Creating a
Strategy for Quality
As with any area of project management, you won’t be
successful without a plan. Quality control requires a plan, a process, and a
strategy to implement and enforce it. You can attack quality enforcement many
ways; the best, however, is to lead by example. You should be the focal point of
quality for your team, as Figure
10-9 depicts, in all that you do. Leading by example shows your team your
own level of dedication to the project and that you expect your team to follow.
Revisiting the
Iron Triangle
The second best method of implementing quality, regardless
of the project, is a balance of time, cost, and scope. As you can see in Figure 10-10, the quality of the
project is dependent on your management of the allotted time, the assigned
budget, and the expected scope. Of course, there’s leadership, managerial
skills, and more—but without balance, the project will fail.
The one element that you should already have a
strong handle on is time. Some projects will have more freedom with time than
others. During the planning phase of your project, you should be able to predict
what the required time is to complete the project and meet the assigned
objectives. Projects that are constrained on time will, no doubt, require you
and the team to work diligently and quickly to achieve the objectives. When time
becomes an issue, the quality of the project will as well.
The budget for the project is approved by management and will be
yours to manage—most likely under management’s watchful eye. Your planning and
implementation of the plan will help determine the budget of the project. Should
your plan be full of holes, underdeveloped, and not comprehensive enough to
counter foreseeable problems, your budget will be blown and the quality will
suffer.
Finally, the scope of the project must be protected from
unnecessary change. A change control system must be in place, backed by
management, and used. When the scope begins to creep, the project’s time and
budget must match the changes to the scope. Most often, however, when unapproved
changes come into the project, quality begins to diminish because time and funds
that should be allotted to complete approved project activities are spent on
unapproved activities.
Progress
Reports
One method to implement quality is to use progress reports.
A progress report is simply a formal, informative method of summarizing the
status of work completed. Typically, on longer projects, progress reports are
essential for keeping a record of the work completed, and they make for handy
references in the end phase of the project.
In regard to quality, the process of creating progress reports
allows the project manager and the project team to ascertain where the team is
on the project and the amount of work yet to do. It’s a great way to visualize
the progress the team has made so far and determine if the project is on track
with the project vision.
Project sponsors and your project team’s functional managers will
typically want to see the progress reports, as it allows them to keep in tune
with your ability to lead the team and manage the project. Upper management may
not want to see these reports, as their time may be limited. These reports can
be based on templates that allow you and the project team to quickly and
accurately complete the progress report. There are four types of progress
reports you’ll use as a project manager:
Current Status Reports These reports are quick
news on the work completed, or not, since the last status report. For example,
you may determine that status reports should be completed every two weeks.
Within each two-week window are tasks that must be completed. This report will
focus on the scheduled tasks and their status over the last two weeks.
If scheduled tasks were not completed, the report should clearly
state why the work has lagged behind and what solution is offered to get the
work back on schedule. Distribute this report to the project team and the
project sponsor, and keep a hard copy in the project binder. These reports are
excellent for record keeping and nudging the project team back on track.
Cumulative Reports As its name implies, this
report focuses on the work from the beginning of the project until the current
date. Cumulative reports are excellent in long-term projects and should be
created based on management’s requests, at milestones within the project, or on
a regular schedule such as every three months. Use these reports for looking
back on the progress accomplished so far on the project. Information in this
report should include:
Management Summary Reports Management summary
reports detail the overall status of the project, changes from the original
plan, change in execution, or cost variances within the budget. These reports
are created on an as-needed basis and are ideal for upper management, as upper
management does not have the time to read detailed reports to discover that
everything on the project is going as planned. These reports are quick and to
the point—effective when sharing bad news. The purpose of these reports is a
fast, honest way to summarize the project status so that management may keep the
project in check.
Variance Reports Variance reports are summaries
of any variances within the project, mainly time and cost, but they can also be
reports on scope variances. They require the project manager to evaluate the
cumulative work against the original project implementation plan. The comparison
of the two should indicate where the project is and where it is heading. These
detailed, number-orientated reports are an ideal way of enforcing quality and
keeping the project on track.
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