You got the 'yes'. The project is greenlit.
A student celebrates. A director immediately answers the next question on everyone's mind: "What's the plan?" This is the play for turning your approved idea into a professional project plan in minutes.
The Project Manager Play
1. The Briefing: Give your AI your concept and a final deadline.
2. Command the Breakdown: Command the AI to deconstruct the concept into a structured plan.
3. Direct the Timeline: The AI provides the schedule; you own the final plan.
The 'AI Project Manager' Prompt
(Copy the text below, replace the parts in [brackets], and paste it into your AI tool of choice.)
Act as an expert Design and Product Manager. My mission is to turn the following approved concept into a structured, actionable project plan.
The Concept: [Provide a 1-2 paragraph summary of your greenlit idea here.]
The Deadline: [Provide a clear end date. Example: "The final presentation is in 6 weeks."]
Now, generate a comprehensive project plan. Break the project down into these logical phases:
Phase 1: Research & Discovery (Primary & Secondary),
Phase 2: Ideation & Concept Development,
Phase 3: Design & Prototyping, and
Phase 4: Testing & Final Presentation Prep. For each phase, provide:
1. Actionable Tasks: The high-level goals for that phase.
2. Detailed Sub-Tasks: The specific, smaller steps for each task.
3. Estimated Timeline: A realistic timeline (e.g., "Week 1-2") for each phase.
Director's Note
This plan is your single source of truth. It protects you from scope creep and last-minute panic. A director who trusts their plan can focus all their energy on creative execution.
Before & After
Let's see the transformation for Vritti's e-bike service.
The 'Before' (The post-pitch panic):
"Okay, the e-bike idea is approved! I guess I should... start designing some screens? Maybe I'll do more research first. I'm not sure where to begin."
The 'After' (A snippet from the AI-generated plan):
Phase 1: Research & Discovery (Week 1-2)
Task: Conduct Primary Research
Sub-Task: Draft and deploy user survey to 50 students.
Sub-Task: Schedule and conduct 5 in-depth user interviews."
P.S. The project is now a well-oiled machine. You have a vision and a plan. But the best-run project in the world is useless if the right people never see it.
Next week, we run The AI Networking Play: A playbook for getting your work in front of the senior designers and recruiters who can change your career.