Empowering Project Managers with Generative AI: Inside IIL’s Course Development

 IIL’s Global Learning Solutions (GLS) Team has responsibility for the design and development of all course content delivered to our learners as well as oversight of all content delivered by our strategic partners.  In late 2023, GLS was tasked with building a course on using AI in Project Management within a two-month timeframe.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most transformative technology since the internet came onto the scene, reshaping project management from business case development to planning the work, risk management, and performance tracking.  Because technology and the market are moving so fast, project managers often struggle to know where to start.  This made designing a practice-driven AI course with a tight timeframe a challenging yet vital task.

Many of our clients and team members had attended other AI programs on the market, but feedback was lukewarm.  The programs focused on “showing” and” telling” with minimal hands-on practice.  While the content was generic and broadly available (which is great!), it lacked a specific focus on the project manager’s role.  Stakeholders were telling us that they understood a little, but not enough to really use AI comfortably.

As a trusted leader in training for over 30 years, IIL excels in Project Management training.  Our challenge was to integrate practical applications and purpose-driven activities with AI, ensuring learners leave energized and confident in using AI effectively on projects.  Oue mission was to:

• Design a course that would engage learners with diverse Generative AI tools to start, plan, and manage either their own project or a generic case study.
• Embrace an agnostic approach to adopt, integrate, and scale Generative AI to ensure learners would not compromise data or trust.
• Create hands-on practice utilizing AI tools (leveraging free accounts) to optimize time and outcomes.
• Ensure it was tailored to anyone interested in learning how to leverage AI tools and technology throughout the project lifecycle.

We recognized learners would have varying degrees of AI knowledge; but we needed to ensure that we built a solid foundation for everyone by clearly defining essential terms and concepts.  To avoid losing beginners or boring seasoned AI users, we wanted to be certain there was plenty of opportunity for engagement – allowing knowledge to be shared between learners vs. a “sage on the stage” approach while efficiently covering these fundamental concepts.

The balance of the course would focus on prompts with a “show and do” approach using a case study and a demonstration by the facilitator with one Large Language Model (LLM). From there, a guided activity would allow learners to practice in another LLM of their choosing, comparing the various outcomes as a group and allowing time for iteration.  We focused on integrating IIL templates with the following activities:

• Craft prompts to develop project origination documents ​
• Create prompts to assist in planning a project ​
• Develop user stories with Generative AI ​
• Analyze project performance using Generative AI ​
• Identify the limitations of Generative AI ​
• Identify the risks associated with using Generative AI ​
• Articulate the need for governance and ethics when establishing an AI program in an organization

As the course was being developed, we were using all the well-known LLMs to provide us with responses to the various demo prompts.

Reflecting on that time, there was a palpable mix of excitement and urgency—we knew we had to get it right.  IIL’s reputation in the Project Management space is well-established, but this was our first endeavor to integrate AI into our curriculum.

The morning before our pilot session, we were met with unexpected news: both Google and Microsoft had rebranded their LLMs overnight, with Google Bard becoming Gemini and Microsoft Bing transforming into Copilot. Suddenly, our materials contained outdated information. Thankfully, our pilot learners were understanding and offered invaluable feedback, helping us refine a course that has since engaged hundreds of participants.

By blending purpose-driven learning with hands-on practice (and some help from AI!) IIL’s Generative AI course equips project managers with the confidence and tools to lead in an AI-driven world.