Advances of Project Management

Although mankind has always known the idea of projects, evidence of this being the works of art or the impressive constructions of various historical periods, the course of Project Management (PM), in its modern forms of manifestation, can establish its scientific landmarks in our century, being closely linked to technological, industrial, social development, but especially to the development of competition, in the context of the globalization of the business sector, the internationalization of the economic and social environment. In this dynamic and complex environment, the desire to make products or services as profitable and competitive as possible, which implies high performance and cost standards, but above all the management of production processes in the shortest possible time, gave rise to the need to ensure of advanced management methods and techniques, some extremely specialized, which defined the discipline of PM, as a branch of general management. Most of the investments or social development programs, financed from external funds, could be accessed mainly through projects, which determined that the PM experienced an explosion, both in terms of the specific notions used, but especially in terms of the methods and tools of things.

The course provides support for MBA students. The course was designed both for doctoral and postdoctoral students, as well as for bachelor’s and master’s students. The course also includes aspects related to the environment, such as pollution prevention, and sustainable development in the development of tools, methodologies, products, processes, and technologies. The course is adapted for the current context, in which project management has become emergent. These course notes aim to support students with a pragmatic perspective consistent with the current requirements of the allocated financing instruments, so that those who wish to participate in accessing these funds have the basic notions, as well as some specific skills for to go through the formal stages and to understand the informal mechanisms, the so-called “unwritten rules”, of obtaining contracts financed from external funds.