In its essence, project management is the ability to make people come together and strive for a common goal while managing available resources. This has been happening for a long time. From the construction of historic monuments like the pyramids to any modern piece of infrastructure, project management has been used in one way or another over the years, and not just in construction.
Formally, project management as a concept started in manufacturing environments after the second world war in the 1950s. Since the need to break down complex tasks into manageable items and efficiently manage resources was widely felt, project management quickly expanded and became essential for almost all sectors.