Project Management in the Past (pre 19th Century),

Project Management in the Past (pre 19th Century),

Modern Project Management

The form in use today across many fields and disciplines in the business world emerged in the 20th century specifically after the Second World War. The period can be looked as a catalyst in the evolution of project management with the need to organize vast quantities of resources and personnel to achieve critical objectives in specific timeframes. This required a comprehensive approach, beyond following intuitive processes (see Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise). The business world began to adopt project management as the benefits of organizing around projects became apparent.

Project Management in the Past (pre 19th Century)

Project management has existed in some form for thousands of years. After all anything that requires an approach where humans organize effectively to a plan and achieve specific objectives can be loosely defined as a project (see Great Projects from the Past). How else would have humans achieved some of stunning wonders and achievements.

For example, the Great Pyramid of Giza (2,550 B.C.) or the Great Wall of China (221 B.C. - 206 B.C.). These projects were made possible with the development of simple tools like wheels and levers, and wedges, around 3000 BC. The pace of development continued in and around the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia Minor, and the harnessing of animal labor in carrying materials. This led to projects like those that created the Roman Coliseum, 80 A.D.