SOFTWARE PROJECT

QUALITY MANAGEMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Define Quality and Quality Management

2. Differentiate between Quality Planning,
Quality Assurance, and Quality Control.
3. Explain Cost of Quality and Its Categories.
4. Describe the Project Quality Management
Processes.
THE PURPOSE OF
PROJECT QUALITY
MANAGEMENT IS
TO ENSURE THAT
THE PROJECT WILL
SATISFY THE NEEDS
FOR WHICH IT WAS
UNDERTAKEN.
WHAT IS QUALITY
In business, engineering, and manufacturing, quality has a pragmatic interpretation as the
non-inferiority or superiority of something; it's also defined as being suitable for its intended
purpose (fitness for purpose) while satisfying customer expectations.

Quality is a perceptual, conditional, and somewhat subjective attribute and may be

understood differently by different people.

Consumers may focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to

competitors in the marketplace.

 Producers might measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the product/service

was produced correctly. 

Support personnel may measure quality in the degree that a product is reliable, maintainable,
or sustainable.

There are many aspects of quality in a business context, though primary is the idea the
business produces something, whether it be a physical good or a particular service. These
goods and/or services and how they are produced involve many types of processes,
procedures, equipment, personnel, and investments, which all fall under the quality umbrella.
WHAT IS QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Quality management is the act of overseeing all activities and tasks needed to maintain a
desired level of excellence. This includes the determination of a quality policy, creating and
implementing quality planning and assurance, and quality control and quality improvement. It
is also referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM).

In general, quality management focuses on long-term goals through the implementation of

short-term initiatives. 
A PROJECT IS SAID TO
MEET QUALITY
EXPECTATIONS, WHEN
ALL THE PROJECT
REQUIREMENTS
AGREED IN THE
BEGINNING OF THE
PROJECT ARE MET, AND
RESULTING PRODUCT IS
USABLE.
PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

Plan Quality Management: 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.

Perform Quality Assurance: The process of auditing the quality requirements and the
results from quality control measurements to ensure that appropriate quality standards
and operational definitions are used.

Control Quality: The process of monitoring and recording results of executing the
quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes.
Quality Planning vs. Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control

Basis of
Scope Activities Focus Area
Comparison
Determine a plan for
Focuses on information
Quality quality defining the Involves preparation of
on the level of quality
standards, templates, quality management
Planning policies, and plan
and the methods of
achieving it.
procedures.
Involves conducting
Determine if the project regular process audits to
Quality is complying with the identify deviations from
Focuses on process and
organizational (as well the quality plan and
Assurance as project) policies and undertake corrective
not products

procedures. and preventive

measures
Involves inspecting and
verifying the project’s
Quality Measures specific product, defect repair, Focuses on product and
project results (product) and measuring whether
data.
Control against standards the project quality
indicators are
improving.
Cost of Quality
Cost of quality includes 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.

Cost of Quality can be categorized as follows:

Cost of Conformance: It is the money spent during the project to avoid failures.
This can be divided as follows:

Prevention Cost: Cost to prevent errors and produce quality products. E.g.,
Training, Documentation, Equipment…

Appraisal Cost: Costs to asses quality. E.g., Testing and inspections

Cost of Non-Conformance: It is the money spent during and after the project
because of failures. This can be divided as follows:

Internal Failure Costs: Costs that occur before the product is released. E.g.,
Rework and Scrap.

External Failure Costs: Cost s incurred after the product is released to the
customer. E.g., Liabilities, Warranty, and lost business.
PLAN QUALITY
MANAGEMENT
Plan Quality Management

Plan Quality Management is the process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards
for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate
compliance with relevant quality requirements. It is the part of Planning Process Group.

Aim of this process is to identify the standards and determine the work to be done to meet
these standards.

Standard can be set from within organization or by government.

Inputs for Project Quality
Management Process
‣ Project Management Plan: Provides the scope, schedule, and cost base line. All of which
have implications on quality management plan.

‣ Stakeholder Register: May have specific requirements and views about quality
parameters of the project and these have to be considered.

‣ Risk Register: Gives an indication about the kind of risks that are inherent in the project
and also those which must be considered while planning the activities to ensure quality.

‣ Requirements Documentation: Needs to considered for planning quality related activities

because quality is all about meeting the requirements.

Quality Management Plan is the key output of this process.

Perform Quality Assurance

Perform Quality Assurance is the process of auditing the quality requirements and the results
from quality control measurements to ensure that appropriate quality standards and
operational definitions are used. It is part of Executing Process Group.

It involves determining whether the standards are being met and the processes are being
followed.
Inputs for Project Quality Assurance
Process
Inputs for this process is the work that has been completed during the quality planning stage.
They are

‣ Project Documents

‣ Quality Management Plan

‣ Process Improvement Plan

‣ Quality Metrics

‣ Quality Control Measurements

Project Documents Updates is the key output of this process; to ensure that if there is
any deviation from agreed standard it is corrected.
Control Quality
Control Quality is the process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality
activities to asses performance and recommend necessary changes. It is part of Monitoring
and Controlling Process Group.

The key focus of quality control activities is on the correctness of the work.

Quality Control helps answer questions like:

‣ Is everything OK with the project.

‣ Does the project plan require changes to successfully execute the project.

‣ Will the project succeed.

‣ etc
Inputs for Project Quality Control
Process

‣ Quality Metrics Measurements are done continuously to see whether the project quality is
improving.

‣ The project deliverables are inspected against planned Quality Checklists.

‣ Quality Control acts upon the Deliverables and Work Performance Data produced in
execution. It also refers to the Project Management Plan for understanding deviation from
the plan.

Quality Control activities results in Quality Control Measurements (Verified

Deliverables, Validated Changes, Work Performance Information, Change Requests).
QUICK RECAP

▸ A project is said to meet quality expectations, when all the project

requirements agreed in the beginning of the project are met.

▸ Quality Management includes creating and following policies and

procedures that meet the project’s defined quality needs.

▸ Quality Planning defines the standards, templates, policies, and

procedures; quality assurance determines if the project is complying
with the policies and procedures; quality control measures specific
project results against standards.

▸ Plan Quality Management, Perform Quality Assurance, and Control

Quality are the three Project Quality Management processes.