Unit 4: Project Quality Management 10 Hours

Concept of project quality, responsibility for quality in projects, quality management at different stages
of project, tools and techniques, Quality Management Systems, TQM in projects.

(This notes is just to substantiate the classroom discussions. Students are advised to refer multiple
books and correlate the contextual examples discussed in the class. Pay more attention on the
application of the concepts)

Quality management is the process for ensuring that all project activities necessary to design, plan and
implement a project are effective and efficient with respect to the purpose of the objective and its
performance.

Project quality management (QM) is not a separate, independent process that occurs at the end of an
activity to measure the level of quality of the output. It is not purchasing the most expensive material or
services available on the market. Quality and grade are not the same, grade are characteristics of a
material or service such as additional features. A product may be of good quality (no defects) and be of
low grade (few or no extra features).

Concept of project quality

Definition of Quality
Quality has been defined as "the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs." The stated and implied quality needs are the inputs used in defining project
requirements from the donor and the beneficiaries. It is also defined as the “Conformance to
requirements or fitness for use”; which means that the product or services must meet the intended
objectives of the project and have a value to the donor and beneficiaries and that the beneficiaries can
use the material or service as it was originally intended. The central focus of quality management is
meeting or exceeding stakeholder’s expectations and conforming to the project design and
specifications.

Quality management is not an event - it is a process, a consistently high quality product or service
cannot be produced by a defective process. Quality management is a repetitive cycle of measuring
quality, updating processes, measuring, updating processes until the desired quality is achieved.

Responsibility for quality in projects

Quality Characteristics
All material or services have characteristics that facilitate the identification of its quality. The
characteristics are part of the conditions of how the material, equipment and services are able to meet
the requirements of the project and are fit for use by the beneficiaries. Quality characteristics relate to
the attributes, measures and methods attached to that particular product or service.
Functionality is the degree, by which equipment performs its intended function, this is
important especially for clinical equipment, that the operation should be behave as expected.
 Performance, its how well a product or service performs the beneficiaries intended use. A water
system should be designed to support extreme conditions and require little maintenance to
reduce the cost to the community and increase its sustainability.

Reliability, it’s the ability of the service or product to perform as intended under normal
conditions without unacceptable failures. Material used for blood testing should be able to
provide the information in a consistent and dependable manner that will help identify critical
diseases. The trust of the beneficiaries depend on the quality of the tests

Relevance, it’s the characteristic of how a product or service meets the actual needs of the
beneficiaries, it should be pertinent, applicable, and appropriate to its intended use or
application

Timeliness, how the product or service is delivered in time to solve the problems when its
needed and not after, this is a crucial characteristic for health and emergency relief work

Suitability, defines the fitness of its use, it appropriateness and correctness, the agriculture
equipment must be designed to operate on the soul conditions the beneficiaries will use it on.

Completeness, the quality that the service is complete and includes all the entire scope of
services. Training sessions should be complete and include all the material needed to build a
desired skill or Knowledge

Consistency, services are delivered in the same way for every beneficiary. Clinical tests need to
be done using the same procedure for every patient.

Quality management at different stages of project

1) Initiation Phase:

2) Planning Phase:

3) Implementation (Execution) Phase

4) Project monitoring and Control

5) Closing Phase

Tools and techniques

To ensuring Quality Assurance and Quality Control, you must involve the use of several quality control
tools and techniques. Read more about these tools that are relevant for the PMP certification.
The Perform Quality Control process of the Project Quality Management knowledge area has several
quality control tools and techniques that are also used in the Perform Quality Assurance process. The
quality control tools and techniques discussed in this article are:
Cause and Effect Diagrams
 Control Charts
 Flow-Charting
 Histogram
 Pareto Chart and Pareto Analysis
 Run Charts
 Scatter Diagrams
 Statistical Sampling
 Inspection

Cause and Effect Diagrams

Cause and Effect diagrams are also known as Ishikawa or Fishbone diagrams. These diagrams are used to
identify the root cause(s) of potential or existing problems. An example of this quality control tool is
shown below.

Control Charts
Control charts are used to illustrate the stability of a process. This quality control tool gauges the
behavior of a process over time. If, during the recorded time, process shows unacceptable variance, the
process is deemed unstable. Unacceptable variance would be a process that shows seven consecutive
readings above or below the central line. The upper and lower limits are also set for the process and are
usually at 3-sigma.
Flow-Charting
Flow-charting requires you to follow the flow of a process to determine potential or existing problems in
the process. You can use this quality control tool to predict potential flaws in a process.
Apart from being used as a quality control tool, these diagrams are also used in risk analysis.

Histogram
A histogram is a graphical representation of event frequencies. This quality control chart is also known
as a column graph.

Pareto Chart and Pareto Analysis

The Pareto Chart shows the Probability Density (depicted by the blue line) and the Distribution Function
(depicted by the red line). The probability density is the probability of the occurrence of a variable. An
example of a Pareto Chart is shown below.
Run Charts
A run chart is a series of recorded data over time that is graphically represented. This trend will help in
understanding whether there is a problem or not. The following diagram gives an example of a run
chart.

Quality Management Systems

In Quality Management Systems, Project Management is also a key function of operational excellence in
an organization. Like a homework sheet, projects have a defined list of deliverables, a timeframe in
which to complete them, and an ultimate result of the project. However, unlike me and my daughter,
there are many roles within an organization that may be involved in a project, which is why having an
automated project control system in place is a great way to keep projects on track. Here are just some
of the ways having an automated system can benefit an organization:

1. Workflow-enabled projects: Most projects follow a timeline; in order to keep Quality events on
track and resolve any issues on time, there needs to be a deadline. Similarly, tasks assigned in a project
need to follow a path; you typically need to complete one deliverable before the next can occur.
Having a workflow-based system enables you to define your project team, and assign tasks to those
team members, then route the next task to the appropriate person. Once that task is complete, the
workflow moves the project along to the next person, and so forth. Workflow is a great way to
automate the deliverable process and keep the work going forward.

2. Project Templates Speed the Process: Typically, projects are not unique - you will encounter the
same project type over the course of normal Quality operations. Rather than have to re-create a project
every time you have a quality event, you create a template that will automatically load deliverables
based on the type of event you've encountered. Best in class project tools will take the Quality
Management data and populate the deliverables with this data, so that with the click of a button, you
can load a project related to a specific event quickly and easily.

3. Role-Based Task Management: Assigning tasks to individuals is one way to manage a project, but
more often than not, it comes down to roles. By using roles (i.e. Quality Manager, Inventory Control,
Safety and Health versus Bob, Tom, Harry, etc.), you can broaden the ability of the team to handle the
deliverables as the project is loaded. There are then any number of individuals within the role that can
help complete each task within the project, versus relying on a single person to get the job done.

4. Visibility into the Project Status: Automated tools provide the visibility you need as a project
manager to see the big picture. Without this visibility, you operate in a vacuum; set the project in
motion and hope that everyone is staying on track. You can create status meetings, updates and the
like, but having a dashboard that shows the project status, what is overdue, what is on track, and any
"red flags" in a single view is key to managing the project. This is where charts and views are best
suited; Gantt charts and project outlines with color indicators (Red, Yellow, Green if you like) show the
project in motion, and visualize where you've come from and how far you need to go.

5. The After-Project Effect: Let's say you create a project that ultimately leads to a new process, or a
new job function that needs to be created. You don't want this to fall through the cracks after everyone
on the team worked so hard to get to the finish line. Automated systems have the ability to affect
change once the project is complete. Quality Management systems that link Project Control to Change
Management, Document Control or Employee Training are best suited for this because they
automatically link the project report to new document requests, change management activites or
training events, thus continuing the project feedback to new innovations in the Quality System.

Project Planning is as much managing people as it is tasks. In fact, the people element is a critical
component; ensuring people are well informed of the deliverables, and see the big picture is a large
part of project management success. Automating the Project control process helps project managers to
focus less on the project management portion and more on the people management portion. As with
my daughter and her homework, by having a system in place, you can focus on making sure that they
are comfortable with their work and help them along the way to being successful.

TQM in projects.
The improvement method of Total Quality Management requires using an iterative four-step
management process for planning and monitoring quality of a product/service. This process is known as
PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act). It creates an improvement sequence to be used within the methodology.

Total Quality Management (TQM) describes a management approach to long-term success through
customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving
processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work.

Total Quality Management Principles: The 8 Primary Elements of TQM

Total quality management can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused

organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective
communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization.
Many of these concepts are present in modern Quality Management Systems, the successor to TQM.
Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

1. Customer-focused
The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster
quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, upgrading
computers or software, or buying new measuring tools—the customer determines whether the efforts
were worthwhile.

2. Total employee involvement

All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be
obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and
management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate
continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one
form of empowerment.

3. Process-centered
A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs
from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers
(again, either internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and
performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

4. Integrated system
Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into
vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are
the focus of TQM.
Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes
required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and
guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization.
Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.
An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige National Quality Program criteria
and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is
virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has
been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to
continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

5. Strategic and systematic approach

A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an
organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic
management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

6. Continual improvement
A major thrust of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization
to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at
meeting stakeholder expectations.

7. Fact-based decision making

In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary.
TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision
making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

8. Communications
During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications
plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications
involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

These elements are considered so essential to TQM that many organizations define them, in some
format, as a set of core values and principles on which the organization is to operate
TQM Implementation Steps
The method of Total Quality Management in combination with project management ideas can be
carried out in 10 basic steps, which are listed below.

 Define the problem. First, you must define the problem to be addressed by your TQM-driven
project. Cause-effect analysis and statistical data can be used for problem definition.
 Develop new strategic thinking. Your project team can use brainstorming and brain-writing as
effective tools for developing solutions to the defined problem.
 Know the customer. TQM focuses on customers and their expectations so you must research
needs and requirements of your customers. Conducting a customer survey, gathering data, and
determining who your customers are will be the primary goals at this step.
 Determine quality requirements. Results of your customer survey will give you a description of
customer needs and expectations. This information will be helpful for you to determine quality
standards and requirements for your new TQM-based project.
 Plan for contingency. As you have a list of quality requirements based on your customers’ needs
now you need to think about potential threats and uncertainties that surround your project and
may negatively affect quality levels. You must plan for contingency and develop a risk response
strategy to managing risks and eliminating their negative effect.
 Reduce waste. The TQM methodology requires you to run the project with minimized waste of
resources. If you meet this requirement you reduce sources of waste and improve quality of
your product/process in a cost-effective way.
 Develop a continuous improvement strategy. There should a strategy that ensures a continuous
improvement process with multiple iterations and “buffers” (safety margins). You need to
develop such a strategy or otherwise there’s no sense to start the TQM-based project because
there’s n solid framework for managing and maintaining the improvement process continuously.
 Reduce variations. Total Quality Management offers a set of tools to reduce variations in quality
of your product. You can use these tools to optimize use of project resources and minimize the
likelihood of quality deficiencies and variations.
 Balance the approach. Your goal here is to make sure that the implementation process runs
smoothly so there’s no lack of resources for every task or procedure of the process. You can
reach this goal through continuous monitoring and tracking of your project.
 Apply the improvement process. The final step of TQM implementation is to use the
improvement process in every facet of your project to start improving quality of your product.