by: Douglas M. Arnstein, PMP, President, Absolute Consulting Group, Inc.,
September 01, 2005

The last 50 years have seen an explosion in the practice of project management. Professional association membership has grown significantly worldwide. Project management methods and practices have spread far beyond the industries and organizations that are commonly associated with its origins; engineering and construction, aerospace, automotive, and military applications. In many organizations today, one finds project management being used in information systems development, new product development, software integration, and infrastructure upgrades among numerous other areas. Much has been said and written about the promise of project management, yet hard research has lagged behind the survey-oriented results that highlight the perception that project management benefits organizations. Although this message is generally believed to have made it to the ranks of senior management, one would be hard pressed to find a C-level executive who has seen the value of project management demonstrated. Therein lies the rub. Clearly there is a gap between perception and reality. The good news is that there is hard research that demonstrates the value of project management. The remaining challenge is to convince organizations to look at project management in a different light.

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