Tailoring for the Organization: Project Teams Own Their Processes
PMBOK v8 Definition
Tailoring for the organization involves adding, removing, and reconfiguring elements of the approach to make it more suitable for the individual organization. Organizations provide methodologies and development approaches as starting points for projects requiring oversight, supporting repeatable processes, consistent capability measurement, and continuous improvement. When organizations have established process governance, tailoring must be aligned to policy, and the context of the program and/or portfolio within which the project operates should also be considered.
Why It Matters for the Exam
This concept appears frequently in PMI exam questions about organizational process assets, governance alignment, and the project team's role in process improvement. Questions often test your understanding that tailoring is not a one-size-fits-all exercise but a contextual adaptation that balances organizational standards with project-specific needs, and that the project team owns and improves their own processes.
Key Points to Remember (for the exam)
- Ownership Principle: Project teams own and improve their processes, but organizations provide methodologies and development approaches as starting points for projects requiring oversight.
- Tailoring Definition: Adding, removing, and reconfiguring elements of the approach to make it more suitable for the individual organization.
- Governance Alignment: When process governance exists, tailoring must be aligned to policy.
- Context Consideration: Tailoring within an organization should also consider the context of the program and/or portfolio within which the project operates.
- Four-Step Process: Organizations can use elements of (1) selecting an initial approach, (2) tailoring for the organization, (3) tailoring for the project, and (4) implementing ongoing improvement.
- Repeatable Support: Organizational guides support repeatable processes, consistent capability measurement, and continuous improvement.
- Team Empowerment: Project team engagement with tailoring demonstrates a mindset of innovation and improvement rather than settling for the status quo.
Typical PMI Exam Example
A project manager is assigned to a new project in an organization that has established process governance and provides standardized methodologies. The project team wants to modify the standard approach to better suit their project's unique requirements. What should the project manager do first?
Answer: Ensure that any tailoring decisions are aligned with the organization's process governance policy, considering the context of the program and portfolio within which the project operates.
PMI Exam Traps
- Trap: Confusing "tailoring for the organization" with "tailoring for the project"
- Reality: Tailoring for the organization focuses on organizational-level adaptation; tailoring for the project focuses on project-specific needs after organizational tailoring is established.
- Trap: Assuming the project team cannot modify organizational methodologies
- Reality: Project teams own and improve their processes, but must align with existing governance when it exists.
- Trap: Thinking tailoring is a one-time exercise
- Reality: The process of tailoring is not a single, one-time exercise; it includes implementing ongoing improvement through progressive elaboration.
- Trap: Believing organizational methodologies are mandatory without exception
- Reality: Organizational methodologies serve as starting points; tailoring involves adding, removing, and reconfiguring elements.
Important PMI Connections
| Related Concept | Relationship Type | Exam Attention Point |
|---|---|---|
| Process Governance | Aligns with / Constrains | Tailoring must be aligned to established process governance policy |
| Organizational Process Assets | Input to | Organizational methodologies are a type of organizational process asset |
| Progressive Elaboration | Complements | Tailoring is not one-time; progressive elaboration reveals where further tailoring brings improvements |
| Development Approaches | Starting Point for | Organizations provide development approaches as starting points for tailoring |
| Project Team Empowerment | Enables | Empowering the project team to find and implement improvements demonstrates trust in their skills |
Quick Review Questions
- Who owns and improves project processes according to PMBOK v8?
- What are the four steps organizations can use in the tailoring process?
- When tailoring for the organization, what additional context must be considered beyond the individual project?
- Is tailoring a one-time exercise or an ongoing process?
- What must tailoring be aligned to when an organization has established process governance?
PMBOK v8 Reference
Section 3.4.2 – Tailor for the Organization (within Chapter 3: The Tailoring Process)