Managing the quality of a project goes beyond just measuring how high-quality the end product is; in actuality, project quality also encompasses the quality of the leadership and project management that are part of the process.
The driving factor that influences the quality of a project is primarily customer demands, while other variables such as market expectations are also key influencers impacting project quality.
Customer Demands
- Higher performance requirements
- Faster product development
- Higher technology levels
- Fewer defects/rejects
- Lower contractor profit margins
- Materials and processes pushed to the limit
Market Expectations
- Salability
- Produceability
- Social acceptability
- Operability
- Availability
- Reliability
Quality Management Concepts
The project manager will be the one who spearheads the quality management aspect of a project. A project manager should be acquainted with the following quality management concepts:
| Quality policy | A document that states the quality objectives, the level of quality acceptable to the organization, and the responsibility of the organization’s members for executing policy and ensuring quality. |
| Quality objectives | Specific objectives and the time frame for completing them. Should define specific goals, be obtainable, understandable, and state specific deadlines. |
| Quality assurance | Formal activities and managerial processes that attempt to ensure that products and services meet the required quality level. |
| Quality control | Activities and techniques within the process that are intended to create specific quality characteristics. |
| Quality audit | An independent evaluation performed by qualified personnel that ensures that the project is conforming to the project’s quality requirements and is following the established quality procedures and policies. |
| Quality Plan | A document plan that breaks down the project into a work breakdown structure. |
It’s important to note that quality is a continuously improving process; by using the knowledge and experience gained from previous processes and outputs, organizations can make improvements to their products and services and achieve quality improvements though a continuous cycle.
5 Comments
Trisha Badlu · April 12, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Great post Vivian! I never really thought about it, but it makes sense that project quality also includes how the project is managed as opposed to just the final project. The table also really helps to break down exactly what quality management is composed of. The only question that I have is who is typically responsible for completing the quality audit if it’s not the project manager?
Sean Kinneer · April 13, 2021 at 12:59 am
Really good post, Vivian. I like how you featured separated bullet points for both customer demands and market expectations. Your post provided a good overall view of quality management. Before I saw this, I was thinking of highlighting the Quality Management Concepts myself. However, I abandoned the idea because you covered it all so well. I like the layout of your post and the descriptions for each concept. They are concise and informative. I think it is interesting that you pointed out that quality management is about more than just the product or service. Leadership and project management both need to be in a higher tier in order to produce a higher caliber deliverable.
Savannah Swartzel · April 13, 2021 at 9:11 am
Great post, I like the way it is set up. I like how you highlighted the customer’s demands and market expectations as key factors for quality. It’s not something you think about every day but you always hear about how a company is known for its quality and it’s a good company but if the customers hadn’t demanded the quality to be a specific level then would the company do it?
Manogna Pillutla · April 13, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Great post Vivian! Very well organized and quality content. Easy to understand points under all the headings. Table clarified my thoughts while reading through. Good one!
Brandon Kresge · April 13, 2021 at 7:42 pm
Good post; I really like the formatting! I think a really important point made is quality being a continuous process. The product being out is one thing, but maintaining it is another. Updates can be put out or products can be re-released to fix any issues. I also really like that it’s not just the end product that matters, but the people and project management. The result wouldn’t exist if there weren’t people with ideas behind them, along with careful planning.