Project management standards

Project management standards are normative and methodological documents that regulate the processes, principles, and best practices for conducting projects. Their purpose is to ensure uniformity of approaches, improve the quality of planning, control, execution, and closure of projects, as well as to enhance the effectiveness of collaboration among all project stakeholders.

Purpose

Project management standards are used for:

• formalizing and standardizing project processes;
• increasing the manageability and transparency of projects;
• defining roles, artifacts, and stages of the project lifecycle;
• integrating project management with corporate governance and strategy.

Major International Standards

• ISO 21500: an international standard for general-purpose project management.
• PMBOK Guide: a guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) that describes processes, process groups, and knowledge areas.
• PRINCE2: a process-based standard that emphasizes management by stages and change control.
• IPMA ICB: a competency-based model from the International Project Management Association (IPMA), focused on developing personal, technical, and behavioral competencies.

Application

Project management standards are applied in a wide variety of fields—from IT and construction to public administration and scientific research. They are also used for professional certification (PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, IPMA Level A–D) and for assessing the maturity of project management within organizations.

See Also

• Project management
• Project planning