Early adopters of GenAI in professional project management are helping fast-track the digital transformation of businesses.
According to recent market research by the Project Management Institute (PMI), First Movers’ Advantage: The Immediate Benefits of Adopting Generative AI For Project Management, GenAI delivers performance benefits to both individual project managers and organisations.
The PMI surveyed 500 project professionals from around the globe, all of whom use GenAI in their project work.
PMI found that ‘trailblazers’ — those who have adopted GenAI early and are using it in over 50% of their recent projects — report significantly higher performance in productivity, collaboration, problem-solving, and effectiveness compared to ‘explorers’, who are low adopters because they are using GenAI in just 1% to 15% of their projects.
Key findings include:
Productivity and problem-solving: Trailblazers report being significantly more productive (93% compared to 58% of lower adopters), with improved problem-solving abilities (89% vs. 46%) and overall effectiveness (88% vs. 50%)
Collaboration and creativity: High adopters also experience strengthened collaboration (83% vs. 32%) and creativity (84% vs. 44%), which PMI refers to as "power skills".
Outcomes: GenAI positively influences core project management areas such as project scope (87% vs. 34%), scheduling (85% vs. 46%), cost management (85% vs. 42%), and quality control (91% vs. 40%)
The PMI report also cites a study by Microsoft and LinkedIn showing that the use of GenAI doubled in the last few months of 2023, with 75% of knowledge workers using it. PMI has observed a similar trend within its member community of project professionals. This international ecosystem consists of two million Project Management Professional (PMP) certified members.
Africa membership
George Asamani, MD, PMI Sub-Saharan Africa, says while a person is not required to have certification to become a member of PMI - and vice-versa, Africa lags behind globally in the number of certified professionals.
PMI has 25 000 certification holders in Africa, and increasing that number is a core focus for the PMI Africa team.
Asamani stresses that having few formally qualified project managers impacts the region's ability to execute projects effectively, which in turn affects economic and business outcomes.
Certified professional project managers are sought-after in South Africa. Asamani points to the Institute’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, which shows that respondents with PMP certification earn higher median salaries than those without the certification, 33% higher on average across the 21 countries surveyed.
In South Africa, the earnings gap between PMP-certified professionals and their non-certified counterparts is the largest among all surveyed countries. PMP-certified professionals in South Africa earn a median salary that is 67% higher than those without the certification.
The median salary of project professionals varies considerably from country to country and across variables. In South Africa, it is $54 668 (over R1 million) per annum, according to PMI.
Asamani says the data also shows a broad consensus that the PMP certification is valuable not only for salary growth but also for career development.
Share