05 · Tailoring — Kevin Jogin

POSTER 05

Section 2 · PMBOK 7 — Fit the Approach to the Context

Tailoring

Tailoring is the deliberate adaptation of approach, governance and processes to suit the unique context of the work. The aim is to maximise value and minimise waste — never to cut corners. It is iterative: you tailor at the start and keep adjusting as you learn.

Visual Map — The Tailoring Funnel

Predictive — plan-driven, fixed scope, single delivery Hybrid — predictive shell, adaptive core Adaptive — iterative, evolving scope, frequent delivery

1 · Select
initial development approach ▸ 2 · Tailor for the Organisation
governance, methodology, policy, culture ▸ 3 · Tailor for the Project
product, team & the specific context ▸ 4 · Implement & Improve
inspect, adapt, refine continuously ↺

The funnel narrows from a broad starting point to a precise fit, then loops — step 4 feeds learning back into steps 1–3 throughout delivery. You tailor the life cycle, processes, engagement (people), tools, methods & artifacts — but the 12 principles always apply.

What Drives the Decision? — Read the Context

Dimension	Pushes toward Predictive ▸	◂ Pushes toward Adaptive
Requirements	Stable, clear, well understood	Emerging, uncertain, fast-changing
Risk & regulation	Safety-critical, heavily regulated	Low regulatory burden
Cost of change	Expensive to change late	Cheap & easy to change
Delivery cadence	One large, integrated delivery	Frequent small increments
Customer involvement	Limited / milestone-based	Continuous & collaborative
Size & duration	Large, long, many interfaces	Small-to-medium, shorter
Team & culture	Distributed, low agile maturity	Co-located/empowered, agile-fluent

What You Can Tailor

Life cycle & development approach — phases, gates, cadence.
Processes — add, remove, blend or align to fit value.
Engagement — how people & stakeholders interact.
Tools — methods of delivery, software, infrastructure.
Methods & artifacts — which models, methods & documents you actually use (Poster 6).

Relationships

Tailoring is Principle #7 and a theme across all 8 domains.
Organisational governance / the PMO sets the guardrails you tailor within.
Feeds Development Approach & Life Cycle domain directly.

Exam Concepts

Goal = maximise value, minimise waste — not reduce rigour.
Tailoring is iterative & ongoing, not a one-time setup.
Over-tailoring (too much process) and under-tailoring (too little) are both risks.
You tailor methods, never the principles.
Tailoring decisions should be justified & documented.

Executive View

Right-sized governance = speed without losing control.
Avoid one-size-fits-all mandates that burden small work.
A documented tailoring framework signals organisational maturity.
Frees senior attention for high-risk, high-value projects.

Industry Example — Defence vs Start-up

Defence

Shipbuilding: fixed config baselines, stage gates, safety regs → strongly predictive, minimal agile tailoring.

Internal tooling team: backlog, 2-week sprints, continuous release → adaptive.

Hybrid

Regulated SaaS: agile build inside a predictive compliance & assurance wrapper.

Memory Hooks

"Tailor the suit to the person" — fit the method to the work, never the reverse.
A·O·P·I = Approach → Organisation → Project → Improve (the 4 funnel steps).
More tailoring ≠ less rigour — it means appropriate rigour.
Stable + regulated → predictive; uncertain + fast → adaptive; both → hybrid.

60-sec Review Draw the 4-step funnel + loop Predictive vs Adaptive drivers Name the 5 things you tailor Over- vs under-tailoring Why principles never tailor

PMI Visual Wall · Poster 05 · PMBOK 7 Tailoring · original instructional design · A3 landscape