PMI Information
Established in 1969 and headquartered outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, the Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading not-for-profit project management professional association, with over 125,000 members worldwide.
History
The Project Management Institute was founded in 1969 by five volunteers. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania USA issued Articles of Incorporation for PMI which signified the official inception of the organization. During that same year, the first PMI Seminars & Symposium was held in Atlanta, Georgia USA and had an attendance of 83 people.
In the 1970s the first issue of Project Management Quarterly (PMQ) was published and later renamed Project Management Journal® (PMJ). The first Annual Seminars & Symposium was held outside of the USA, the first PMI Chapter was chartered and the PMI Professional Awards Program was established. By the end of the decade PMI membership totaled over 2,000 individuals worldwide.
During the 1980s, PMI’s membership, programs and services continued to grow. A Code of Ethics was adopted for the profession and the first Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification examination was administered. The first PMI project management standard was published as the PMQ Special Report on Ethics Standards and Accreditation. PMI’s publishing products and services also grew rapidly during this decade. The first PMI book was co-published and PM Network®, PMI’s monthly magazine was born. Due to this growth, the PMI Publishing Division was established in North Carolina USA.
By 1990, PMI’s membership totaled over 8,500 and by 1993 the annual membership growth rate rose to over 20 percent per year. During the 1990s, Specific Interest Groups and Colleges were formed and Seminars USA, a series of educational programs on project management was initiated (later renamed SeminarsWorldsm). PMI also established a presence on the World Wide Web and published the project management standard, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). PMI Today®, PMI’s monthly newsletter was printed for the first time and the Professional Development Program (PDP) was established for PMP certificate holders to maintain their credential.
By the beginning of the 21st century, PMI had over 50,000 members, over 10,000 certified Project Management Professionals and over 270,000 copies of the PMBOK® Guide in circulation.
Today
Currently, PMI supports over 125,000 members in 140 countries worldwide. PMI members are individuals practicing and studying project management in many different industry areas, including aerospace, automotive, business management, construction, engineering, financial services, information technology, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications.
Over time, PMI has become, and continues to be, the leading professional association in project management. Members and project management stakeholders can take advantage of the extensive products and services offered through PMI. These products and services are described below and are explained in detail throughout the PMI Web site.