If you’re wondering how exactly business defines project management, you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking it’s a little vague. Project management is amassing the right group of people to accomplish a shared goal, and in that way, it can take many different shapes and forms across many different industries. You can see the philosophy of project management throughout history in everything from the building of the pyramids and the Great Wall of China to the expansion of the railroad across the United States. But the modern idea of what a project manager actually does is fairly recent. How do project management teams fit into businesses today? And what does the future hold for the industry?
1. The Project Management Institute
Many business experts will tell you that project managers simply didn’t exist before the new millennium, or at least that they were never known by that title. But project management as it is known today began with the creation of the Project Management Institute in 1969. PMI set the standard for project management as an official industry, promoting research and education and offering training programs, seminars, and certification. They teach project managers the different elements of the job, such as project estimating, risk management, and how to allocate work to the right people. Around 400,000 business professionals hold one of PMI’s many project management credentials, which serve as the gateway to a host of different jobs on a project management team.
2. The Rise of the Personal Computer
In the 1980s and 1990s, project management shifted towards globalization and internet technology. It began with the rise of the personal computer and the invention of project management software. No longer was it all about gathering workers in a meeting and presenting stacks of paperwork with cost projections and risk factors. All of these variables could be presented digitally, meaning that larger-scale projects could be understood and directed in record time. In addition, the computer age created its own project management niche. Developing software, testing for safety and effectiveness, and marketing the release of important new products helped computers gain some leverage in the business world. With new technology invented all the time, project managers had to learn how to adapt their standards to a changing world.
3. The Future of Project Management
So what’s next? U.S. News and World Report names project management as one of the top 5 skills you need to ensure job security, and it’s a skill that’s increasingly virtual. According to the Gallup Business Journal, 30 percent of workers are individual, virtual laborers which means project managers can reach across the world and across the spectrum to create their teams. It’s never been easier to find the right man or woman for the job than it is with the internet so easily accessible. And that’s why more and more businesses, from local establishments to giant corporations, are hiring project managers. It’s the easiest way to guarantee the most success, no matter what your company might be planning.
Project management is a tool to fight the competition through the power of organization. A great team can make or break an important project, and these days, project managers aren’t jobs you can shave off your roster. With their ability to use the internet to reach all the talent in the world, they’re trained professionals that any competent business owner would want to have on their side.
About the Author: Writer Brett Harris is an avid blogger. Interested in project management as a career? Check out project management degree online.
