What’s the BUZZ? — AI in Business How to Succeed in Your First AI Project as a New AI Leader (Kathleen Walch)
Aug 9, 2025
Kathleen Walch, Director of AI Engagement at the Project Management Institute and co-founder of Cognolitica, shares her expertise on leading AI projects. She discusses the six-step CPMAI methodology for navigating AI complexities, from identifying business problems to data requirements. Kathleen highlights common challenges new AI leaders face, the significance of a data-centric approach, and the shift towards agentic AI. With actionable insights, she addresses how to transform AI hype into meaningful outcomes, encouraging professionals to embrace AI fully.
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Cognolitica Sparked CPM AI
- Kathleen co-founded Cognolitica and found clients needed help running AI projects.
- That led to CPM AI: a data-centric methodology because data is the heart of AI.
AI Projects Are Data Projects
- Treat AI initiatives primarily as data projects, not standard software builds.
- Build data-centric methodologies because model quality depends on data quality and access.
Measure ROI Or It's Not Success
- Measure cost, time, and resource impact to confirm value.
- If costs exceed savings, the project hasn't succeeded despite model performance.
