When working on any project, there are many areas of focus to address. We have talked about some of them, from project schedule management, sprints, sunk costs and more. These are only a few of the aspects that get addressed when working on a project and there are so many more. One of these many areas of focus is on project quality management and project quality control. To focus on project quality control, we must first make sure that we understand what project quality management really is and why it is an area of importance when it comes to project management, especially in an agile environment.
What is Project Quality Management?
Project quality management is the ensuring that a project will satisfy the needs that it is undertaking, basically saying that it will meet the standards and requirements that are relevant to the project. This very much matters to a project because this helps project managers make sure the needed aspects of a completed project are done and thus can help please stakeholders. There are three main processes in project quality management, the three being planning quality management, managing the quality, and controlling the quality. In this blog, we will be focusing on the controlling of the project quality, what three main categories exist under this process, and what makes each of them so important to a agile project management style.
Project Quality Control
With project quality control, this process is focused on monitoring the specific project results so that it can be ensured whether these results are truly complete, correct, and meet customer expectations. Project quality control can be heavily associated to the technical tools and techniques that come with the quality management process. This process matters especially in an agile environment because with agile project management styles, there is no time to slow down and take your time when completing the project. Everything needs to be done and completed as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible to meet the time requirements set. With such a fast work style, ensuring the quality is kept and controlled after project completion is even more necessary than in other project management styles.
The Outputs of Quality Control
While we will be focusing on what the three main outputs with quality control, there are more that three outputs in total when it comes to this process. The outputs of the quality control process include verified deliverables, work performance information, quality control measurements, project management updates, change requests, and project documentation updates. Each of these outputs are part of project quality control because they focus on the after-completion aspect of a project. They measure aspects that can only be measured once the project is done and help project managers decided whether the project truly succeeded.
The Three Main Outputs
With project quality control, there are three main outputs of this process that are focused on and believed to be the most needed in this process. These three main outputs are acceptance decisions, rework, and process adjustments. Acceptance decisions is one of the main outputs in project quality control because it helps determine if products or services that are produced in a project are going to be rejected or accepted in the project environment. In an agile project management environment, this matter heavily to the project’s success. Since agile project management styles focus on quick and efficient production, project managers do not have time to waste on failed aspects of the project plans they are working on. Acceptance decisions allow project managers to acknowledge what aspects of projects will succeed and be worth pursuing and what ones to abandon for the time being.
Rework is another of the main outputs as it is an action that is taken to bring the rejected products or services into compliance with the requirements, specifications, or stakeholder expectations that were made in the project. Rework brings forth requested changes and validated defect repairs from corrective or preventative actions and from recommended defect repairs. While rework is one of the main outputs in project quality control, it can be awfully expensive which is why it is so important. Project managers must make sure they are doing their best work during the quality planning process and quality assurance process so that they can avoid having so much rework needed. In an agile project management environment, this process maters because project managers are hoping to not only avoid costly actions that will cost them lots and make stakeholders unhappy but also having to take steps backwards to correct mistakes. Keeping rework down will keep the stakeholders happy and keep the pace and flow of the project going in a strong and right direction.
Process adjustments is the last but not lease of the main outputs when it comes to project quality control because these adjustments help correct and even prevent further issues and problems regarding the quality of the project based on the quality control measurements. These adjustments are often resulting in updates to the organizational process assets and the project management plan. These adjustments would require changes in the project management plan since they would require more project work to be done. In an agile project management environment, this output matters greatly as it focuses on the flow of the entire project. Agile project management styles are not meant to have moments where teams backtrack to adjust, the flow of the project needs to be moving forward as best as possible. Avoiding these project adjustments, if possible, can help the project be completed in an efficient manner altogether.
In Conclusion...
The quality control of projects factors heavily into the overall success of the project being worked on and can help future projects understand what to be looking for upon completion. Keeping these outputs in mind when working on your project will help make the best completed product with all of the requirements met and in a speedy fashion too. If you watch and measure the project’s quality throughout the project as you complete tasks, you will see that your work will be done in its best quality. Who would not want to do the absolute best when it comes to completing an assignment after all?
Work Cited
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Project Manager: Quality Control in Construction Projects. (2020, December 10). Project Manager. https://phdproject20.blogspot.com/2020/12/quality-control-in-construction-projects.html
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