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Version Improved After Comments Of Jesus
Guardiola And Francesca Montanari
History of ISO 21500. 1
Basic concepts. 2
Project
definition. 2
Types
of projects. 2
Project Management Processes. 3
Project
Management Process Groups. 3
Subject
Groups. 3
Structure
of Process Description. 4
Integration. 4
Stakeholder. 4
Scope. 5
Resource. 5
Time. 6
Cost. 6
Risk. 6
Quality. 7
Procurement. 7
Communication. 7
Summary. 8
ISO,
the world leading standardization organization, must have its own project
management standard. Currently its document dealing with this subject is
marked with ISO 10006 symbol and is titled Quality management systems – Guidelines for quality management in
projects. ISO 10006 has been originally published in 1997 and after so
has been updated in 2003. But it has not gained popularity equal to ISO’s
norm of quality of the series 9000 nor as the world leading project
management standards like PMBoK® Guide or Prince 2®. Even some ISO member
countries had more popular PM standards – BSI 6079 is a good example. And
the world-wide PM standard defining industry was working intensively.
Japan, Australia or Germany developed their own PM standards. International
Project Management Association developed IPMA Competence Baseline. Several
initiatives aiming at creating global PM standards have been established.
Global Project Management Forum (created as an initiative of David Pells),
Global Working Groups (initiative of Lynn Crawford), Operational Level
Coordination Initiative (OLCI), or Global Alliance for Project Performance
Standards make evidences that there is a need for one global project
management standard. The ISO 21500 initiative creates another hope that we
will have one such standard. This initiative has been initiated in 2006 by
British Standard Institute, a member organization of ISO. ISO agreed and
created work item ISO/PC 236 to prepare ISO 21500 standard on project
management. There were 31 countries involved into this work and 5 observing
it. The chairman of the group, Dr. Jim Gordon, was from United Kingdom
and the secretariat was hosted by USA ANSI (which adopted PMI PMBoK® Guide
as national standard for project management in 1999). The final version of
ISO 21500 has been published in September
2012.
There
are two issues worthy of deeper analysis: the very definition of a project and
the types of projects in which ISO 21500 is interested.
The
definition of project may be found in the 3.2 section. This is a
unique set of processes consisting of coordinated and controlled activities
with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective.
This definition makes a progress with comparison to PMBoK® Guide, which was
probably the last definition saying that project are performed with the
goal of producing deliverables. Products are absent from ISO 21500 definition.
But the definition retains the word “unique” in relationship to the set of
project processes, which in fact causes the same problems as in PMBoK®
Guide definition.
When a
project is initiated the set of project processes is not defined. According
to ISO 21500 the set of project processes are defined as a result of
performing process 4.3.3 Develop project plans, long after project
initiation. So you do not know whether this set of processes is unique (or
have any other characteristics) when you initiate a project. So if you
strictly follow such definition, you may initiate something what is not a
project according to this definition.
And,
especially in the domain of routine, commercial projects (e.g. building a
standard house for client) it is difficult to assign an adjective of unique to the set of project
processes.
Please
also note that according to analyzed definition, it does not require the processes to be unique. Only its set must be unique. Thus the very
document in a sense is internally inconsistent: yet it just describes the
set of 40 standard processes for project execution. From one point of view
ISO 21500 requires the unique set of processes while at the same time it
defines its standard set. Anyway understanding the concept of project
requires understanding of the unique
word and may lead to many problems in interpreting this concepts.
In real
life there are generally two types of projects: investment projects, which
change the way of organizations’ works and commercial projects which
directly generate income for performing organization.
The Overview section defines project
environment in an organization. Though it is not clearly stated it seems
that ISO 21500 is interested in investment projects only: project in ISO
21500 provide deliverables to operations and only these operations generate
benefits (Figure 1). This is not the case for commercial projects where
benefits are generated directly by producing required deliverables.
Benefits
realization is at customer side only (section 3.4.3). But for organizations
performing commercial projects just collecting benefits is the main reason
for performing projects.
Projects
are undertaken as a results of opportunities. Opportunities “may address,
for example, a new market demand, a current organizational need, or a new
legal requirement”. An opportunity of client demand, which is the most
popular opportunity for commercial projects,
is absent from this list.
All this
statements are evidences that ISO 21500 does not describe commercial
projects.
In
section 3.7 Projects and operations the standard says that “Projects (…)
create original deliverables”. This is inconsistent with contemporary
understanding of projects. For instance Bower and Walker or Brady and Davies define and analyze projects
which produce repeatable deliverables. The first of these papers deals with
projects which serially implements the same products, the second deals with
progress in performing project of the same type (i.e. producing similar
deliverables). You can find much more on this topic in literature. The very
area of organizational learning is based on the assumptions that
organizations repeat works (projects among them) and that they learn while
repeating these works.
When
analyzing ISO 21500 its difficult to abstract from PMBoK® Guide which gave main ideas for its
creation. The next sections contain comparison of PMBoK® Guide 5th
Edition and ISO 21500.
ISO
21500 divides project processes into five process groups. You may find the
comparison below.
Table 1. ISO 21500 and PMBoK®
Guide process groups comparison
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ISO 21500
|
PMBoK®
Guide
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|
Initiating
|
Initiating
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Planning
|
Planning
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|
Implementing
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Executing
|
|
Controlling
|
Monitoring and Controlling
|
|
Closing
|
Closing
|
The
differences between these two standards are really minimal here. Changing
the names is the only difference.
PMBoK®
Guide’s knowledge areas has been renamed to subjects in ISO
21500. Their comparison may be found at table Table 2.
Table 2. ISO 21500 Subjects and PMBoK® Guide Knowledge Areas
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ISO 21500
Subjects
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PMBoK® Guide
Knowledge Areas
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|
Integration
|
Integration
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|
Stakeholder
|
Stakeholder
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|
Scope
|
Scope
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|
Resource
|
Human Resources
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|
Time
|
Time
|
|
Cost
|
Cost
|
|
Risk
|
Risk
|
|
Quality
|
Quality
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|
Procurement
|
Procurement
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|
Communication
|
Communication
|
It is
clearly seen from both comparisons that ISO 21500 is strictly based on
PMBoK® Guide. The Human Resources knowledge area has been renamed to
Resource subject in order to cover both types: human and other project
resources.
The
structure of description of processes in ISO 21500 differs from that in
PMBoK® Guide. The main difference is that ISO 21500 does not provide
description of tools and techniques. The description of each process in ISO
21500 consists of general description and a table containing primary inputs
and primary outputs. ISO 21500 descriptions are substantially shorter than
those of PMBoK® Guide; roughly speaking description of two ISO 21500
processes fits at one page while in PMBoK® Guide it takes several pages to
describe one process.
Table 3. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Integration Processes
|
ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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|
4.3.2 Develop Project
Charter
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4.1 Develop Project
Charter
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4.3.3 Develop Project
Plans
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4.2 Develop Project
Management Plan
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4.3.4 Direct Project
Work
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4.3 Direct and Manage
Project Work
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4.3.5 Control Project
Work
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4.4 Monitor and Control
Project Work
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4.3.6 Control Changes
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4.5 Perform Integrated
Change Control
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4.3.7 Close Project
Phase or Project
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4.6 Close Project or
Phase
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4.3.8 Collect Lessons Learned
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|
Adding
4.3.8 Collect lessons learned process focused on project knowledge
management to ISO 21500 is a move in the right direction. But as more and
more practitioners and methodologist say that knowledge is the most
important project resource and thus it deserves to be treated as separate
subject in the discipline of project management. Gasik prepared theoretical basis for
such approach to project knowledge management.
ISO
21500 requires development of three types of plans. The project plan
describes project baselines: what should be achieved by the project in
separate subjects like scope, time, cost and any other. The project
management plan describes project management processes. The third type of
plans are subsidiary plans – any part of project management processes may
be placed in separate document. In PMBoK® Guide there is one project
management plan which consolidates and integrates all planes needed by a
project.
Table 4. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Stakeholder Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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4.3.9 Identify
Stakeholders
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13.1 Identify
Stakeholders
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13.2 Plan Stakeholder
Management
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4.3.10 Manage Stakeholders
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13.3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement
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13.4 Control Stakeholder Engagement
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PMBOK®
Guide has two more processes in the newly introduced in its 5th
edition area of stakeholder
management: Plan Stakeholder Management and Control Stakeholder
Management.
Table 5. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Scope Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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5.1 Plan Scope
Management
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4.3.11 Define Scope
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5.2 Collect Requirements
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5.3 Define Scope
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4.3.12 Create Work
Breakdown Structure
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5.4 Create WBS
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4.3.13 Define Activities
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6.2 Define Activities
(taken from Time Management Knowledge Area)
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5.5 Validate Scope
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4.3.14 Control Scope
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5.6 Control Scope
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ISO
21500 does not require a separate process for planning scope management.
ISO 21500 Define Scope Process includes collecting requirement – at least
project requirements are one of process’ main output. There is no process
like Validate Scope in ISO 21500. No ISO 21500 process produces output like
Accepted deliverables, which is the most important output of Validate Scope
PMBoK® Guide process. The minor change is moving the process of Define
Activities from time management knowledge area to the subject of scope in
ISO 21500.
Table 6. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Resource Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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|
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9.1 Plan Human Resource
Management
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4.3.15 Establish Project
Team
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9.2 Acquire Project Team
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4.3.16 Estimate
Resources
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6.4 Estimate Activity
Resources
(taken from Time Management Knowledge Area)
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4.3.17 Define Project Organization
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|
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4.3.18 Develop Project
Team
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9.3 Develop Project Team
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4.3.19 Control Resources
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4.3.20 Manage Project Team
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9.4 Manage Project Team
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The ISO
21500 Resource subject covers all types of resources: human, equipment,
materials etc. This is more than in PMBoK® Guide HR Management Knowledge
Area.
ISO
21500 does not require a separate process for resource planning. The
process of defining project organization in ISO 21500 is performed after establishing project team.
The Establish project team process works on “flat” structure: only
characteristic of single roles are needed for obtaining human resources.
Relationships between them are defined later, in Define Project
Organization. There is different approach in PMBoK® Guide: you have first
to define roles and project organization in Plan Human Resource Management
and after that you hire skilled people.
The
process of resources estimation has been moved to the subject of resources.
There
is no separate process for controlling resources in PMBoK® Guide. The
purpose of ISO 21500 Control resource process is to assure that required
resources are available to the project. A similar process may be found in
ISO 10006 which requires controlling resources in its 6.1.3 section.
Table 7. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Time Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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|
|
6.1 Plan Schedule
Management
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|
Moved to Scope subject
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6.2 Define
Activities
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4.3.21 Sequence
Activities
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6.3 Sequence Activities
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Moved to Resource subject
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6.4
Estimate Activity Resources
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4.3.22 Estimate Activity
Durations
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6.5 Estimate Activity
Durations
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4.3.23 Develop Schedule
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6.6 Develop Schedule
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4.3.24 Control Schedule
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6.7 Control Schedule
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ISO
21500 does not require a separate process for planning schedule management.
Two processes have been moved from Time Management Knowledge Area to other
subjects. The other processes seem to be stable.
Table 8. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Cost Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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|
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7.1 Plan Cost Management
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4.3.25 Estimate Costs
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7.2 Estimate Costs
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4.3.26 Develop Budget
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7.3 Determine Budget
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4.3.27 Control Costs
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7.4 Control Costs
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ISO
21500 does not require a separate process for planning cost management. The
other ISO 21500 processes strictly follow those from PMBOK® Guide.
Table 9. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Risk Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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|
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11.1 Plan Risk
Management
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4.3.28 Identify Risks
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11.2 Identify Risks
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4.3.29 Assess Risks
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11.3 Perform Qualitative
Risk Analysis
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11.4 Perform
Quantitative Risk Analysis
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4.3.30 Treat Risks
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11.5 Plan Risk Responses
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4.3.31 Control Risks
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11.6 Monitor and Control Risks
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There
is no planning of risk management in ISO 21500. Two analytical PMBoK® Guide
processes have been merged into one Assess Risks process of ISO 21500 but
it is not clear if quantitative risk management is required by ISO 21500.
The ISO
21500 Treat Risk process may be treated as equivalent to Plan Risk
Responses of PMBoK® Guide. The ISO 21500 process replicates the old
shortcoming of PMBoK® Guide: though it claims that there may be positive
and negative risks, the measures to treat risks are adequate only for
threats: mitigation, deflection and contingency plans. This issue has been
fixed in PMBoK® Guide 3rd Edition in 2004.
Table 10. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Quality Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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4.3.32 Plan Quality
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8.1 Plan Quality
Management
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4.3.33 Perform Quality
Assurance
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8.2 Perform Quality
Assurance
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4.3.34 Perform Quality Control
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8.3 Quality Control
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There
is no substantial difference between PMBoK® Guide and ISO 21500 processes
in the subject of quality.
Table 11. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Procurement Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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4.3.35 Plan Procurement
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12.1 Plan Procurement
Management
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4.3.36 Select Suppliers
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12.2 Conduct
Procurements
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4.3.37 Administer
Contracts
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12.3 Control
Procurements
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12.4 Close Procurements
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The
purpose of ISO 21500 Select supplier process is generally the same as
PMBoK® Guide’s Conduct Procurements: to sign contracts. There is no
separate process of closing contracts in ISO 21500 – closing contracts is a
part of Administer Contracts process there.
Table 12. ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
Communication Processes
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ISO 21500
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PMBoK® Guide
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4.3.38 Plan
Communications
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10.1 Plan Communications
Management
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4.3.39 Distribute
Information
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10.2 Manage
Communications
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4.3.40 Manage Communication
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10.3 Control Communications
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ISO
21500 processes match those of PMBOK® Guide. Both standards use different
naming style. Manage Communications of PMBOK® Guide have the same functions
as Distribute Information of ISO 21500 while the goal of ISO 21500 Manage
Communication is to control and improve project communications – and this
is the goal of PMBOK® Guide’s Control Communications process.
The set
of ten ISO 21500 subjects strictly follows the set of PMBOK® Guide knowledge
areas.
There
are 39 processes in ISO 21500 and 47 processes in PMBoK® Guide. 33
processes of ISO 21500 have their direct equivalents in PMBoK® Guide (for
one of them its place in the sequence of processes has been changed). 4
processes have been moved between subjects (PMBoK® Guide knowledge areas).
3 pairs
of PMBoK® Guide processes have been merged to 4 single processes in ISO
21500.
8
PMBoK® Guide processes are absent from ISO 21500:
- 5.1 Plan Scope Management
- 5.5 Validate Scope,
- 6.1 Plan Schedule Management,
- 7.1 Plan Cost Management,
- 9.1 Plan Human Resource
Management,
- 12.1 Plan Risk Management,
- 13.2 Plan Stakeholder
Management,
- 13.4 Control Stakeholder
Engagement.
3 new
processes have been introduced to ISO 21500:
- 4.3.8 Collect Lessons
Learned,
- 4.3.17 Define Project
Organization,
- 4.3.19 Control Resources.
Table 13. Summary of quantitative
comparison of ISO 21500 and PMBoK® Guide
|
|
Summary
|
Integration
|
Stakeholder
|
Scope
|
Resource
|
|
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
|
The
same
|
33
|
33
|
6
|
6
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
|
Merged
|
3
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
|
|
Only
PMBOK® Guide
|
-
|
8
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
1
|
|
Only
ISO 21500
|
3
|
-
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
Total
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39
|
47
|
7
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
|
Time
|
Cost
|
Risk
|
Quality
|
Procurement
|
Communication
|
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
ISO
|
PMBOK
|
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
Read the paper on ISO 21500
and PMBoK® Guide in PDF
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