An Investigation into How the Advancements and Availability of Artificial Intelligence Tools have Impacted Project Management Communication and Stakeholder Management Practices

Bourke, Philip (2025) An Investigation into How the Advancements and Availability of Artificial Intelligence Tools have Impacted Project Management Communication and Stakeholder Management Practices. Masters thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

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Abstract

This dissertation investigates how recent advancements and the increasing availability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are impacting project management practices, focusing on communication and stakeholder management. The research addresses four main questions. How widely are AI tools being adopted by project management professionals to support these practices? How does AI adoption influence outcomes in these areas of project management? How do project management professionals see the ethical considerations relating to the implementation of AI tools to support project management impacting their roles and responsibilities? And finally, how does AI adoption affect project management professional’s job satisfaction. These research questions are particularly interesting as the existing literature has concentrated on the quantitative practices of project management to date, for example cost estimation and scheduling. The interpersonal areas of communication and stakeholder management have been underexplored. Given the central role that these practices play in achieving project success, understanding AI’s influence here is both timely and important to understand. A qualitative research design was adopted, using an interpretivist philosophy and inductive approach with a grounded theory strategy. Research data was collected by semi-structured interviews with project management professionals from different industries. It was then analysed thematically and reviewed in line with the relevant literature. Participants largely reported that AI reduces the administrative burden, improves the speed and transparency of communications, and also supports better stakeholder engagement. It also highlighted a number of concerns around data privacy, accuracy, ethical use, and the importance of organisational readiness. While AI was found to improve job satisfaction by reducing repetitive tasks, the risks of overreliance on AI and the threat to job security were noted. In practice the study provides recommendations for organisations to adopt AI in ways that enhance efficiency while maintaining human oversight, stakeholder trust, and accountability. Theory wise, this study contributes to the discussion on AI’s impact on the human centred areas of project management and it improves the understanding of impacts to adoption through the Technology Acceptance Model and Diffusion of Innovation frameworks. The study concludes that AI offers significant benefits but should be seen as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for project managers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Divisions:	Theses and Dissertations > Masters Dissertations
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004153
Depositing User:	Victoria Hankinson
Date Deposited:	16 Mar 2026 14:58
Last Modified:	16 Mar 2026 15:00
URI:	https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4153

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