The IAPM welcomes the new ISO standard for project management.

12.11.2012 - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the project management standard in September 2012 after a five-year development period.

ISO 21500:2012 "Guidance on project management" was developed with the objective of the international standardisation of the project management terminology, processes and central concepts used by all project participants as the basis for a common understanding in transnational and transcontinental projects. ISO 21500 is just the first in a planned family of project management standards to facilitate greater efficiency in global project business. “I’m delighted that there are already more than 5200 hits on Google when you enter the search term ISO 21500:2012,” said Antje Funck, the IAPM’s European Representative, one and a half months after the standard’s publication. “I believe this is an important milestone on the road to genuine global networking. There’s still a lot of untapped potential, though. That’s why we expressly support the follow-up standards that are planned.” One of the reasons for Antje’s very positive appraisal of the standard is that ISO 21500:2012 doesn’t claim to replace national standards. “I believe that the ISO is making a statement on achieving the right balance between standard and flexibility. I think it’s saying that project teams should have the freedom to develop and implement certain processes within a standard framework. A standard is indispensable because it provides people in different cultures, fields of work and sectors of industry with a common action platform. However, it shouldn’t rule out the necessity for situation-specific creativity in project teams. The ISO and IAPM’s positions coincide on this issue.”


« Back to overview

The IAPM certification

The certification can be taken via a reputable online examination procedure. The costs are based on the gross domestic product of your country of origin.

From the IAPM Blog

Become a Network Official

Do you want to get involved in project management in your environment and contribute to the further development of project management? Then become active as an IAPM Network Official or as a Network Official of the IAPM Network University. 


For better readability, we usually only use the generic masculine form in our texts. Nevertheless, the expressions refer to members of all genders.