ABSTRACT
This chapter has attempted to trace the connections between a number of concepts, focusing on discourse, discipline and professionalisation, through an examination of the phenomenon of Project Management. It starts with an overview of the development of Project Management, tracing its theoretical origins and examining elements of the generic model, as well as associated tools and techniques. It outlines the specific form of Project Management which has been developed to fit the field of Information Technology (IT), before examining its particular incarnation in Buzzbank and Lifelong. The expansion of Project Management in both organisations is driven in part by its use in promoting the notion of the professionalism of IT staff. The chapter briefs the examination of some contemporary debates over professionalisation suggests a number of characteristics that Project Management shares with other fields which have attempted to engage in a discourse of professionalism. It draws on empirical work in Lifelong and Buzzbank.
