Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to and sometimes conflated with program management.

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or deliverable), undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives, usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints. Typical constraints are scope, time and budget.The secondary-and more ambitious-challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.

History

Project management has been practiced since early civilization. Until 1900 civil engineering projects were generally managed by creative architects and engineers themselves, among those for example Christopher Wren (1632-1723) , Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859)  It has been since the 1950s, that organizations started applying systemic project management tools and techniques to complex projects.

Henry Gantt (1861-1919), the father of planning and control techniques. As a discipline, Project Management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering and defense.  In the United States, the two forefathers of project management are 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, and Henri Fayol for his creation of the 5 management functions, which form the basis for the body of knowledge associated with project and program management. Both Gantt and Fayol were known as being students of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management. His work is the forerunner to modern project management tools including work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocation.

The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management era. Project management was formally recognized as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline. 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. The "Critical Path Method" (CPM) developed in a joint venture by both DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. And 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; These mathematical techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.

PERT network chart for a seven-month project with five milestones. 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.

Project Management around the world

• projekt, projektet, menaxher i projektit, drejtimin e projektit, programit, programi, i zvarritur
• projecte, projectes, gestor de projectes, gestió de projectes, programa, programa, mandrós
• projekta, projekti, voditelj projekta, projektni management, program, programu, lijeni
• projektu, projektu, projektový manažer, rízení projektu, program, programu, líné
• projekt, projekter, projektleder, projektledelse, program, program, doven
• project, projecten, project manager, project management, programma, programma, lui
• projekt, projektid, projektijuht, projektijuhtimise programm, programm, laisk
• proyekto, proyekto, proyekto manager, ang pangangasiwa ng proyekto, programa, programa, tamad
• hanke, hankkeet, hankkeen johtaja, projektinhallinta-, ohjelma-, ohjelma, laiska
• projet, les projets, gestionnaire de projet, gestion de projet, programme, programme, paresseux
• Projekt, Projekte, Projektleiter, Projekt-Management, Programm, Programm, faul
• projekt, projekt, projekt menedzser, projekt menedzsment, program, program, lusta
• progetto, i progetti, project manager, la gestione del progetto, programma, programma, pigro
• projektu, projekti, projektu vaditaja, projektu vadiba, programmu, programmas, slinks
• projektas, projektai, projektu vadybininkas, projektu valdymo programa, programa, tingus
• prosjektet, prosjekter, prosjektleder, prosjektledelse, program, programmet, lat
• projekt, projekty, kierownik projektu, zarzadzanie projektem, programem, program, leniwy
• projecto, projectos, gestor de projetos, gerenciamento de projeto, programa, programa, preguiçoso
• de proiect, proiecte, manager de proiect, management de proiect, program, program, lenes
• projekt, projekti, projektni vodja, projektni management, program, program, lazy
• proyecto, proyectos, gestor de proyectos, gestión de proyectos, programa, programa, perezoso
• projekt, projekt, projektledare, projektledning, program, program, lata
• proje, projeler, proje yöneticisi, proje yönetimi, program, program, tembel