HIMSS25: Project managers need the skills to lead AI transformation

HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf and Pierre Le Manh, president and CEO of PMI

Photo: Susan Morse/Healthcare Finance News, HIMSS

LAS VEGAS - AI is the new wave for project management, according to Pierre Le Manh, president and CEO of PMI, the Project Management Institute, who spoke with HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf during a fireside chat at the HIMSS25 Executive Summit here on Monday.

Having a team come together on shared project goals is essential to achieving digital transformation, they said. 

PMI, which was established in 1969, offers certification in project management. Last year, it collaborated with Agile to form the PMI Agile Alliance, an approach that emphasizes collaboration, change and iterative product development.

There's been so much transformation in healthcare and elsewhere that the demand for skilled project managers is growing. Proper program management doesn't work without the right portfolio of people who have a strong knowledge of what the organization is trying to accomplish, Le Manh said. 

Often, the skilled tech people don't have the people skills, but they can be trained, he said. 

Wolf said in 1998, when XP was coming in, the trend was to get rid of the project managers. When the software didn't lend itself to other parts of the system, the program managers were brought back.

Le Manh said he sees many leaders who are rebuilding management, especially when the status quo is disrupted. One example is aerospace, he said. The industry used to be centralized in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but that's been changed by entrepreneurs. 

"There's magic in the development of software, in the development of people," Le Manh said.

The view is that portfolio management is what ties all of the other pieces of project and program management together, Wolf said.

For project and program management, it's fundamental to start with people, Le Manh agreed.

After people, the second piece is sustainability, though the word is not currently in favor, he said. There are different regulations to anything related to building a long-term sustainable business.

Then there's technology, which AI is disrupting at all levels.

Wolf asked how organizations can equip project managers to lead AI transformation.

Because project managers must learn to leverage AI, organizations must equip them with the skills to manage the transition, Le Manh said.

Wolf asked about the intuitive, human component. 

This is in the project culture, according to Le Manh. There must be empathy to influence others to drive change and business acumen. 

There's more magic in expanding the organization's vision to the bigger picture, beyond the techniques of scope and budget, Le Manh said. This part is not always easy for project professionals.

"In the end, you have to accept you may have to be accountable for stuff you cannot control," Le Manh said. 

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org