Project quality management is the process through which quality is managed and maintained throughout a project. While the context may imply that “quality” means “perfection,” in this case, is usually more about ensuring quality consistency throughout a project. However, what is exactly meant by “quality” depends on what the customer or stakeholder needs from the project, and therefore can be different on a per-project basis.

In other words, to ensure quality, you must meet the needs of the stakeholder. Meeting or exceeding requirements, however, is not part of project quality management. According to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), quality is “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements.” The project manager and project management team have a special responsibility to balance quality and grade.

Project quality management consists of three major processes:

The definition of quality is central to understanding these three processes. To be able to define quality, you need to be clear about the meaning of the following terms:

Quality Assurance and Quality Control are two aspects of quality management. While some Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities are interrelated, the two are defined differently. Typically, Quality Assurance activities and responsibilities cover virtually all of the quality system in one fashion or another, while Quality Control is a subset of the Quality Assurance activities.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is focused on the ways that are chosen for development and testing, checking if the team is doing things with the right method. Quality assurance aims at preventing issues before they are detected in the product. The team performs audits, keeps track of documentation, communicates with the development team, introduces automation, and code quality tools. The QA team is responsible for refining product requirements and building strategies to fill them out. The goal is not only to remove an issue but also to avoid the same error again. 

Quality Control

Quality Control is focused on the end product, its functionality, interface, and performance. QC is a set of activities that are performed to improve the final product. The goal is to deliver a functional product that meets the defined specification. For QC, results matter more than processes. Without QA, QC would only be oriented towards short-term fixes. The quality of work would not improve, and the QC team would have to deal with the same reliability issues in the future.

It is important for an organization to understand both Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC). Both form an integral part of the organization's quality management plan, and the effectiveness of delivery teams relies on the differences being well understood by all stakeholders, including management. Although QA and QC are closely related concepts, and are both aspects of quality management, they are fundamentally different in their focus. The common distinction is that QA is process-oriented, whereas QC is product-oriented.

The quality management planning process determines the quality standards that are applicable to the project and devises a way to satisfy them. The goal is to create a quality management plan which documents the following:

• The way the team will implement the quality policy.

• The way the quality of both the project and the product will be assured during the project.

• The resources required to ensure quality.

• The additional activities necessary to carry out the quality plan.

Identifying these items might require updates to the project management plan or schedule, which emphasizes the evolving nature of the plan and project documents. The plan, like other components created during the planning phase, is written by the project manager with input from stakeholders. 

Even projects that are delivered within budget and on time are not successful if the quality of the deliverable is poor. Quality management is all about identifying and following quality requirements, auditing the results of quality control measurements and using quality measurements to control quality, recommending project changes if necessary.