Evolution of Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, with Historical Events and Projects that Have Shaped the Development of Project Management as a Profession

The term project management was coined in the 1950s, initially with emphasis on activity scheduling, budgeting and control and remained so even with the advent of computers in management. In 1980s, it remained the same but with introduction of project information systems that ran on mainframe computers. In 1990s project management was redefined by wide range of fields such as operations management, systems thinking, new product development, risk management, the quality movement, organizational dynamics, industrial psychology and various other aspects of commercial management to become an independent discipline and profession. The understanding of what entails project management has evolved over the years and is still evolving today. Project management has grown from the stage of non-functional component of the management science, to the stage of strategic component of organizational development. In project management two of the most important processes within project management cycle, i. e. project monitoring and evaluation, are usually approached as side-activities by project managers and project management teams, whose unfortunate result is project or program failure. Project monitoring and evaluation has grown in significance and today it is part and parcel of the project cycle from conception to termination and beyond. The formation of Project Management Institute in 1969 marked the first major step in transforming project management into a profession. With increased globalization, the project manager should be able to work across networks, cultures, languages, geographical features and increased competition as well as collaboration. Project management has changed from an art to a science over time because of increasing standardization, continuous refinement of concepts and development and use of computer software. Scholars generally agree on the future of project management as a profession, but no agreement has been reached on when exactly modern project management started. It is however evident that modern project management is a direct result of the effort by the schedulers of 1960s to develop their discipline. The evolution of monitoring and evaluation has been influenced by developments in transport and communication, advances and application of management science, the invention and increased use of the personal computer and related software and continuous influence and application of modern technologies in all functions of project management. The growing complexity, technology advancement and changing legal environment and stakeholder concerns and challenges in managing projects has given rise to new fields directly related to project management like safety and sustainability. Concerns over sustainability of projects and programs are the main drivers for monitoring and evaluation today and hence the need to inbuilt sustainability in all aspects of project management.