Balancing Value Creation and
Human Control in Project Management
AI in Project Management
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dr. Prasad Kodukula and Guz Vinueza
USA and Ecuador
AI is crossing an important threshold in project management. It is moving from helping project professionals analyze schedules, costs, risks, and other project information—and generate plans, reports, and communications—to systems that can use project tools, participate in workflows, make recommendations, and increasingly take action.
As capability and autonomy increase, the management challenge shifts: how do we capture the value of AI without sacrificing the human judgment, accountability, and control on which successful projects depend?
In the first article in this series, we examined the evolving AI landscape—from analytical and predictive AI to Generative AI, AI agents, and agentic AI. We explored opportunities across project and portfolio management, the progression from isolated AI tasks to integrated workflows, the organizational readiness needed to scale AI, and the limits and risks that accompany increasingly capable systems.
That article ended with a fundamental question: How do we convert rapidly advancing AI capability into trusted, responsible, and sustainable value?
This article addresses that question through a framework we call the AI Barbell Model.
The central idea is simple:
AI does not create value by itself. Value depends on what humans put into it—and the controls they maintain around it.
That idea is becoming more important as AI moves beyond Generative AI. We now have AI agents that can use tools and complete tasks, and increasingly agentic systems that can plan, interact with other systems, make decisions within defined boundaries, and take actions.
At the same time, public concern about AI is growing. A 2026 Bentley University–Gallup survey found that 39 percent of Americans believe AI does more harm than good, while only 9 percent believe it does more good than harm. A 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that 63 percent of Americans believe AI is advancing too quickly, and 71 percent expect increased AI use to make their personal information less secure.
More…
To read entire article, click here
Editor’s note: Dr. Prasad Kodukula and Guz Vinueza are the authors of the best-selling book titled The Project Management AI Handbook: Leveraging Generative Tools in Waterfall and Agile Environments, published in 2025 by J. Ross Publishing.
How to cite this work: Kodukula, P. S. and Vinueza, G. (2026). The AI Barbell Model: Balancing Value Creation and Human Control in Project Management, AI in Project Management, series article 2, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pmwj168-Sep2026-Kodukula-Vinueza-Barbell-Model-AI-in-PM-article-2.pdf
About the Authors
Prasad S. Kodukula, USA
Illinois, USA
Dr. Prasad S. Kodukula, PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP, DASM, DASSM, BCES, is a USA Today and Amazon #1 best-selling author, PMI Fellow, thought leader, and entrepreneur with over 35 years of professional experience. A global ambassador for project management, Dr. Kodukula has lectured in nearly 50 countries and worked with more than 40 Fortune 100 companies (e.g., Allstate, Abbott Labs, BP, Caterpillar, Dow, Chrysler, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Motorola, Stryker, United Technologies, Whirlpool) across all 11 S&P industrial sectors. He serves as an Adjunct Industry Professor at Illinois Tech. He teaches how to recover troubled projects at NASA. He has delivered project management training in professional education programs at Stanford University, Duke University, and the University of Chicago. As co-founder and CEO of Kodukula & Associates, Inc. and NeoChloris, Inc., he leads the firms in project management and renewable energy, respectively.
His work with AI began in 1988, when he created award-winning expert systems in environmental engineering. In the late 1990s, he co-invented an AI-powered smart monitoring and control system for water and wastewater treatment plants, combining early neural network, sensor, and automation technologies. This invention received a U.S. patent in 2005 and was later licensed to prominent control and automation firms.
Recognized three times by the Project Management Institute as “Best of the Best in Project Management,” he has received multiple accolades, including the Illinois Tech Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award and honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the states of Arizona, Kansas, and Illinois for his outstanding leadership in education and training, environmental improvement, and innovation. Most recently, he was recognized by Project Controls Academy with a Project Controls Excellence Award. An accomplished author, Dr. Kodukula has co-authored or contributed to 12 books and over 40 articles and holds four U.S. patents. He can be contacted at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasadkodukula/.
Guz Vinueza
Ecuador
Guz Vinueza, M.S., MBA, is a top expert in data analytics, machine learning, and quantitative risk management, with over 25 years of experience helping organizations utilize advanced technologies to create business value and manage uncertainty. He currently works as Consulting Director at The Ferryfield Group, a boutique consulting firm focused on quantitative risk software, where he manages global projects across various industries and regions. Previously, he was Data Director at Betterfly, Latin America’s first social-impact unicorn, overseeing enterprise data architecture, analytics, and machine learning initiatives to expand the company’s digital ecosystem. Earlier in his career, as Director of Consulting and Analytics Solutions at Palisade, he transformed the consulting division into an agile software and analytics team, tripling revenue and delivering solutions across Latin America, the U.S., and the Middle East.
An accomplished consultant, educator, and keynote speaker, Guz has trained thousands of professionals from leading organizations such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ontario Power Generation, Amway, DEWA, Mitsubishi Pharmaceuticals, and Network Rail. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor in Analytics and Business Intelligence at institutions in Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain, teaching advanced analytics, agile methodologies, and project management. Guz holds an MBA from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, an M.S. in Financial Direction from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and a Postgraduate Certificate in AI and Machine Learning from the University of Texas at Austin. His work continues to shape the integration of AI, quantitative risk, and data-driven decision-making across global enterprises. He can be contacted at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavovinueza/
