In this article you will learn about ISO standard 21500, applying already to this standard when using Merlin Project and thereby creating projects.
Basic concepts
This article refers to ISO 21500:2012, entitled "Guidance on project management", published by ISO. ISO has since withdrawn this edition; we introduce the successor standards at the end.
This standard describes the terms, fundamentals, processes and the process model in project management. Thus, it is particularly well suited as a guide for creating and planning your projects.
The standard offers you comprehensible introduction to project management. In it you will find all the descriptions of terms and processes, used within project management in practice.
Generally applicable
The descriptions contained in ISO 21500 are generally valid and can therefore be used by private, governmental or community organizations and companies for all types of projects.
Firstly, it contains terms and abbreviations playing a fundamental role in project management. Thus, ISO 21500 is an excellent compendium for use when creating project plans.
For example, you will find the terms activity, baseline plan, work breakdown structure and stakeholder in it. These terms are fundamental to project management and being a Merlin Project user they are already familiar to you.
Topic groups
Another chapter deals with topic groups that are elementary to the design of the project. Below are some of the topic groups helpful when creating a project:
- Contents
- Resources
- Time
- Cost
Adding attachments in Merlin Project plan, the topic groups Risk, Quality, and Communication are also not entirely new territory.
Processes
The standard also covers project management processes, so you quickly build a project plan based on these processes and track its subsequent progress.
To get started, you will find a project template in Merlin Project that follows the processes described in the standard. Launch Merlin Project and select the "General Project Management Plan" project template as new document.
Successor standards ISO 21502 and ISO 21500:2021
Two standards replace ISO 21500:2012: ISO 21502:2020 "Guidance on project management" contains the project management guidelines and describes practices instead of a process model. ISO 21500:2021 "Context and concepts" only covers the context and basic concepts of project, programme and portfolio management. The German editions DIN ISO 21502 and DIN ISO 21500 followed in December 2024.
If you have any questions about this blog article or would like to discuss it, we look forward to your contribution in our forum.
