Module 7-Building Quality – through Commitment & Involvement, Leadership. the Project Team, and the Project Manager
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
- Distinguish between quality planning, quality control, and quality auditing.
- Why is quality so often poorly built into projects and how can this be rectified?
- Discuss how deficiencies in identifying and planning quality requirements in the project may impact time and cost.