The History of Project Management

Question: Describe about the history of project management. Answer: Introduction: The journal article The History of Project Management has been taken from International Journal of Management and Information Systems - Third Fourth 2014 Volume 18 Number 4 written by Tom Seymour and Sara Hussein of Minot State University, USA. Project management has been defined as the systematic method of carrying out a task with minimum cost and time involved. It has been with us since the birth of mankind but there is very little proof as no proper documentation was done. In was only in the 1950s that proper effort was made to consider and practice this realm of management. Later on a number of computer programs were developed which not only helped in its progress but also in its application. Nowadays, project management as a subject has been introduced in number of courses and has already gained immense popularity. Thinking about the time when project management would first have been implemented, it would be wise to say whenever men joined hands to complete a particular purpose. Project management has always been defined as the management of men and workforce for the purpose of achieving a particular purpose (Young, 2013). The Great Wall of China, Stonehenge are all magnificent examples of how proper planning was conducted, materials and men engaged and every aspect of the work monitored till the very end. Even though there were several misconceptions regarding older projects, it is clearly understood that project management had played a vital role in its success. But despite all these, very little effort was done to document it in a manner useful for others in the future. Coming back to the present, Henri Fayol and Henry Gantt are considered to be the fathers of modern project management. Henri was an engineer at an iron and steel company in France and it is here that he observed the various methods by which project management was actually implemented even though unknowingly. Fayol observed five qualities used by managers during their day to day activities. These qualities later became the benchmark on which the present project management is actually based upon. Henry Gantt was an American engineer and management consultant. He designed the Gantt chart which is widely used even today. He envisaged breaking up of complicated tasks into smaller ones and to proceed according to the importance of the subject. He advised that when difficult tasks are broken up into smaller ones, it is easy not only to complete them one after another but also in a much better and systematic manner. But according to Snyder and Kline, modern project management took off with t he introduction of PERT and CPM. PERT was designed by the American Navy during the Polaris project which was America's first submarine launched ballistic missile project, as this project was very complex, PERT made it simpler to analyze (Schwalbe, 2014). CPM was first developed by E.I Du Pont de Nemours, a major construction company while constructing a chemical plant. CPM was designed to keep costs minimum and to take very little time. Modern project management can be subdivided into four phases. The first phase in the 1900s was when project management began to be used for administration and associated purposes. The Manhattan Project and Interstate Highway are all important hallmarks of this phase. It was in this phase that Gantt chart began to be used very widely hence further boosting its importance in modern day management. The second phase from 1958 to 1979 saw a lot of technological advancement (Roberts, 2011). The photocopier by Xerox was an important contribution of this phase. Then, the Apollo and Polaris projects came into focus which led to the introduction of PERT and CPM to this field of management. The Apollo project being a complex and difficult one had to plan in such a way so that Nasa's very first mission to put man on the moon succeeded. The Polaris mission, America's first submarine based missile system too had to be planned in a similar manner. This led to the development of WBS, Work Breakdown System for any project which is of size similar to that of Polaris. The third period too was based on technological advancement and an important project then would be the English- France Chanel Project (Richman, 2012). The fourth and final period in which we are today has taken project management to the next level. CCPM began to be used which was better than both CPM and PERT as it focused mainly on resources needed to achieve a target. Looking at the phase beyond the present period it can wisely be said that it would be a period of greater technological advancement and cost productivity (Morris, 2013). TCM, Total Cost Method has already been developed which can control costs within the entire life cycle of the project. Software as a Service scheme has already been developed through which users can use the software for a fee via cloud support. Though this scheme is in its nascent stage, the benefits of the projects give a positive picture regarding its success in future (Hughes, 2012). Virtual employment would become a reality as employees would be able to work from home and employers would be able to manage costs and skills by doing so. Even though the future looks promising, there had been no consensus among researchers (Heagney, 2012). Some researchers believe that due to the continuing process of disintegrating job roles, project management would be a thing of the past as each member would have to look after other aspects in general too. Some other researchers believe that due to this disintegration, there will be specified job roles with specific requirements for project management certification courses. Globalization, competition and many other factors are changing the way firms organize and carry on their activities (Dinsmore Cabanis-Brewin, 2014). Only time can tell how effectively the prevailing scenario will help in the utilization of project management methods. But given the fact that it has constantly evolved with time and still is, this field of management will certainly showcase the amount of potential in it by making our lives simpler. References Dinsmore, P. Cabanis-Brewin, J. (2014).The AMA Handbook of Project Management. New York: AMACOM. Heagney, J. (2012).Fundamentals of project management. New York: American Management Association. Hughes, B. (2012).Project management for IT-related projects. London: BCS. Morris, P. (2013).Reconstructing project management. Chichester, England: Wiley-Blackwell. Richman, L. (2012).Improving your project management skills. New York: American Management Association. Roberts, P. (2011).Effective project management. London, UK: Kogan Page. Schwalbe, K. (2014).Information technology project management. Boston, MA: Course Technology. Young, T. (2013).Successful project management. Philadelphia, Pa.: Kogan Page Ltd.