Generative AI for Software Project Management: Insights from a Review of Software Practitioner Literature

2025-10-12

AI Summary

This study investigates the current practice, value proposition, and critical challenges of generative AI (GenAI) in software project management. Through qualitative content analysis of 47 industry gray literature sources—including blogs, reports, and case studies—we identify practitioners’ prevailing conceptualization of GenAI as an “intelligent collaborator” rather than a replacement, with primary applications in task automation, predictive analytics, communication enhancement, and agile support. We propose a novel “Responsible AI Application Framework” that delineates GenAI’s functional boundaries and maps its integration to PMI’s Talent Triangle competency evolution. Key concerns—such as hallucination, ethical and privacy risks, and affective limitations—are empirically substantiated. The findings yield actionable guidelines for AI adoption to improve project efficiency and success rates, while establishing a foundational empirical basis for future research on AI-enabled project management.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & Storytelling
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Artificial General Intelligence
• Natural Language Processing: Generation

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Agentic search
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic ramifications for generative AI infrastructure and applications

Abstract

Software practitioners are discussing GenAI transformations in software project management openly and widely. To understand the state of affairs, we performed a grey literature review using 47 publicly available practitioner sources including blogs, articles, and industry reports. We found that software project managers primarily perceive GenAI as an "assistant", "copilot", or "friend" rather than as a "PM replacement", with support of GenAI in automating routine tasks, predictive analytics, communication and collaboration, and in agile practices leading to project success. Practitioners emphasize responsible GenAI usage given concerns such as hallucinations, ethics and privacy, and lack of emotional intelligence and human judgment. We present upskilling requirements for software project managers in the GenAI era mapped to the Project Management Institute's talent triangle. We share key recommendations for both practitioners and researchers.

Problem

• Understanding GenAI's role as assistant in software project management
• Exploring responsible GenAI usage addressing hallucinations and ethics
• Identifying upskilling requirements for managers in GenAI era

Innovation

• GenAI as assistant for project management tasks
• Automates routine work and predictive analytics
• Requires upskilling for responsible AI usage