1.1 Purpose

This document is intended to aid project managers in managing to successful conclusion those projects concerned with systems, including software systems.

This document specifies the required content of the project management plan (PMP). This document also quotes the extracted purpose and outcome statements from the technical management processes of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207, and adds detailed guidance for managing projects that use these processes for systems, including software systems.

This document is written for those who use or plan to use ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 on projects dealing with systems, including software systems, regardless of project scope, products, methodology, size or complexity. The field of application of this document spans the whole system or software life cycle and addresses all project management roles, specifically:

— those responsible for establishing and continuously improving their organization's policies for implementing ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 system life cycle processes and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 software life cycle processes;

— those responsible for executing any ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 system life cycle process or ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 software life cycle process at a project level.

— organizations or individuals subcontracting a project management effort.

In many organizations, the various responsibilities of project management are assigned to more than one person. Where the term "project manager" is used in this document, the guidance, advice or normative requirement is taken as applying to the applicable role within the organization.

This document is intended to provide guidance for two-party situations and can be equally applied where the two parties are from the same organization. This document can also be used by a single party as self-imposed tasks.

This document can also serve as guidance in multi-party situations, where high risks are inherent in the supply and integration of complex software-based systems, and procurement can involve several vendors, organizations or contracting parties.

The normative content specifications for PMPs and the guidance for application of the technical management processes have general application across the scope of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207, but are developed with a focus on projects dealing with systems with a significant software element, and software systems.