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Project management is the discipline of defining and achieving finite
objectives. The challenge of project management is the optimized integration
and allocation of the inputs needed to meet those pre-defined objectives.
The project, therefore, is a carefully selected set of activities chosen to
use resources (time, money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions,
communication, quality, risk, etc.) to meet the pre-defined objectives.
Project Management is quite often the province and responsibility of an
individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in
the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain
the progress and productive mutual interaction of various parties in such a
way that overall risk of failure is reduced. Projects, which are a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product or service, contrast with processes, which are permanent or
semi-permanent functional work to create the same product or service
over-and-over again. The management of these two systems is often very
different.Projects, typically, are various types of public or consumer products,
including buildings, vehicles, electronic devices, computer software, etc. |
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History of Project Management
As a
discipline, Project Management developed from several different fields of
application, including construction, mechanical engineering, military
projects, etc. In the United States, the forefather of project management is
Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, who is
famously known for his use of the "bar" chart as a project management tool,
as an associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific
management, and for his study of the work and management of Navy ship
building. His work is the forerunner to many modern project management
tools, including the work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocation.
The 1950's mark the beginning of the modern project management era. Again,
in the United States, prior to the 1950's, projects were managed on an ad
hoc basis using mostly Gantt Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At
that time, two mathematical project scheduling models were developed: (1)
the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, developed as part of
the United States Navy's (in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation)
Polaris missile submarine program; and (2) the "Critical Path Method" (CPM)
developed in a joint venture by both DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand
Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. These mathematical
techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.
In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed to serve the
interest of the project management industry. The premise of PMI is that the
tools and techniques of project management are common even among the
widespread application of projects from the software industry to the
construction industry. In 1981, the PMI Board of Directors authorized the
development of what has become the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
containing the standards and guidelines of practice that are widely used
throughout the profession. |
