A systematic literature review of human-autonomy teams in project management

Purpose The advent of digital technology has increased both the autonomy and complexity of intelligent machines. As data functionality becomes more advanced, the demand for machines to engage in teamwork alongside humans is rising, leading to a transformation of intelligent machines from tools to teammates. As such, human-autonomy team (HAT) is a new concept in digital transformation, and HAT-related research has driven the application and development of artificial intelligence in industry and production. This study explores the prospects of HAT in project management through a systematic literature review of published articles, highlighting current research themes and proposing directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach While the systematic literature review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, VOSviewer was employed to assist in keywords co-occurrence analysis to visualize the connections and networks of included articles. A total of 38 publications were retrieved from both Scopus and Web of Science databases to examine the annual publication trends, geographical distribution, research methods and keywords co-occurrence analysis. Findings The results revealed four mainstream research themes: (1) simulation of human–robotic system integration in project management, (2) algorithm design for human-centered artificial intelligence (AI), (3) the impact of digital transformation on teams towards agile project execution and (4) generative AI model for risk analysis in project management. Originality/value From both theoretical and practical implications, this study would deepen the role and effectiveness of HAT in project management strategies. The proposed framework suggested potential future directions such as (1) expanded testing scenarios, (2) human factors in evaluation criteria, (3) agile transition issues in HATs and (4) standards for AI model applications in project management. Ultimately, this study would foster a dialogue among researchers and practitioners by encouraging a synergistic approach to the implementation of HAT solutions in project settings.