Less Well-known Benefits of Quality Management

In addition to producing products without errors or functional issues, quality management delivers some additional benefits. Here are a few rarely discussed benefits of quality management:

Defines a fundamental requirement. The information needed to complete a quality plan ensures that you understand a fundamental requirement’s grade. Grade, which represents the degree of optional features available in a product, is a significant element of quality and of the product(s) you produce. The required grade can significantly alter your project approach. For example, an entry level car is one that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. It includes basic features that helps you get from point A to point B. That is a low-grade vehicle. However, when that entry level car is designed well and lasts a long time, it is a high-quality, low-grade vehicle. In contrast, a top-end luxury car with extra features that breaks down frequently is a low-quality, high-grade vehicle.

The required grade identifies whether the car has a requirement for those multi-way adjustable heated seats! Deliver successful projects by focusing on producing both the desired grade and quality.

Drives fact-based discussions about cost, time, intent and outcomes your project will produce. The degree of quality you build into a product depends on three things; money, time, and skill (and skill costs money.) This interdependence gives the project manager a way to justify requests for additional funding and/or time for higher quality items (which typically require more development, construction, and testing time). In addition, more expensive resources or parts may be required. 

Helps define sound completion criteria. Successful projects share a common characteristic: well-defined completion criteria. The required quality of your deliverables (including grade), components needed, and relevant performance characteristics are vital elements of sound and quantifiable completion criteria.

Protects your reputation. Producing a product for the marketplace without understanding the quality that help it sell would be foolhardy. Producing a deliverable without quality criteria is similar. You’ll waste money and time without proper descriptions of required quality and well-defined quality verification processes. Quality plans protect your business from waste and can highlight the importance of good project management by ensuring that you produce deliverables fit for their purpose. 

Have you achieved other benefits from focusing on quality in your projects? If so, tell us about them in the comments.

For more about quality management , check out Daniel Stanton’s Project Management Foundations: Quality course.

Coming Up

Don’t miss Bonnie’s first LinkedIn Office Hours session of 2022, Leadership is Job One for Project Managers, at 1pm MT, January 25, 2022. Bonnie and bestselling project management author Eric Verzuh will talk about how shifting your focus to project leadership has a direct impact on project value. Bring your project management questions to this session.