Quality Requirements and Project Stakeholders
Quality requirements are the specifications of the quality of products, services, processes, or environments that are involved in the project. These help in the assessment of the project’s compliance and fulfilment of the project requirements.
Alby (2020) posits that quality requirements are ‘the expectations of the customer for quality, the internal processes as well as the attributes of products that indicate whether the quality factors are satisfied or not.’
Quality requirements are often defined by the needs and demands of the project stakeholders. The project stakeholders’ divergent interests and needs may pose as a challenge in determining quality requirements, so the project manager and team members need to strike a balance between the prioritisation of relevant stakeholders and their demands, and the project goals and standards.
Stakeholders, on the other hand, are individuals, group, or organisations who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project. They are comprised of persons and organisations whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by the execution or completion of the project. They may also exert influence over the project and its deliverables. Stakeholders may be at different levels within the organisation and may possess different authority levels or may be external to the performing organisation for the project.
Stakeholders that are relevant to the project might include the following:
- Business partners
- Customers and users
- Internal parties
- Consultants
- Performing organisation
- Sponsors
- Subject matter expert
- Government regulators
- External parties
Communicating with stakeholders
Here is a list of the most common methods in communicating with stakeholders. Note that a small project might only use one or two of these, while a large project might use most or even all of them.
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| Letters or emails – In the early stages of a project, an introductory letter/email to stakeholders can provide overview information and request their input. | Surveys or questionnaires – When designed and structured well with uncomplicated but specific and meaningful questions, these can be a very effective way to collect information from a large number of stakeholders, especially at the beginning of a project. These may be delivered online, via email or post, or even by phone or face to face. | Forums – These can range from a large number of participants to a small group. They are similar to public meetings but with the focus on open discussion rather than information sharing. Forums are particularly useful for stakeholders to determine and clarify their quality requirements. | Focus groups or workshops – These usually have a small number of participants and bring together a group of stakeholders to share their ideas, opinions, and requirements. These groups are moderated and have the dual purpose of both gaining important information and insights and involving and building relationships with key stakeholders. | Interviews – One-on-one interviews, either face-to-face or over the phone, are time-consuming but valuable. To make good use of the time, it makes sense to only interview the most important stakeholders. Interviews may be either structured (with set questions) or unstructured (with open questions), or somewhere in between (semi-structured). |
Stakeholder requirements analysis
Once you have identified the key stakeholders of your project, you can then carry out a stakeholder analysis to determine their needs. These needs will vary among stakeholders, and all of these differing needs must be considered and managed. How you will engage all of your stakeholders must be planned very early on in the project.
Determining stakeholder requirements involves not just collecting the information but also prioritising it into what is most important, what is non-negotiable and so on.
To determine the quality requirements of project stakeholders, your project team must go into a stakeholder requirements analysis.
Eliciting Requirements
No stakeholder requirements analysis can take place without the relevant data first; that is, the quality requirements themselves should first be elicited from the project stakeholders.
In order to acquire information about the project stakeholders’ needs and demands relevant to project quality, your project manager should communicate with the stakeholders. There are several ways by which you can gather the essential information your project team needs.
Analysing Requirements
The requirements gathered from the stakeholders must be analysed for its quality of being clear, complete, and relevant. Requirements must be actionable, measurable, documented, testable, traceable, related to identified business needs or opportunities, and are documented. Once an issue or shortfall is encountered, it must be resolved immediately.
To make the analysis easier, you may consider categorising the requirements into the following:
- Functional requirements – These requirements define how a product/service should function.
- Operational requirements – These are the requirements that define the operations must be carried out.
- Technical requirements – These pertain to the technical issues that must be taken into consideration to successfully develop the product or implement the process.
- Transitional requirements – These refer to the steps needed to implement the new process or product smoothly.
Requirements Modelling
This stage entails the documentation of collected data in different formats according to existing organisational policies and procedures. The data collected are documented and transformed into a variety of formats. These formats can be:
- Use cases – the service or product is put in a real-life context where it is being utilised
- User stories – a scenario technique where the product or service with the developed requirements are considered from the end user’s perspective
Reviewing and retrospective
This final stage in the stakeholder requirements analysis is conducted to evaluate the requirements developed and whether there is any need for improvements. Further, it also entails an assessment of the process your team has undertaken in collecting quality requirements.
Determining Quality Requirements of Project Stakeholders
Even though communicating with project stakeholders is primarily the responsibility of the project manager, developing quality requirements of project stakeholders is not the project manager’s task alone. As a member of the project team, you may be assigned to develop quality requirements from existing documentation of the communication with project stakeholders.
To get an idea of how stakeholder interests and needs can relate to the stakeholder’s quality requirements, refer to the table below, which outlines quality requirements that correspond to the various interests and demands of the relevant stakeholders.
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Stakeholder |
Specific interest in the project |
Example needs/quality requirements |
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Project sponsor or client |
Owner/funding source of the project |
Value for money. ‘Fit for purpose’ project outcomes and deliverables achieved within budget. |
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Project manager |
Responsible for ensuring delivery of the project |
Adequate resources (human and material) to complete the project on time and within budget. Exact specifications and expectations regarding outputs. |
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Project team |
Responsible for delivery of tasks/services |
Sufficient information, support, and resources to complete tasks and responsibilities as planned. |
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Contractors |
Responsible for delivery of specific tasks/services |
Sufficient information, support and resources to complete tasks and responsibilities as planned. |
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Suppliers |
Provides goods and services to support the project |
Clear specifications and expectations regarding goods and services to be supplied, including clear and reasonable timeframes and payments. |
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The end user or customer |
Benefits from the end-product of the project |
Requires a product that is ‘fit for purpose’ — does the job it is supposed to do. The product has value added, such as style, aesthetics, or works better than expected. |
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The end user or customer |
Benefits from the end-product of the project |
Requires a product that is ‘fit for purpose’ — does the job it is supposed to do. The product has value added, such as style, aesthetics, or works better than expected. |
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Regulatory bodies |
Provides standards/laws regarding the quality of the project |
Both the products/services delivered, and the processes used to get there, meet legal and quality standards. |
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Senior executive or management |
Corporate governance of the project |
Project processes and outcomes are met as required. May have additional requirements, such as showcasing the company’s innovation or upskilling workers. |
Another part of the planning phase is deciding the criteria that will be used to judge the conformance of project deliverables to the organisation and project team’s desired quality. You and your project team must take the time to develop and agree on the quality criteria that will be applied to deliverables.
Quality criteria and project deliverables
Project deliverables are essentially the results of the project or processes in the project.
A project deliverable can be of many kinds, such as:
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| Document | Product | Result | Equipment | Software | Approval |
Project deliverables can be defined by considering the following questions:
- What is the project trying to achieve?
- What is the purpose, goal, or result that the customer wants once the project closes?
- What are the constituent parts of the project goal?
- What is the form and function of each of these constituent parts?
- How important is this part for the overall project?
- How will it be possible to create this part?
- What is the cost of production/acquisition of this part?
- How long will it take to produce/acquire this part?
Quality criteria, on the other hand, are the detailed specifications of the outputs and outcomes to be delivered by the project. They must be achieved before product acceptance, and project sign-off can occur.
Quantifiable quality criteria
Quality criteria must be clearly defined in such a way that anyone can validate them — anyone can tell objectively through quantifiable measures whether quality requirements have been met. One way to do this is to develop criteria using the SMART criteria.
SMART criteria
Quality criteria are SMART when they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
Specific
Vague and subjective terms such as ‘good’, ‘awesome’, and ‘user-friendly’ are open to interpretation, so deciding if these qualities have been achieved relies on personal opinion. Specific criteria must be more concrete than this and should be answerable by a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Specific quality criteria should answer the questions of:
- What – what exactly must be achieved?
- Why – why does it matter?
- Who – who is responsible?
- Where – where is it located?
- Which – which resources or constraints are involved?
Measurable
When criteria are measurable, they are quantifiable by metrics or numbers. The numbers can relate to quantity or speed, for example, how many phone calls are answered per minute, or how many items are packed in each box. It can also relate to errors, for example, less than five spelling errors per 100 pages. Specific requirements might relate to measurements, such as the minimum, maximum, or exact resolution or pixels for photographs or the thickness of roof beams in a building.
Quality criteria that are measurable should answer the questions of:
- How much?
- How many?
- How will I know when it has been achieved?
Attainable
Quality criteria must be realistic and able to be achieved within the project parameters and constraints — time, cost, and available knowledge and resources. Quality criteria are not aspirational goals to aim for but the baseline of what must be achieved. It is ultimately the project manager’s responsibility to decide what is actually achievable. Useful tools for this include estimation (based on previous experience of similar projects and/or input from experts) and negotiation and compromise with stakeholders.
Quality criteria must also be agreed upon by all parties. When the quality criteria are recorded in the Quality Management Plan, they must have signature approval from both management and the client/sponsor and other key stakeholders as required by the project governance.
Relevant
Quality criteria are relevant when they contribute to the overall goals of the project. When deciding whether criteria are relevant, they should be considered in the wider context — do they align with the higher-level requirements of the project outputs, such as purpose and function? Do they align with current industry standards and trends, the economic and political climate, and internal organisational policy?
Also, consider whether each criterion makes sense in relation to the other criteria. Are there any conflicts or competing priorities/dependencies between quality criteria?
Time-based
Sometimes called ‘time-bound’, this requires that the quality criteria answer the question of ‘when’. When quality criteria are defined, they are incorporated into the project schedule. At this stage, target dates for milestones and deadlines are added to ensure that all requirements are met in a timely manner.
Below is an example of quality criteria developed for creating a logo using the SMART criteria:
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SMART |
Quality Criteria |
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Specific |
Precise colours: Red #FF0000 RGB (255, 0, 0) and olive #808000 RGB (128, 128, 0) Shape: square Exact words: Out-of-the-Box solutions Delivery format: JPG and SVG Design features: a friendly rabbit in a top hat |
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Measurable |
Size and resolution: 2800 x 2800 px |
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Attainable |
Budget: $200 |
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Relevant |
Milestones: proof of concept due date/sign off date/by whom; first draft due date/sign off date/by whom; first draft due date/sign off date/by whom. Purpose: website and business cards |
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Time-based |
Final delivery due date: by 5pm 16/03/XX |
Quantifiable quality criteria may also be adapted from already existing external and internal documents, such as:
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| Australian standards Australian standards are developed specifically for Australian workplaces in order to regulate the product and service offered within or by Australia. |
Legislation The directives and regulations proposed by legislation (e.g. Senate) can serve as guidelines in developing quality criteria. |
Project initiation documentation (PID) The project initiation documentation defines the project scope, management, and overall success criteria relevant to the project set in the place at the initial planning stage of the project. As the project progresses, your project team can revisit the guidelines and parameters set in this documentation. |
Quality standards The quality standards set by the organisation or industry may be adapted as the criteria that the project deliverables must comply with. |
Identifying quantifiable quality criteria for project deliverables
Although your project manager is primarily responsible for developing the quality criteria overall, you may be required to contribute as part of the project team. In some teams, the quality criteria may be developed together as a team exercise, such as in a workshop. You can contribute by sharing ideas, asking questions, playing ‘devil’s advocate’, and working together to identify quantifiable quality criteria.
Depending on the type of project being undertaken and your role in the project, you may be responsible for identifying the criteria that relate specifically to your area of expertise. For example, if your role in the project is to design doorknobs, you may be asked to contribute by identifying the criteria that apply specifically to the doorknobs. Other members of the project team would contribute criteria that relate specifically to their area of expertise, such as the doors, the paint and so on.
The first step in determining quality criteria for project deliverables is to collect and prioritise the quality requirements of relevant stakeholders that you learned how to develop in Section 1.1.2 of this Learner Guide. The quality requirements you have initially identified may serve as guide in determining the criteria by which the project deliverables’ quality will be checked against.
The relevant stakeholders’ needs and interest in the project quality may also be considered when identifying criteria that your project deliverables must comply with. Specifically:
- The client/sponsor – What do they want?
- Internal organisational management – Which organisational policies and priorities impact on the project outcomes and processes?
- Regulatory bodies – Which legislative and industry standards must the deliverables conform to? Each industry has various organisations, bodies, and associations that provide specific information.
Other methods for developing quality criteria include the following:
Checklists
Checklists that outline what is acceptable and compliant to the quality standards can also be developed. Developing checklists will facilitate the quality check to be performed as the project progresses, whether behaviours and characteristics that must be present in the current project are being met.
ISO standards
ISO standards are designed to assure that products and services are of quality and on par with international standards.
Quality criteria from previous projects
On instances where the current project is similar with previous projects in terms of goals, standards, and oftentimes, client, the quality criteria used for those previous projects can be modified and adapted in the current project.
Ultimately, the responsibility of ensuring quality compliance at the project level and executive management at the organisational level sits on the project manager. However, you may be tasked with locating and interpreting quality policies and procedures as part of your project role. Therefore, it is crucial that you are aware of this aspect.
Once you have accessed and sourced the relevant policy and procedures that apply to the project you are undertaking, all activities and decisions regarding quality management planning must be consistent with those policies and procedures. All members of the project team must take personal responsibility for complying with them.
The quality management, quality assurance, and quality control activities to be embedded in the project plan and processes must be aligned with the policies and procedures.
Policies and procedures that must be adhered to include:
- legislative requirements, for example, local, state, and federal laws and regulations such as environmental or work health and safety legislation
- relevant industry standards, such as Australian standards, specific industry standards, professional standards, and codes of practice
- Australian and international standards relating to quality which are often used to determine quality objectives
- organisational policies, processes and procedures, company production standards and/or specific management directives
- your organisations’ key performance indicators (KPIs)
Each task in a project will not only need to satisfy the established quality criteria but also comply with the relevant policies and procedures. Depending on the task, several types of quality policies and procedures could apply, such as the following.
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| People The quality requirements of the people working on the project. People quality standards include qualifications and experience. For instance, if part of the project involves underwater welding on an oil rig, then the people involved need to have appropriate diving and welding tickets. They will also need regular professional development and fitness testing. |
Processes These are the processes and procedures that must be followed in delivering the project and involving quality assurance auditing. In a software development project, for example, the processes by which the coding is programmed and rolled out can be audited to ensure it runs effectively and integrates well with other parts of the project. |
Product/service These are the quality criteria and standards that apply to the end product involving quality control standards. For example, a project involving the development of a prototype household electrical appliance will need to comply with the Australian/New Zealand Standard for Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000:2007). |
Project management These are the established protocols and procedures for managing a project, such as scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, procurement, due diligence and so on. These are generally internal organisational (or departmental) policies and procedures based on accepted project methodology such as PRINCE2, PMBOK, etc. |
Sources of Policy and Procedures
To find the appropriate quality policies and procedures that apply to a specific project, consider the following sources.
ISO standards in Standards Australia
Standards Australia is a non-profit, non-government organisation that coordinates standardisation activities and facilitates the development of Australian Standards by working with the government, various industries, and the community. These define internationally recognised and adapted standards for product and service quality.
Federal State, or Local Government Legislation
These are the directives proposed by legislative bodies.
Conditions of permits, contracts, etc
These are the accompanying agreements from your project’s permits and contracts. The policy and procedure to be observed may not be explicitly laid out in these documents, but these serve as a further guide in defining what must be done and how to go about your current project.
Industry codes of practice
These are the sets of rules and measures that are put in place to regulate industry conduct and are applied to its workers and their relationship with their clients. The codes of practice serve both to support legislative requirements relevant to the industry and to improve the industry standards.
Technical specifications and plans supplied by your client
Your client’s technical specifications and plans must serve as standards by which the project processes must be carried out to deliver the desired outcome.
Your own organisation’s policies and procedures
The existing policies and procedures in your organisation define how quality management and other project-related tasks and activities are to be done. These policies and procedures will heavily influence how different processes in maintaining project quality will be implemented.
Your client’s corporate policies and procedures
As policies and procedures may vary from one organisation to another, it is essential to consider your client’s corporate policies and procedures in order to ensure that the processes and projects you are undertaking comply with their policies and procedures.
The ISO 10006 standard provides guidelines for quality management in projects. It covers the following main areas:
- quality management systems in projects
- management responsibility
- resource management
- product realisation
- measurement, analysis, and improvement
Other specific guidelines may be embedded in your organisational policies and procedures and in the specific project documentation (e.g. quality management plan).
It is the primary responsibility of your project manager to develop the overall project plan, which includes the quality management plan. The project quality requirements and project deliverables quality criteria you contributed to developing are integrated into the quality management plan that will define the quality standards and guidelines that the project processes must comply with.
As a member of a project team, regardless of your role, you will no doubt be required to contribute to the development of the quality management plan. As discussed earlier, you may have contributed to determining the quality requirements and developing the quality criteria as part of a team process, or as an allocated task according to your role or area of expertise
You may also have contributed by researching and identifying the organisational policies and procedures, legal requirements, and required industry standards that apply to the project. Once the quality standards and requirements, and applicable policies and procedures are defined, they must be documented in the quality management plan and embedded into the project processes.
Quality management plan
All the quality standards and guidelines you have learned to develop and identify thus far must be laid out in your project’s quality management plan to ensure that these quality requirements are being met. The developed quality requirements, criteria, and standards must be documented in the quality management plan. More specifically, your project’s quality management plan should include the following:
- quality objectives and definitions
- quality criteria that must be met
- quality standards that must be achieved
- policies and procedures that must be complied with
- any legislation that must be complied with
- levels of performance required
- quality management tools and methodologies
- quality assurance processes
- quality control processes
- authorisations and responsibilities (including the identification of experts to conduct audits/check quality throughout the project)
- change request processes that could impact the quality
- continuous improvement mechanisms
- tools, procedures, and techniques to be used
Most organisations will have a standard approved format for developing the project plans. You might contribute to preparing the documents in several ways, depending on the project tasks that have been assigned to you. A common practice is to divide up the plan and assign various tasks to the members of the team. You might have individual responsibility for certain aspects or work in pairs or groups to complete each section. The process will involve collating the quality requirements established earlier and copying them into the project plan template.
The project quality management processes and procedures are carried out according to this plan.
Below is a sample Quality Management Plan template from Prince2™.
Once the project plan is complete, it is sent for approval and sign-off by higher management and, in some cases, by the sponsor or client.
Developing quality requirements in project processes
As shown in the Quality Management Plan template in the previous section, standards for the processes of planning, quality assurance and quality control must be specified. Those criteria and standards will serve as the benchmark of performing the different activities involved in that process.
Below is a table of the commonly performed activities each of the three processes in quality management, and sample quality requirements for each.
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Quality Processes |
Common Quality Activities |
Sample Quality Requirements |
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Quality planning |
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Quality assurance |
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Quality control |
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Remember that the quality requirements in project plan and processes that you contribute to identifying must be specific and relevant to the project.
