project management

Module 6 : Project Quality Management (Created by Dr A Cabello, 2020)

Institution: Platform Site: ENGG951 (S221) Engineering Project Management

Book: Module 6 : Project Quality Management (Created by Dr A Cabello, 2020)

Printed by: Dixitkumar Pravinbhai Patel Date: Thursday, 9 September 2021, 5:40 PM

Table of contents

1. Project Quality Management

2. What is Quality?

3. Principles of Quality Thinking

4. Quality Management Standards

5. Project Quality Management 5.1. Planning Quality 5.2. Setting Quality Metrics 5.3. Controlling Quality 5.4. Project Quality Assurance

6. Role of The Project Team in Managing Quality

7. Guest Lecture - Quality & Risk Management

8. References

9. Glossary 9.1. Cost Benefit Analysis & Cost of Quality 9.2. Ishikawas 7 Tools of Quality Management 9.3. Benchmarking 9.4. Six Sigma 9.5. Design of experiments and statistical sampling

1. Project Quality Management

This module will discuss in some detail the project quality management knowledge area. However, when running a real project, the close integration that is required between quality management and risk management must be recognised. The effective management of these two knowledge areas assists project managers in handling negative impacts from events that may occur, and help with successful delivery of a project as per the expected quality standards and the expectations of the stakeholders, respectively.

Some project management practitioners believe that an essential component of project success is the customer acceptance of the project deliverable. However, for customer acceptance, it is essential that the project's deliverable (product, service or result) conforms to a standard of quality expected by stakeholders. The project quality management knowledge area deals with producing deliverables of acceptable quality. The first part of this module will introduce the concept of quality management and discuss the tools and techniques used in planning, executing, monitoring and controlling a project's quality.

The aim of a project manager is to meet project deliverables related to quality while meeting time, scope and cost baselines. However, a project manager may encounter an array of obstacles or risks when attempting to do this, making it difficult to meet these baselines. Therefore, adequate preparation to handle these risks should be available. Risk management will be addressed in a separate module.

Figure 6.1 below illustrates the relationship between project risk and quality management knowledge areas and the planning, executing monitoring and controlling processes involved, as per the PMBOK® Guide 6th ed (2017).

Figure 6.1: Risk and quality management processes vs. project management knowledge areas

(Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed, 2017; p. 25)

2. What is Quality?

In the context of a project, quality is often described as the fourth constraint in the iron triangle. There are instances on record where even though constraints such as time, scope and cost were not met on a project, many (not all) of the stakeholders embraced the product because the product itself was extraordinary. An example is the Sydney Opera House (Figure 6.1.1) project, while this project failed to meet the time and cost constraints, it has provided us with an iconic Australian landmark.

FIGURE 6.1.1 SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Another example illustrating the fact that quality matters is given in Figure 6.1.2 - the case snippet below.

 Case Snippet: What is quality? Does it matter? 

QinetiQ is one of the UK's larger defence contractors (turnover >£1bn to financial year end 2006) and has recently made the transition from government-owned Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) to being a public company that has to compete for government, and also commercial, work. As part of this change, there is now a much greater concentration on the business case for the projects that are undertaken than there was in the past. As a result the concept of quality within the firm has come under considerable scrutiny. As a government agency, the costs of projects were less important than the achievement of technically excellent solutions. Quality for the agency was therefore concerned with what is now termed 'gold-plating' where technical excellence would be maintained, sometimes regardless of the needs of the end-user and traded off against other objectives in a project. Today, the project managers are required to be far more circumspect about the quality required in their projects. It is clear that quality costs, and that what are termed 'good-enough' technical solutions may often be superior for both the project and the end-user to the gold-plated version.

Source: Maylor, 2010; '4.4 Quality matters', p. 201.

Modern project management and quality management are expected to complement each other. Both recognising the need to strive for customer satisfaction, continuous quality improvement and to proactively plan quality into the project management processes rather than rectify problems later. 

ISO8402 - the Quality Management and Quality Assurance standard defines quality as; " the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs". Whilst the PMBOK guide describes quality as “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of an object fulfils requirements”. As an engineer working on an engineering project, it is important to distinguish between the generic terminology of “good quality” often used in social settings and advertising and the implied meaning of this terminology in the context of a project. The lay meaning of “good quality” implies a certain standard of product or service attributes which reflect a high standard and often come at a high price eg a Rolls Royce vs a Tata Nano. This lay definition is more akin to the term GRADE  which is a categorisation for products that perform the same function but have different technical characteristics. The project management meaning of “good quality”, as it applies to the output of projects is supplying customers with what they want, to the standard and specification they want, with a predictable degree of reliability and uniformity, and at a price that suits their needs.

As described in the PMBOK Guide, while a quality level that fails to meet quality requirements is always a problem, a low-grade product may not be a problem. For example: It may not be a problem if a suitable low-grade product (one with a limited number of features) is of high quality (no obvious defects). In this example, the product would be appropriate for its general purpose of use. It may be a problem if a high-grade product (one with numerous features) is of low quality (many defects). In essence, a high-grade feature set would prove ineffective and/or inefficient due to low quality.

Watch the following video extract from a past lecture which elaborates on this concept of quality in the context of project management.

Module 6 Lecture Video - What is Quality? 

Ultimately, a Quality Management system should be designed to prevent the occurrence of defects rather than to simply detect the occurrence of defects though inspection.

3. Principles of Quality Thinking

As is the case with much of the content contained in the PMBOK guide, the material it contains related to Quality has been drawn from best practice in the field. So in order to better understand the principles of quality as they apply in the context of a project it is of benefit to understand how these quality principles came into being and how they have evolved over time.

Watch the following video extract from a past lecture that describes the evolution of quality thinking.

Module 6 Lecture Video - The Principles of Quality Thinking

Hopefully, after watching the video the evolution of the quality thinking embedded into the PMBOK body of knowledge becomes evident. Ultimately the quality management approach espoused by PMBOK can be summarised by what are referred to as the Five Principles of TQM?

Produce quality work the first time. Focus on the customer. Have a strategic approach to improvement. Improve continuously. Encourage mutual respect and teamwork.

The following video elaborates on the Principles of TQM outlined above and in fact speaks to 8 quality principles.

Module 6 Lecture Video - Principles of TQM

(SOURCE: BDO Colombia, 2018, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKVJEAgbGVI, last accessed Sept 2020)

Once you have reviewed the material above and feel that you understand what is meant by Total Quality management please try the exercises below to further develop your understanding.

 Case Study Application of Practice

The CEO of a small manufacturing firm of about 250 employees had learned over the years the value of education and training. Every company was investing in education and training.

It was understood by everyone in top management that to remain competitive they would have to change. Change, would mean that some dramatic changes would have to occur in the way the company had been managed and the skills of the current employees possessed.

This company had been providing company and supplier sponsored seminars and training sessions for years. Management representatives commonly attended trade shows and attended popular workshops on quality, marketing, sales, technology and certification.

A local University was contacted and asked to deliver a series of on-site courses to about 30 workers at a time. All training costs would be provided by the company for anyone who wanted to enrol.

Q1. Do you think this company has a culture of TQM? Why?

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Q2. What alternatives would you suggest that may maximise the company training investment?

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4. Quality Management Standards

Quality standards are documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used to consistently ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose.

One such set of standards are those published by ISO, the International Organisation for Standardization. Out of their portfolio of standards, ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that and organisation can be certified to. It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity and is the standard often referenced in regard to quality management in the context of projects.

This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. All of which follow from the work of Shewart, Demming, Juran, Crosby, Ishikawa and Taguchi as you learned from the prior module. 

Watch the following video extract from a past lecture which describes the relevance of this standard to project management.

Module 6 Lecture Video - Quality Management Standards

5. Project Quality Management

Quality management spans both the project management aspect of a project as well as the project's product. The quality in project management is the smooth management of the project with minimal interruptions to achieve project goals. The overall objective of this course is to provide an understanding of embedding quality into project management. We have discussed a few knowledge management areas so far. Attention to detail in these areas and others discussed later, will assist in achieving good quality in project management.

A project's product is achieved through the conduct of project management. Quality that is embedded in the areas of management will no doubt be beneficial in producing a product of good quality. A product, conforming to standards and completed with the functions and features promised, qualifies as a product with good quality. Project managers usually carry out a balancing act between the quality of the project management aspects and the product aspects; neither should be sacrificed for the other. As an example, overworking the staff to add more features to better a product than initially planned may cause attrition and may even lead to staff turnover. Quality, therefore, should be planned in and not inspected in. In this section of the module we will discuss quality planning, assurance and control.  

Last year, the local newspaper announced a government decision to build a bridge across the river in the suburb you reside. The contract is being offered to the company BridgesRUs. You are an engineering student and are interested in the developments with the river bridge project. 

One year later, the same local newspaper reports major problems with the project. It is reported that the cement structures that were built to hold up the bridge were so brittle, that they have already started decaying. In order to avoid any major accidents that may injure people, the government has passed an order to demolish the structures.

There are public outcries with regard to the poor quality, and why it took one whole year to find out that the quality was in such a bad state. People are questioning the quality standards and, if in fact any standards were even employed.

In this section we will be discussing the processes of project quality management that will help you understand how the quality of a project and the product could be better ensured.

The PMBOK® Guide has identified the following process groups in relation to project quality management.

They further identify the following process steps in relation to planning and monitoring quality on a project.

8.1 Plan Quality Management - which relates to defining the quality requirements and developing a framework to meet quality

8.2 Manage Quality - which involves ensuring that the project deliverables meet the planned quality standards

8.3 Control Quality - which is about ensuring that quality procedures are followed

Watch the following extract from a past lecture which describes these in more detail.

Module 6 Lecture Video - PMBOK Quality Management Framework

Ultimately by conducting the Process of Quality Management effectively, a Quality Management Plan is produced which includes but is not limited to the following:

A Quality Policy to be implemented which would include: Organisational structure Roles and Responsibilities Procedures and Processes

Quality Assurance & Quality Control Plans to be implemented which would in turn include: Levels/standards to be achieved. Quality Audits to be carried out

A Process Improvement Plan which for each key process would include: Description of processes + boundaries Process Configuration & metrics Targets for improved performance

5.1. Planning Quality

As stated in prior sections, ultimately a Quality Management system should be designed to prevent the occurrence of defects rather than to simply detect the occurrence of defects through inspection. This begins with creating the quality plan. In this subsection we discuss how to define the quality requirements for a project, and create a Quality Management plan that describes how the project management team will implement the quality policy and achieve the quality requirements. 

The PMBOK Guide (2017), defines the process of planning quality management as:

"The process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements."

FIGURE 6.4.1.1: Overview of the process of planning quality

The inputs for the process of planning quality illustrated in Figure 6.4.1.1 above are: the scope, cost and time baselines, stakeholder and risk registers and organisational processes, procedures, guidelines and templates. These documents will help determine a project's technical, time and financial requirements as well as quality standards and procedures followed by the organisation.  The outputs specific to the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area that are used by other Knowledge Areas are verified deliverables and quality reports. 

Whilst achieving quality on a project is the collective effort of all stakeholders, the responsibility for quality lies mainly with the project manager who must proactively plan quality into the project management processes rather than rectify problems later.

Consider the particular requirements of a project to build a bridge, mentioned in an earlier section of this module, had there been adequate quality planning, losses related to cost, time and environment could have been avoided.  The specific deliverables associated with the bridge must be clearly understood and documented. The bridge needs to be able to, in the least, withstand heavy traffic as well as rough weather conditions. Therefore, certain quality requirements need to be met: for instance the strength of the concrete, the height and width of metal and concrete structures, the depth of the foundation, how far and wide the river bed needs to be dug to erect structures and so on. In quality planning, the project manager needs to identify; each of the specific deliverables, what to measure in order to deliver a quality product and regularly collect and monitor the quality metrics that need to be met and document them. 

The project manager can draw on many techniques for requirements gathering such as Interviews, brainstorming and other group data gathering methods. They may also use process tools to identify the key metrics - such as process flowcharting. This can be followed by selecting the technical tools and techniques to achieve the required level of quality which include Cost-benefit Analysis, several of Ishikawa's 7 tools of quality management, Benchmarking and Six Sigma.  Design of experiments and statistical sampling is yet another technique that could assist in meeting quality. Other methodologies that are used for assistance in project quality planning may include Industry or company standards such as OPM3 , CMMI , ISO .

Whilst the above is focussed on meeting product quality, the same thinking can be applied to project quality for example meeting project milestones, meeting budget goals etc.

The outputs from this process would ultimately be the project quality management plan: specifying the quality expectations of the project and how the project team hopes to achieve it. This would include details of the quality assurance and quality control processes that would be in place, quality checklists that might need to be used and any process improvement plans. This plan would need to be filed along with other relevant project documents and updated regularly as changes occur in the project.

The subsections which follow will take you through some of the steps required to creating a quality plan which are described above.

5.2. Setting Quality Metrics

One of the most important aspects of Quality planning is the establishment of quality metrics. Project managers must go beyond the traditional metrics of scope, time, and cost. It’s fairly common for people to struggle with metrics. A great way to think about metrics is to categorize them into three buckets: business measures, customer measures, and process measures.

The reason projects are in existence is to improve either business measures or customer measures. The way to improve those measures is by improving the process measures.  An excellent and straightforward approach to establish strategic metrics for a project is to do the following:

1. As a group, the project team should flowchart the process that their project is focused on. During this exercise, they pinpoint which steps are the bottlenecks, constraints, work-arounds, or problem areas. Consider the following example:

THE PROJECT:

PACKAGES R US have a contractual agreement with their customers to deliver new packaging designs to production within 3 weeks of order receipt. However, a potentially very lucrative contract is in jeopardy because PACKAGES R US are regularly failing to meet the customer lead time criteria.

Project Fixit is intended to improve the lead time performance so that all new design requests are delivered within the specified contractual lead time at no additional cost to the organisation, as margins are already very tight in order for them to remain competitive.

 FIGURE 5.2.1 Illustration of a flow chart

The  bottlenecks and problem areas identified in the flow chart include:

PROJECT REQUEST –  Activities in this step of the process include clarifying key brief elements, costing, customer approval to proceed. ARTWORK APPROVAL – The customer demands 5 day approval period and is often late in returning their approval to proceed. PACKAGE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW APPROVAL – 3 reviews of the prototype by the customer are allowed in the contract. This can at times blow out beyond 3 days which in turn delays the return of the proof for specification development. PROOF BACK TO VENDOR – Frequent rework is an issue here. Instances have occurred in the past where the client has requested changes to the proof after it has been submitted for specification development. This is at times picked up at the specification sign off step prior to retooling for production. This means that the process is pushed back to the package development stage of the process and the organisations ability to order materials for production is delayed.  

2. Determine where the logical intervals or handoffs are within the process. These could be handoffs between departments, time stamps, milestones, or any other logical process break. Gather data on problem areas, bottlenecks, handoffs and chart them. 

3. Finally, link each process measure to the ultimate customer or business measure the project is supposed to improve. Those process measures with the best linkage, or correlation, are where the project team should focus to improve results.

 Question

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From the Flow Chart in the above Figure, identify the project measures you might choose to collect data on and chart.

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 Question

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Can you identify the ultimate customer or business measure the project is supposed to improve and to which these results must be linked?

The following diagram sourced from the PMI Institute illustrates this methodology.

FIGURE 5.2.2 Flow chart and associated metrics (SOURCE: REVER, 2007)

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5.3. Controlling Quality

FIGURE 5.3.1: Overview of the process of controlling quality

The quality control process evaluates the planned quality against results achieved and suggests necessary changes. The quality control team will gather information with regard to the planned quality using the project risk management plan, quality matrices, checklists, process management plans, information on status of work that has been carried out so far, change requests if any and organisational standards, procedures and guidelines.

The quality control process may employ a number of tools, some of which have already been introduced, such as: control charts, statistical sampling and flowcharts. There are a few others we will introduce in this section.

A Cause and effect diagram or Ishikawa diagram as it is also known, assists a quality analyst to go down to the root of the cause. Recognising the fact that the defect should be fixed, it should be noted that the cause of the problem should also be eliminated to stop further defects from occurring. An example of an Ishikawa diagram is given below in figure 5.3.2. The problem, a computer application not installing is given on the right hand side of the diagram while the probable causes are given on the left side. The visual shape of this diagram also earns it the name, fish- bone diagram.

FIGURE 5.3.2: Ishikawa diagram (Source: Mulachy, 2011; p. 278)

To assist with quality control, histograms and Pareto diagrams are also commonly used. A time-phased chart that makes it possible to track variations over time is seen used in certain projects. This chart is commonly called the run-chart and has the potential to plot and represent historical data and represent data patterns. Due to the ability to detect patterns and variations, this chart is used at times for trend analysis in schedule, scope and cost management. Scatter diagrams are yet another type of tool known to be used in quality control. Scatter diagrams are used to explore relations between two variables. An example that you may find humorous is briefly discussed to introduce the use of the scatter-diagram. Example: Let's say you have a boss who is always yelling at you, so you decide to analyse if there is any relationship between how long he yells at you and how often these episodes take place.

FIGURE 5.3.3: Scatter diagram (Source: Mulachy, 2011; p. 280)

Reviews, walkthroughs and peer reviews are also useful techniques and forms of inspection that may help identify variances from the planned. It is also necessary that once variances are found, corrective action is introduced. A well-established quality plan, however, will specify how to review such change requests before action is taken.

The process of quality control will produce documents that record the quality control activities that were carried out and the information pertaining to these activities, such as the quality measurements, project deliverables that were validated, changes that were applied upon identifying variances and the change requests that advised such change. Other project documents, project management plan, organisational procedures, standards and guidelines will also be updated as required.

5.4. Project Quality Assurance

FIGURE 5.4.1: Overview of the process of quality assurance

In the process of quality assurance we evaluate if the quality planning process adequately captured the quality requirements and if the control process is ensuring the required quality standards. In other words quality assurance performs an audit to ensure that quality requirements and standards are met. Quality assurance process could be conducted by a designated quality department in organisations. However, organisations may choose the most effective method that suits them to conduct quality assurance.  It is expected that quality assurance will provide organisations with continuous improvement in quality.

The inputs for quality assurance process are: the project management plan, quality matrices, quality control measurements and work performance information – specifying the statuses of project performance with regard to scope, schedule, cost etc. The information from quality and process management plans will also be useful as inputs.

In order for quality assurance to begin, the quality planning and quality control processes should already be implemented. As a starting point for quality assurance a quality audit can be performed; during this audit, care should be taken to identify effective practices and measure variance from the planned outcome. Methods that are effective should be noted and documented. If the audit reveals discrepancies and failed expectations, then, expertise and prior knowledge should be made available to get back on track. Any processes that include unnecessary steps should be identified and corrected. Avoiding unnecessary work will save money and cost, and will contribute towards process improvement.

As a result of quality assurance project documents and project management plan may need to be updated. If the quality audit revealed changes needed in managing quality of the project, then change requests will need to be raised and there may also be updates to organisational standards, guidelines and procedures.

 Activity - Drag and drop

Match the processes with their appropriate outputs.

Quality Assurance (Drag and Drop)

Quality Control Measurements / Validated Changes / Validated Deliverables / Work

Performance information / Change Requests / Project Management Plan Updates /

Project Document Updates / Organizational Process Assets Updates

  Project Quality Plan/ Process Improvement Plan /Quality Metrics/ Quality Checklists/

Project Document Updates

Change Requests / Project Management Plan Updates / Project Document Updates

Process options

Outputs Process

1. Plan Quality 2. Perform Quality

Assurance 3. Control Quality

 Check

  /Organizational Process Asset Updates

6. Role of The Project Team in Managing Quality

It is often difficult for students to understand how to make the transition from the concepts of quality management to applying these principles in the context of a project. The following video extract from a past lecture reflects on the principles of TQM and the roles of each team member in applying these principles in the context of a project.

Module 6 Lecture Video - The Role of Project Team Members in Applying TQM

7. Guest Lecture - Quality & Risk Management

Now that you understand the basic concepts underpinning Quality Management and you appreciate its close association with Risk Management, this is an appropriate point to introduce you to the application of quality management and risk management principles in a real project. The following video is an extract from a prior lecture where a guest lecturer was invited to present an example of a real engineering project to students and focus on the aspect of Quality Management and Risk management as they relate to the project.

At this point in time it is important for you to focus on the Quality management aspects presented in this video. In later modules when we cover risk management you will be referred back to this video to review the relevant aspects of risk management.

Module 6 Guest Lecturer - Quality and Risk Management

8. References

Larson, E.W. and Gray, C.F. (2021), Project Management: The Project Management Process, 8 edition, McGraw Hill

Maylor, H. (2010), Project Management, 4 edition, Prentice Hall

Mulcahy, R. (2011), PMP Exam Prep, 7 edition, RMC Publications, Inc,

Project Management Institute (2017), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 6th edition

Rever, H. (2007). Quality in project management—a practical look at chapter 8 of the PMBOK® guide. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007—Latin America, Cancún, Mexico. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Sherrer J.A.(2009), Project Management Road Trip for the Project Management Professional

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9. Glossary

Module 4: Supplementary Information

9.1. Cost Benefit Analysis & Cost of Quality

Cost benefit analysis and cost of quality techniques are commonly used to weigh the benefits of conformance to quality as opposed to non- conformance. The underlying concept of both these techniques is to determine the financial feasibility of conducting the intended quality procedures.

There are projects that will definitely prove that conformance to quality as beneficial, such as construction projects – consequence of non- conformance may be detrimental to the environment and human lives. However, a project manager, managing a small software application may decide to cut down on the code-testing to a certain limit, as it may not be financially viable to conduct lengthy code-tests. This decision will probably not have a devastating effect on the final software application and it's users in contrast to the construction project mentioned.

FIGURE 9.1: Cost of quality – conformance and non-conformance (Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed, 2017; p.283)

PMBOK defines the cost of quality (COQ) as inclusive of all costs incurred over the life of the product by investment in preventing nonconformance to requirements, appraising the product or service for conformance to requirements, and failing to meet requirements (rework). Failure costs are often categorized into internal (found by the project team) and external (found by the customer). Failure costs are also called the cost of poor quality. Consequently, Cost of Quality analysis, must include an estimation of costs from each of these sources. A defect in the product requires that the seller producing it, repairs the defect at their own cost. If inputs to the project contain defects, then the costs are not incurred by the project and consequently, it is not classified as a cost of quality.

9.2. Ishikawas 7 Tools of Quality Management

Many of Ishikawas 7 tools of Quality Management have found their way into the PMBOK Guides under section 8.2.2 Manage Quality tools and Techniques. Some are used to gather and analyse data whilst other sare presented as preferred ways of representing data. You can read more about these tools in the PMBOK GUIDE 6th ed (2017).

Ishikawas original 7 tools include:

Cause and Effect Diagrams -  that show the relationships of various elements in a system or process. Also called the Ishikawa diagram or fishbone diagram. Process Flowcharts - used to understand how and where a problem occurs. Pareto Diagrams - which consists of vertical bars that represent the individual values of the problem in descending order from left to right; and a line graph that shows the cumulative sum. This chart helps project managers find the minor causes that are affecting the project significantly. Checksheets - which are a tally sheet that can be used as a checklist when gathering data Histograms - are bar chart used to describe the central tendency, dispersion and shape of a statistical distribution Control Charts - which help define an upper control limit as well as a lower control limit. Scatter Diagrams - a graphical representation of two variables, showing the relationship between them

Control charts such as those discussed in the video of the previous section and reproduced in figure 9.2.1 below, are particularly useful as they assist a project team to measure quality, because they specify a range where quality is acceptable.

FIGURE 9.2.1 An illustration of a control chart

Control charts help define an upper control limit as well as a lower control limit.  These Control charts can be applied to areas of project cost, schedule management and others as well. Consider the following example: Project Smart Co.is an organisation which executes their business strategy by conducting projects. The project management office (PMO) has defined upper and lower control limits for project cost and schedule variances. A project falling within these limits is accepted as having satisfactory time and cost performance. The PMO at Project Smart Co. may use control charts to screen the performance of projects conducted.

It is also possible to employ control charts in determining the quality of service provided to the customers. Consider a courier service; they may define control limits related to the variation in the time of delivery. Questions of interest for making decisions on the control limits may be: what is the time period that defines lower and upper control limits? Is it within the control limits to deliver one hour late?

Flow charts have also been mentioned a number of times in this module and used in one of the exercises. Take the example of the courier service mentioned above: as part of continuous improvement the courier company IcarryUrStuff Inc., analyses processes to remove any lags between processes that may delay the delivery of parcels from one location to another. When drawing flow charts there are notations to adhere to and it would be a good idea to use computerised tools that may be of further assistance. Figure 9.2.2 illustrates a flowchart mapping the path of a project request to develop artwork for product packaging.

FIGURE 9.2.2: An illustration of a flow chart (Source: PMBOK® Guide, 2008; p. 199)

For the purposes of understanding the content relevant to this course it is probably also of value to understand Ishikawa diagrams which have been discussed in earlier sections of this module. for further detail on these tools please refer to section 8.2.2 in the PMBOK Guide 2016.

9.3. Benchmarking

During the process of benchmarking, the project team identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist. These are often referred to as "comparator organisations". The project team compares the results and processes of those studied (the "comparator organisations") to the teams own results and processes. In this way, they learn how well they perform compared to the target and in this context are able to judge the success of their own performance. 

Benchmarking is used in certain projects, for instance, data warehousing projects to assist with meeting quality requirements. The data retrieval, saving and processing times may need to match or exceed the industry standard benchmarks or they may need to exceed industry best practice. 

Ultimately the goal of benchmarking is to gain information to help the organisation and the project team improve their own performance. The information obtained through benchmarking might be used to help them improve their processes or the way in which those processes are executed.

9.4. Six Sigma

Six Sigma is recognised as a methodology for the control of quality which was developed by Motorola Inc. in the mid 80's. This methodology focuses on using data to limit the creation of defects within a process. It emphasises a concurrent improvement in both cycle-time and the reduction of manufacturing defects, to a level of no more than 3.4 occurrences per million units or events. In simple language, this method enables the process to work faster with fewer mistakes.

Why 3.4 occurrences per million? - Six Sigma is focused around the mathematical fact that, it takes six-standard-deviations of an event from the mean for an error to happen because only 3.4 out of a million (randomly and normally distributed), events along a bell curve would fall outside of six-standard-deviations. Hence the term Six - for six and Sigma - the scientific symbol for standard deviation.

Practitioners of Six Sigma follow an approach called DMAIC which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control. The ideology behind DMAIC is that an organisation or team of people can solve problems by following the DMAIC steps. The steps they would follow are:

1. A team of people, led by a Six Sigma champion, defines a faulty process on which to focus, decided through an analysis of company goals and requirements.

2. This definition outlines the problem, goals, and deliverables for the project. 3. The team measures the initial performance of the process. These statistical measures make up a list of potential inputs, which may cause

the problem and help the team understand the process's benchmark performance. 4. Then the team analyzes the process by isolating each input, or potential reason for the failure, and testing it as the root of the problem.

Through analysis, the team identifies the reason for process error. 5. From there, the team works to improve system performance. Finally, the team adds controls to the process to ensure it does not regress

and become ineffective once again.

9.5. Design of experiments and statistical sampling

Both these are approaches using statistics to assist with quality management.

Design of experiments (DOE) is a statistical method of analysis that could be used to measure the impact of a particular variable, while keeping others constant. Consider the following example: in a project that involves building a super computer, the performance of various motherboards and their contribution to the computer efficiency needs to be measured separately. DOE allows the motherboard to be the only variable while keeping all others constant. As such the impact each motherboard alone has on the computer's performance can be measured.  

In contrast statistical sampling is conducted when the population is overly large for individual testing. Consider this example: Dashydoors is a mass manufacturer of doors. They need to make sure that the doors meet the required quality standards. It would be impractical to check every door for quality. Hence, a statistically viable sample could be randomly selected and tested to see if the required quality is present. The larger the sample the more the confidence, however, to obtain 100% confidence, 100% must be sampled. 

To draw valid conclusions the project team will have to decide how they will select a sample that is representative of the group as a whole. There are two types of sampling methods:

Probability sampling involves random selection, allowing you to make statistical inferences about the whole group. Non-probability sampling involves non-random selection based on convenience or other criteria, allowing you to easily collect initial data.

Techniques include single sampling, multiple sampling and double sampling