Project Management

Project management is the art or science of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

Project Management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering and defense.

Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, who is famously known for his use of the Gantt chart as a project management tool, for being 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 allocations.

Two mathematical project scheduling models were developed:
1. "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton.
2. "Critical Path Method" (CPM) developed in a joint venture by both DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation At the same time, technology for project cost estimating, cost management, and engineering economics was evolving, with pioneering work by Hans Lang and others.

In 1956, the American Association of Cost Engineers (now AACE International the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) was formed by early practitioners of project management and the associated specialties of planning and scheduling, cost estimating, and cost/schedule control (project control). AACE has continued its pioneering work and in 2006 released the first ever integrated process for portfolio, program and project management (Total Cost Management Framework).

In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed to serve the interests 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 A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), containing the standards and guidelines of practice that are widely used throughout the profession.

The International Project Management Association (IPMA), founded in Europe in 1967, has undergone a similar development and instituted the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB). The focus of the ICB also begins with knowledge as a foundation, and adds considerations about relevant experience, interpersonal skills, and competence.

Both organizations are now participating in the development of an ISO project management standard.