ISO 21502:2020

International

vISO 21502:2020 (first edition 2020-12)

4 domains

35 controls

ISO's guidance on managing a project: understanding the context, setting a governance framework and business case, defining the life cycle, organising sponsor, board, assurance, manager, project office and team roles, the prerequisites for formalizing project management in the organisation, the integrated practices from pre-project activities to post-project review, and the eighteen management practices from planning and benefits to procurement and lessons learned.

Verified

ISO 21502:2020 is a compliance framework from International with 4 domains and 35 controls. The largest domains are Clause 7: Management practices for a project – ISO 21502:2020 (17 controls), Clause 6: Integrated project management practices – ISO 21502:2020 (8 controls), Clause 4: Project management concepts, governance, life cycle, organization and roles – ISO 21502:2020 (7 controls). Every control below carries what it requires and what an assessor expects to see.

Maintained by Gerard Blokdyk

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Framework Domains (4)

Clause 4: Project management concepts, governance, life cycle, organization and roles – ISO 21502:2020

7 controls

Controls in the Clause 4: Project management concepts, governance, life cycle, organization and roles – ISO 21502:2020 domain of ISO 21502:2020: 7 controls
Code	Title	Description
iso-21502-2020::4.2	Understand and respond to the project context	The project team should consider internal factors such as strategy, technology, maturity, resource availability, culture...
iso-21502-2020::4.3.1	Establish the project governance framework	Project governance should set out the principles, policies and structures used to direct, authorize and control the proj...
iso-21502-2020::4.3.2	Justify the project with a business case	A business case should justify starting and continuing the project and should include or point to the objectives, strate...
iso-21502-2020::4.4	Define the project life cycle	The project life cycle should be defined with phases that have clear starts and ends, milestones linked to decisions and...
iso-21502-2020::4.5.1-4.5.5	Set the project organization: sponsoring organization, board, sponsor and assurance	The project organization should show clear reporting lines, gain approval from the sponsor or board and be shared with a...
iso-21502-2020::4.5.6-4.5.11	Assign the delivery roles: manager, project office, work package leaders, team and stakeholders	The project manager should answer to the sponsor or board for delivering the scope that was agreed and for leading and m...
iso-21502-2020::4.6	Ensure competencies of project personnel	Project management competence should be grouped into technical, behavioural and business categories, and team members wh...

Clause 5: Prerequisites for formalizing project management – ISO 21502:2020

3 controls

Controls in the Clause 5: Prerequisites for formalizing project management – ISO 21502:2020 domain of ISO 21502:2020: 3 controls
Code	Title	Description
iso-21502-2020::5.2	Consider the organization's needs before implementing project management	Introducing formal project management should itself follow project, programme or portfolio management, depending on scal...
iso-21502-2020::5.3	Continuously improve the project management environment	Executive and senior management should build a culture where improvement never stops, so that project management stays f...
iso-21502-2020::5.4	Align project management with organizational processes and systems	The project governance framework should fit alongside the organization's wider processes and systems. These include gove...

Clause 6: Integrated project management practices – ISO 21502:2020

8 controls

Controls in the Clause 6: Integrated project management practices – ISO 21502:2020 domain of ISO 21502:2020: 8 controls
Code	Title	Description
iso-21502-2020::6.2	Carry out pre-project activities	Before a project is authorized, needs and opportunities that come from strategy or business needs should be assessed aga...
iso-21502-2020::6.3	Oversee the project	The sponsoring organization should oversee the project so that the team stays able to meet the objectives, the project s...
iso-21502-2020::6.4	Direct the project	The sponsor, with backing or supervision from the board, should verify that an organizational need is being met, that vi...
iso-21502-2020::6.5	Initiate the project	Initiating should cover planning the work, defining the project organization, mobilizing the team, setting governance an...
iso-21502-2020::6.6	Control the project	To control a project, its phases and its work packages, you compare actual performance with the agreed plan, and that pl...
iso-21502-2020::6.7	Manage delivery	The work should be broken into work packages with named leaders, and each package should have clear definition, planning...
iso-21502-2020::6.8	Close or terminate the project	Before closure, unless the project is terminated, all activities should be shown as complete, the scope confirmed as del...
iso-21502-2020::6.9	Carry out post-project activities	Work after the project should confirm that results can be sustained and that the benefits expected are actually being ac...

Clause 7: Management practices for a project – ISO 21502:2020

17 controls

Controls in the Clause 7: Management practices for a project – ISO 21502:2020 domain of ISO 21502:2020: 17 controls
Code	Title	Description
iso-21502-2020::7.10	Change control	This clause explains what change control is for: to govern alterations to the project and to what it produces, and to fo...
iso-21502-2020::7.11	Quality management	This clause sets out what quality management achieves: it makes it likelier that whatever the project turns out fits the...
iso-21502-2020::7.12	Stakeholder engagement	This clause states what stakeholder engagement is for: to identify, understand and address what stakeholders need, care...
iso-21502-2020::7.13	Communication management	This clause explains why communication management matters: it enables productive exchanges with stakeholders that help d...
iso-21502-2020::7.14	Managing organizational and societal change	This clause explains why it matters to steer change in organisations and society: the aim is to deliver the outcomes the...
iso-21502-2020::7.15	Reporting	This clause explains why reporting matters: it supplies present status, a forward view and scrutiny of the project that...
iso-21502-2020::7.16	Information and documentation management	This clause describes why information and documentation get managed: so that the people doing the work, and the people m...
iso-21502-2020::7.17	Procurement	This clause explains why procurement takes place: to obtain products and services of the right quality, at good value, d...
iso-21502-2020::7.18	Lessons learned	This clause explains why lessons are captured: so experience is put to use, the same mistakes are avoided, and better wa...
iso-21502-2020::7.2	Planning	Planning should set out what is to be delivered, the outputs and outcomes expected, and the limits that apply, and it sh...
iso-21502-2020::7.3	Benefit management	Benefit management should help the sponsoring organization and the customer secure the intended gains from project outco...
iso-21502-2020::7.4	Scope management	Scope should sit in the project plan, be defined, and then be managed so that only work formally approved enters the pro...
iso-21502-2020::7.5	Resources management	The resources that the scope requires should be planned, managed and controlled for quality, quantity and best use, and...
iso-21502-2020::7.6	Schedule management	The schedule should sit inside the project plan and should be built under the project manager's direction by putting act...
iso-21502-2020::7.7	Cost management	Cost management should give the project financial control across the life cycle so it can be delivered inside the approv...
iso-21502-2020::7.8	Risk management	Risk management should raise the likelihood of meeting project objectives, and identified risks with the options for add...
iso-21502-2020::7.9	Issues management	This clause sets out the purpose of issue management, which is to settle issues so that the project's objectives are not...

What is ISO 21502:2020 and who does it apply to?

ISO 21502:2020 is a compliance framework from International with 4 domains and 35 controls. ISO's guidance on managing a project: understanding the context, setting a governance framework and business case, defining the life cycle, organising sponsor, board, assurance, manager, project office and team roles, the prerequisites for formalizing project management in the organisation, the integrated practices from pre-project activities to post-project review, and the eighteen management practices from planning and benefits to procurement and lessons learned. It is used by organisations to establish and maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.

What does ISO 21502:2020 actually require?

ISO 21502:2020 has 35 controls organised across 4 domains. The largest domains are Clause 7: Management practices for a project – ISO 21502:2020 (17 controls), Clause 6: Integrated project management practices – ISO 21502:2020 (8 controls), Clause 4: Project management concepts, governance, life cycle, organization and roles – ISO 21502:2020 (7 controls). Each control defines specific requirements that organisations must implement to achieve compliance.

If I already comply with another framework, how much of ISO 21502:2020 do I already cover?

ISO 21502:2020 does not currently have cross-framework mappings in our system. Check back as we continuously expand our mapping database.

How do I implement ISO 21502:2020?

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