Project Management Day or International Project Management Day is annually observed on every first Thursday of November which means this year it falls on 3rd of November.
This day is all about appreciating the important role project managers play in our organizations and it recognizes their contribution in making our work possible all over the world.
Without project managers, the huge projects companies take on will be frankly impossible to achieve. LaVerne Johnson and Lori Milhaven of the International Institute of Learning (I.I.L.) created this day to give project managers the spotlight and appreciation they deserve.
| Event | Project Management Day |
|---|---|
| Date | November 3, 2022 |
| Day | Thursday |
| Significance | The day recognizes and celebrates the vital role of project managers |
| Observed by | United States |
Project Management Day History:
As a discipline, project management developed from several fields of application including civil construction, engineering, and heavy defense activity. Two forefathers of project management are Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, who is famous for his use of the Gantt chart as a project management tool (alternatively Harmonogram first proposed by Karol Adamiecki); and Henri Fayol for his creation of the five management functions that form the foundation of the body of knowledge associated with project and program management.
The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern project management era, where core engineering fields came together to work as one. Project management became recognized as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline with the engineering model. In the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad-hoc basis, using mostly Gantt charts and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project-scheduling models were developed.
The "critical path method" (CPM) was developed as a joint venture between DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. The "program evaluation and review technique" (PERT), was developed by the U.S. Navy Special Projects Office in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton as part of the Polaris missile submarine program. PERT and CPM are very similar in their approach but still present some differences. CPM is used for projects that assume deterministic activity times; the times at which each activity will be carried out are known.
International Project Management Day was created in 2004, spearheaded by LaVerne Johnson and Lori Milhaven, and the entire team of the International Institute of Learning (I.I.L.) to highlight the hard work of project managers and appreciate their management efforts. They knew the hard work that project managers do, and how much they add to a project coming off efficiently and on time, but despite all of these it was often seen that project managers are not much recognized and credited for their contributions and hence this day was created to honor and recognize them.
Project Management Day Significance:
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. The primary constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives. The people who executes project management are called project managers.
During board meetings, directors and other important members of an organization gather around to toss ideas. These ideas often turn into small to large-scale projects funded by companies and investors. These projects take weeks, months, and sometimes even years to accomplish, with the help of several resources and competent teamwork. And this is when we get to see the important role of project managers as it is easy to get an idea but executing is a major thing to achieve that also within a limited time or budget and the one and only project managers makes it possible!
A project manager needs to understand the order of execution of a project to schedule the project correctly as well as the time necessary to accomplish each individual task within the project. A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives on behalf of the client. A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.
A complete project manager, a term first coined by Dr. Robert J. Graham in his simulation, has been expanded upon by Randall L. Englund and Alfonso Bucero. They describe a complete project manager as a person who embraces multiple disciplines, such as leadership, influence, negotiations, politics, change and conflict management, and humor. These are all "soft" people skills that enable project leaders to be more effective and achieve optimized, consistent results.
Project Management Day Activities:
If you work at a medium-large scale organization, your employers often require project management or maybe even employ some in-house. Spend the day appreciating these individuals for all their hard work in the organization. And if you have any friends or relative who are working as project managers then it is time to appreciate them and celebrate this day with them like by going out for recreational activities or offering them a nice gift.
If you are an employer of project managers or work closely with them, take some time to plan a little work party for them. It could be as small as free lunch in the break room or as elaborate as gift hampers and cards. Or if you are a project manager yourself then it is time to celebrate yourself and you can do it by organizing a little party with your colleagues and having a nice fun moment between your work on this day.
If you don't know anyone who works as project managers or you are completely unaware regarding the field of project management then this day serves as the opportunity for you to go further deep into the history and knowledge about project management. This way it will help you to understand this subject in a better way and thus you will be able to appreciate project managers even more.
Most Searched FAQs on Project Management Day:
1. When is Project Management Day observed?
International Project Management Day is annually observed on every first Thursday of November.
2. What is the oldest project management approach?
The Gantt Chart is the oldest known informal project management approach. It was developed by Henry Gantt in the 1920s, and one of its first major applications was for the Hoover Dam in 1931.
3. What is a project life cycle?
A project life cycle is the combination of phases each project usually goes through before completion. It includes five phases, namely, initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing.