Manage quality is sometimes called as quality assurance. Oddly enough Quality Assurance and Quality Control are two project management activities quite commonly confused one for the other.
Controlling quality is simply about confirming that project output conforms to documented requirements.
Assuring quality is the way of looking at quality plan and quality control measurements of the project and making sure that organization’s quality standards, policies and processes are implemented on the project.
It is also a way to take feedback from the project and improve performing organization’s quality policies and processes.
Exam tip: Audit is a word that you should associate with managing quality (rather than controlling).
The exercise of managing quality involves auditing project’s quality requirements and results from quality control measurements. The goal of this exercise is to continuously improve quality processes, eliminate activities that do not add value and share best practices from other projects in the organization with the project team.
If process improvements are identified and are to be implemented on the project, then project manager raises a change request to make necessary changes to project management plan.
As compared to other activities of project that are distributed to members based on skills, quality is one area that is 100% responsibility of every member on the team.
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In the previous post we learned how the scope of deliverables are validated by the customer or sponsor. In this post we shall see how the project scope is controlled in the project and how any changes in the scope are updated in the scope baseline.
This exercise allows us to ensure that deliverables do not contain any unwanted features and miss any planned features.
I trust you already know the difference between project scope and product scope, that understanding will help here.
As a project manager some of the tailoring considerations you will have are –
- how scope management works with project knowledge management practices,
- if agile development approach is used then how the right scope is included in the appropriate iteration
- are the requirements and scope are defined well enough to be considered in the current iteration/cycle
- how audit processes work to ensure scope definition and detailing is done as per set guidelines
How to control Scope on project
Controlling the project scope is the a project management activity of monitoring the status of the project, finding whether the deliverables meet documented requirements, and managing changes to project scope baseline.
Before we go further let us quickly recall what is meant by Scope Baseline.
Scope baseline refers to the documented and agreed upon deliverables expected from the project. Typically scope baseline consists of – Scope Statement of the project, Work Breakdown Structure of this scope, and details of the components of WBS.
Recall from Work Breakdown Structure related lesson that WBS is typically a hierarchical representation of unit of work. This unit of work decomposed from high level requirements and at a bit higher level of complexity and context than individual tasks that can be assigned to people.
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Your team tells you that the deliverables are complete and Quality control team certifies delivery to be good.
Who decides when deliverables are truly complete?
The customer, or project sponsor.
Validate Scope is the process in which validated deliverables are compared against scope baseline to decide whether team has produced what was planned and documented. This is a process of formal acceptance of completed delivery by the customer.
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To advance in our career we constantly look out for continued education opportunities. As much as it is a matter of our interest, in many cases it is mandatory element of our jobs. The very fact that you are preparing for the project management certification exam indicates that you are on the right path!
One of the issues I always faced, let me admit, is the need for motivation to keep studying. To stay on the path. We all start well, then as routine sets in, some of us lose motivation. It is natural. [continue reading…]
Beginner’s Guide To PMP® Certification Exam
PMP credential holders earn 23% higher salary than project managers that are not PMP certified.
– Project Management Salary Survey by PMI
Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential is easily the best certification for project managers in any industry.
At the bottom of this post there are 2 important downloadable content for you –
- A printable infographic showing the PMP certification process
- Ever wondered how project management has evolved over the years..? See the infographic!
This certificate is highly recognized in the industry, and if you hold this certification, you are recognized as someone who has the experience, education, and competency to lead, direct and manage projects.
This credential has also been seen as a detrimental factor for managers around the world to earn better salaries and compensation.
- PMP has changed in 2021! Click to learn more..
- Get 2 downloadable infographics – handy reference for your PMP exam preparation – at the end of this article
Look at PayScale survey results and compare the median hourly rates of project managers without and with PMP certification. [continue reading…]
How Many Types of Contracts Are Out There?
Fundamentally, 2. Then there is a third, hybrid approach. The first two have few variations.
- Fixed Price
- Cost Reimbursable
- Time & Material
Contract management is a crucial part of project manager’s duties. However, this does not mean she takes care of this single-handed.
Worried about mistakes you can make while drafting a contract? Don’t miss the infographic at the end of this post about 10 mistakes that can void a contract!
Contract has legal implications, and needs to be handled by experts. It is highly recommended for the PM to involve Finance dept, if there is no dedicated contract management body in the organization, while dealing with procurement.
Let us take a closer look at different types of contracts.
1. Fixed Price Contract
The basic version of this contract involves buyer paying a fixed sum to the seller for producing a product or service. The variations of this contract involve paying additional money based on certain criteria. Under this contract seller is legally obligated to complete the work as per defined acceptance criteria. If not they will have to pay financial penalties. Hence this is mostly favored by the buying organization, and not many sellers would like this type of contract. [continue reading…]
