Author: Ala Lutz, VP of Membership 

Being a project professional, it is important to remain at the forefront of technological advancements. Artificial Intelligence, particularly tools like PMI Infinity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and others, can make the optimise the practice of project management through the automation of activities, as well as insight and decision-making process improvements.

Below are the top 10 AI prompts that project managers can use to streamline their activities:

• Project Planning Assistance:
  • "Generate a project plan outline for a construction project, including key phases and milestones."
• Risk Analysis:
  • "Identify potential risks for a software development project and suggest mitigation strategies based on historical data."
• Stakeholder Communication:
  • "Draft a monthly project update report for stakeholders that includes current progress, challenges, and next steps."
• Resource allocation:
  • "Suggest an optimal resource allocation model for a project with mixed criticality levels."
• Meeting Efficiency:
  • "Create a script for conducting efficient project status meetings, that minimises time and maximises engagement."
• Change Management:
  • "Provide a step-by-step guide on managing scope changes in a project following PMI standards."
• Conflict Resolution:
  • "Provide advice on resolving conflicts between project team members using best practice negotiation techniques."
• Quality Assurance Checklists:
  • "Generate a quality assurance checklist tailored to an IT Infrastructure deployment project."
• Budget Review and Adjustment:
  • "Analyse a project budget report and recommend adjustments to address financial overruns."
• Project Closure Report:
  • "Compose a project closure report that includes outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects."

Don't miss the chance to enhance your project management skills, or the opportunity to network with other project professionals - Secure your place now for the PMI Switzerland Conference.

This event is an excellent opportunity to learn from industry leaders about the latest trends, tools, and strategies in project management. Participants will gain hands-on experience with AI tools and will have an excellent opportunity to take part in the AI Prompt Engineering Contest.

Best regards,

Ala Lutz

VP of Membership

Author: János Gálik (ServiceNow Managing Partner at Capture Group)

 We are a ServiceNow Consulting and Implementation Premier Partner, leveraging 15 years of industry expertise in:

• Project Portfolio Management (PPM),
• Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM),
• Application Portfolio Management (APM), and
• Enterprise Agility.

Why do we believe in the value of ServiceNow SPM?

• It is a leader in Gartner MQ of Enterprise Agile Planning and Forrester Wave of Value Stream Management.
• It manages the entire portfolio lifecycle, from initial ideation to final delivery.
• It stands out in the market with its built-in hybrid capabilities, by enabling enterprise agility and using the advantages of waterfall simultaneously.
• It lets you leverage the extensive AI capabilities of the ServiceNow Platform.

With a dedicated team of 20+ professionals focusing on the DACH region, and an impressive client satisfaction record of more than 15 companies, including Glencore, AMAG, Kanton Zürich, OMV, and INNIO Jenbacher, we are well-equipped to combine strategic vision with operational execution.

Our work at INNIO Jenbacher GmbH and Co OG is a clear indication of our significant added value:

• Standardised processes for business units, as well as IT PMOs.
• One tool supporting both waterfall and agile worlds, including product development.
• Improved project reporting.
• Reduced complexity of the enterprise application landscape.

Through our SPM Growth Model, we provide maturity-driven services for all organisations driving their business toward digitalisation.

• If you are beginning your journey, we can kick off with our packaged Capture SmartStart solution.
• If you have already embarked upon your journey, we can jump directly into the deepest water, enabling enterprise agility, hybrid methodologies, and full-scale strategic planning and execution.

For companies with greater maturity, we offer our repeating cycle of Assessment-Enablement-Implementation services at three distinct levels.

Our Capture SmartStart service package includes a critical focus on project management. We aim to simplify the complexity of project managers' daily work by helping them achieve more, with fewer resources. We believe that Capture SmartStart is an effective solution for project managers to save effort, time, and money, while still meeting project requirements.

We have also developed two add-ons to support ServiceNow SPM users:

• Capture WBS Editor helps to visualise and edit projects in a Work Breakdown Structure and is available directly from the ServiceNow Store.
• Capture Hermes Add-On guides project managers, supports the Project Management Office, and automates and audits the documentation process.

In addition to our offerings, we are committed to supporting project management communities and events, such as the PM Conference 2024. We are excited to participate in this event, which is an excellent opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the challenges faced by project management professionals from diverse backgrounds, and to provide support where needed. We really enjoy networking, sharing our knowledge, and discussing the emerging trends that drive project management excellence.

Besides sponsoring and attending such events, we place emphasis on serving our community, by regularly providing relevant and quality content, as well as resources that help them stay ahead in the ever-evolving project management landscape.

Author: János Gálik (ServiceNow Managing Partner at Capture Group)

At Capture, we offer consultancy and technical services based on our SPM Growth model to support organizations at all maturity levels on their road to digitalization. This year, we developed Capture SmartStart for ServiceNow SPM, a comprehensive and swift solution for companies that want to embark on their Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) journey within four weeks.

What are the benefits of ServiceNow SPM? This solution:

• Helps you confidently deliver business outcomes by consolidating all your work and aligning it on a single cloud platform. 
• Connects strategy to execution to provide 360º of visibility so you can speed value across the organization.
• It handles the entire portfolio lifecycle, from initial ideation to final delivery. It supports the hybrid world by enabling enterprise agility and simultaneously utilizing the advantages of waterfall.
• Let you leverage the extensive AI capabilities of the ServiceNow Platform.

What is Capture SmartStart? 

This exclusive service package aims to guide you through the initial stages of successfully implementing and operating SPM functionality on the ServiceNow platform by: 

• Providing an intuitive, user-friendly platform.
• Simplifying complex processes, functions, and roles with predefined elements.
• Ensuring successful adoption by training programs.
• Describing business roles and responsibilities for seamless adoption through a Success Playbook.
• Ensuring implementation in 4 weeks.

Why did we develop Capture SmartStart?

To bring harmony and the exact alignment between business stakeholders and the implementation team during initial planning, execution, and go-live. Based on our experience, we have seen that companies of all sizes end up, in many cases, upset and disappointed in their recently introduced SPM solution. We have identified the most common pain points and their root causes and used this knowledge to create a solution that eliminates them.

Where can Capture SmartStart lead your organization? 

In our terminology, it brings you to the START phase of the SPM Growth Model, which covers the basic functionalities of SPM, namely: 

• Idea & Demand Management.
• Project Management.
• Resource & Timecard Management. 
• Program & Portfolio Management.

Project Management 

This solution stands out in the market by natively supporting Waterfall, Agile, and Hybrid approaches with built-in support for both SAFe and Scrum methodologies for seamless alignment. It gives project managers the flexibility, visibility, and control they need to oversee projects or even an entire portfolio.

SPM also improves the efficiency of planning and reporting: 

The Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study conducted by Forrester Consulting proves that by implementing SPM, project managers could significantly reduce the time spent on status reports. 

• Before implementing SPM, it takes approximately 200 hours/project manager/year. 
• After implementing SPM, there was almost zero time/project manager/year. 

Capture SmartStart Project Management Success Playbook

We aim to guide you in using the ServiceNow SPM Project Workspace platform effectively.  Our comprehensive Success Playbook is based on the three critical components of effective operation: People (Roles), Processes, and Technology-Tool. This unique approach enables organizations to launch their Project Management initiatives effectively from day one and seamlessly scale as their needs evolve.

Track all your projects from a single location on an Interactive UI and benefit from the following:

• seamless planning, scheduling, and resource management.
• efficient management of financial aspects.
• a comprehensive overview with drill-down data for detailed insights.
• clear and systematic tracking and storage of all your project notes.

With Capture SmartStart, your organization can confidently embark on the tooling journey, having the proper support and the resources needed for a successful implementation.

 Watch the Overview Capture ServiceNow video here

Author: Kathrin Lutz, PMP, ACP

At PMI, our volunteers are the cornerstone of all our initiatives. This ethos is reflected not only in our newsletter, website, and events, but also in our Chapter's strategy and leadership.

As we approach the 2025-2026 election term, we are actively seeking committed PMI Switzerland Chapter members who:

• Embody PMI values - Live and breathe the principles that guide our organisation
• Innovate - Bring practical ideas to elevate our Chapter to new heights
• Take initiative- Exhibit a hands-on attitude to co-lead various committees, workstreams, and initiatives
• Handle complexity - Manage complex programs and demanding stakeholders with ease
• Stand for election - Are willing to run in the upcoming PMI Swiss Chapter elections
• Engage and collaborate - Ready for action, teamwork, and fun!
• Commit to volunteering - Can dedicate themselves to a 2-year volunteer role within:
  • Board of Directors,
  • Election Committee, or
  • Financial Audit

Should you see yourself fitting this description, you are invited to submit your nomination request to any current Board of Directors member, or directly to the Elections Team.

The Election Application Process shall commence in August 2024.

Together, let's empower people to transform ideas into reality!

Your Election Committee

Kathrin Lutz, PMP, ACP and Marina Satapathy, PMP