Whether you are managing a construction or software project, the quality of each project should be the utmost priority in the project management process. According to an article from Chron, quality projects are essential to meet and satisfy the expectations of the clients. That is why every business, established or small businesses should have an excellent strategic plan to achieve the project quality goals. And this is where a quality plan comes into play. An important document that will help businesses provide high-performance products and services. What is a quality plan, and why is it crucial in project management? Learn more of them below!
Quality is more than just producing useful and good products or services. In an article from Chron, a high-performance and quality product or service increases customer satisfaction and helps in long-term revenue and profitability. So, in every project development, it is vital to have accurate quality planning, along with a project management plan. A quality plan is one of the essential standardized practices in project management. It is a business document created to specify quality standards, resources, specifications, practices, and presents the necessary activities related to a particular project, whether a service or a product. With a concrete and strong quality plan, a business or organization will be able to ensure that their project is at its best performance. However, without it, a project may carry potential risks and defects that will result in unsatisfied clients. Regardless of the focus of your project, it is imperative to make sure that your quality plan is consists of the right information and should be accurately and well-written to have a clear guide in ensuring high-quality products.
According to a report from Statista, a panel of senior technology professionals stated that 23 percent of their company’s annual budget is allocated to quality assurance and testing.
Statista also presented that 39 percent of customer service leaders worldwide stated that they have an optimized level of the quality assurance process.
In another survey from Statista, 37 percent of respondents stated that some departments in an organization use standardized project management practices.
According to the American Society for Quality (ASQ), a quality plan is an important document in the project management plan that stipulates quality standard practices and processes to a product or service. So, whether you are developing a large or small project, it is important to consider having a quality plan. A quality plan is used to satisfy and meet customer requirements, provide objective evidence, as well as conformity to both external and internal quality standards and procedures. If used right, a quality plan will protect the project. Hence, having one should be a priority. But before you do so, it is imperative to know and understand what makes such a business document. Here are the basic elements that need to be defined in an effective quality plan.
Whatever the nature or size of the project is, it is always important to ensure that it is high-quality to meet the needs and expectations of the clients, as well as to satisfy them. Hence, an accurate and excellent quality plan is necessary. Just like an operational plan, a quality plan maps out the what, who, when, and how in the project management. It is an essential business document that should be well-made and professionally written. For starters, creating a quality plan may seem difficult since there are several aspects to consider. However, a quality plan differs from one project to another. So, following the same format is unnecessary. Thus, project managers may utilize a ready-made quality plan template for an easy and convenient process. With that, you may use any of our sample templates provided above. You can also make use of a ready-made quality plan if you want an easy and convenient process. Nevertheless, here are some easy-to-follow instructions on how to make a professional and effective quality plan. Here’s how.
The first step in making an effective quality plan is to write a brief introduction. This section in the quality plan entails an overview of the project—the project type, project name, etc. It also presents the purpose and importance of the project itself. The introduction will also showcase the importance of the quality plan and the different concepts discussed in the said plan. Introductions for a quality plan typically consist of short paragraphs. Nonetheless, make sure that the introduction should well define the purpose of the quality plan.
After the introduction, the next thing you need to do is to describe the project objectives. The project objectives are the desired results of a project. Creating project objectives should follow the SMART method, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. List each objective that you want to achieve for the project. Make sure that the feasible and attainable project objectives are well-defined and explained in the quality plan.
Once you have already described the objectives of the project, it is time to set up the quality expectations for the project. Quality expectations refer to the quality expected of the project product. In setting up the project quality expectations, it is important to consider the expectations of the clients. So, you have to assess, evaluate, and understand their needs to be able to make and provide a high-quality product and increase your organization’s chances of success. With that, create a list of the essential deliverables to meet the expectations, as well as setting up quality standards and criteria.
In every project quality plan, there is always a corresponding quality assurance plan. The quality assurance plan refers to the methods and tools used to meet the target set of expected quality. Thus, it is necessary to include quality assurance in your quality plan. To generate an effective plan for quality assurance, you have to consider doing several tasks. This task includes having a daily schedule of quality reviews conducted by an independent person who will ensure compliance with quality expectations.
After the quality assurance, the next thing you need to add in your quality plan is quality control. This means that you have to develop a concrete plan that will help you manage and control the quality level of every deliverable stated in the plan to meet the quality expectations. There are several types of control reviews that you may include in your quality plan. These are peer reviews, deliverable reviews, documentation reviews, end-of-phase reviews. Nevertheless, make sure to specify a schedule of sequences of quality control events in the quality plan.
Lastly, an important step that should be included in your quality plan is the managing process. This is where you outline and describe the roles and responsibilities of the management. Sometimes, a business owner would design or create an organizational chart for the quality management team. Having this in your quality ensures that every task in both the quality control and quality assurance plan is done. This is also to have accountability if there are defects during the project process. Nonetheless, make sure to present each information in the quality plan as clear as possible so that the team will be well-informed.
The main purpose of a quality management plan is to set forth how the quality of a project will be managed throughout its process. It also determines project deliverables and project quality roles. With a quality management plan, one can assure that the product or service is good.
Project quality has four main components essential in project management. This includes quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. With these components, an organization will be able to ensure that their products and services are in a high-quality form.
The seven principles of quality management include customer focus, engagement of people, leadership, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management.
A quality checklist is a form used to assess the quality of a project. This document contains a list of several items related to the quality processes of an organization, both quality assurance and quality control.
There are three main types of quality measures that you can use in your product or service. This includes process measures, outcome measures, and structure measures.
Just like any other business plan, a quality plan is a document that serves as a guide to achieving specific goals and objectives. It is an important business document that outlines a concrete process or activities of ensuring that a project, product, or service, is in good quality before sending it out to their clients or customers. A quality plan provides the project management team with an overall approach to how quality should be managed. So, if your organization is developing a project for a client, you have to consider making a quality plan. This type of business document should be a priority, as the project management plan. If you are looking for a ready-made quality plan that you can use immediately, you may check out our sample templates provided above. Simply choose the quality plan template that suits your purpose.
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