VIBE Project Management: Control PM Tools with AI Commands

VIBE Coding has changed software development - developers give their AI assistant instructions in natural language instead of writing code line by line. This principle is now finding its way into project management: VIBE PM means controlling tools such as Altus, Projectum xPM and Atlassian Jira directly by AI command - via Claude Cowork or Microsoft Copilot Cowork, without any cumbersome click paths through menus and screens.

What is VIBE Coding - and why does it affect project managers?

The term "VIBE coding" emerged in the developer community in early 2025 and describes a new way of programming: Instead of writing code themselves, the developer describes what they need to the AI assistant in natural language - and the AI implements it. Tools such as GitHub Copilot or Claude Code have made this way of working socially acceptable. Errors are corrected in dialog, iterations run in minutes, not hours.

What initially sounds like a developer phenomenon has direct consequences for everyone who works with complex software systems - including project managers and PMOs. If AI assistants can already generate code and query databases today, why shouldn't they also be able to create projects, plan resources or create tickets? This is exactly where VIBE Project Management comes in.

VIBE PM: The concept explained

VIBE Project Management transfers the core principle to the world of PM tools: The project manager communicates with an AI assistant in natural language, the assistant translates the request into specific actions in the underlying PM system - and executes them. There is no need to click through menus and screens.

This is more than just a convenience feature. VIBE PM changes how project information is recorded, updated and communicated. A status update after a meeting is no longer a manual data entry process, but a short dialog: "Update the project progress to 65%, move milestone M3 to May 15 and create an internal note for the steering committee." The wizard performs all three actions - in the right tools, with the right data.

For PMOs, this means less maintenance work in the systems and more time for content-related work. The quality of the project data increases because the inhibition threshold for updating is lowered.

Microsoft and Atlassian PPM with the VIBE approach

VIBE PM does not work with a universal tool - it requires AI assistants that are connected to the respective PM systems via specific interfaces. For the three platforms that are most frequently used by Holert customers, it looks like this:

Vibe Project Management with Altus PPM

Altus (formerly Sensei IQ) is a PPM solution based on the Power Platform that lives entirely in the Microsoft 365 environment. As it is based on the Microsoft Dataverse, Microsoft Copilot can access the project data directly - without any additional configuration. Copilot commands can be used to query projects, update task statuses, adjust resource allocations and generate reports. Claude Cowork completes this picture as a cross-platform assistant that also accesses Altus data via the Dataverse MCP connector and can also perform actions that go beyond the standard Copilot limits.

Vibe project management with Projectum xPM

Projectum xPM (Power PPM) is Projectum's modular PPM platform that is built entirely on the Microsoft Power Platform. As xPM is based on the Dataverse, the same applies as for Altus: Microsoft Copilot understands the data structures, can provide portfolio overviews, record project applications and query resource utilization. Claude Cowork with Dataverse Connector can also be used to perform more complex operations - such as updating several projects simultaneously or generating reports according to individual patterns that a standard Copilot plugin does not cover. VIBE PM with xPM means: The PMO employee describes their requirements and the assistant executes them in the right module.

Atlassian - Jira and Confluence via Claude Cowork

In the Atlassian world - i.e. Jira Software, Jira Service Management and Confluence - Claude Cowork is currently the most powerful VIBE PM assistant. Using the Atlassian MCP connector, Claude can create tickets, change statuses, add internal notes, execute JQL search queries and create or update Confluence pages. Atlassian Rovo offers its own AI layer that also responds to natural language commands - focused on Atlassian's own products. For teams that use Jira as a central project management tool, VIBE PM opens up the greatest potential for automation here: from sprint setup and ticket triage to retrospective documentation in Confluence.

VIBE PM in practice: concrete example commands

Theory is good, practice is better. Here are concrete examples of what VIBE Project Management looks like in the everyday life of a project manager:

Altus/Projectum xPM via Cowork:
"Show me all projects in the portfolio where the percentage of completion is below 40% and the planned finish date is in the next 30 days." - The wizard provides a filtered overview directly from the Dataverse.
"Move the milestone 'Go-Live Module 3' in project XY to June 2 and update the affected resource plans." - The wizard executes the change and logs it.
"Create a status report for the steering committee based on the current project data." - The wizard pulls the relevant fields and generates a structured report.

Atlassian Jira via Cowork:
"Create a new ticket in the Help Desk of type 'Bug' with the title 'Login fails on SSO authentication', high priority, insert the summary from our last meeting"
"Change the status of all open tickets in the sprint 'April sprint' that have had no activity for more than 5 days to 'Blocked' and add an internal note."
"Create a Confluence page in the 'Project documentation' section with the meeting minutes from today's Jour Fixe."

These examples show: VIBE PM is not a gimmick. It measurably reduces administrative effort - and makes PM systems more accessible for everyone involved, even for team members who are not power users of the respective platform.

Claude Cowork vs. Copilot Cowork: Which assistant is the right fit?

Both assistants have their strengths, and the decision depends on the specific field of application. Microsoft Copilot is the natural choice if the entire PM ecosystem is based on Microsoft 365 - i.e. Altus, xPM, Teams, Outlook and SharePoint work together seamlessly. The deep integration into the Microsoft world means that Copilot knows the context from emails, meetings and documents and can translate it into PM actions.

Claude Cowork scores where cross-platform actions are required or where the standard Microsoft integration is not sufficient. Its strength lies in its flexibility: Atlassian, HubSpot, Dataverse, Outlook and many other systems can be addressed simultaneously via MCP connectors. A single command can create a Jira ticket, notify the project team via Teams and update the status in Altus - across platform boundaries. This is a decisive advantage for PMOs who manage heterogeneous tool landscapes.

In practice, many teams rely on both: Copilot for deep Microsoft integration in day-to-day business, Claude Cowork for more complex, cross-system workflows.

What PMOs can do now

VIBE PM is not a future project - the tools are available today. A pragmatic start can be made in three steps. First, PMOs should take stock of the PM tools they use and check which ones already support MCP connectors or CLI. Altus and Projectum xPM as well as Atlassian Jira come with standard MCP connectors and CLI. Where the standard MCP connectors reach their limits, Holert offers extended MCP connectors.

In the second step, a pilot scenario is recommended: A PMO employee takes over a clearly defined, recurring PM task - for example the weekly status update or the sprint setup in Jira - completely via the AI assistant for four weeks. The insights gained show where VIBE PM has the greatest leverage and where manual intervention is still necessary.

In the third step, the most successful VIBE PM workflows are documented and gradually rolled out to other team members. The decisive factor here is that AI is not a substitute for PM expertise, but rather a tool that makes this expertise faster and more widely effective. If you know your processes, you can significantly accelerate them with VIBE PM.

Looking for inspiration? Visit the Project Management and AI Summit in cooperation with Holert and LAPP:

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