Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

  • Quality is personal.
  • Quality is never inspected in a project. It is always designed into it from the beginning.
  • Quality is predicated on commitment and involvement from all stakeholders.
  • The greater the prevention costs, the lower the appraisal and failure costs.
  • The amount of re-work carried out is an inverse measure of quality (or perhaps the lack of it).
  • Quality exists to be measured – make sure you don’t forget that.
  • Quality exists in both the project management processes and the deliverables. Check them both.
  • Quality is everyone’s business and everyone’s responsibility.
  • A commitment to quality will always deliver what the client wants.
  • Quality is all about doing it right, the first time, every time.
  • Simply delivering the outcome does not necessarily imply a quality outcome.
  • Quality is a moving target as standards and requirements can frequently change.
  • The project manager and team must both work together to achieve the project outcomes. Both parties must be equally committed.
  • Teams do not occur naturally when people come together to work on the project. They evolve and require careful ‘crafting and development’ through the guidance of the project manager.
  • Conflict is probably unavoidable in most projects. It then becomes crucial how it is resolved.
  • Project managers require a precise set of skills, knowledge, and abilities if they are to perform effectively and deliver sustained commitment from the project teams.
  • Project managers cannot motivate the team. What they can do is to provide the environment and conditions that will foster self-motivation from within the team.
  • Leadership involves demonstrating more than one solitary style in all situations. It requires multiple styles, each one appropriate given different circumstances.
  • While the concepts of management and leadership are different, the project requires that project managers demonstrate both competently.
  • For some people, simply performing the project work will be rewarding enough. For others, a range of appropriate rewards will be required.
  • The project manager has an array of power – each source capable of influencing the team’s commitment to the project.
  • Meetings can often achieve little. They need to be carefully structured and executed in a disciplined approach if they are to achieve their objectives.
  • Each project requires both management and leadership – often from the same person (the project manager).
  • Not everyone contributes equally, openly, and/or regularly to the team. Ensure that this is not the case in your project teams.
  • Always remember that project objectives are achieved with and through the efforts of others.
  • Ensure that the project manager is the right person for the job – the project’s success depends on it.
  • Projects need an appropriate, workable, and supportive organisational structure to support and guide the project.

 

 

Review Questions

  1. Distinguish between quality planning, quality control, and quality auditing.
  2. Why is quality so often poorly built into projects and how can this be rectified?
  3. Discuss how deficiencies in identifying and planning quality requirements in the project may impact time and cost.

 

 

 

 

License

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Project Management: A Strategic Approach Copyright © 2022 by Carmen Reaiche is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.