From Spreadsheets to AI: The Evolution of Program Management Tools

A Brief History of "How We Track Things"

When I started GFM Corp in 2010, my project management stack was literally a whiteboard, a Google Sheet, and weekly email updates. When I joined Google, I graduated to an enterprise suite of internal tools. Now, in 2025, AI is adding another layer — and it's worth stepping back to understand what's actually changed and what hasn't.

The Eras of Program Management

Era 1: The Spreadsheet Era (2005-2015)

Everything lived in spreadsheets. Color-coded cells. Manual status updates. Pivot tables for executive reviews. It worked because teams were smaller and programs were more contained. The tool matched the complexity.

Era 2: The SaaS Era (2015-2023)

Jira, Asana, Monday, Linear — tools that promised to automate the tedious parts of tracking. They delivered on some of that promise, but they also introduced new problems: tool fatigue, context switching, and the illusion of progress through ticket management.

Era 3: The AI-Augmented Era (2023-Present)

Now we have AI that can read across these tools, synthesize patterns, and suggest actions. The promise is enormous. The reality is still catching up.

Where AI Actually Helps Right Now

• Pattern detection across large programs — AI can spot when velocity is dropping before humans notice
• Natural language queries — "Show me all blockers that have been open for more than a week" beats clicking through 12 dashboard filters
• Draft communications — first drafts of status updates, escalation emails, and post-mortems
• Meeting summarization — turning 60-minute meetings into structured action items

Related: see How TPMs Can Build an MCP Server That Connects to Google Workspace — And Automate Everything and How I Use AI to Run Cross-Functional Programs at Google.

Where AI Still Falls Short

• Judgment calls — AI can flag a risk but can't decide whether to escalate it now or wait a week
• Relationship context — it doesn't know that the SRE lead is going through a tough quarter and needs extra support
• Organizational politics — navigating conflicting priorities between VPs requires emotional intelligence AI doesn't have

The best tools in every era didn't try to replace the TPM — they made the TPM more effective. AI tools that understand this will win.