Below is a summary of a critical Project Management document in Australia – The document is called AS ISO 21500:2016 document – the focus of the review will be on the initiation and planning stages of the document. It outlines some of the major documents required
Background
Published in June 2016 by the SAI Global Limited, the AS ISO 21500:2016 has been primarily written for senior managers, project sponsors, and project management personnel (Standards Australia Committee MB-012 2016, p. iv). The project management standards are important as it has been designed to provide a high-level overview of principles and processes that are considered good practice within the project management industry and it is an important starting point for all those wanting to quickly ingest what project management is all about as well as the expectations and importance of various aspects and functions of project management. This includes the definition of terms specific to project management, a life cycle of a project, and the project environment. The useful tools, guides, and knowledge published in the publication can be applied to just about any project, regardless of the size or nature of the project. This publication is very useful for those who are looking for concise, straight-to-the-point explanations and easy-to-use guides for their own projects (Standards Australia Committee MB-012, pp. 1-36).
The AS ISO 21500:2016 was adopted by ISO 21500:2012 which was published in September 2012. The ISO 21500:2012 is the international standard which were developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation to provide guidance for project management personnel is important as it explains the core principles and outlines what good practice is in project management (International Organization for Standardization Project Committee ISO/PC 236 2012, pp. 1-18).
Summary on the initiation and planning stage
The AS ISO 21500:2016 talks about the expectations and standards that should be observed in a project. The flow chart on page three describes the project management concepts and their relationships, in particular how the organisational strategy influences the opportunities which then results in a business case as part of the initiation stage (Standards Australia Committee MB-012 2016, p. 3). The document also discusses the stakeholders, operations, governance, constraints, as well as processes – all of which are important to the initiation and planning stages (Standards Australia Committee MB-012 2016, pp. 6-9).
The process group processes are also clearly mapped to the initial and planning stages. Page 32 (Standards Australia Committee MB-012 2016) shows the important parts of the initial stage step-by-step and how the components relate to each other – how the project starts, and where the Project Charter gets developed, followed by the establishment of the project team, and the identification of the stakeholders. Page 33 (Standards Australia Committee MB-012 2016) shows the important parts of the planning stage step-by-step and how the components relate to each other – from the approval stage to the scoping to the creation of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), to the budget activities and the estimation of resources, to the risk assessment, to the communication and procurement strategy, learn how to the development of project plans. Click here to find out more information about Project Management. Looking for another project management book review – Project Management Book of Knowledge review.