Project Management Institute

In the 1960s, project management as such began to be used in the US aerospace, construction, and defense industries. The Project Management Institute was founded by Ned Engman (McDonnell Douglas Automation), James Snyder, Susan Gallagher (SmithKline & French Laboratories), Eric Jenett (Brown & Root), and J Gordon Davis (Georgia Institute of Technology) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1969 as a nonprofit organization. It was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania in the same year. PMI described its objectives in 1975 as to "foster recognition of the need for professionalism in project management; provide a forum for the free exchange of project management problems, solutions, and applications; coordinate industrial and academic research efforts; develop common terminology and techniques to improve communications; provide an interface between users and suppliers of hardware and software systems; and to provide guidelines for instruction and career development in the field of project management."

In the 1970s, standardization efforts represented 10 to 15 percent of the institute's efforts. The functions were performed through the Professional Liaison Committee which called on and coordinated with the Technology, Research Policy, and Education Committees. The institute participated in national activities through the American National Standards Committee XK 36.3 and internationally, through liaison with an appointed observer to Europe's International Project Management Association, then called INTERNET. PMI did not deal with the US federal government directly; several members were federal employees in agencies involved with project management.

In the 1980s, efforts were made to standardize project management procedures and approaches. The PMI produced the first Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in 1996.

In the late 1990s, Virgil R. Carter became president of the PMI. In 2002, Carter was succeeded by Gregory Balestrero, who directed the institute until his retirement in January 2011. He was succeeded as president and CEO by Mark A. Langley. From March 2019 through December 2021, the president and CEO was Sunil Prashara. Pierre Le Manh was appointed CEO on September 1, 2022.

PMI has recruited volunteers to create industry standards, such as "Project Management Body of Knowledge", which has been recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In 2012, ISO adapted the project management processes from the PMBOK Guide 4th edition.