Toward a Meaningful Definition of Project Management: Stops On a Journey Forward

Toward a Meaningful Definition of Project Management: Stops On a Journey Forward Mark Mullaly, PMP June 4, 2003

Project Management Project Management in Practice

My last column discussing the definition of project management generated a lot of discussion, some positive and some negative. While a few correspondents felt it raised some interesting questions, others were clearly frustrated that the column didn't actually get a definition by the end of it. To them, I apologize in advance--you aren't going to get one until next month.

Some explanation of why this discussion is occurring probably wouldn't be inappropriate here. Since I started asking the question of what project management is, and how someone knows that they are doing project management, it has become increasingly apparent that while many do it, few can define it and many actually don't recognize that what they are doing is project management.

This challenge very much stems from the initial thoughts expressed in my column on accidental project managers --that there are far more people in a far greater number of walks of life that actually "do" project management than actually realize it.