Combis's Project Management Office has developed alongside the company, which has grown from a small IT business into one of the larger ICT integrators in the region. Over the past five years, the PMO has grown from four or five people to 11 members, and it handles 30 to 40 projects a year, depending on their size and complexity. Projects are allocated to give managers enough time to oversee delivery and communicate with customers. Over the past year, the team has increasingly focused on applying artificial intelligence to project management.
AI helps identify risks early, draw up initial plans and prepare status reports, and is also used to analyse documentation, extract tasks and prepare meeting minutes and presentations. The Combis PMO describes artificial intelligence as the twelfth member of the team, while Microsoft Power Automate automates processes and connects different tools. Final assessments, responsibility for decisions, and communication in challenging situations remain with people. Tena Galić, Project Manager in Combis's Project Management Office, discusses how AI is used in project work and which competencies will be crucial for managers with ICTbusiness Media – ICTbusiness.info.
Which AI tools are already used in Combis's project management, for which specific tasks, and are there measurable results in terms of time savings, increased productivity, reduced administrative workload, or better decision-making?
I would say that AI is already changing quite significantly how we work in the PMO. Primarily, it helps us find information faster, connect it more easily, and prepare a better basis for decisions. In the PMO, we work with large amounts of information every day, from project documentation and meetings to status updates, risks, and various reports. If technology can help us identify what matters most for a project at a particular moment more quickly, that leaves us more time to manage the project and less time for administration.
Of course, to make real use of these possibilities, we must develop along with the technology. That is why I greatly appreciate Combis's ongoing investment in training, developing new knowledge and sharing experience, as well as the encouragement we receive to follow technological developments, explore new possibilities and think about how to apply them to our everyday work. I believe the point is not to use AI merely because it is currently a hot topic, but to find where it can genuinely help us do our jobs better.
For me, project management remains first and foremost about working with people. AI can take over some analysis, reporting, and administration, but it cannot replace relationships with the team and the customer, communication in challenging situations, decision-making, or the trust we build throughout a project. I see the future of project management precisely in that combination of technology, experience and a human approach.
Can artificial intelligence use historical data and a project's current status to predict delays, budget overruns or resource shortages more reliably than an experienced project manager, and how is responsibility for incorrect assessments and decisions determined in such a model?
Based on historical data, AI can quickly identify patterns indicating possible delays, resource shortages, misalignment, and potential risks. It can be extremely useful in that respect, but I do not think it can fully replace a project manager's experience.
An experienced project manager knows how to read between the lines and recognise signals that are not yet visible in the data, but which previous experience tells us may affect the project. A project is not just a collection of data; it is also about relationships between people, how they communicate and a range of circumstances that cannot always be predicted in advance.
That is why I see AI as an extra pair of eyes, helping us identify risks on paper earlier and make better decisions. Ultimately, however, the final assessment and responsibility remain with people, because AI can make a recommendation, but a person must put it in the right context, recognise what has not been written down, and then make the decision.
To what extent could autonomous AI agents take over the coordination of project activities, report preparation, task tracking and communication between teams, and are there concrete plans to introduce them into Combis's PMO?
I think we have already started down that road and are doing quite well in this area. Today we use AI to analyse project documentation and extract risks and tasks, as well as to prepare presentations and meeting minutes. In addition, we use Microsoft Power Automate to automate processes and connect different tools, so information reaches the right place without manual copying.
As for autonomous AI agents, this is an area where we see enormous potential, and we already apply some elements of this way of working. As for how far we have progressed, perhaps we will not reveal that just yet.
They can take over some routine work, such as monitoring tasks and deadlines, connecting information from different sources, preparing reports, and issuing timely warnings about deviations. We already have specific ideas within the PMO about how to use AI further to analyse project status reports and detect potential anomalies.
Time will tell how far we can and should go with their use. My goal is not for AI to run a project, but to take over as much routine and administrative work as possible, leaving the project manager more time for people, communication, decisions and problem-solving.
Which competencies will become essential over the next five years if artificial intelligence takes over a substantial share of administrative, analytical and coordination activities, and could this reduce the need for project managers or increase their strategic importance?
I think that over the next few years, alongside critical thinking and decision-making, one of the key competencies will be a growth mindset — a willingness to keep learning, adapt and try new ways of working. Technology is changing so rapidly that it is no longer enough to learn something once and rely on it for years. It will be important to remain curious, open to change, and ready to keep building on our knowledge.
I do not think AI will reduce the need for project managers, but it will certainly affect our job descriptions. If it takes over most of the administration, analysis, and monitoring, we will have more room to focus on the direction of the project, important decisions, risks, communication, and people.
I expect we will spend less time managing tasks and more time managing the project as a whole. That, in my view, will not make us less necessary, but strategically more important.
How much do mutual trust, the exchange of experience, and collaboration outside the everyday work environment contribute to successful project teams, and what role do shared activities, including volunteering and socially responsible projects such as the partnership with the Arka Korablja Association, play in developing team culture?
I believe that opportunities outside everyday work are very important for bringing people together, and I appreciate how Combis genuinely encourages us to take part in them. Team-building events, B2B All Hands meetings, charity initiatives, and various gatherings give us a chance to get to know colleagues we may not work with every day, build connections, and then support one another more easily at work too.
I would particularly highlight our volunteering with Arka Korablja, in which we project managers participated. Although we do not all work together on the same projects, we share similar challenges and experiences, so it was lovely to connect in a completely different environment and do something good for others together. I think experiences like that build relationships that then carry over into our work quite naturally.
