Lesson 12: Quality management
- 00:06 - Quality. So here I’m going to give you some information about quality
- 00:11 - So, a good place to start is what is quality?
- 00:14 - What are we talking about when we talk about quality?
- 00:19 - It’s kind of hard to explain actually, but an example is always very, very useful
- 00:25 - So, let’s say you want a pen. So, what would be some of your requirements for a pen?
- 00:30 - Well, I would like to have blue ink that will not leak in my pocket. That’s very important
- 00:36 - It will not smudge when I write. The ink appears as normal, acceptedly normal
- 00:41 - The ink in the pen could last a couple of months, maybe three to four months, that would be nice
- 00:48 - And it will work under normal conditions, you know
- 00:51 - So, I live in the middle of Europe, so it should be fine there
- 00:54 - I’m not going to the North Pole or not going to Saudi Arabia
- 00:58 - And I do not need fancy features like it has to work upside down, okay?
- 01:03 - So, my requirements are very straightforward
- 01:06 - Now suppose you have two pens
- 01:09 - One you got for €2 and the other you got for €140, okay, because it’s gold
- 01:17 - Both meet your expectations
- 01:21 - Now, I have a trick question for you. Just think about it for a moment
- 01:25 - Which is the higher quality for my purpose?
- 01:31 - Well, for my purpose, all requirements are served
- 01:35 - So, for the purpose, both pens have the same level of quality
- 01:42 - And I just described from a point of view of what I need to get the job done
- 01:49 - Now let’s do a programming example. Let’s say the project is to deliver an online shop for a large organization. Okay?
- 01:58 - So, it’s a big project, and you receive a new request that a new payment method should be added
- 02:07 - Remember, a lot of users are going to be using this
- 02:11 - So, you cannot just add this quickly and go like, okay, great, let’s put that in as a new module
- 02:16 - You have to think about the consequences. So, you got to think about the quality of the complete system
- 02:22 - So taking stuff into account. So, for example, the code that you are adding has to follow the same standards
- 02:31 - For the maintenance people who maintain the application, it must also be easy for them
- 02:38 - So there must be a certain way of doing coding
- 02:42 - How transaction data will be transferred into the main database is also important
- 02:48 - Because this is given in a standard format to the accountant
- 02:52 - And how to deal with VAT and foreign payments as well
- 02:58 - So, all of these have got to be taken into account
- 03:01 - And really using standards to help us to think about this, so standards are really key for quality management
- 03:10 - We can have our own standards or we can adopt standards for outside
- 03:14 - Standards can be for security, for safety, privacy, integration and so on
- 03:21 - So, what I’m getting at is standards really help us with aspects of quality
- 03:29 - Now let me do a more concrete example
- 03:33 - Let’s say that you’re the Project Manager for a large construction site
- 03:38 - And you are installing very large concrete support structures for the building
- 03:44 - And, of course, you’re going to follow standards for all other steps to prepare the concrete
- 03:49 - Then, you will then do … further tests will be done once you progress and once the concrete is dry
- 04:01 - So you will continually test before other parts are added
- 04:06 - So why did we do that? Well, if we leave it too late and we check later
- 04:11 - Then we’ve got to start knocking stuff down that we have already built
- 04:15 - So we must continually check as we are working because the cost of rework would be enormous, okay?
- 04:23 - So, projects should be always checking for quality as we are adding to the project
- 04:31 - Now, some quality tips. When creating something, agree the requirements, but also the quality of requirements
- 04:38 - So, to what level something should actually work, you know
- 04:42 - So, if I have a pen, okay, I would like it to be blue ink
- 04:45 - So if I get a black one, it won’t do, or a red one, it won’t do
- 04:49 - If the pen only lasts like a week, then I have to keep buying new ones like that, so that’s not a good idea
- 04:56 - So, I write down my quality requirements
- 04:58 - Then the team can deliver the product to meet the quality expectations
- 05:04 - As part of their delivery, what they have to do, is to deliver products users can use as expected and they will fit a purpose
- 05:12 - And then we do lots of testing then to make sure that we are reaching that level of quality, okay
- 05:19 - And users can use the products as expected
- 05:23 - If then the complete product works in the way that users expected
- 05:29 - Then the organization can get a return on their investment and they can get the expected benefits for the project
- 05:36 - Now, let’s talk about how PRINCE2 actually or the PRINCE2 approach to quality
- 05:43 - Well, in the initiation stage they say, well, let’s agree on how we’re going to follow up on quality
- 05:50 - So our approach to quality. This is a template, I suppose, that they will use and say, okay
- 05:54 - That’s how we will manage quality or look at quality in their project
- 05:59 - Then they define the steps that they will follow in the project
- 06:04 - So, for example … or this document defines it
- 06:08 - So, when they create that first document which describes the main output of the project
- 06:14 - They will add in the high-level requirements for the project, so it’s always a good place to start
- 06:22 - And then for every deliverable or product which they recognise, will actually add the quality requirements as well
- 06:30 - Okay. PRINCE2 also gives three steps for quality or a technique for quality
- 06:39 - And it talks about planning quality, so adding quality requirements to documents
- 06:45 - Controlling quality. This is where we do a test to make sure that the products are passing the quality test
- 06:55 - And then we are accepting the finished products which actually have met or have passed the quality test
- 07:04 - So, that’s our planning, controlling and accepting
- 07:07 - Now some organizations as well have lots of policies which we should take into account as well
- 07:15 - So, for example, an organization may have a policy on security, so everybody has to wear a badge when you enter
- 07:21 - You’ve got to badge in and badge out when you leave the company
- 07:25 - So we can know how many people are in the company and then if there’s a fire
- 07:29 - We will know exactly who else is left and we got to get out
- 07:34 - They can have policies for filling and expenses
- 07:37 - They can have policies for asking to go on vacation and so on
- 07:41 - So, sometimes or most of the times, we should take these policies
- 07:46 - Into view as well when we’re working on a project to make sure that any work we’re doing
- 07:53 - Will actually match those organizational policies as well
- 07:58 - PRINCE2 says one more thing, you know, once that is done
- 08:01 - Well, when we’re like planning a stage, so we know what deliverables we’re going to work on in the next stage
- 08:06 - It says, well, keep an overview in kind of a register, they call it a Quality Register
- 08:12 - Of when work will be delivered, products will be delivered, and when quality checks can take place. Okay?
- 08:19 - So, keep that in kind of a spreadsheet and then put the result of the quality check in there as well
- 08:25 - So, it calls that a Quality Register
- 08:28 - So, that’s one of the documents which PRINCE2 says to do, another one of the documents, I should say
- 08:33 - Then during the project, the Project Manager will hand product descriptions
- 08:38 - Work out the teams to do in packages of work
- 08:42 - The team will work hard to deliver the products to meet the quality requirements
- 08:47 - That’s what they concerned about. And that’s when they will know they have finished
- 08:51 - Because they have done enough to get whatever they were working on to pass the quality requirements
- 08:57 - Once that’s done, they stop, and that will continue during the whole project
- 09:01 - And then at the very end of the project, hopefully we have delivered everything
- 09:06 - The Project Manager will have the acceptance criteria in their mind
- 09:10 - And they will know upfront or they should have a good idea upfront
- 09:14 - Whether this will be accepted by the customer or not because they keep that conversation going during the project
- 09:20 - So, at the end, they’re able to hand their finished main deliverable over to the users
- 09:20 - Okay. So, that gives you a full overview on how we do quality
- 09:31 - And as you can see, it’s very linked to planning because planning and quality go really hand in hand
- 09:37 - Now, just a question for you to finish up here
- 09:41 - When does the Project Manager think about quality?
- 09:49 - The answer is all the time, all the time, from the very beginning of the project
- 09:54 - As soon as we start describing what the project will produce, we’re thinking about quality
- 10:01 - And until the very end, until the main product is handed over
- 10:05 - That’s the acceptance criteria. That’s also quality. Good
Quiz
- Why do projects bother with quality?
- What helps to ensure quality?
- What is the name of the management product that acts as a guideline on how quality will be done in a project?
- Where are user quality expectations gathered in a project?
- Are quality requirements added to product description documents?
- Who delivers the products to meet the quality specifications?
- Which register file is used to identify all the quality control activities that are planned or have occurred?
- Projects produce products that users will use, and they need to be able to use these products as expected. For example, a simple pen that leaks ink cannot be used as expected.
- We can say that testing helps to ensure quality.
- Quality management approach
- During the ‘starting up a project’ process, the project manager creates the project product description, which describes the project’s significant products, including the user’s quality expectations and acceptance.
- The product descriptions (requirements documents) include quality specifications, quality tests, and skills information.
- The team members (delivery layer) deliver the products and must meet the product specifications, including the quality specifications.
- Quality register
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