It is widely understood that planning is the most critical phase of a project. It is at this stage that information is collected and analysed, goals are set, and the overall project plan is developed. An essential part of the overall Project Plan is the Quality Management Plan. It is often the project manager who has overall responsibility for driving and developing this plan but as a project team member or participant, you will likely be required to contribute.
Being the initial stage in a project, the planning stage involves the identification of project stakeholders and their interests, needs, and requirements. The success of the project is defined by how well these needs, criteria, and requirements are addressed in the project. Thus, it is a must that in the development of the Quality Management Plan, the specifications, quality requirements, and quality criteria for different aspects and stages of the project and project deliverables are decided and agreed on.
Most organisations will have existing quality policies and procedures that must be followed. There may be some leeway to adapt procedures to suit a particular project; however, it is unlikely that a project would not conform to the organisation’s overall quality policy. Depending on the project, there may be other policies and procedures that also apply, for example, industry or government regulations and guidelines.
The methodologies and specific tools and techniques that are applied to a project will be decided by the organisation and the project manager. Everyone involved in the project must adopt and adhere to these.
Moving into the implementation phase, it is a must to ensure that the processes and products are compliant to the quality standards and requirements in place. This is best done by performing quality assurance and quality control.
Each new project should aim to build on the successes and lessons learned on previous projects. A process of continuous improvement benefits not only current and future projects but the organisation as a whole.
Quality reviews, conducted throughout the project lifecycle, provide valuable information for improvements and insight into the effectiveness of quality management activities and system.
Of course, it is not enough that only the project team is aware of potential improvements. This information must be appropriately documented, stored, and reported to relevant people, such as higher management, so that it can be used to inform future projects.
- Refer to Standards Australia for more information on quality criteria that apply to each industry.
- Explore the information about ISO standards at Standards Australia by visiting Standards Australia
- More information and examples of these quality management tools and techniques can be found at 7 Basic Quality Tools for Efficient Project Management