Summary

  • Quality is often described as the fourth project constraint, which must be balanced with the three constraints that form the iron triangle of project management: scope, budget, and schedule. Balancing project constraints requires a common understanding of quality, often defined as "conformance to requirements," and a set of SMART requirements defined "in a manner that facilitates objective validation, rather than subjective opinion". The cost of quality must also be considered when balancing project constraints. Quality costs are typically divided into two categories: cost of conformance (the cost of good quality) and cost of nonconformance (the cost of poor quality).
  • The set of requirements that define the project scope provide the foundation for the project team's quality-planning activities and determine the processes and deliverables that will be covered by the quality plan. The project requirements are used to specify quality requirements and identify 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.
  • Quality management includes activities focused on both the project's processes and the project's deliverables. Quality assurance (QA) is made up of the preventive activities and processes designed to "provide confidence that the quality requirements will be fulfilled". QA involves data gathering and analysis as well as a careful examination of processes, often completed as part of a formal or informal project audit. Quality control (QC) includes the techniques and activities (such as inspection, statistical sampling and analysis, and testing) used to detect quality defects in the project's deliverables. Project leaders make use of a range of tools when planning and managing quality – the most critical of which is effective communication.
  • Some organizations rely on quality management standards and systems to bring cohesion to their project quality management activities. The PMO may lead this effort by gathering best practices and lessons learned from across many projects to establish standardized quality processes, procedures, tools, and techniques customized to the needs of the organization. An established quality management system and accreditation to an independent quality standard may be required for an organization to qualify for large-scale contracts in certain industries or for a particular client.