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Use Case: Custom PM Agent for a Specific Project

Build a tailored project management agent based on WebPal's built-in pm_assistant, configured with project-specific reporting formats, higher security requirements, and a focused knowledge base.

AI Agent Project Management Last Updated: May 2026 WebPal 4.2+

Scenario

The infrastructure team is running a large cloud migration project with strict security requirements and a specific weekly reporting cadence. The built-in pm_assistant is a good starting point, but the team needs an agent configured specifically for this project: it should only have access to the project's own documents, produce status reports in a fixed format approved by the client, and never expose sensitive cost or vendor data outside the project team.

Prerequisites

  • WebPal 4.2 or later
  • The pm_assistant built-in agent is active on your instance
  • You have agent-creators group membership (required to create agents)
  • The project already has a dedicated shared drive or folder

Setup

1. Review the base pm_assistant

Before creating your custom agent, spend a few minutes understanding what the built-in pm_assistant provides:

  1. Navigate to Flow → Agents and open pm_assistant.
  2. Review its system prompt, tools, and knowledge base scope.
  3. Note which behaviours you want to preserve and which you need to change.

Typical things you'll want to customise: the reporting template, the knowledge base scope, who can access the agent, and whether it can write to project documents.

2. Create the custom agent

  1. In Flow → Agents, click New Agent.
  2. Name it clearly — for example, CloudMigration_PM.
  3. In the Based on field, select pm_assistant. This imports the base configuration as a starting point.
  4. Set Visibility to Team and select only the project team members. This prevents anyone outside the team from accessing the agent or its knowledge.

3. Restrict the knowledge base

  1. In the agent's Knowledge Base settings, remove the default company-wide scope.
  2. Add only the Cloud Migration Project folder (e.g. Projects / Cloud Migration 2026).
  3. Explicitly exclude the Costs & Contracts sub-folder if it contains vendor pricing that should not be surfaced in general responses.
Security note Even with a restricted knowledge base, the agent still respects WebPal folder permissions. A user asking a question will only receive content they have read access to.

4. Customise the system prompt for project-specific reporting

Replace the base system prompt with one tailored to the project's reporting format:

Agent System Prompt
You are the project management assistant for the Cloud Migration 2026 project. Your primary responsibilities are:

1. Answering questions about project status, milestones, risks, and action items based on the project documents in your knowledge base.

2. Generating weekly status reports using the following format:
• Executive Summary (2–3 sentences)
• Milestones: Completed This Week / Upcoming Next Week
• Risks & Issues (RAG status: Red / Amber / Green)
• Action Items (owner, due date)
• Budget note: flag only if spend is outside agreed tolerance

3. Never include vendor contract values, individual salary data, or information from the Costs & Contracts folder in responses.

Always be concise and factual. If the answer is not in your knowledge base, say so clearly.

5. Configure tools

Enable the following tools, and disable everything else:

Tool Purpose Enabled
document_search Search the project knowledge base Yes
document_read Read document content for context Yes
document_write Save status reports to the project folder Yes (restricted to project folder)
user_notify Send notifications to team members Optional
external_api Query external systems (e.g. Jira, Azure DevOps) Disable unless specifically needed

6. Test the agent

  1. Open a chat with CloudMigration_PM.
  2. Ask it to summarise the current project status.
  3. Ask it to generate a weekly status report.
  4. Verify it does not surface restricted content (test with a question about vendor pricing).
  5. If anything is wrong, adjust the system prompt or knowledge base scope and re-test.

Daily Use

Checking project status

Prompt
What are the open risks as of this week, and which ones are currently Red?

The agent searches the risk register and current status documents, then returns a summarised list with RAG ratings.

Generating the weekly status report

Prompt
Generate this week's status report and save it to the "Weekly Reports" folder as "Status Report – 2 May 2026".

The agent drafts the report in the approved format and saves it as a new document in the project folder.

Tracking action items

Prompt
List all action items that are overdue or due within the next 5 days, and who owns them.

Result

The project team has a dedicated AI assistant that knows the project inside out — without any risk of leaking sensitive data to other teams. Reports are consistently formatted, generated in seconds, and automatically filed. The team can build on the same pattern for any future project by spinning up a new custom agent from pm_assistant in minutes.