Standards are helpful when people are working to sustain a project or program. They also serve as a historical record for how an organization thought about how to do something at a particular moment in time.

When you have people working from different locations or even multiple teams working on the same project, managers can use standards to ensure that they achieve the same level of quality or service in their work.

When you are charged with creating something new, standards can lose relevance. They can serve as good reference material, but they aren’t necessarily helpful with creating what’s next. I’ve often felt most inventive when I’ve left the past, outdated concepts, and old thought structures behind.