AI is transforming industries, helping businesses work smarter, not harder. But if you’re new to AI, you might be wondering: Where do I even start?
One of the things I love about Mojo Soup is that we believe innovation isn’t about waiting for the future – it’s about building it. One of our core values, Brilliant Minds, challenges us to push boundaries, experiment, and make technology more accessible. So we set out on a mission: how can we use AI to make project management not just smarter, but actually easier for people to use?
That’s where our recent AI Hackathon event came in – a high-energy sprint where our teams explored real, practical ways to integrate AI into Mojo Folio, our Project Portfolio Management (PPM) platform.
If you’re wondering how AI can fit into your business, keep reading. The insights from this event might just give you the roadmap you need.
The Hackathon: where innovation meets collaboration
The Hackathon kicked off with an introduction to AI use cases in PPM. Teams formed quickly, bringing together creative minds from across the company. Each group had the same challenge:
- Analyse data to find opportunities for AI integration.
- Identify a problem where AI could have the biggest impact.
- Develop a proof of concept (PoC) to showcase their idea.
The competition created a collaborative, high-energy atmosphere, where ideas flew as teams tackled the big question: How can AI make project management not just smarter, but easier to use?
After hours of brainstorming, data crunching, and whiteboard sketching, two standout concepts emerged.
Mojo Sync: AI-powered resource allocation
One of the biggest challenges in project management is knowing who should work on what and when. Teams often struggle with resource allocation – ensuring the right people are assigned to the right tasks at the right time.
The Mojo Sync AI-driven solution aimed to fix this. By considering factors like team member skills, availability, and project priorities, this tool could improve resource utilisation by 15% – ensuring projects run smoothly while maximising efficiency.
Think of it as a smart project manager that constantly adjusts schedules based on real-time data.
Soup Chef: AI assistant for user support
For many users, learning a new platform means watching endless training videos or searching through help articles – a frustrating and time-consuming process.
The team behind Soup Chef had a different idea: What if AI could act as an interactive guide?
This AI-powered assistant would help Mojo Folio users with any “How do I…?” questions in real time. Instead of waiting for support or digging through manuals, users could simply ask Soup Chef and receive instant, step-by-step instructions.
By streamlining onboarding and feature adoption, Soup Chef could significantly improve the user experience and change management process when rolling out new features.
Key learnings from the Hackathon
As we moved into the development phase, we quickly realised that successful AI implementation hinges on two crucial elements: selecting the right tools and ensuring access to high-quality data.
As a member of the Data & AI team, this hackathon was a unique opportunity for me to see firsthand how AI can be applied in ways that directly impact our users. It wasn’t just about building something cool, it was about solving real problems and making our platform more engaging and user friendly. Here are some key takeaways for me from the event.
- AI can enhance decision-making: We discovered that AI models can analyse project data to provide predictive insights, helping teams make more informed decisions.
- Importance of data availability: Access to clean, relevant data proved to be one of the biggest factors in determining the success of an AI project.
- Plan your tools wisely: Selecting the right tools and frameworks early in the process can significantly impact development speed and success.
- Automation for efficiency: Several ideas focused on automating routine tasks like project status tracking and risk identification, reducing manual effort.
- User experience is key: We saw how AI-driven recommendations and intuitive interfaces could make PPM solution more user-friendly.
What’s next?
The hackathon was just the beginning. We are now evaluating the most promising ideas and exploring ways to bring these AI-driven solutions to life in Mojo Folio.
For businesses curious about AI but unsure where to start, here’s a simple roadmap:
- Look at the biggest inefficiencies in your workflow.
- Ask: Could AI automate or improve this process?
- Start small. Even automating one manual task can make a difference.
Unlocking AI’s potential in project management
Now, it’s time to take these insights beyond the lab and into real-world business impact.
AI isn’t just the future – it’s already transforming how projects are managed. But how do you cut through the hype and actually apply it to your business?
Join us for PPM Unleashed, a live webinar where we’ll dive into the biggest opportunities AI brings to project and portfolio management – and how you can leverage them right now.
📅 Thursday, 27 February
⏰ 08:30 – 9:30 GMT +10 (Brisbane time)
🌐 Online
Why you can’t miss this
- Get an exclusive look at how AI is reshaping PPM.
- No fluff, just practical insights you can use.
- Expert-led discussion – Learn from Daniel Monger and Ben Chambers, who have helped some of Australia’s biggest companies navigate digital transformation.
Later in the session, we’ll explore what’s next for AI in PPM – an unfiltered, deep dive conversation about what’s possible, what’s coming, and what businesses really need from AI.
