The Contractor Side
Project Business Management
SERIES ARTICLE
By Oliver F. Lehmann, MSc, ACE, PMP
Munich, Germany
“I’ve been reluctant to try ChatGPT. Today I got over that reluctance. Now I understand why I was reluctant.
The value of 90% of my skills just dropped to $0. The leverage for the remaining 10% went up 1000x.”
– Kent Beck [1]
Summary
AI is transforming Project Business, offering new speed, insights, and efficiencies. But in cross-corporate projects governed by contracts, it also brings legal, ethical, and commercial risks. This article examines how contractors can utilize AI responsibly as a tool to enhance performance, rather than replace accountability.
What is Project Business?
Many of today’s projects are no longer internal endeavors. In a world shaped by global supply chains, outsourcing, and cross-border collaboration, projects are increasingly delivered by networks of companies. These projects are not just technical undertakings – they are commercial ventures.
Project Business arises when two or more companies team up to perform a project under contract. It operates at the boundaries between organizations and often involves diverse legal systems, cultures, and moral compasses. Some project networks are simple; others are complex and fragile ecosystems with dozens, sometimes hundreds of organizations involved.
Though long overlooked, Project Business contributes an estimated 20% to 30% of global GDP and employs more project managers than internal projects. It deserves far more attention – not only for its scale but for the unique challenges it poses.
Traditional project management methods fall short in these settings. Success depends not only on planning and execution, but on commercial acumen, legal awareness, and a deeply cooperative mindset. Trust must be built among parties with differing interests and asymmetric power to enable collaboration toward shared success.
The risks in Project Business go beyond deadlines and deliverables – they include cash flow instability, legal exposure, reputational damage, and contractual disputes. Where information is asymmetrical and objectives diverge, the project manager must act as negotiator, strategist, and builder of partnerships.
This article explores the specific dynamics of cross-corporate project relationships when AI comes on board, shedding light on the unpredictable – and often volatile – nature of cross-corporate project environments.
This article’s focus is on the contractor side. A second future article will look at the customer side of AI in Project Business.
More…
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Editor’s note: This series of articles is by Oliver Lehmann, author of the book “Project Business Management” (ISBN 9781138197503), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2018. See author profile below.
How to cite this article: Lehmann, O. F. (2025). Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Project Business Part I: The Contractor Side, Project Business Management series article, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pmwj154-Jul2025-Lehmann-AI-in-Project-Business-1-Contractors-side.pdf
About the Author
Oliver F. Lehmann
Munich, Germany
Oliver F. Lehmann, MSc, ACE, PMP, is a project management educator, author, consultant, and speaker. In addition, he is the owner of the website Project Business Foundation, a non-profit initiative for professionals and organizations involved in cross-corporate project business.
He studied Linguistics, Literature, and History at the University of Stuttgart and Project Management at the University of Liverpool, UK, where he holds a Master of Science Degree (with Merit). Oliver has trained thousands of project managers in Europe, the USA, and Asia in methodological project management, focusing on certification preparation. In addition, he is a visiting lecturer at the Technical University of Munich.
He has been a member and volunteer at PMI, the Project Management Institute, since 1998 and served as the President of the PMI Southern Germany Chapter from 2013 to 2018. Between 2004 and 2006, he contributed to PMI’s PM Network magazine, for which he provided a monthly editorial on page 1 called “Launch,” analyzing troubled projects around the world.
Oliver believes in three driving forces for personal improvement in project management: formal learning, experience, and observations. He resides in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, and can be contacted at oliver@oliverlehmann.com.
Oliver Lehmann is the author of the books:
- “Situational Project Management: The Dynamics of Success and Failure” (ISBN 9781498722612), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2016
- “Project Business Management” (ISBN 9781138197503), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2018.
His previous articles and papers for PM World Journal can be found here:
[1] (Beck, 2023)
