# Toward Agentic Software Project Management: A Vision and Roadmap

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.16392 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.16392/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Software engineering coding agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 12 of its 38 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Jan 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Software engineering coding agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/software-engineering-coding-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Large Language Models for Software Engineering: A Systematic Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10620/) (2023)
- [AI Agents vs. Agentic AI: A Conceptual Taxonomy, Applications and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.10468/) (2025)
- [Levels of Autonomy for AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12469/) (2025)
- [Agentic Software Engineering: Foundational Pillars and a Research Roadmap](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.06216/) (2025)
- [An LLM-based multi-agent framework for agile effort estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.14483/) (2025)
- [Cognitive Agents Powered by Large Language Models for Agile Software Project Management](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.16678/) (2025)
- [Toward Agentic Software Engineering Beyond Code: Framing Vision, Values, and Vocabulary](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.19692/) (2025)
- [Towards effective AI-powered agile project management](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.10578/) (2018)
- [Building Living Software Systems with Generative & Agentic AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.01768/) (2024)
- [The Role of Empathy in Software Engineering -- A Socio-Technical Grounded Theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.13002/) (2025)
- [Generative AI for Software Project Management: Insights from a Review of Software Practitioner Literature](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.10887/) (2025)
- [The Emotional Roller Coaster of Responding to Requirements Changes in Software Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.03993/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

With the advent of agentic AI, Software Engineering is transforming to a new era dubbed Software Engineering 3.0. Software project management (SPM) must also evolve with such transformations to boost successful project completion, while keeping humans at the heart of it. Building on our preliminary ideas of "agentic SPM", and supporting literature, we present our vision of an "Agentic Project Manager (PM)" as a multi-agent system for SPM 3.0. They will work like a "junior project manager", or an "intern project manager" collaboratively with software teams. We introduce four working modes, with varying autonomy levels to choose from, based on the SPM task. This addresses concerns with ethics, accountability, and trust related to agentic PMs. We also share insights on human PM role evolution and new skill requirements as a "strategic leader" and a "coach" for humans and agents. While creating the foundation for agentic SPM research, we present a research agenda for the wider research community.