI can help you speed up the process.
But, as the we mentioned, it’s important to review and fine-tune the results manually to ensure everything fits the real-world constraints of your project.
Try out these new PM Tip for yourself, and stay tuned for the next episode of PM Tip by Mary!
Until next time - happy project managing!
Mary
Taken from LinkedIn Video "PM Tip Episode 2" , Transcribed by Riverside.fm, written to a blog post by ChatGPT, Human-Proofed by Mary