BS 6079:2019

What is BS 6079 – Guidance for project management about?  

BS 6079 is an international standard that discusses the attributes of project management. 

BS 6079 sets out principles and guidance for the commissioning, sponsoring, directing, and managing of projects. It specifies technicalities such as terms, concepts, project organization, principles of project management, project governance, roles and responsibilities, project life cycle, commissioning a project, managing delivery, etc. 

BS 6079 is relevant to all industry sectors in the public, private and voluntary domains, regardless of the size or type of the organization or project.  

BS 6079 is intended that the application of this standard is proportional to the circumstances and needs of the particular organization. 

Who is BS 6079 – Guidance for project management for? 

BS 6079 provides guidance to senior managers, project practitioners, and those who interact with project teams, regardless of project management experience. 

BS 6079 on principle and guidance is beneficial for: 

• Managers in organizations that undertake projects 
• Project sponsors 
• Project managers 
• Team managers and members 
• Project support staff, including members of project management offices 
• Business and technical specialists 
• Educators and trainers 
• Those involved in business change and benefits management 

Why should you use BS 6079– Guidance for project management? 

Without a focus on the required objectives, the full support of senior management for the project manager and team, and the appropriate choice and use of planning and control techniques, a project would usually fail to achieve the desired outcomes. 

BS 6079 aims to help the users to achieve the desired outcome of a project efficiently and effectively and to support the improvement of organizational project management capability. The principles provided in BS 6079 are relevant to projects of all sizes, complexity, and duration, and their application is proportional to the circumstances and needs of the organization delivering them. 

BS 6079 draws the attention of the users to the management challenges and opportunities encountered in different project environments and presents possible approaches to these. It also gives a disclaimer that the approaches presented are intended to be treated as guidance only, they might need to be tailored to suit the particular circumstances in which they are being used. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS 6079:2019 supersedes BS 60791:2010, BS 60792:2000, BS 60793:2000 and PD 60794:2006, which are withdrawn. BS 6079 introduces the following principal changes: 

• Formally recognizing the organizational context of projects through the introduction of the "higher-level management" role and its associated activities 
• The addition of activities relating to the requirements definition, design, development, verification and validation of a project’s primary outputs