Revolutionising Project Delivery with Data & AI: Insights from our Hack24 Employer Partner Event

Our Hack24 Employer Partner Event brought together thought leaders, industry experts, and forward-thinking professionals from Defence, Construction & Transport industries all with a common goal: to explore how data analytics and AI are shaping the future of project delivery. This event was more than just a discussion; it was a call to action for organisations to embrace data-driven project delivery.

Projecting Success has a bold vision: to increase project delivery success rates fivefold—from 0.5% to 2.5%—within five years. The key to this transformation? Empowering professionals with cutting-edge training, advanced data products, and a community-led approach to leveraging AI in project management. At the heart of this movement is the belief that AI-driven project delivery isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. From predictive analytics to real-time risk mitigation, embracing data-driven decision-making is the key to delivering projects on time and within budget.

The event outlined a four-phase journey that organisations must undertake to fully integrate Data & AI into their project delivery strategies:

Lightbulb Moment – Recognising that mature data analysis and AI are no longer optional but essential for competitive project delivery.

Education – Upskilling senior leaders to break down barriers to Data & AI adoption.

Upskilling – Training project delivery teams in data analytics and AI tools.

Implementation – Embedding Data & AI-driven decision-making into daily project operations.

A key part of this belief is us showcasing what is possible with our Hackathon challenges. As part of our we introduced Hack24’s Challenges and were lucky enough to have our challenge owners on hand to explain them:

Rolls Royce Submarines Resource Adjustment Challenge

The Problem: Project schedules often fail to reflect real-time resource availability, leading to inefficiencies.

The Solution: A tool that dynamically adjusts project activity durations, recalculates critical paths, and enhances resource allocation based on real-time data.

Thales Risk Foresight 1: Rapid Risk Recognition & Resolution

The Problem: Organisations struggle to identify emerging risks before they escalate.

The Solution: A predictive analytics system that tracks risk evolution, forecasts vulnerabilities, and provides real-time insights to enable proactive decision-making.

Thales Risk Foresight 2: AI-Powered Risk Management Chatbot

The Problem: Traditional risk registers are static and difficult to extract insights from.

The Solution: An AI chatbot integrated with Power BI that enables natural language queries on historical risk data, offering predictive insights for better risk mitigation.

The MoD/ MPA joint challenge; Red Team Agent: AI-Assisted Bid Assurance

The Problem: Poor bid quality and lengthy internal review processes.

The Solution: A Large Language Model (LLM) Red Team Agent that provides instant, AI-driven feedback on bid proposals, improving quality and reducing turnaround times.

Keynote & Industry Insights

A major highlight was the keynote by Marcus Elsom, Director of Bids & Programmes at Thales UK, who shared Thales’ journey in data-driven project delivery. He emphasised that Data & AI is not replacing project managers—it’s augmenting their capabilities.

He went on to talk about how Thales’ Predictive Edge Data Analytics Apprenticeship is creating the Next Generation of PMO and by launching the Projecting Success Level 4 Qualification in Project Data Analytics & AI to upskill its workforce in AI-driven project management. Saying that the 18-month program will integrate real-world challenges,

utilising Projecting Success’ eco system of Hackathons, Project Brain and Marvin and advanced analytics training will set a new industry benchmark for Data & AI adoption in project delivery.

What’s Next?

The journey doesn’t end here. As organisations like Rolls Royce, Thales, and EDF push the boundaries of Data Analytics & AI in project management, the ecosystem of data driven project delivery continues to grow. Whether you're a project manager, data analyst, or senior leader, now is the time to invest in data-driven transformation!