Managing a project from start to finish is a breeze thanks to the first standard on project management.
Costly failures and wasted time... successfully completing a project is far from straightforward for organizations. But in order to meet their customers' expectations and keep pace with technical developments, they are increasingly choosing to conduct their activities on a project basis.
Quality and lean
In order to assist companies, and more specifically project managers and team members, an international standard, included in the collection of French standards, provides recommendations on project management concepts and processes. These recommendations are designed to enable organizations to successfully manage projects and guarantee their performance.
The universal project management concepts provided in this standard help answer questions such as: What is a project?
What is project management? What strategy should be implemented? The standard also identifies recommended project management processes: developing the project charter, forming the project team, defining the project organization, etc.
What is project management?
It consists of "applying methods, tools, techniques, and skills to a given project. Project management includes the integration of the various phases of the project life cycle" (Source: NF ISO 21500 standard).
ISO PC 236 "Project management," comprising more than fifty countries, was responsible for the NF ISO 21500 standard. This first international standard on the subject is intended to be a practical tool for novice or experienced managers in the implementation of any type of project and for any type of organization.
It is monitored by ISO TC 258 "Project, portfolio, and program management," which will continue to explore topics such as project governance and program management.
In France, the AFNOR X620 "Project and Program Management" commission actively monitors international developments, in particular to ensure consistency with existing French standards. Around ten standards have been developed by this commission. One example is FD X50-116 "Project Management."
Other topics will soon be added to the commission's work program. The commission, which is made up of large industrial companies, teachers, project management firms, and consultants, wishes to expand its membership. Professionals from the transport, energy, services, agri-food, and other sectors, as well as SMEs and micro-enterprises, are invited to join the commission.
The next AFNOR committee meeting will take place on the afternoon of December 7. If you are interested in participating, please contact Isabelle Lambert, AFNOR Standardization Project Manager.
This meeting will be preceded by an Exclusives meeting, reserved for AFNOR members, which will provide an opportunity to learn more about project management by hearing from a number of project managers who make use of standards in this field. It will also be an opportunity to discover national, European, and international standardization in the field of project management.
- To learn more about the AFNOR X620 standardization committee "Project and Program Management"...
- To learn more and order the NF ISO 21500 standard "Guidelines on project management"...
