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A Look Into Project Management

A Brief History In Project Management

Project management has been practiced for thousands of years since the Egyptian era, however, it has been about half a century ago that organizations start applying systematic project management tools and techniques to complex projects. In 1917 Henry Gantt created the Gantt Chart. This chart is used to display a project's start and finish date in a calendar form. “The Gantt chart was used to schedule and monitor large construction projects like the Hoover Dam started in 1931”

Henry Laurence Gantt

An important aspect that the Gantt chart produces is the Critical Path Method. Using this method can help a company determine the longest path a project takes to reach completion. With this capability, an organization can then determine within a reasonable time frame, when a project can be expected to be complete.

In the 1950s to the 1960s, the US military Navy Polaris expanded on the development of project management by using network diagrams. These diagrams helped create more realistic time frame schedules for their project tasks. “In the context of project planning, a network diagram is a sequence of steps (activities), commonly represented by blocks, that are linked together inthe logical sequence they need to be carried out.” It wasn't until the 1970s that the US military and its civilian suppliers had developed software to assist in managing large projects.

In the 1990s the term Project Management Office was invented. These offices were developed in order to coordinate project management functions throughout an entire organization. “PMOs can help CIOs by providing the structure needed to both standardize project management practices and facilitate IT project portfolio management, as well as determine methodologies for repeatable processes.”

Project Management in the 21st Century

An organization called Project Management Institute over the past 40 years has grown from 83 to 50,000 members by the beginning of the 21st century. This organization is responsible for setting a professional standard, testing regulations, education, and training within many industries world-wide.

This organization is known for testing individual’s capabilities to be a Project Management Professional. “Project Management Professional is the second of three formal credentials administered by the PMI. The first or basic level is Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®), which qualifies the holder for work as part of a project team. The third or highest level is Program Management Professional (PgMP®), which certifies that the holder is competent to function as the leader of a team.”

Another aspect of the PMI is to ensure the Project Manager follow a set of ethical standards. Ethical Standards in Vision, Applicability, Responsibility, Respect, Honesty, and Fairness. This Code of Ethics is a vital portion of what makes the PMI reliable as an institution. In 2011, Project Management software hit its 54th birthday. Most people don’t realize that project management software is actually 54 years old this year, and was one of the first software applications ever developed.”