What Is Tailoring — Adapting Methodology to Fit the Project

In the previous chapter, we explored How to Effectively Deliver Project Results.
We discussed the eight “Project Performance Areas” and how to approach each one to improve project effectiveness.

But should we always approach these performance areas with the same level of rigor—regardless of the project’s size or complexity?

What Is Tailoring?

Tailoring means adapting a methodology to fit the nature of a project.
In project management, this concept is called tailoring, and the PMBOK 7th Edition even dedicates an entire chapter to it.

For example:
Spending two days on stakeholder engagement for a three-day solo project would be wasteful.
On the other hand, a 10-person agile product team can’t release an app without a clearly defined life cycle and delivery process.

Tailoring is about balancing competing demands—speed, cost, value, quality, compliance, and stakeholder expectations—to create a practical and effective work environment.

Let’s look at why tailoring matters, what to tailor, and how to do it.

Move Your Work Forward — The Ideal Project and Task Management Tool: Repsona

Why Tailor?

It’s easy to imagine that building a nuclear power plant requires far more rigorous processes than building an office building.
Likewise, processes that work for a 10-person team won’t scale directly to a 200-person project.

Too few processes risk omitting critical activities.
Too many waste time and resources.
Tailoring ensures that management effort matches the project’s environment and needs—no more, no less.

What Can Be Tailored?

When tailoring, consider adjusting elements such as:

• The project’s life cycle and development approach
• Processes and workflows
• Stakeholder engagement methods
• Tools and techniques used
• Methods and outputs

Each project’s nature determines how much to simplify, adapt, or emphasize specific processes across the performance areas.

The Tailoring Process

Tailoring follows four broad steps:

1. Select an initial development approach
   Decide whether the project will use a predictive, adaptive, or hybrid model.
   Choose based on project goals, uncertainty, and stakeholder expectations.

2. Tailor to the organization
   The project team must align with the organization’s policies, standards, and regulatory requirements.
   Large or high-risk projects—especially those involving safety or compliance—may require additional reviews or approvals.

3. Tailor to the project
   Adapt processes to suit the product, deliverables, team, and culture.
   Gather information about team dynamics, technology, and context.
   Then select appropriate tools, life cycles, and methods to support the work.

4. Implement continuous improvement
   Tailoring isn’t a one-time adjustment.
   As the project evolves, identify areas that could benefit from refinement.
   Ongoing improvement builds team accountability and a culture of learning and innovation.

Summary: What Is Tailoring?

We’ve explored what tailoring means, why it matters, and how to apply it.
Tailoring lets you design processes and working environments that fit the specific nature of your project.

The outcomes of tailoring depend on the organization, the type of project, the team members, and the project’s culture.
It must be done thoughtfully and revisited throughout the project.

Although tailoring is often led by the project team, it’s influenced by the organization and other projects as well.
Maintaining healthy communication ensures that the project stays aligned with the organization as a whole.

Move Your Work Forward — The Ideal Project and Task Management Tool: Repsona