How can Gen AI improve internal processes and project management in startups and SMEs
How can Gen AI enhance Startups and SMEs – internal processes and project management
In the first part of our blog series, we explored how generative AI is transforming customer service and marketing, driving loyalty and productivity. Now, let's take a look at the internal processes of start-ups and SMEs, and introduce KIRA our AI driven tool that’s revolutionising communication, workflow automation, and project management. Our creation doesn’t just boost productivity but also democratises expertise across teams, ensuring consistency and high-quality results.
Why tech start-ups and SMEs need generative AI tools
First things, first. Why do start-ups and SMEs need gen AI tools?
Startups and SMEs typically operate with smaller teams and tighter budgets compared to larger businesses. The ability to do more with less is crucial for your success. Gen AI tools, such as the upcoming KIRA platform, offer a way to encapsulate project management expertise into an augmented platform that automates workflows, performs language analysis, and provides troubleshooting advice. Here are some reasons why you should consider adopting gen AI:
1. Increased efficiency and productivity
By automating routine tasks and providing intelligent insights, gen AI allows you to work more efficiently. This is particularly beneficial for startups and SMEs, where every team member often wears multiple hats. Let Gen AI can take over mundane tasks, freeing up valuable time for teams to focus on innovation and strategic planning.
2. Enhanced quality and consistency
Gen AI can help maintain high standards across projects by providing consistent outputs and reducing human error. For example, AI-driven code reviews can ensure that coding standards are met consistently, while AI-generated documentation ensures that all necessary information is accurately captured and updated.
3. Scalability
As startups and SMEs grow, the ability to scale smoothly is essential. Gen AI tools can easily scale with the business, handling increased workloads without a proportional increase in costs. This makes it easier for smaller companies to grow and compete with larger players in the market.
4. Access to expertise
Gen AI democratises access to expertise by codifying project management experience and delivering key analytics. This is especially valuable for smaller teams that might not have the resources to hire seasoned project managers. AI-driven platforms can provide insights and best practices that would otherwise be out of reach.
The caveat to this is Gen AI can only do this if it’s integrated into your business workflows and customised to work for you specific needs. Like KIRA. Which we’ll talk about later in the blog.
Enhancing internal processes and project management
So, how can start-ups and SMEs take advantage of AI internally? Let’s consider communication. Effective communication is the backbone of any successful project. Tools like Slack have already made significant strides in streamlining team interactions. However, gen AI takes this one step further by improving communication in several ways:
Automated summaries - GenAI can analyse extensive chat logs and summarise key points, ensuring that everyone stays informed without sifting through endless messages. This reduces misunderstandings and keeps the team aligned on project goals.
Intelligent response suggestions - AI can suggest responses based on the context of the conversation, ensuring quick and relevant replies. This is particularly useful in fast-paced businesses where timely communication is essential.
Sentiment analysis - By analysing the tone and sentiment of messages, AI can alert managers to potential issues such as team burnout or interpersonal conflicts. Addressing these issues proactively can maintain a healthy and productive work environment.
Automating Workflows
Workflow automation is another area where generative AI shines. Build your own system and combine it with AI or use something like Microsoft Co Pilot that’s integrated with MS Office, and you too can automate routine tasks and streamline project management processes. Here’s how they can make difference:
Task assignment and tracking - There are tools that can automatically assign tasks based on team members' skills and workloads. They can track progress and send reminders for upcoming deadlines, ensuring that projects stay on track without the need for micromanagement.
Document generation and management - From generating project reports to managing version control, AI can easily handle these administrative tasks. This allows team members to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of their work.
Meeting coordination - AI can schedule meetings, prepare agendas, and even transcribe minutes. By automating these administrative tasks, teams can ensure that meetings are productive and focused on decision-making.
Introducing KIRA: New-to-the-market development team project management tool
We’ve talked about how there are AI driven tools that can help with internal processes but let’s move on to KIRA. KIRA is designed to improve tech development team processes. It encapsulates project management expertise into one augmented platform, offering several innovative features that enhance performance, prevent project delays and improve consistency.
Before we go into the detail, our tech is currently in Alpha stages and we’re integrating with Jira. We aim to move to Beta at the end of the year. We’ll keep you posted.
Also, to maintain transparency, all our facts and figures are based on feedback from clients currently using KIRA.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve been working on.
New-to the-market with never seen before AI driven features, KIRA saves start-ups and SMEs time and money with the following features:
Automation: KIRA automates common tasks such as project status updates, generating performance reports, reminders to update tickets and alerts. This reduces the administrative burden on project managers, allowing them to focus on strategic decision-making.
Language analysis and troubleshooting: By analysing project documentation (such as user stories) and communication, KIRA can provide real-time troubleshooting advice and identify potential issues before they escalate. This proactive approach means your project is more likely to run smoothly.
KIRA will also help you generate tickets and stories from these documents. Which will be written as per best practice. It can also analyse existing tickets and help you rewrite them so they’re also following best practice. Being consistent helps your developers.
KIRA developers have built the system based on real-world experience. We know consistency ensures high quality work from your development team.
Augmented analytics: KIRA delivers key analytics and insights, helping teams identify bottlenecks and optimise their workflows. The platform performs analysis on performance and then shares it with a manager. But it also includes solutions and advice not just a graph or report they need to interpret. This saves a lot of time.
Normally, a manager would have to create a filter in Jira, export to Excel, create some pivot tables or analysis. Then they’d have to get the numbers, interpret them and decide what to do. KIRA gives managers back approximately 50% of their time spent on these tasks.
Real-world impact and market potential
The impact of KIRA on development teams is huge. In a Q4 2023 trial, we tested a limited proof of concept of KIRA on a number of small projects. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with users reporting efficiency savings and improved consistency. We used the feedback from these sessions and incorporated it into newer versions of the tool, enhancing the platform's capabilities.
What makes KIRA so special is its ability to automate tasks, augment analytics with expert advice, remove bottlenecks, and enhance agile development. We’ve done the maths. It leads to a 20%-25% productivity boost, translating to annual savings of £60K-£112.5K for a five-person team. By addressing 44% of project failure causes, KIRA not only improves output quality but also reduces the dependency on highly skilled managers.
Research shows that there’s a high demand for efficient, automated software development tools. According to DevPro Journal (2023), there’s a significant push towards embedded analytics for productivity. KIRA addresses these needs by enhancing development processes and providing actionable insights.
Jumping on the opportunity
The surge in remote working, digital transformation, and the growing tech industry, coupled with a global shortage of project managers, creates the ideal opportunity for KIRA to enter the market. Scryla's customers are primarily tech start-ups and SMEs (software/SaaS platforms and consultancies) and it’s these businesses that stand to gain the most from KIRA's automation and analytics capabilities.
Our customer research with tech start-ups facing productivity challenges revealed a 20%-25% improvement in productivity. By shadowing and monitoring development teams, we identified the key pain points and trained KIRA to overcome them.
AI-powered tools like KIRA are transforming how teams operate. As KIRA continues to evolve, it promises to deliver even greater efficiencies and higher-quality outcomes, solidifying its place as a critical asset for development teams in the tech industry.
The future of project management lies in intelligent automation and data-driven decision-making. KIRA embodies this future, offering a sophisticated solution that meets the demands of modern development teams. As Scryla continues to innovate and refine KIRA, the potential for enhanced productivity and reduced project failures becomes even more achievable.
Drop us a line if you’d like to find out more about how you can introduce KIRA into your tech start-up or SME. And, if you haven’t read the first blog in this series, you can here - How can Gen AI enhance Startups and SMEs – customer service and marketing