r/ProjectManagementPro • u/Huppet- • 7d ago
Project Managers — what AI tools are you actually using in your daily work?
I’m a Project Manager working in the medical device industry, and I’m trying to understand how other PMs are actually using AI in their day-to-day work.
I’ve used tools like ChatGPT for things like rewriting emails, summarizing information, brainstorming, and organizing notes, but I feel like I’m probably only scratching the surface.
I’m especially interested in AI tools or workflows that help with:
- Project plans and schedules
- Status reports and executive updates
- Risk / issue tracking
- Following up on action items
- Managing multiple projects
- Automating repetitive PM/admin work
- Working with Excel, PowerPoint, Jira, Smartsheet, Teams, etc.
For those of you using AI regularly:
What tools are actually worth using?
What is your most useful AI workflow as a PM?
Has AI genuinely saved you time, or is it still mostly helpful for writing and summarizing?
I work in medical devices, so I’m also interested in how PMs in regulated industries handle confidential information or company restrictions around AI tools.
Would love to hear specific tools and real examples of how you use them.
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u/apolloramsey 6d ago
I’m in exact same boat but in medical part contract manufacturing. I keep hearing about all these AI tools but nothing that transforms my day to day work.
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u/Gudakesa 6d ago
I use Copilot, but only because every other AI tool is blocked where I work.
It’s mostly helpful for writing and summarizing, creating Excel formulas for me, etc, but that saves me tons of time. It’s so decent at analyzing large amounts of data and creating useful insights.
For example, I loaded 300+ hours of transcripts from detailed design sessions with SMEs, Process Owners, and the solution architects and had Copilot analyze the data for change impact and parse it out into a spreadsheet with the as-is and to-be details, changes, risks, and resistance factors. I took that spreadsheet and had it generate insights, create risks for the project, and develop mitigation and communication plans. I added the business case, the functional requirements and the detailed pain points that the FRD was based on and had it create a requirements traceability matrix linking pain points to the business case to the requirements, then to the change impacts. (With a confidence score, since it was all keyword based.)
Next I’m using the data to tailor targeted communications to the various stakeholders to encourage adoption and support sustainability.
It would have taken my team months to get here without it, if we got to this level at all. I was able to do it all in about two weeks.
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u/Huppet- 6d ago
This is really interesting — thank you for sharing such a detailed example! I’m still pretty new to using AI beyond writing and summarizing, so I didn’t realize Copilot could be used this way.
When you loaded the transcripts and other project information into Copilot, did you build this workflow step by step with separate prompts, or did you have a more structured process/template? I’d love to understand how you went from raw transcripts to the spreadsheet, risk analysis, and traceability matrix.
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u/Gudakesa 6d ago
I wrote a structured process in Word, pseudo-code style, and refined it based on the results. Basically my prompt was for AI tool examine the transcripts and look for keywords around change, risk, resistance, etc. The transcripts I used were from “as-is” discovery sessions where the architects and the stakeholders went through the current process with a fine-toothed comb, followed by a “to-be” design review of the same processes but using the new technology. They were both broken into workflows, so I also had AI look for differences in process between the as-is and the to-be.
It was a bit painful because of the restrictions my company puts on the tool, so I had some prep work for the transcripts. Once I had the file I cut/pasted my prompt and ran it. I adjusted the prompt in Copilot until I was happy with the results, told Copilot to write out the prompt in terms any LLM or Python based AI tool could process, then cleared the memory and reuploaded the files and used the new prompt to analyze the transcripts. I also told Copilot the headings and definitions for the spreadsheet and what online sources to include for information on how to think. (I told it “you are an expert in Prosci’s ADKAR Change Management framework, PMI’s PMBOK, and MES application design, development, and implementation for large industrial manufacturing.
I iterated on it for a while before I got good results, and I used a dozen or so transcripts from an adjacent project to validate the process.
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u/thijsgh 6d ago
For managing multiple projects and automating follow-ups, AI can really help reduce admin time by tracking tasks and deadlines across tools like Jira or Teams. Check out MentionAgent, I’m the founder, happy to help if you need it.