Quality planning is an important and very crucial phase in the life cycle of project management in which all quality specifications and standards at which deliverables are to be expected are stated. It means developing a strong quality management plan, to direct the project team on how they should go about attaining high-quality outputs. Below is an exhaustive breakdown of this procedure together with an illustration of its output.
Steps in Quality Planning
1. Specify quality requirements:
Engage project stakeholders, identify, and document their quality expectations and criteria that matter for success.
Key Activities:
- Stakeholder Engagement: Meet and consult with clients, users, and experts in the field to understand expectations and needs.
- Quality Criteria Identification: Define measurable criteria such as performance, reliability, usability, compliance, and scalability.
- Document Quality Requirements: Write down the requirements as simple measurable guidance for project execution.
Sample (Construction project):
- Stakeholder engagement: With specific groups of clients, architects, and engineers, one would establish sessions to elicit their expectations for the project.
- Defining Quality Criteria: The measurable standards established would include structural integrity, durability, and compliance with building codes.
- Documenting Quality Requirements: Specifications, such as maximum allowable dimensional deviations, material standards, and methods of testing, will be documented in the quality plan.
2. Develop Quality Standards
The next stage is to normalize all quality parameters into levels of quality from highest to lowest. After determining the specific quality requirements, the following step is to establish the standards of quality which act as a benchmark in the execution of the project.
Major Actions
- Research Industry Standards: Identify codes, guidelines and best practices from industry as applicable.
- Determining Project-Specific Standards: Put in the measurable standards for that project.
- Document Quality Standards: Maintenance in the quality management plan of all quality benchmarks for convenience.
Example (Construction Project):
- An Illustration-such as for Construction Project-is Research Industry Standards: Citations to applicable building codes, industry regulations, and best practices.
- Establish Project-Specific Standards: For example, specific compressive strength of concrete, tolerances for finish, and electrical specification standards.
- Document Quality Standards: All benchmarks defined in the quality management plan of the project with acceptance criteria of materials and workmanship.
3. Develop a Quality Management Plan
Making a Quality Management Plan is the process of creating a complete guide that describes everything on how to achieve and maintain quality throughout the project’s life cycle.
Components:
- Quality Assurance Activities: Identify proactive measures such as audits, inspections, and reviews of processes to find compliance.
- Quality Control Measures: Describe the techniques for testing and validating to enable use for evaluation and responsiveness to deviations in quality.
- Roles and Responsibilities: Assignment of quality tasks to team members.
- Quality Metrics and Reporting: Define the quality metrics by which performance is tracked and report its findings.
Example (Construction Project):
- Quality Assurance Activities: Schedule inspections for engineers at intervals and periodically test the materials and the building against compliance codes.
- Quality Control Measures: Site inspections material testing, and defect tracking.
- Roles and Responsibilities: Responsibilities are given to the project manager, site supervisor, and quality control team to be carried out seamlessly.
- Quality Metrics and Reporting: Metrics such as all rates of defects, test results, and scores of compliance should be described and stringent protocols need to be developed for their reporting.
Conclusion
Planning for quality requires that the project outputs measure satisfaction from stakeholders and adherence to quality standards. Adequate stakeholder contact, strict specification of the development standards, and careful design of the quality management plan all help project teams monitor, control, and improve quality in the project life cycle.
