The 2024 AIPM National Conference has wrapped, and we had a great time listening to enlightening panel discussions and some very stimulating keynote presentations across the 3 days.

One of the standout moments of the conference was the “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Project Success” panel on Monday morning. This engaging session featured ICCPM CEO Collin Smith, ICCPM Fellow Alex Lyaschenko, and was moderated by ICCPM’s Analytics in Complex Projects Special Interest Group (ACP SIG) Co-Chair, Dr Ripon Chakrabortty. Together, the panel tackled the buzz surrounding AI, the challenges of figuring out where to start, and the crucial need for expertise across multiple disciplines in this rapidly evolving space.

It was fantastic to hear conversations about the necessity of adaptive leadership in projects during a presentation delivered by ICCPM SME Member Systra ANZ, and to hear them acknowledge the positive impacts our training has had on their project delivery outcomes.

We were pleased to hear the infrastructure panellists discussing the various systems benefits, when considering future infrastructure investment priorities.

Another important panel discussion comprised of women discussing the complex issue of women in project management. Our projects (and society) are more successful when we benefit from diversity of thought, skills, and experience.

On Wednesday, ICCPM Director Industry Liaison and Member Services Dr Naomi Mathers delivered a presentation on the 2022-23 International Roundtable Series Thought Leadership report, ‘Data Analytics for Informed Decision-Making in Complex Projects‘, which dives into the potential role of data analytics and AI in decision-making, and identifying and responding to emergence. The report explores the human-data relationship, and considers what it is to make decisions in complex projects, what data analytics and artificial intelligence can offer to support effective decision-making, and what needs to be considered to harness their potential. 

This stream saw Naomi paired with Rob Loader (FAIPM, FAPM, CPPE, ChPP, PMP) who gave a presentation on Realising Strategic Portfolio Management Value, and together their presentations demonstrated that the PMO’s ability to realise value is all about the decisions it makes and the quality and timeliness of the information it has access to to make those decisions, and that it plays a critical governance role in getting the human-data relationship right.

Many of the topics covered across the Conference point to the Complex Project Leadership Competency Standards as a validated framework for capability development.