Managing AI Projects

Preface: Our AI Project Management Dream

Here we are. The fourth O’Reilly book after my first three titles: Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) Study Guide, Azure OpenAI Service for Cloud Native Applications, and Generative AI on Microsoft Azure. All of them focus heavily on cloud computing and artificial intelligence and are fairly technical. As an author, I like to think these books help people who are not necessarily hypertechnical understand complex topics and join the tech industry. Due to personal bias and writing style, I believe some of these books are great resources for software architects and technical product managers, who are part of that privileged cohort of hybrid professionals with mastery of both technical and business topics, especially in this era of artificial intelligence.

Also part of that group are traditional project managers (PMs)—or they can be, at least. Often misunderstood and confused with other roles that accompany Agile methodologies, like scrum masters and product owners, PMs are among the tactical professionals who manage and facilitate work at different levels, including projects, programs, and portfolios. Yet regardless of their role in the organization or their job title, PMs have taken longer than many others to join the wave of AI learning and upskilling.

Don’t get me wrong: there are wonderful PMs working on data and AI projects who possess a relatively high level of technical knowledge and the ability to help all sorts of technical ...