Overview

Provides high-level descriptions of project management practices that are considered to work well and produce good results, covering the project from pre-project activities through delivery to post-project activities.

ISO 21502:2020 provides high-level descriptions of practices that are considered to work well and produce good results within the context of project management. It is the detailed project management guidance document of the ISO 21500 series, developed by ISO/TC 258. Despite the series title, ISO 21502 does not provide guidance on managing programmes or portfolios — those are covered by ISO 21503 and ISO 21504 respectively — and it addresses general management topics only where they bear on project management.

Where it came from. ISO 21500:2012 was originally titled "Guidance on project management". When the series was restructured, that role passed to ISO 21502:2020 and ISO 21500 was rewritten in 2021 as the context-and-concepts document. ISO 21502 is therefore the successor in substance to the project management guidance many organizations knew as ISO 21500, and the change of numbering is a frequent source of confusion in older documentation and procurement specifications.

Structure. The standard sets out the concepts of project management and the prerequisites for formalizing it in an organization, then divides practice into two layers. Integrated project management practices cover the project from end to end: pre-project activities leading up to the decision to initiate; overseeing a project, performed by the sponsoring organization or governing body; directing a project, performed by the sponsor or project board; initiating, controlling and closing the project; and post-project activities, including benefits realization after the deliverables have been handed over. Management practices for a project then address the individual subject areas — among them planning, benefit management, scope, resources, schedule, cost, risk, issues, change control, quality, stakeholder engagement, communication, procurement, organizational and societal change, and reporting.

The distinction between overseeing and directing a project is one of the more useful features of the document. Oversight provides assurance that the project remains viable and aligned with the sponsoring organization's strategy; direction makes the actual decisions at defined control points. Separating the two clarifies a boundary that is often blurred in practice, where a steering committee is asked simultaneously to decide and to assure.

Relationship to PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2. ISO 21502 is a consensus international standard that describes practices at a high level. It is not a methodology and it carries no templates, no prescribed process flow and no individual certification scheme. The PMI's PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2 (owned by PeopleCert) are proprietary bodies of knowledge and methods with their own detailed processes, terminology and individual credentials. They are compatible in intent — an organization using PRINCE2 or a PMI-aligned method can normally show that its practices address what ISO 21502 describes — but they operate at different levels of prescription. ISO 21502 is often used where a vendor-neutral reference is needed, such as in public procurement or in multinational organizations that use different methods in different regions.

Certification. ISO 21502 is a guidance standard. There is no ISO certification of organizations or individuals against it, and there is no Stage 1 / Stage 2 audit process associated with it. Organizations wanting a certifiable management system related to delivery quality certify to ISO 9001 and may use ISO 10006 for quality management in projects. A requirements-level standard for project, programme and portfolio management, ISO 21514, has been under development within ISO/TC 258.

Purpose

To describe, at a high level, the project management practices that work well and produce good results, from pre-project activities through governance, initiation, control and closure to post-project benefits realization.

Key Benefits

• Vendor-neutral international reference for project management practice
• Clear separation of overseeing a project from directing a project
• Covers the full span including pre-project and post-project benefits realization
• Compatible with PMBOK Guide, PRINCE2, agile and in-house methods
• Useful common reference for multinational organizations using mixed methods
• Provides a structured checklist for reviewing an organization's delivery practices

Key Requirements

• Note: this is a guidance standard; the practices it describes include:
• Pre-project activities and the decision to initiate a project
• Overseeing a project by the sponsoring organization or governing body
• Directing a project through the sponsor or project board at defined control points
• Initiating, controlling and closing a project
• Post-project activities including benefits realization
• Planning, benefit, scope, resource, schedule and cost management
• Risk, issue and change control management
• Quality, stakeholder engagement, communication and reporting
• Procurement, and organizational and societal change management

Who Needs This Standard?

Project managers and project sponsors, PMO and delivery function leads, governance bodies and project boards, organizations defining or reviewing an internal project management framework, and public sector buyers requiring a method-neutral reference in specifications.

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