Welcome to the PM1 and BP1 Blog. My name is Shirley and I am the Blog Administrator. Our purpose is to record our research and thoughts on topics in the area of Project Management and Business Process Integration. Both topics are of interest to us as we study these subjects to complete a degree in Accounting and Information Technology.

Project Management:
The idea of project management has existed from before the building of the pyramids. While the concept has existed, the formal education of project management is fairly new. Some say the birthplace of modern project management was the Manhattan project. My unconfirmed source indicates this project, which resulted in the development of the atomic bomb, began in 1939. By the time of its completion the project cost 2 billion dollars and involved 125,000 people. Other famous endeavors were the Human Genome and Apollo projects.

Our focus is on project management for information technology. While smaller in scope than previously mention projects, information technology projects present their unique challenges. With quickly changing technology, and the added demand for payback, the information technology project manager must be informed on technological developments and understand the strategic business processes that help the organization attain its goals.

Business Process Integration:
Business processes have existed as long as organizations have existed. It is a simple fact that in order to succeed, a company must be able to keep a record of all of its activities. As organizations grow and evolve, and as competition becomes global, it has become more important that they focus on how efficiently and effectively information is recorded to make decisions. In 1993, Michael Hammer and James Champy revitalized this topic through their book; Reengineering the Corporation (New York: HarperBusiness). As a result, countless organizations have focused on their processes.

Since that time, Business Process Reeingineering has taken on many names, such as Business Process Management, Business Process Improvement and for our topic; Business Process Integration. Many books have been written on the topic and much software has been developed with the promise of effectively integrating business processes in our organizations. Our purpose is to explore topics in the area of Business Process Integration; from a structured methodology for process improvement, to some of the latest software available to support processes.