The Colorful, and Vibrant, History of Project Management

 

How on earth would our societies, as well as civilization in general, would progress or develop without - Projects? Yes, according to historians, projects change the world, and we need projects to change the world. Projects and programs are also not only the vehicles of change, but they do cause change. Thus, project management is key to changing the world, as it provides the structure, processes and related tools and techniques to execute and enable change. Eventually, project management tools have also evolved, from the usual paper-heavy planning and design stages to the advent of high-tech software like the primavera p6. Here's a peek at the colorful, and vibrant, history of project management.

 

Stage One: Prior to 1958

The history of project management is actually broken down by experts into four major stages of advancement. A quick look would reveal that project management is a fairly brief history, even if the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians had their own ways of managing their colossal projects.

 

While we could definitely go back as far as the ancient times like the construction of the Great Wall of China or the pyramids of Egypt, most historians look to the period around the two world wars as perhaps the first true project management periods.

 

It was Henry Gantt who popularized the Gantt chart in 1910, and this paved the way for visualizing projects. Modern production methods and construction, particularly those that were part of the war effort, led to more ambitious projects, which eventually paved the way to the construction of software like the primavera p6.

 

Projects like that of The Manhattan Project, which led to the development of the atomic bomb, required a more organized and complex approach to effective project management. During this period, many tools and techniques were created, and innovators in both private industry and government also tested and developed their own project management methods and tools.

 

And, during this stage, another notable invention was that of the CPM, or Critical Path Method, which is one of several network analysis techniques. The CPM is a truly ubiquitous project management tool, and by using it project professionals can plan out the longest duration path to estimate the duration of the project.

 

Stage Two: 1958 to 1979

Many historians agree that the modern era of project management began around this time. In 1965, the International Project Management Association (IPMA), which is Europe's overarching project management body, was founded.

 

Shortly afterward. The Project Management Institute was founded in North America, and the project manager's role was becoming more important in itself, rather than as part of the job of the chief engineer.

 

And because the space program, particularly the Apollo space missions, were at its peak during this period, the NASA-related projects eventually led to the perfection of the Critical Path Movement and the Program Evaluation Review Technique or PERT.

 

Until the 1970s, project management was still mainly being applied in the defense, construction and aerospace industries. However, as the 70s continued the heavy use of tools like PERT and CPM formed a healthy association between project management and systems analysis.

 

Stage 3: 1980 to 1994

During this stage, project professionals started developing new attitudes and opinions towards project risk management. More time was devoted to resolving problems before they arose, and more time, effort and money was also spent in planning complex projects.

 

At this period, software engineering also became very useful, and it was during this time perhaps that the early creators of the primavera p6 begun developing the software. In 1981, the Project Management Institute released the Ethics, Standards and Accreditation project, and also offered the very first project management process groups.

 

Stage 4: 1995 to the Present

During this stage, the Internet was developed, which was eventually hailed as the modern purveyor of project management. It's because the Internet paved the way for more enhanced access and connectivity, and it also led to the increasing demand for new project-related software.

 

In addition, the further globalization of the planet's economy also meant that projects had to take a multi-cultural, and multifaceted approach. In fact, it was the Cold War that first required huge, multifaceted projects. Wow, so I guess we need to thank the US and the former Soviet Union for the amazing evolution of project management, as well as for the development of software like the primavera p6!