What do you do if your project team is struggling with quality control and delivering high-quality results?

If you are leading or working on a project, you know how important it is to deliver high-quality results that meet the expectations of your stakeholders and customers. However, sometimes your project team may struggle with quality control, which can lead to errors, rework, delays, and dissatisfaction. How can you overcome this challenge and ensure that your project team produces high-quality outcomes? Here are some tips to help you improve your quality control processes and practices.

1 Define quality standards and criteria

The first step to ensure quality control is to define what quality means for your project and how you will measure it. You need to establish clear and realistic quality standards and criteria that align with the project objectives, scope, and requirements. You also need to communicate these standards and criteria to your project team and other stakeholders, and get their feedback and agreement. This way, you can create a common understanding of what constitutes high-quality results and how to achieve them.

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Clark Masterson, MS, MA

Helping leaders reignite their fire and achieve more at work and life
(edited)
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Quality is not just something you deliver, it is something you cocreate with your peers and stakeholders. Clarity is key. Many people assume that others know what quality looks like... but rest assured, there are many different opinions on "quality." Be sure you are setting the bar with clarity. Or else you just leave things up to subjective argument.

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2 Implement quality assurance and control methods

The second step to ensure quality control is to implement quality assurance and control methods that help you monitor, verify, and improve the quality of your project deliverables. Quality assurance refers to the proactive activities that prevent defects and errors from occurring, such as planning, designing, testing, and reviewing. Quality control refers to the reactive activities that detect and correct defects and errors after they occur, such as inspecting, measuring, and auditing. You need to use appropriate tools and techniques for both quality assurance and control, such as checklists, standards, guidelines, templates, metrics, reports, feedback, and audits.

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Clark Masterson, MS, MA

Helping leaders reignite their fire and achieve more at work and life
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What is the system in place to check on quality during the project build? If you wait to the end of the project to assess quality, be prepared to manage a lot of issues. Some systems improvements could include check-ins, milestones, and quality gates. A great way to manage quality is to ensure the project is broken into multiple phases and the progression criteria into the next phase includes a quality bar.

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3 Involve your project team and stakeholders

The third step to ensure quality control is to involve your project team and stakeholders in the quality management process. You need to empower your project team to take ownership of the quality of their work, and provide them with the necessary training, resources, and support. You also need to engage your stakeholders in the quality management process, and solicit their input, feedback, and approval. By involving your project team and stakeholders, you can foster a culture of quality, collaboration, and accountability.

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Clark Masterson, MS, MA

Helping leaders reignite their fire and achieve more at work and life
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If everyone is responsible for quality, no one is. While everyone should contribute to creating quality projects, there should be an accountable person for quality (or to the quality of a specific part of your project). Ownership matters. When people own things, they take more responsibility. Quality control is no different.

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Daniel Nobrega O.

Asesor en Marketing y Ventas Industriales. Especialista en Soldadura. Director de ALAVEPRO.
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Deve existir uma equipa responsável de fazer as auditorias de qualidade, sem que está atividade de stress a pessoa auditada.

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4 Identify and resolve quality issues

The fourth step to ensure quality control is to identify and resolve quality issues as soon as possible. You need to have a system for reporting, tracking, and analyzing quality issues, such as defects, errors, deviations, or complaints. You also need to have a process for resolving quality issues, such as root cause analysis, corrective actions, preventive actions, or lessons learned. By identifying and resolving quality issues, you can minimize the impact of quality problems on your project performance, schedule, budget, and reputation.

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5 Review and improve your quality control process

The fifth step to ensure quality control is to review and improve your quality control process on a regular basis. You need to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your quality control process, and identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You also need to implement changes and improvements to your quality control process, based on the feedback, data, and lessons learned. By reviewing and improving your quality control process, you can ensure continuous improvement and learning.

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6 Celebrate and reward quality achievements

The sixth step to ensure quality control is to celebrate and reward quality achievements. You need to recognize and appreciate the efforts and contributions of your project team and stakeholders to the quality of your project deliverables. You also need to reward and incentivize the behaviors and outcomes that promote quality, such as meeting or exceeding quality standards, criteria, and expectations. By celebrating and rewarding quality achievements, you can motivate and inspire your project team and stakeholders to maintain and enhance the quality of your project results.

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7 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 do you do if your project team is struggling with quality control and delivering high-quality results?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 Define quality standards and criteria

2 Implement quality assurance and control methods

3 Involve your project team and stakeholders

4 Identify and resolve quality issues

5 Review and improve your quality control process

6 Celebrate and reward quality achievements

7 Here’s what else to consider

Personal Development

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What do you do if your project team is struggling with quality control and delivering high-quality results?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define quality standards and criteria

2 Implement quality assurance and control methods

3 Involve your project team and stakeholders

4 Identify and resolve quality issues

5 Review and improve your quality control process

6 Celebrate and reward quality achievements

7 Here’s what else to consider

Personal Development

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

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