Module 7-Building Quality – through Commitment & Involvement, Leadership. the Pr
Module 7-Building Quality – through Commitment & Involvement, Leadership. the Project Team, and the Project Manager
Project quality management processes include all the activities of the performing organisation that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken (PMBOK). Quality, time, and cost are linked factors in all projects, and you cannot change one without it possibly impacting one or more of the other two.
Quality is not an ‘after the fact’ consideration in project management. Project quality management should be consistent with external quality standards, (e.g., ISO 9000 series Quality Standards) as well as the internal quality standards, practices, and procedures of the organisation. It is also important to include the quality standards of clients and all stakeholders when addressing project quality.
In this module we will:
- Define the true meaning of quality
- Identify how to build quality into the management of projects
- Identify how to build quality into the project deliverables
- Identify Traits of effective Project Leaders
Quality Standards
Visit the website of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and review the ‘ISO standards.’ These standards are at the heart of most organisations’ approaches to quality and the world’s best practices.
It’s not enough to make sure you get a project done on time and under budget. You need to be sure you make the right product to suit your stakeholders’ needs. Quality means making sure that you build what you said you would and that you do it as efficiently as you can. And that means trying not to make too many mistakes and always keeping your project working toward the goal of creating the right product.
Everybody “knows” what quality is. But the way the word is used in everyday life is a little different from how it is used in project management. Just like the triple constraint (scope, cost, and schedule), you manage quality on a project by setting goals and taking measurements. That’s why you must understand the quality levels your stakeholders believe are acceptable, and ensure that your project meets those targets, just like it needs to meet their budget and schedule goals.
Customer satisfaction is about making sure that the people who are paying for the end product are happy with what they get. When the team gathers requirements for the specification, they try to write down all of the things that the customers want in the product so that you know how to make them happy. Some requirements can be left unstated. Those are the ones that are implied by the customer’s explicit needs. For example, some requirements are just common sense (e.g., a product that people hold can’t be made from toxic chemicals that may kill them). It might not be stated, but it’s definitely a requirement.
“Fitness to use” is about making sure that the product you build has the best design possible to fit the customer’