In this article, we will review Project Story for PPM Express and how your data is used when it is enabled on your tenant.
PPM Express, together with Project Story, delivers AI-powered project reports that summarize key data insights and provide automatic updates on project progress using advanced language models.
Project Story for PPM Express
In today's fast-paced work environment, Project Managers and teams are overwhelmed with constant demands—tight deadlines, shifting priorities, complex dependencies, and scattered information across multiple systems. Trying to manually manage dozens of projects, generate hundreds of reports, and stay ahead of risks can drain time and focus from what really matters: delivering results.
Now imagine reviewing 30, 50, or even 100 projects without digging through dashboards and weekly updates. Traditional reporting methods simply can’t keep up. Teams need tools that not only automate the process but also present information in a way that’s easy to digest, share, and act on.
That’s where Project Story comes in.
As part of the PPM Express AI initiative, Project Story brings a modern approach to project reporting. Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, it automatically generates clear, visually appealing project reports, eliminating the need to manually gather data or build slide decks. Each report summarizes project status in a concise, consistent format that’s easy to share with stakeholders and leadership.
Project Story was created to streamline the way Project Managers prepare and distribute updates. By automating data collection, visual storytelling, and report delivery, it enhances efficiency, reduces manual effort, and ensures your reports are always polished and up-to-date.
Each report includes a summary that may highlight key trends or areas needing attention, helping teams stay focused without unnecessary complexity. But the true value of Project Story lies in its simplicity: effortless, elegant reporting that scales across all your projects.
How to enable Project Story on your tenant
The Project Story feature is available for users on the Enterprise and Enterprise Ultra Plan and is enabled by default for all new tenants.
To configure this feature, a PPM Express Administrator should follow these steps:
Navigate to the Tenant Settings page.
Ensure that Presentation Mode is enabled under the Features and Modules section.
Scroll to the Presentation Mode section.
Under the Presentation Mode section, confirm that Project Story is also enabled.
Both settings must be enabled for Project Story to function properly.
How to disable Project Story
To disable the Project Story feature in PPM Express, a PPM Express Administrator should complete the following steps:
Go to the Tenant Settings page.
In the Features and Modules section, turn off the Presentation Mode option — this will disable all features under Presentation Mode, including Project Story.
Alternatively, if you want to keep Presentation Mode active but only disable Project Story:
Scroll to the Presentation Mode section.
Toggle off the Project Story option.
Disabling either Presentation Mode or Project Story individually will stop the feature from running and prevent further data transmission to OpenAI.
Features where Project Story is used
The Project Story feature is accessed through the Presentation Mode option. When enabled, it modifies the default project experience:
Instead of opening the standard Project Dashboard with traditional project sections, users will see the dashboard in Presentation Mode.
This view displays the automatically generated Project Story Reports, providing a summarized, AI-powered overview of the project’s key data and progress.
When enabled, Project Story analyzes and generates reports based on the following project data: Key Dates, Budget, Deliverables, Dependencies, Issues, Key Decisions, Resource Plan, Project Status, Project Schedule, Risks, Tasks.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is PPM Express Insights AI required for the use of PPM Express?
No, Project Story is an optional offering to enhance your PPM Express experience.
2. What AI model is used for Project Story?
Project Story is powered by OpenAI’s solutions. OpenAI API and GPT-4 model are used.
3. Is OpenAI a subprocessor of my data if I turn Project Story for PPM Express on?
Yes, if you choose to use Project Story, you agree that OpenAI will be a subprocessor of your data. OpenAI is located in the United States. For more information, please review OpenAI’s data usage policies and PPM Express Privacy Policy.
4. Do you automatically send my data to OpenAI?
The data is sent if a user opens Project Story for a project for the first time, also if they specifically click the Report Regenerate button, or when Report Distribution is scheduled for the project (the report will be regenerated before the distribution). Additionally, Project Story performs daily report regeneration for the active projects where Project Story was activated (opened at least once) and it was opened for this Project at least once for the last 7 days.
5. Do you send any Personal Identifiable Information (PII)?
No. Project Story only transmits the information from your Project fields or sections, along with a prompt and a unique identifier, to OpenAI upon clicking the Regenerate Report button or on automated Report Regeneration (for more details, see item 3). This unique identifier is a hash based on the PPM Express entity ID, no titles, names, emails etc sent to OpenAI.
6. Is my data being used to train and/or improve the OpenAI models?
The transmitted data is not used for training or improving the OpenAI models. However, OpenAI states: “Any data sent through the API will be retained for abuse and misuse monitoring purposes for a maximum of 30 days, after which it will be deleted (unless otherwise required by law).
7. What PPM Express data is transmitted to AI from Project Story for reports?
- Budget: Budget, CostPlan, CostActual, CostBaseline.
- Deliverables. Deliverables list: Deliverable Hash, Due Date, Status, Progress. Deliverables summary: counts for the following deliverables: total, active, completed, in progress, not started, at risk, critical, and on track.
- Dependencies. Dependencies list: Type, Status, Impact, Due Date, Entity Type, Entity Hash. Dependencies summary: counts for the following dependencies: total, active, closed, postponed.
- Issues. Issues list: Issue hash, priority, status, due date. Summary: counts for the following issues: total, active, high priority, late, postponed, closed.
- Key Dates. Key dates list: Key date hash, Date, Is Complete, Status. Summary: counts for the following key dates: total, overdue, completed, and upcoming.
- Key Decisions. Key decisions list: decision hash, date.
- Project Status. Statuses: Overall, Risks, Issues, Resources, Cost, Schedule
- Project Schedule. Schedule Start Date, Schedule Due Date, Schedule progress, Schedule Duration, Schedule effort, Schedule Completed Work, Schedule Remaining Work, Schedule Story Points, Schedule Completed Story Points, Schedule Effort variance, Schedule Start Date variance, Schedule Due Date variance
- Resources Plan. Resources list: Resource hash, is overallocated, total planned on the project, total actuals on the project, total capacity, is committed on the project. Project Resource Plan Summary: total planned, total actuals, count of overallocated resources, count of resources on the project, count of committed resources on the project, total planned to Date.
- Risks. Risks list: Risk hash, Due date, Impact, Status. Summary: counts for the following risks: total, active, high impact, late, postponed, closed.
- Tasks. Tasks list from the primary schedule: Task hash, Effort, Completed work, Remaining work, Start date, Due date, Progress. Summary for the primary schedule: total tasks count, late tasks count, in progress count, completed count, and not started count.