B.2 Quality Planning

The set of requirements that define the project scope provide the foundation for the project's quality-planning activities and determine the processes and deliverables that will be covered by the quality plan. The project leader, along with the project team and other stakeholders, use the project requirements to specify the quality requirements as well as the quality metrics, standards, and acceptance criteria that will be used to validate if the project's processes and deliverables are compliant. A comprehensive quality plan also specifies how quality testing and inspection will be implemented and identifies the resources required to meet the project's quality requirements.

When developing a quality plan, avoid a checkbox mentality that creates unnecessary work that shifts the team's focus away from delivering quality. An effective quality plan should maintain quality standards and oversight, while also being flexible enough to adapt to ongoing refinements to scope as the project unfolds.

The quality plan for each project will differ depending on the needs of the project, but some common elements of a quality plan include:

  • The project's approach to quality management
  • The deliverables (i.e., the unique and verifiable products, services, or results) and processes that will be reviewed
  • How the quality requirements will be defined for the deliverables and the processes
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • When and how you will manage quality
  • When and how you will control quality (i.e., how the team will evaluate the deliverables)
  • How defects will be prevented and corrected
  • Definitions

The following articles provide additional recommendations for quality planning, with specific suggestions on what to include in your project quality plan:

    • Designing Buildings Wiki (construction industry): designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Project_quality_plan_PQP
    • Digital Project Manager (software development): https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/quality-management-plan/
    • ProjectEngineer.NET (general project management): www.projectengineer.net/4-core-parts-of-a-quality-management-plan/
Quality and Procurement

Recall from Lesson 4 that expected quality should also be addressed in procurement documents such as the request for proposal (RFP), the proposal, and the final contract. Contractual commitments to quality in the form of warranties serve as a strong incentive to control quality on a project and need to be factored into quality planning from the start.