Project management study guide

Abstract

The first recorded account of project management as a separate dedicated activity has been attributed to the United States defence forces. During the 1950s the development and production of the Polaris ballistic missile by the United States Air Force was done using specific techniques of ‘project management’. However, there is evidence that some of the principles of project management have been incorporated into the management of defence force activity as early as the 1930s. This does not mean that they were the first to undertake the management of projects. However, it seems they were the first to identify and classify techniques for managing projects as a dedicated management activity.