What are the best practices for project quality assurance?

Project quality assurance (QA) is a vital part of engineering management, as it ensures that the project meets the requirements, standards, and expectations of the stakeholders. QA involves planning, implementing, monitoring, and improving the quality processes and activities throughout the project life cycle. In this article, we will discuss some of the best practices for project QA, based on the principles of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

1 Define quality objectives and criteria

The first step in project QA is to define the quality objectives and criteria for the project, based on the scope, schedule, budget, and stakeholder needs. Quality objectives are the measurable outcomes that indicate the level of quality achieved by the project. Quality criteria are the specific standards or requirements that the project deliverables must meet or exceed. Defining quality objectives and criteria helps to align the project team, the customer, and the sponsor on what constitutes quality and how to measure it.

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Elias Medawar

Technology Strategist & Architect | Supporting the CTO in Driving Efficient and Cost-Effective Digital Solutions for a Digital Swiss Administration 🇨🇭
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In my view, the key to improving quality lies not just in metrics but in two often overlooked steps: 1) Defining what quality means for the project, and 2) Establishing a clear quality testing strategy. These steps are foundational. Without a shared understanding of ‘quality’ tailored to the project’s needs, metrics can be misleading or irrelevant. Similarly, a well-defined testing strategy outlines how to approach testing, ensuring that metrics are aligned with the project’s goals. Only after these are established does it make sense to discuss other metrics. They’re the compass and map before embarking on the journey of quality assurance.

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Syed Fadzil Syed Mohamed

Fellow of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (FIEM)
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I've discovered that constant performance monitoring via quantitative data collecting, statistical analysis, and detailed reporting delivers critical insight. This enables our team to detect flaws, trends, and chances for improvement in real time across all stages of design, procurement, fabrication, and construction. We may make educated decisions to conduct preventative and corrective actions by creating important metrics and diligently tracking them. This methodical approach is critical for producing mechanically sound systems that fulfil specifications the first time.

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Zain Ul Islam

Optimizing production & energy consumption through robust control systems | CTO @ Zainel Automation | IIOT | SCADA | PLC Programming
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In initiating project Quality Assurance (QA), the initial step involves establishing clear quality objectives and criteria for the project, rooted in considerations such as scope, schedule, budget, and stakeholder requirements. Quality objectives represent measurable outcomes that serve as indicators of the achieved level of quality in the project. On the other hand, quality criteria are precise standards or requirements that the project deliverables must meet or surpass. The process of defining quality objectives and criteria plays a crucial role in fostering alignment among the project team, customer, and sponsor regarding the definition of quality and the methodologies for its measurement.

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2 Implement quality management plan

The second step in project QA is to implement the quality management plan, a document that describes how the project will ensure and control quality. This plan should include elements such as quality roles and responsibilities, the tools and techniques used to plan, perform, and monitor quality, the metrics and indicators for assessing quality performance, the audits and reviews for verifying processes and deliverables, as well as improvement actions for addressing any issues or gaps.

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3 Monitor quality performance

The third step in project QA is to monitor the quality performance, which involves collecting, analyzing, and reporting the quality data and metrics. This helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the quality processes and deliverables, as well as risks and opportunities for improvement. Quality checklists, control charts, inspections, and reports are all common techniques for monitoring quality performance. Quality checklists are lists of items or tasks that must be completed or verified to ensure quality. Quality control charts are graphical tools that show the variation of a quality metric over time and the acceptable limits. Quality inspections are formal or informal examinations of a quality process or deliverable to verify its compliance with the quality criteria. Finally, quality reports are documents that summarize the quality status, issues, and actions of the project.

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Mateusz Szymajda

Engineering Manager | Building exceptional products and scalable development processes by focusing on technology and high-performing teams.
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I find DORA metrics a vital link between DevOps and emerging TestOps practices. Let's look at them in quality context: 1. Deployment Frequency: This promotes a culture of continuous testing and improvements in the test automation processes 2. Lead Time for Changes: Shorter lead times prove that your QA processes are more efficient 3. Change Failure Rate: The lower the rates are, the more effective the QA process is e.g., in identifying and resolving potential issues before deployment or even occurrence 4. Mean Time to Recover: Reduced recovery time emphasizes the reliability of QA practices like monitoring and flexibility. Remember that all of these metrics are tightly coupled together, improvement in one of them will affect the others.

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4 Improve quality processes and deliverables

The fourth step in project QA is to improve the quality processes and deliverables, a process that helps to enhance customer satisfaction, reduce rework and waste, and increase efficiency and effectiveness of the project. Common techniques for achieving this include Root Cause Analysis, which identifies the underlying causes of a quality problem or defect; Pareto Analysis, which prioritizes the most significant causes based on frequency or impact; Ishikawa Diagrams, which graphically show the relationship between a quality problem or defect and its possible causes; and Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycles, which implement and evaluate quality improvement actions.

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5 Communicate quality results and feedback

The fifth step in project QA is to communicate the quality results and feedback, which involves sharing quality information and insights with relevant stakeholders. This helps to build trust and transparency, foster collaboration and learning, and ensure alignment and accountability. Common techniques for communicating quality results and feedback include creating quality dashboards, holding quality meetings, conducting quality feedback surveys, and compiling quality lessons learned documents. Quality dashboards provide a visual display of key metrics and indicators, while quality meetings discuss the project's quality status, issues, and actions. Quality feedback surveys collect stakeholders' opinions and suggestions on the project's quality, and quality lessons learned documents capture best practices from the project's quality processes and deliverables.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What are the best practices for project quality assurance?

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2

3

4

5

6

1 Define quality objectives and criteria

2 Implement quality management plan

3 Monitor quality performance

4 Improve quality processes and deliverables

5 Communicate quality results and feedback

6 Here’s what else to consider

Engineering Management

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What are the best practices for project quality assurance?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define quality objectives and criteria

2 Implement quality management plan

3 Monitor quality performance

4 Improve quality processes and deliverables

5 Communicate quality results and feedback

6 Here’s what else to consider

Engineering Management

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