Deeper Understanding of Quality Management in Projects
To establish a deeper understanding of project management, it is vital to differentiate between quality assurance and quality management within the framework of project delivery.
However, to put things in the right perspective, delineating such differences may not necessarily be most viable approach, chiefly because the broader term ‘quality management’ encompasses ‘quality assurance’ as one of its integral parts.
To delve further, quality management denotes the overarching methodology encompassing quality planning, quality control, and quality assurance, which ensure the high standard of deliverables in any project. In this context, trying to contrast quality management and quality assurance might be futile since assurance functions as a part of the whole.
Quality planning
Quality planning forms the initial scaffold of any project, outlining how the project aims to achieve a quality result. This planning phase, as stipulated in The Standard for Project Management, aims to integrate quality into all processes and outcomes involved.
Key activities in this phase encompass identification of deliverables, setting up quality requirements, establishing the quality management approach and clearly defining quality responsibilities. Moreover, setting a quality baseline with project board’s approval is an integral part of modern project planning.
Quality control
Quality control serves as the crucial phase of quality management that is employed throughout the course of the project to ensure the products created meet the required specification. It involves continuous monitoring, checking and getting approval for the deliverables created. Essentially, quality control helps to spot product defects before delivery and ensures issues are resolved timely.
Quality assurance
As the integral aspect of quality management, quality assurance works towards checking that the plans and approach are comprehensive and viable to deliver expected outcomes. It is the process of ensuring that defects do not occur, or are highly unlikely, due to appropriate planning, checking and development frameworks. It’s usually conducted by someone outside the project team, providing independent oversight and reviews.
Project Assurance
Although it’s important not to confuse project assurance with quality assurance, project assurance provides a wider perspective than merely quality assurance. It entails overall assurance that the project is being executed in the right way. Furthermore, project assurance also holds the team accountable if they fail to deliver.
Distinguishing Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Quality assurance and quality control are often mistaken for one another. However, while quality control emphasizes product inspection during its creation to find and fix defects, quality assurance strives to deter defects by fostering a quality consciousness in the culture of the project.
Documenting Quality Management Approach/Plan
Whether you prefer the PRINCE2 or PMBOK® Guide methodology for your projects, it’s important to document your quality management approach or plan. This idea is essentially to reference the internal quality standards or to provide a comprehensive plan if no such framework is established.
A complete plan covers the scope of the quality management approach, procedures deployed, resources and responsibilities, tools and techniques employed, and the various standards adhered to.
Quality Management in the PMBOK® Guide
The PMBOK 7 discusses various practices involved in quality management such as planning quality management, managing quality, and controlling quality. These processes are about creating the quality plan, ensuring assurances and process improvements, and recording results to ensure outputs align with the customer expectations.
Striking a Balance
Despite the importance of quality, it’s crucial to remember that it costs resources. Therefore, a balance should be struck between investment in quality and achieving an acceptable outcome.
Qamodo’s Contribution in Project Quality Management
Implementing and maintaining a robust quality management system is central to successful project outcomes. Qamodo’s project management tool aids in implementing, tracking, and managing quality throughout your project lifecycle.
Qamodo’s solution allows project managers to seamlessly coordinate tasks, manage resources, establish project schedules, and facilitate effective communication between team members. The Gantt & Kanban features allow for comprehensive project visibility, enabling quick identification and resolution of potential issues before they can impact project quality.
Moreover, Qamodo’s comprehensive tool also helps to ensure the quality of interactions with clients with intuitive client relations features, contributing to enhanced stakeholder satisfaction, and project success.
In sum, Qamodo plays an invaluable role in enhancing project outcomes by facilitating rigorous quality management and robust client relations.
This article is sourced from the Rebel’s Guide to Project Management and has been adapted to reflect Qamodo’s services.
