Why Do Quality Planning Essential in Project Management?

When working on a project, time, budget, and quality are the three important factors to consider. All three of these factors are important in the project as they are related to one another. To succeed in a project, time, cost, and quality achieve as per the customers’ requirements. But, even if you deliver at the right time and with the allocated budget, quality is more important than those. This Invensis blog on “Why Do Quality Planning Essential in Project Management?” will give a detailed explanation of the importance of Quality Planning in Project Management for a successful project. Moreover, if you opt to futureproof your career, LLSYB will be your perfect choice. The Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification is the entry-level certification credential that showcases a professional’s ability to successfully apply the fundamentals of six sigma methodology in an organization.

If the project’s quality declines, it will fail. The time and budget of the project are only approximate as it may increase or decrease depending on the requirements and other project circumstances. The most important aspect verified by the customer will be the quality of the developed product. There will be several challenges while attaining the project quality, but it is an essential requirement in the project. 

What is Quality Planning?

The term ‘Quality Planning‘ is defined as the methodology where the information available in the project is discussed at the ignition stages to deal with the customer requirements on quality. Quality planning is highly important for dealing with defects that may arise in the projects. It is the process that occurs during the planning stage of the project. The quality measure is also made at the initial stages during the quality planning to avoid any consequences at the final closure stage. Hence, the critical factors involved in the successful completion of the project are discussed in this stage.

The delivery of the project should be of high quality, and hence the quality planning helps in focusing on the requirements. The specifications or the required features are analyzed, and necessary steps are taken. Moreover, the quality plan comprises objectives, processes, roles & responsibilities, applied standards, and metrics to measure quality. At present, quality planning is developed with the help of project management software of any type available in the market.

Importance of Quality Planning

Quality is the factor that will decide the project’s success and failure. The project’s quality mostly fulfills customer expectations rather than time and budget. The time and budget have tolerance for certain limits since they could not predict before the project’s start. But, expecting a high-quality project is most common, and hence, quality is highly important while working with the projects. Project Quality Planning is a process that takes place during the project’s planning. The standards and the metrics for the project sets at the earlier stages of the project. The standard is said to be the quality of the project, and it will be set by the project manager to manage during the project.

The quality planning at the planning phase will directly or indirectly impact the other plans like time scheduling, budget planning, resource planning, etc. Therefore, the ultimate deliverables and quality of the project identify using the quality planning done during the planning stage. In addition, quality planning reduces the hazards during the project development process.

Benefits of Quality Planning in Projects

Numerous benefits are possible from quality planning. Attaining the best quality will benefit both the customer and the stakeholder sides. The reason for this is that everyone and everywhere expects quality. In addition, the benefits of quality planning are the increase in the quality of the product and the increase in satisfaction of the customers. The following are some of the other benefits that are from quality planning.

Increase in Productivity

Once the product quality increases, the production rate also increases. The productivity increase helps in improved sales and revenue for the organization.

Better Customer Satisfaction

Quality, the first essential factor, should meet when coming to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is important for making the project a successful one.

Rework is Minimal

The change to deal with quality and other factors is less since quality arranging aids focus on the item quality. It also helps in proper planning of time and the budget.

Reducing the Cost Spent on the Project

As the task progresses, the expense spent on it decreases, as does the legitimate expense and time plan. Therefore, the allocated budget will be enough to complete the project.

Increase in Standards

The standard of the product will increase in the market, which will help increase the brand and business reputation. Therefore, high-quality products will always have demand in the market.

How to Create a Quality Plan?

To create a project quality plan, you need to collect complete information about the project. After collecting all the necessary data, the various stakeholders and customers of the project will take adequate performance measures. The quality of the project is specific to the project, and hence the quality and its level is verified well before starting the project. Therefore, it helps in reducing the confusion developed during the project’s progress.

The project’s gap analysis is a technique for determining the existing and ideal states. The gaps or challenges available to reach the quality or standard identify with the gap analysis. The roles and responsibilities of the team members in focusing on the project quality measures so that they will be accountable for their tasks. In addition, the specific goals made for every project member to run towards the quality of the project. Finally, customers and stakeholders obtain and develop the acceptance criteria. It will help create the measure of quality in the project.

Role of Project Manager in Quality Planning

As discussed earlier, the person who is highly responsible for project quality is the project manager. The project manager can control every stage and the members involved to improve the project quality. The problems of achieving project quality identify early and overcome with effective planning. In addition, the project manager performs the execution of the project plan. Above all, the use of available techniques and technologies to manage the quality in every stage of the project is the project manager’s primary role.

Source: invensislearning.com