History of project management
As a discipline, Project Management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering and defense. 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 Gantt chart as a project management tool, for being an associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theories of scientific management[1], 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 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management era. Again, in the United States, prior to the 1950s, 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 by Booz-Allen & Hamilton as part of the United States Navy’s (in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program[2]; 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.
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
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Very interesting article re the history of project management. I’m actually an seo consultant for a project planning software company in New Zealand and I’ve always been fascinated (albeit morbidly so at times) with the ’seemingly immortal’ ability of project managers to either: a) run over budget or b) exceed the preset deadline for project completion.
In the case of the former, my own research has unearthed some truly spectacular failures when it comes to “cost overruns!”
Take the Sydney Opera House, for example. That magnificent architectural icon checked in at a ’slightly less than respectable’ 1400% cost overrun! And then there was the ‘now defunct’ supersonic Concorde – a 1100% overrun!
I do think this incessant failure to keep a project within budget comes down to any one of three things:
1) Imperfect forecasting techniques due to inadequate data
2) Unjustified “optimism bias” from the forecasters themselves
3) Planned, systemic distortion of facts (i.e. “lying about the size of one’s resources”) purely in the interests of securing the contract for the project in the first place.
As for not finishing a project in time? So much of it has to do with budget constraints along the way (i.e. covered in cost overruns0 that there’s no need to mention it separately.
Hi…please feel free to delete this post after reading it (I simply had no other way of contecting you directly). As the author of the only other comment on this page I just needed to ask you if there was a reason you prevented me from having a contextual link in the body copy (i.e. project planning software) and not even allowing a link via my (author) name?
I don’t spam websites (as you can easily see from the calibre of the comment). In fact, I’m not a prolific blogger at all. I am a retired creative director from Ogilvy & Mather Advertizing who now enjoys freelance web copywriting and search engine optimization roles.
Project planning is a subject close to my heart, hence the reason for even commenting in the first place. And I would be delighted to offer further, content-rich posts on your blog if you would like that
But it would just be nice if it could end up being a ‘win win’. YOU get the content you want – I get the hyperlinked anchor text I want (as in “project planning software” in the first sentence of the comment I made above, as one example).
I totally respect your wishes, but it would be nice to hear back from you on this – either way.
Drop me an email to: smeatz@ihug.co.nz
Cheers,
Bruce Smeaton