TutorialsPM Fundamentals and 8 Scenarios
Understand the four jobs of a project manager — set scope, break down and schedule, manage stakeholders and risks, report and wrap up — and where AI helps in each of the 8 high-frequency scenarios.
Project management sounds daunting, but it boils down to four jobs. Understand the fundamentals first, then see what AI can do in each scenario — that gives you direction when writing prompts later.
Four Jobs of a Project Manager
Set the Scope
Jargon: Project Charter. Why do this, what's the deliverable, how much budget, who has authority.
Break Down and Schedule
Jargon: WBS · Gantt Chart. Break big things into small tasks, sequence them, set deadlines.
Manage People and Risks
Jargon: Stakeholder Analysis · Risk Register. Who supports, who drags feet; plan for "what if" ahead of time.
Report and Wrap Up
Jargon: Weekly Report · Retrospective. Write reports, summaries, retrospectives, and briefing decks for leadership.
8 High-Frequency Scenarios: How AI Helps
Eight high-frequency scenarios in traditional project management, each with a clear way AI can help. This table is the "map" for all the prompts that follow — when you encounter a situation, look it up to find the corresponding AI assistance.
| Scenario | What It Is (Jargon) | How AI Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Project initiation | Project charter / feasibility report: why, what, how much | Give context, AI drafts it |
| Task breakdown | WBS: break goals into executable tasks | One sentence → task list |
| Scheduling | Gantt chart / timeline: sequence tasks and milestones | Auto reverse-plan dates, spot conflicts |
| Risk management | Risk register: list risks, probabilities, contingencies | Build a "what if" checklist and plans |
| Stakeholder management | Stakeholder analysis: who's involved, who supports/opposes | Power-interest analysis and strategies |
| Post-meeting | Meeting minutes: what was decided, who does what | Audio → text → conclusions + action items |
| Periodic reporting | Weekly report / summary / retrospective: report progress | Scattered notes → structured template |
| Leadership briefing | Briefing PPT: one-pager or deck | Document → outline → editable PPT |
This lesson uses "organizing a 100-person training event" as the main case study. You will practice 3 scenarios in class (task breakdown, risk management, post-meeting), and take away templates for the other 5 in Lesson 4.
Core Principle
AI produces the first draft and fills in gaps; you make the judgment calls and have the final say. Treat AI as a very smart subordinate — as the leader, your job is to assign the work and make the call.
This principle runs through the entire course: in every scenario, AI gets you from zero to a first draft, but ultimately you sign off and you are responsible. Learning the prompt formula that follows is essentially learning how to "assign work" well.
Quick Start with AI for Project Management
8 high-frequency scenarios, 3 hands-on exercises, 8 prompt templates — master the 5-piece prompt formula and run through the full PM workflow from task breakdown to risk register to meeting minutes.
The 5-Piece Prompt Formula
Learn one universal formula — Role + Task + Background + Format + Constraint — applicable to every project management scenario, plus an advanced technique to make AI ask you questions first.