Introduction

Quality is one of the critical success factors for any project and one of the key tenets of modern project management. Yet, project quality is often misunderstood and poorly managed. Why is this?

Suppose a project delivers a technically sound, zero-defect product, but the project is over budget and the customer is not satisfied. Do you have project quality in this case or not?

Your organization may already need to comply with an industry quality standard (ISO 900x/1000x, ISO/TS 16949, IATF 16949, GxP, CMMi [Capability Maturity Model Integration]) or already employ one of the popular quality methodologies (Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement). Do you need to worry about project quality or not?

We explore these questions and address many more fundamental project quality topics. We clarify what project quality means and how it relates to managing project risks, project requirements, and client expectations. We review the core principles, key tools, and best practices of project quality management, including the critical quality techniques that are often overlooked by many project management texts. In addition, we share insights into the typical challenges surrounding managing project quality, so you can avoid them on your first (or next) project.

 Note

As mentioned in the introduction, this does not address advanced quality management concepts that are more the domain of operational quality management programs. The review of quality control tools such as Pareto analysis, statistical sampling, control charts, fishbone diagrams, or trend analysis, and the review of quality management pioneers (such as Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Joseph Duran, and Philip Crosby) is left to other textbooks and courses that have a primary quality management focus.