Project Management Institute (PMI) Definition

Established in 1969 and situated outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded 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 symposium was held in Atlanta, Georgia USA and had an attendance of 83 people.

Since then, the PMI has become the publisher of the annual publication Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The PMU also offers two levels of certification:

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) – has demonstrated a common base of knowledge and terms in the field of project management. It requires either 1500 hours of work on a project team or 23 contact hours of formal education in project management.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) – has met specific education and experience requirements, has agreed to adhere to a code of professional conduct, and has passed an examination designed to objectively assess and measure project management knowledge. In addition, a PMP must satisfy continuing certification requirements or lose the certification.

As of 2005, there were over 110,000 Project Management Professionals (PMPs) in 120 countries.

Other Definitions

I've also put together a description of project management fundamentals if you're interested in learning more about this profession.

References
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia