There’s not a lot that goes right with planning is there? I mean, that’s how it’s supposed to work—it’s a plan so it’s going to be wrong, but still, it’s depressing that every time we plan portfolios, projects, resource allocations, heck even when we plan planning sessions, something comes along and messes up those plans before the virtual ink is dry.
What we need is someone who can constantly look at what’s happening and identify trends early enough that we can make adjustments before the plans become disrupted. But until now, we’ve never had a crystal ball in PPM. Today we do, in the shape of AI.
AI’s not some magic tool that can foresee the future, but if we feed AI-enabled PPM solutions enough of the right information they will identify the trends that are eventually going to disrupt our plans, far sooner than we humans ever could. And that’s invaluable, not only because it provides more insight earlier, but because it frees the expensive human decision makers to focus their efforts on making the right decisions.
No longer are highly skilled professionals analyzing project reports and spreadsheets. Instead, they are reviewing AI-powered reports that provide true insight into what is happening in the business. They are deciding whether to follow the recommendations of the AI tools or take a different approach. And that’s the key: AI isn’t making our decisions for us. AI is making it easier for us to make our decisions.
And when you can make better decisions, in less time, the performance of the overall portfolio inevitably improves—translating directly into better business outcomes, which after all is the whole point of investing millions of dollars into the enterprise portfolio. With AI, that return can reach a whole new level.
