Building Quality in All Project Process Phases - Essay Example

Building Quality in all the Project Process Phases Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: 8th September, 2011 Introduction The aim of this essay is to show how to build quality in all project process phases. In doing so, it will first outline the project phases, define quality then describe how quality requirements can be identified. The need for a quality plan and how it will help in the achievement of goals is also discussed. A project has five phases which are; initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure. Initiation phase involves examination of the idea of the project to determine if it is appropriate for the business (Analysis of the benefits, advantages and disadvantages). Project planning phase outlines the activities that will be required for execution (Dibachi & Dibachi, 2004, p. 102). This is the section where quality planning is done. In order to build in quality, its processes have to be incorporated in the whole project process. It will guide the execution of the project with processes that conform to required standards and monitored under quality control. Through this, quality will be built and the end product will be of quality. Execution phases is when the actual tasks of the project are carried out, monitoring phase is evaluation of the project process to determine its conformation to the project objectives, one of them being meeting the set quality standards, and project closure is the last evaluation of the project’s tasks to show its success (Dibachi & Dibachi, 2004, p. 102). Building Quality Project Process Phases There are so many definitions to quality. The quality of a house cannot be the same as the quality of a car. It means that different products have different characteristics defining quality. Quality is defined as the meeting or exceeding the agreed requirements of the customer and producing a product or services without deficiencies (Arditi & Gunaydin, 1999, p. 43 and Rose, 2005, p. 4). In order to achieve this, a project manager has to incorporate project quality management into the management process. This will ensure the outcome of the project is of quality. Kloppenborg and Petrick (2002) indicate that dynamic environmental changes, internal productivity improvement, external global competitiveness and increased task complexity, have led to the separate management of quality and projects. Achieving superior quality and effective management of the project improves and even maximizes the performance of an organization. It means therefore that, production of quality, improves the competitiveness of an organization. By meeting the requirements of the customers and even exceeding them, more customers can be attracted and the ones with the company can be retained (Kloppenborg & Petrick, 2002, p. 1 and Rose, 2005, p. 11). The performance of the organization is affected by several factors, for example, the management style of the organization, the human resources available and how they are managed, existence of competitors, the market factors and so many other factors. When working on improving the performance of an organization however, the project manager plays a very important role. Other managers of the organization do not know of how the quality will be produced, but may have defined the quality required. Marketing manager for example, will have established what the consumers require through market research, the manager will have defined how these requirements can be achieved, the finance manager will have determined the amount required to achieve such required quality, and the human resource manager will have provided the necessary skills for production of the quality product. Who ensures that the end product is of quality? It is the project manager. He or she does this through project quality management. Project Quality Management As defined above, quality has different meanings depending on what is being produced. The standards of quality also differ. The process of ensuring the quality standards are met is called quality management. It involves activities that determine the objectives, quality standards and responsibilities that will ensure the project meets the requirements of quality, so that the end product is of quality with standards set for it to meet (Barkley & Saylor, 2001, p. 49 and Harrington, 2006, p.65). There are three basic elements to quality management. These are; quality planning, quality assurance and quality control (Rose, 2005). Kloppenborg & Petrick have a different model of project quality management which has five elements. These are; quality initiation, quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality closure (2002, p.24). The elements are similar except for project initiation and quality closure. Super Business has four important elements. These are; quality planning, assurance, control and quality control analysis (n.d). In this discussion, three elements will be used. These are; quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Quality initiation is included in the planning and closure in the quality control section. Quality planning Achieving quality needs designing in and building in quality in the project process. It means that the project manager has to plan on how the quality will be achieved during the project process. Inspection and correction cannot achieve quality, the quality standards have to be identified and methods of how such standards can be achieved developed. This is what is known as quality planning. It is “the process of identifying which quality standards, are relevant to the project, and determining how to satisfy them” (Rose, 2005, p. 42). The plan should have four important elements. These are; the quality policy, who is in charge, the goals of the project in terms of policy, and the strategies of achieving the goals and abiding by the policies (the processes, resources and standards required to achieve goals) (Rose, 2005, p. 43). The quality plan should have the quality being focused on in the project, what should be done under each phase to achieve the aim, what each phase’s quality activities will achieve, the effect of not achieving project phase goals (of quality), other options available should the first plan fail, how each phase leads to the accomplishment of the overall aim, how the quality will be assessed (which methods) and the standards and procedures to be used (Newell, 2005, p. 104 and Wallace, 2007). So building quality into a project process requires planning. After planning, the processes will be executed leading to an outcome in which a quality product is expected. There are different approaches that can be used in quality planning. These are; benchmarking, flow charting, benefit cost analysis, design of experiments and cost of quality analysis (Super Business, n.d). A flow chart for example, shows the relationship between components in a project system. The relationship shows the interaction and effects of different components on quality. A project manager can use this to plan. With different phases of the project, the project manager knows what components are in the initial phase and how they affect it, what components are in the planning, execution, monitoring and completion phases and their interaction with each other and across the phases. The effect of their interaction on quality is also identified. With this knowledge, the project manager can plan on how to ensure quality is built in the whole project process. Quality Assurance Another important process in project quality management is quality assurance. The activities of quality assurance are an important feature in building in quality. Quality assurance is a series of activities under an umbrella, meant to improve the project process. The umbrella in this case can be the quality ISO standards, the Six Sigma or even Deming’s chain reaction (cycle) (Reid, 2001). Requirements from standards under umbrellas channel quality assurance to deal with continual improvement of the process, reducing waste and allowing operation of processes at high levels of frequency (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p. 126). ISO TS 16949 and QS-9000 for example, have guidelines or directions on “the need for continual improvement that must extend to product characteristics” (Reid, 2001). ISO 9001:2000 guides achievement of effectiveness and efficiency through its template when used with other elements. Clause 5.2 of ISO 9001:2000 requires determination and fulfillment of customer requirements by top management. Deming’s chain reaction or cycle can also provide guidance on how to achieve continuous improvement in the project process. The reaction is a framework of building in quality (Reid, 2001 and Carpenter Group LLC, 2010). In order to implement quality assurance, the project manager has to first follow the procedures of the organization set for the projects. Examples are; reports, audits, forms and other quality assuring activities. Quality assurance generally, enables continuous improvement of the project process. Its activities have different ways of ensuring quality. Audits for example, ensure that the project complies with project processes, policies and procedures. Process assessments help in identifying inefficiencies in the project process while correcting deficiencies after assessment reduces quality cost, and increases the likelihood of the product being accepted by the customer (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p. 126). Quality Control As indicated above, there are standards that are set by the organization to ensure the products are of quality. To ensure the quality standards are met, activities of quality control have to be carried out. Quality Control is a series of activities that monitors and controls the project process and the product to ensure that the end product is of quality as recommended by the organization (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p. 126, and Crocker, Chiu & Charney, 1984, p. 15). Monitoring and control is done through quality control techniques such as control charts, pareto charts, statistical sampling, fish bone or Ishikawa diagrams and inspection (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p. 126-127). These and other statistical techniques help the project manager to predict quality results, trail trends and determine the core of problems or issues in quality. Quality control must be done throughout the project to ensure that quality exists (Super Business, n.d). Conclusion A project has different phases depending on the type of project and the project manager’s techniques. The basic structure however, shows that a project has the initiation, planning, execution, performance control or monitoring and closure phases. In order to build quality within the project, project quality management has to be done. This process has three important elements that ensure quality is built in the project. These are; quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Different authors have different classifications of the elements but the basic ones are the three mentioned. Guidance according to the PMBOK also provides the three as the basic elements in quality management. How do the activities arise from the project quality management support project management? Quality planning identifies the activities that will ensure the standards required by the customer are met and identifies the levels of standards or standard variables as recommended by the organization. Quality assurance improves the quality of the project process by conforming to the set standards through various activities, and Quality control monitors the quality process and product to ensure the set standards are met. References Arditi, D. and Gunaydin, H. M., 1999, Perceptions Of Process Quality In Building Projects, Journal Of Management In Engineering, pp. 43-53. Barkley, B. and Saylor, J. H., 2001, Customer-Driven Project Management: Building Quality Into Project Process, (2nd Ed), New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Carpenter Group LLC, 2010, The Deming Cycle or PDSA and PDCA, Retrieved from: http://www.quality-improvement-matters.com/deming-cycle.html Crocker, O. L., Chiu, J. S. and Charney, C., 1984, Quality Circles: A Guide To Participation And Productivity, New York: Taylor & Francis. Dibachi, F. and Dibachi, R., 2004, Just Add Management: Seven Steps to Creating a Productive Workplace and Motivating, New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, ---X, p. 102 Dinsmore, P. C., and Cabanis-Brewin, J., 2010, The AMA Handbook of Project Management, (3rd Ed), New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Harrington, J. H., 2006, Project Management Excellence: The Art Of Excelling In Project Management, Chico, CA: Paton Professional . Kloppenborg, T. J. and Petrick, J. A., 2002, Managing Project Quality, Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. Newell, M. W., 2005, Preparing For The Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam, (3rd Ed), New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Reid, D. R., 2001, Standards Outlook: From Deming to ISO 9000:2000, Quality Progress Archive. Retrieved from: http://asq.org/quality-progress/2001/06/standards-outlook/from-deming-to-iso-9000-2000.html Rose, K., 2005, Project Quality Management: Why, What And How, Florida: J. Ross Publishing. Super Business, n.d., Ensuring Quality Throughout the Project, Retrieved from: http://www.super-business.net/IT-Project-Management/192.html. Wallace, S., 2007, Quality Management, The ePMBook. Retrieved from: http://www.epmbook.com/quality.htm. Read More