Project Standards Development

Ian Stevenson

Senior Project Manager

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We all know and understand the value an approach such as PRINCEII can bring to project delivery., but getting the certificate is not an all-purpose remedy for perfect projects – and can come with a reputation for being unwieldy, admin-heavy and simply a ’tick-box’ exercise.

By using these approaches as a baseline, real value can be gained by adapting the tools and techniques to best serve your business.

What are the benefits?

Bring structure and order: Having an appropriate project standard can help your business to prioritise delivery, coordinate multiple tasks within a wider portfolio, and plan demand on scarce resources.
We know what good looks like: Our team has seen both good and bad project management approaches across a range of industries and sectors, so can bring these experiences to develop something that you and your team can not only own, but have confidence in.
ISO9001: Waterstons has ISO9001 accreditation for our project and service delivery standards, delivering a sense of pride, but also working with our assurance team to ensure that your new standards meet these criteria if it’s something your organisation needs.

Our approach

Understand the need: what business issues does a new project management approach need to address? Why are you doing this?
Top-down commitment: if the board is not committed to working with new standards, then you’re wasting good money. We can help you to explain the importance of standards to your senior management team if you’re struggling to translate the activity into value gained.
Phased approach: there are lots of elements to a project standard; templates, tools, methods, and training; if you strive for perfection from the off, you’ll miss the benefits of the small, incremental changes, and probably lose the commitment of stakeholders with extended timescales. Deliver real improvements in manageable chunks and communicate the next wave of changes.
Continuous improvement: there will always be new demands from the business, as well as new tools and techniques to take advantage of; by adopting a spirit of continuous improvement, you can make on-going change a central part of your standard.