Part A: Module Discussion Activity
Defining project quality and its association to project cost management How do you define quality in a project? Describe tools/techniques you think are a necessity for planning a project’s quality management and how to implement them. Explain how the project cost can be affected by poor quality and give some examples from the given case study.
Part B: Cost and Quality Management Plans
Part B – You will use the given case study to complete this part individually or in a group of 2-3 students. You will begin developing the cost management planning components of your Cost Management Plan in Module 4. For this plan, you are responsible for developing the project cost estimate and a project budget baseline.
In addition to your cost estimates and budget, include a 750 words to describe the processes, and tools and techniques you are using in your cost management plan, as well as justification of your budgetary plan. You can use the templates found in this module’s Learning Resources or a format of your own.
In Module 5, you will develop the quality management planning components of your Quality Management Plan. Refer to the learning resources and the template provided for guidance.
The written portion of your quality management plan should consist of 750 words. You can use the templates found in this module’s Learning Resources or a format of your own.
If you work in group, nominate a group leader within your group and this group leader will submit the group assessment on behalf of the group.
Solution Part A: Module Discussion Activity
Discussion
Quality management has become an integral component of the project management process. Every project is always intended to come up with different products or services. The project management has to derive a particular product or service, enhancing the visibility of satisfaction regarding all key stakeholders. If the project’s outcomes meet the purpose or expectations of all key stakeholders, the quality can be justified. In short, the project outcome must meet expectations or intentions to justify quality. Now, project management has to contain some strategic considerations to enhance quality and positively impact outcomes. It is all about shaping or developing some effective quality strategies to improve the project (Taylor, 2008).
There are several quality managements tools or techniques, which can be used to enable a high-quality project. One of the prominent quality tools or techniques is flowchart. This tool is useful because it helps the project manager to determine different breakdowns and bottlenecks in the work process. If the project manager changes the project process, the flow chart can depict some improvements after the adjustment. The depiction of the improvement can facilitate understanding the further needs of the project. It is all about containing continuous improvements, which can justify the quality. On the other hand, the check sheet has also become one of the significant techniques or tools that can help recognize the causes and number of incidents in the project process. By using project sheets, project management is in the best position to evade any possible uncertainties or incidents in the future. It is all about making the project free from any unwanted incidents. Another tool or technique is cause and effect diagram, which can also be referred to as the fishbone diagram. The project management has to insert any issue or problem in the box and identify multiple causes. It is an incredible technique, which can stimulate the management’s capacity to eliminate all these problems. Project management is always in the best position to identify the causes of the issues early and make effective decisions. Early recognition of difficulty or challenge, along with different problems, can improve the process and bring efficiency, and, it justifies the project quality (Lotich, 2019).
It has been revealed that the project cost can be affected by the poor quality of the project. For instance, if the quality of project activities is not up to the mark, it can take a lot of time to complete it. If the project management takes time to complete the activity due to poor quality, more investment will be needed to get things in the favor. The poor-quality leads to the impaired outcomes regarding each activity. If the project management aims to make some changes, it will have to incorporate more investment, depicting or increasing the cost or budget. Therefore, it is to mention that the project quality must be maintained by using these discussed tools to get expected or high-quality outcomes (Wilson, 2015).
References
Lotich, P. (2019, May 8). 7 Management Tools for Quality Control. Retrieved from https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/seven-management-tools-for-quality-control/
Taylor, J. (2008). Project Scheduling and Cost Control: Planning, Monitoring and Controlling the Baseline. J. Ross Publishing.
Wilson, R. (2015). Mastering Project Time Management, Cost Control, and Quality Management: Proven Methods for Controlling the Three Elements that Define Project Deliverables. FT Press.
Solution Part B: Cost and Quality Management Plans
Cost and Quality Management Plan
Cost Management Plan
The cost management plan is an integral part of the project management process. The project management has to identify several components of the cost management plan. It seems a sufficient consideration to estimate the cost of each activity and overall budget. Identification of the cost management component and determining the budget can enable incredible project control. The illustration of the project cost management components is elaborated below, along with several insights.
One of the prominent components of cost management is cost estimation. In the project management process, the essential thing for cost management is to estimate each activity’s cost, which has been identified in the work breakdown structure. It seems an activity-based costing, as separate cost estimation for each activity, is to be derived. This component also includes fixed, variable, direct, and indirect cost estimation. It is a fact that the level of cost estimation depends on the size or scale of the activity. On the other hand, after estimating each activity’s cost estimation, the project team has to finalize the overall cost of the project, which can be referred to as the project budget. The project team’s most important thing is to send weekly or monthly reports to the project manager or owners to determine the final budget. Typically, the project team uses software to identify and control the project budget. For instance, if cost estimations or expenses exceed the set limit, the management or team will notify. Thus, it can be said that the project budget is an integral part of the project cost management, as all other components depend on this particular component. The third component is the performance measurement. In the project management process, there is a need to keep track of all project activities in terms of cost or expenses. As far as the project cost management is concerned, completing each activity within the set limit or budget is essential. It can be said that the project performance measure is a crucial component to keep the cost estimate or budget in a loop. This component aims to complete the project within the budget, as it is a key performance indicator. The fourth component of cost management is the determination of the level of precision. Different things, such as material, numbers, deadlines, and exceptions, are in the limelight. For instance, regarding material, the management is precise when determining the required material for the project. In this particular case study, several materials are highlighted, which are needed in the project process. The right material at the right time and the right activity will help keep the material low. In the cost management plan, the company has to be precise in terms of decimals. The most important thing is to evaluate how much decimals incur the cost estimation for each activity. Finally, no activity should exceed the deadline, increasing the cost of the activity or project. Also, the management must know or understand the impact of exceptions of the cost planning or estimation. Essential exceptions will decrease the project’s cost, and it may go in favor of the project process. Another component of the cost management plan is the project change controlling. If the project management aims to make some changes, it can increase or decrease the project’s cost. However, to keep the adequate cost in the loop, there is a need to control the change process. If the project’s cost is increasing, the administration has to make sure that the project must not exceed the budget. It is all about controlling the cost of the project in the change process, and, it can justify the effectiveness of the cost management plan. The final component of the cost management plan is the cost variance plan. It seems imperative to identify or navigate the cost of each activity with the time. The cost variance can increase or decrease the cost of the project, and therefore, an appropriate cost variance plan is needed to get things in the favor (Business.org, 2018).
These are some critical components of the cost management plan. It can be said that the cost management plan must integrate with these components to enhance the visibility of quality outcomes. The cost management plan components can be changed with time due to varying costs and possible changes in the project scope.
Cost Estimation
| Project Budget | 50,000 |
| Cost Estimation | |
| Project Activities | Cost |
| Planning | 5000 |
| Initiation | 10000 |
| Execution | 20000 |
| Control | 10000 |
| Closeout | 5000 |
| Total | 50000 |
Cost Baseline
Cost Management Components
Project quality management is associated with different components. These components are always in the limelight in the project management process. For instance, the four main components of quality management are quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and continuous improvements.
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Quality Planning
In the quality planning, project management should integrate with the expectations of different stakeholders. It is a fact that the expectation of all critical stakeholders, including customers, is quite apparent. The company management has to set the customer or stakeholder expectation as a crucial quality measure. Improving the project’s quality or its outcomes by integrating with customer priorities or expectations is one of the best approaches or components to improve the overall quality. The company or project management may have an appropriate direction regarding quality after integrating with customer expectations and priorities. In this component of quality management, the project manager has to define all key stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities (Aaltonen & Kujalab, 2010). It seems imperative to know or understand how each project team member or stakeholder can contribute to the quality improvement of the project outcomes. In the quality planning process or component, the most important thing is to develop different quality measures. It is a fact that the quality of the project, including each activity, can be assessed or evaluated by using these measures. This particular case revealed several project activities, and of course, each activity contains multiple quality measures (Wilson, 2015).
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Quality Assurance
This particular component seems imperative to know or understand that the project process is working well according to targets, expectations, and plans. The most important thing is to measure the effectiveness of the agreed plan. Different project activities, as mentioned in the above section, must be evaluated in terms of quality. In this component, the project management is always better positioned to recognize or identify different areas of non-compliance. Furthermore, the quality assurance component is also a vital source to identify several opportunities. Also, in this component of the quality management for this particular project, the administration can capture all lessons learned. It is one of the most significant components, and it must be incorporated into the quality management plan or strategy. In a megaproject like this particular case study, quality assurance can also be justified by alignment with corporate goals and objectives. The project must be aligned with the strategic purpose, which can justify quality assurance (AIMS, 2015).
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Quality Control
It is one of the essential components of the quality management project process. For instance, it is a bundle of different strategies or techniques, which can be used to improve the project’s quality. The quality control component includes inspection, verification of quality measurement, purpose fit, and fulfillment of stakeholder expectations. It is a fact that quality management techniques always vary with time, as it always depends on the nature of each activity in the project process. One of the best approaches that can be used to make this component successful is quality checkpoints. There should be several quality checks in the project process, which can always help to identify issues or consistent incidents. In this component, the cause-and-effect diagram can also be used by the management to navigate several causes of the problem. In quality control, the execution of quality strategies is quite apparent, and it makes it an essential component of the whole quality management plan.
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Continuous Improvement
The final component of the quality management plan is continuous improvement. In this component, project management can set the foundation to improve the quality in the long run. The concept of total quality management comes into life in this regard. Several lean tools can also be used by the administration to set grounds for a sustainable quality of each activity of the project. Relative to this kind of project, the agile method is also the best option, as it is all about navigating multiple project activities by collaborating with stakeholders. Modifications or changes with time, according to identified issues, can justify continuous improvement (Naybour, 2012).
These are cost and quality management components, which are to be incorporated in the cost and quality management plans. These plans must be flexible, as some changes can be made due to changes in the project activities and project scope.
References
Aaltonen, K., & Kujalab, J. (2010). A project lifecycle perspective on stakeholder influence strategies in global projects. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26 (4), 381–397.
AIMS. (2015, April 26). What is Project Cost Management? Tools, Techniques and Processes for PMP & PMBOK . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PflAkMayixM
Business.org. (2018, March 23). 7 Essential Features of Project Cost Management Tools. Retrieved from https://www.business.org/finance/cost-management/important-elements-of-project-cost-management-tools/
Naybour, P. (2012, July 4). Describe the four main components of a quality management process. Retrieved from https://www.parallelprojecttraining.com/describe-the-four-main-components-of-a-quality-management-process/
Wilson, R. (2015). Mastering Project Time Management, Cost Control, and Quality Management: Proven Methods for Controlling the Three Elements that Define Project Deliverables. FT Press.
