What Is Formal Project Management and Who Needs It?

Overview

Over the past 15 years, project management as a profession has migrated from construction and manufacturing into virtually all other business sectors, including the IT sector. The Project Management Institute (PMI) and the (British) Office of Government Commerce (OGC) have developed practice standards to encourage and guide the adoption of project management (PM) practices. These standards include PMI's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)® and OGC's Projects in Controlled Environments (Prince2)®. This white paper explores the development of formal project management standards and some of the misconceptions about formal project management.