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).
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7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
Quality management is the process for ensuring that all projectactivities necessary to design( plan and implement a project are
effective and efficient with respect to the purpose of the o)jective and
its performance.
Project ,uality management -QM is not a separate( independentprocess that occurs at the end of an activity to measure the level of
,uality of the output. /t is not purchasing the most e0pensive materialor services availa)le on the mar'et. Quality and grade are not the
same( grade are characteristics of a material or service such as
additional features. A product may )e of good ,uality -no defects and)e of low grade -few or no e0tra features.
Quality management is a continuous process that starts and ends with
the project. /t is more a)out preventing and avoiding than measuring
and fi0ing poor ,uality outputs. /t is part of every project managementprocesses from the moment the project initiates to the final steps in
the project closure phase.
QM focuses on improving sta'eholder1s satisfaction through continuous
and incremental improvements to processes( including removing
unnecessary activities2 it achieves that )y the continuous improvementof the ,uality of material and services provided to the )eneficiaries. /tis not a)out finding and fi0ing errors after the fact( ,uality
management is the continuous monitoring and application of ,uality
processes in all aspects of the project.
Definition of Qualit
Quality has )een defined as 3the totality of characteristics of an entity
that )ear on its a)ility to satisfy stated or implied needs.3
5he stated
and implied ,uality needs are the inputs used in defining projectre,uirements from the donor and the )eneficiaries. /t is also definedas the 67onformance to re,uirements or fitness for use8
"2 which
means that the product or services must meet the intended o)jectives
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Quality Management and Quality Assurance (Geneva, Switzerland: ISO
5he first step on the ,uality management is to define ,uality( theproject manager and the team must identify what ,uality standards
will )e used in the project( it will loo' at what the donor( )eneficiaries(the organization and other 'ey sta'eholders to come up with a good
definition of ,uality. /n some instances the organization or the area of specialization of the project -health( water or education may havesome standard definitions of ,uality that can )e used )y the project.
/dentifying ,uality standards is a 'ey component of ,uality definition
that will help identify the 'ey characteristics that will govern project
activities and ensure the )eneficiaries and donor will accept the projectoutcomes.
Quality management implies the a)ility to anticipate situations and
prepare actions that will help )ring the desired outcomes. 5he goal isthe prevention of defects through the creation of actions that will
ensure that the project team understands what is defined as ,uality.
Sou"'e$ of Qualit Definition
%ne source for definition of ,uality comes from the donor2 the project
must esta)lish conversations with the donor to )e familiar with and
come to a common understanding of what the donor defines as ,uality.5he donor may have certain standards of what is e0pected from the
project( and how the project delivers the e0pected )enefits to the)eneficiaries. 5his is in line with the project1s ultimate o)jective that
the project outcomes have the a)ility to satisfy the stated or implied
needs.
Another source for ,uality definition comes from the )eneficiaries2 theproject team must )e a)le to understand how the )eneficiaries define
,uality from their perspective( a perspective that is more focused onfitness for use( the project outcomes must )e relevant to the current
needs of the )eneficiaries and must result in improvements to their
lives. 5he team can create( as part of the )aseline data collection(,uestions that see' to understand how the )eneficiaries define the
project will meet their needs( and a ,uestion that also helps define
what project success loo's li'e from the perspective of a )eneficiary.
5he development organization may have its own ,uality standards thatcan reflect technical and managerial nature of the project. 5he
organization may re,uire from the project timely and accurate deliveryof project information needed for decision ma'ing( or compliance to
international or locally recognized ,uality standards that define specific
technical areas of the project( this is ,uite often in health( water andnutrition projects.
A worldwide recognized standard for project is the =phere =tandard
-www. s phereproject.org( used for emergency projects whose aim is toimprove the ,uality of assistance provided to people affected )ydisasters. 5his guideline defines the minimum standards for water(
*!at +ent +"on% * A project re,uested the purchase of ### tents for acommunity displaced )y floods( the purchase re,uest had no specifications for its
intended use -suita)ility( and resistance -performance. 5he procurement officeronly 'new that the tents were needed as soon as possi)le- timeliness( so he
purchased( )ased on his 'nowledge of what a tent loo's li'e( ### camping tents(
they were delivered to the refugee camps on the re,uested timeframe( and theproject manager was happy. &ut the ne0t day all families that received the tentswere complaining that they were not good for the cold nights and too small to
accommodate their e0tended families. 5he project purchased the tents under )udgetand within the specified timeframe )ut the )eneficiaries rejected them )ecause they
did not meet their needs -,uality
Qualit #lan
Part of defining ,uality involves developing a ,uality plan and a ,ualitychec'list that will )e used during the project implementation phase.
5his chec' list will ensure the project team and other actors aredelivering the project outputs according to the ,uality re,uirements.
%nce the project has defined the ,uality standards and ,uality
characteristics( it will create a project ,uality plan that descri)es allthe ,uality definitions and standards relevant to the project( it will
highlight the standards that must )e followed to comply to regulatoryre,uirements setup )y the donor( the organization and e0ternal
agencies such a the local government and professional organizations
-health( nutrition( etc
5he ,uality plan also descri)es the conditions that the services andmaterials must posses in order to satisfy the needs and e0pectations
of the project sta'eholders( it descri)es the situations or conditions
that ma'e an output fall )elow ,uality standards( this information is
used to gain a common understanding among the project team to helpthem identify what is a)ove and what is )elow a ,uality standard.
5he ,uality plan also includes the procedure to ensure that the ,ualitystandards are )eing followed )y all project staff. 5he plan also includes
the steps re,uired to monitor and control ,uality and the approval
process to ma'e changes to the ,uality standards and the ,uality plan.
7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
Assurance is the activity of providing evidence to create confidenceamong all sta'eholders that the ,uality*related activities are )eingperformed effectively2 and that all planned actions are )eing done to
provide ade,uate confidence that a product or service will satisfy thestated re,uirements for ,uality.
Quality Assurance is a process to provide confirmation )ased onevidence to ensure to the donor( )eneficiaries( organization
management and other sta'eholders that product meet needs(e0pectations( and other re,uirements. /t assures the e0istence and
effectiveness of process and procedures tools( and safeguards are inplace to ma'e sure that the e0pected levels of ,uality will )e reached
to produce ,uality outputs.
Quality assurance occurs during the implementation phase of the
project and includes the evaluation of the overall performance of theproject on a regular )asis to provide confidence that the project will
satisfy the ,uality standards defined )y the project.
%ne of the purposes of ,uality management is to find errors and
defects as early in the project as possi)le. 5herefore( a good ,uality
management process will end up ta'ing more effort hours and cost up*front. 5he goal is to reduce the chances that products or services will
)e of poor ,uality after the project has )een completed.
Quality assurance is done not only to the products and servicesdelivered )y the project )ut also to the process and procedures used
to manage the project( that includes the way the project uses the
tools( techni,ues and methodologies to manage scope( schedule()udget and ,uality. Quality assurance also includes the project meets
any legal or regulatory standards.
Qualit Au,it$
Quality audits are structured reviews of the ,uality management
activities that help identify lessons learned that can improve theperformance on current or future project activities. Audits are
performed )y project staff or consultants with e0pertise in specific
7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
avoid pro)lem the project must )e a)le to demonstrate the consistentcompliance with the ,uality re,uirements for the project.
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality control is the use of techni,ues and activities that compareactual ,uality performance with goals and define appropriate action in
response to a shortfall. /t is the process that monitors specific project
results to determine if they comply with relevant standards andidentifies different approaches to eliminate the causes for the
unsatisfactory performance.
5he goal of ,uality control is to improve ,uality and involves
monitoring the project outputs to determine if they meet the ,ualitystandards or definitions )ased on the project sta'eholder1s
e0pectations. Quality control also includes how the project performs inits efforts to manage scope( )udget and schedule
• A''e#tan'e2 5he )eneficiaries( the donor or other 'ey projectsta'eholders accept or reject the product or service delivered.
Acceptance occurs after the )eneficiaries or donor has had a change
to evaluate the product or service
• Re+o".2 is the action ta'en to )ring the rejected product or serviceinto compliance with the re,uirements( ,uality specifications or
sta'eholder e0pectations. Cewor' is e0pensive that is why theproject must ma'e every effort to do a good jo) in ,uality planning
and ,uality assurance to avoid the need for rewor'. Cewor' and allthe costs associated with it may not refunda)le )y the donor and theorganization may end up covering those costs.
•
A,/u$t&ent$0 correct or ta'e the necessary steps to prevent further,uality pro)lems or defects )ased on ,uality control measurements.
Adjustments are identified to the processes that produce the outputsand the decisions that were ta'en that lead to the defects and
errors. 7hanges are ta'en to the 7hange 7ontrol processes of theproject
7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
• I,entif what you want to improve2 the project using the datafound in the ,uality control process identifies the areas that need
improvement.
• Anal1e the pro)lem or system( the team then investigates the
causes for the pro)lem and its implications to the project( the causes
may )e internal or e0ternal to the project.• De)elo# potential solutions or changes that appear li'ely to improve
the pro)lem or system( the team )rainstorms ideas and potentialsolutions to the pro)lem( ta'ing in consideration its impact to the
project schedule and )udget. After careful considerations the teamdecides and chooses the )est alternative.
• Te$t and implement the solutions. 5he team may decide to test the
solution on a small scale to verify that it is capa)le of fi0ing thepro)lem( it testes for the initial assumptions made a)out the
pro)lem and once it confirms that the solution is a via)le alternative(
it then proceeds to implement in a full scale the solution.
Co$t of Qualit
5he cost of ,uality is the sum of costs a project will spend to preventpoor ,uality and any other costs incurred as a result of outputs of poor
,uality. Poor ,uality is the waste( errors( or failure to meet sta'eholderneeds and project re,uirements. 5he costs of poor ,uality can )e
)ro'en down into the three categories of prevention( appraisal( and
failure costs;
• P"e)ention 'o$t$; 5hese are planned costs an organization incursto ensure that errors are not made at any stage during the delivery
process of that product or service to a )eneficiary. 0amples of
prevention costs include ,uality planning costs( education andtraining costs( ,uality administration staff costs( process control
costs( mar'et research costs( field testing costs( and preventivemaintenance costs. 5he cost of preventing mista'es are always much
less than the costs of inspection and correction.
• A##"ai$al 'o$t$2 5hese include the costs of verifying( chec'ing( or
evaluating a product or service during the delivery process.0amples of appraisal costs include receiving or incoming inspectioncosts( internal production audit costs( test and inspection costs(
instrument maintenance costs( process measurement and controlcosts( supplier evaluation costs( and audit report costs.
• Failu"e 'o$t$; A project incurs these costs )ecause the product or
service did not meet the re,uirements and had to )e fi0ed orreplaced( or the service had to )e repeated.
7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
Project management maturity is the progressive development of anorganizations project management approach( methodology( strategy(
and decision*ma'ing process. 5he appropriate level of maturity canvary for each organization )ased on specific goals( strategies( resource
capa)ilities( scope( and needs.
5he proper level of maturity to which an organization should strive isdetermined during a detailed assessment conducted )y a professional
project management consulting team. 5he organization has achievedfull project management maturity when it has met the re,uirements
and standards for project management effectiveness and it is capa)leof demonstrating improvements such as on*time project delivery( cost
reductions( organizational efficiency( and ,uality outcomes.
A project ,uality maturity usually consists of five levels;
•
Le)el 3- /nformal level( there is no defined processes for ,ualitypractices or standards. 5he organization may )e in the initial stages
of considering how projects should define ,uality( )ut most effortsare informal and had*oc.
• Le)el 4- Defined level( the organization has defines some )asic,uality standards and project ,uality policies that are )eing adopted.
&ut not all projects are using it in a consistent manner.
• Le)el 5- Cepeata)le level( the ,uality process is well documentedand is an organizational standard. All projects are using it and
producing consistent and repeata)le results.
• Le)el 6- 7ontrolled level( all projects ire re,uired to use ,uality
planning standard processes. 5he organization has a unit or rolesthat coordinate ,uality standards and assurance and ,uality auditsare done on a regular )asis.
• Le)el 7- %ptimized level( the ,uality process includes guidelines forfeeding improvements )ac' into the process. Metrics are used as 'ey
criteria for ,uality decisions and ,uality results are predicta)le.
5he model helps an organization identify were they stand and were
they should strive to reach( it is a simple way to determine the level of maturity re,uired for a project or organization( some organizations
may )e comforta)le with achieving a level @ while others may )eencouraged to reach a level 4 due to the need to comply with legal or
regulatory standards.
7/21/2019 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONSPM4DEV Project Quality Management
PM4DEV, its logo, andManagement for Development2eries are trademar#s of ProjectManagement 3or Development,PM4DEV
&his point of view is intended asa general guide and not as asu%stitute for detailed adviceeither should it %e ta#en asproviding technical or otherprofessional advice on any of thetopics covered 2o far asPM4DEV is aware theinformation it contains is correctand accurate %ut no
responsi%ility is accepted for anyinaccuracy or error or any actionta#en in reliance on thispu%lication
&his pu%lication contains PM4DEVcopyrighted material and no part of itcan %e copied or otherwisedisseminated for commercialpurposes
&his Point of viewprovides a summary ofthemes, that inPM4DEV5s e+perience,have proved critical inthe successfulimplementation ofproject managementmethodologies
6t draws on the e+pertise of Project managementprofessionals and provides aguide to deliver amethodology that increasesthe chances of projectsuccess