Project quality management, part five: Project execution

This is the third article in our series on a project quality management approach that incorporates a project quality manager on the team and the use of a project quality work plan. This installment focuses on project planning during project initiation. The planning process is transparent and includes the development of a shared project execution plan that is prepared by the design professional with input and approval from the client. This includes adherence to the project quality work plan prepared during the proposal phase of the project (See part 2 of the series).

As discussed in the first article of the series, this quality management system (QMS) model includes four primary roles. These roles are integral to the model:

Senior manager – In this model, the senior manager’s primary overall responsibilities are quality leadership and accountability. Their primary project responsibilities are staffing and client satisfaction.

Project quality manager – Assigned to a specific project, the quality manager’s role is to advise and mentor the project manager. They verify that project work has not only been completed but completed to meet the firm’s standard of quality. They do not assume responsibility or authority over the project manager.

Project manager – The project manager bears primary responsibility for planning, implementing and monitoring project quality (except for project staffing/resource management).

Project team – This includes everyone who touches the project, including architects, engineers, designers, and CAD and administrative staff. While the project team does not have primary responsibility for the overall project quality, team members do own the quality of the work they complete on the project.

Remember, in this model, the project quality manager is likely a new role for A/E firm projects. Typically, the responsibilities of this role fall to senior staff (e.g., principals, partners, senior managers, department managers, senior discipline leads, senior technical reviewer) who may have other roles on the project. In this model, however, the project quality manager is a separate project role with a singular focus on all aspects of project quality.

Project planning
Your proposal was a success and your firm was awarded the project, with you as the project manager. Your client, your boss and the project team are eager to begin work. Now you need to transition from successfully winning the project to successfully executing it. This requires time in upfront planning. As a project manager, you know that the time you spend planning the work, before actually beginning the work, is critical.

Strong planning establishes a proactive path to successful project outcomes. You’re not hired just to complete a project, you’re hired for myriad ultimate outcomes: a new school gymnasium, a business expansion, housing, water treatment, roadway improvements, etc. Clear project goals, well-defined client expectations and an engaged team all benefit from upfront planning. A project management plan (PMP) is a concise planning document you can use for consistently initiating all projects in your organization. The PMP is similar in scope and content to project charters used in project management methods such as Agile, Six Sigma and PMI’s PMBOK (Project Management Institute’s Project Management Book of Knowledge).

This is the second of a four-part series on project quality management. This installment focuses on quality management during the proposal phase, including the need for a project quality work plan and the components of such a plan.

As discussed in the first article of the series, the quality management system (QMS) model we’re working with includes four primary roles:

• Senior manager: In this model, the senior manager’s primary overall responsibilities are quality leadership and accountability. Their primary project responsibilities are staffing and client satisfaction. 
• Project quality manager: Assigned to a specific project, the quality manager’s role is to advise and mentor the project manager. They verify that project work has not only been completed but completed to meet the firm’s standard of quality. They do not assume responsibility or authority over the project manager.  
• Project manager: The project manager bears primary responsibility for planning, implementing and monitoring project quality (except for project staffing/resource management). 
• Project team: This includes everyone who touches the project, including architects, engineers, designers, and CAD and administrative staff. While the project team does not have primary responsibility for the overall project quality, team members do own the quality of the work they complete on the project.

Project proposal

After the “go/no-go” proposal evaluation, the “go”-approved request for proposal/ qualifications (RFP/Q) will move forward to completion. In this approach, the project quality manager and the project manager are assigned to respond to the RFP/Q. Principals, division managers, discipline leaders and project team members may be asked to contribute to or approve this effort. While each response will differ depending on the project, all responses should address the following:

1. Scope of services
2. Quality management budget
3. Fee development
4. Project team
5. Similar project experience
6. Preparing for the proposal interview (if applicable)
7. Contract management
8. Project quality work plan

The project may also require a project work plan, project management plan (PMP) or health and safety plan. If a PMP (which provides the details of how the project will be executed) is prepared, then the project quality work plan can be incorporated into the PMP. Otherwise the project quality work plan is prepared as a stand-alone document. During the proposal or qualification phase the project quality manager also guides and supports the project manager in addressing the following:

1. Contract type and legal review
2. Fee development and invoice requirements and communication
3. Risk management
4. Identifying owner responsibilities
5. Specifying additional services
6. Determining project deliverables

Project quality work plan

The project quality work plan clarifies and documents the processes that will be followed during the execution of your project and addresses concerns beyond quality control. As stated earlier, in this approach, the project manager bears primary responsibility for project quality and is responsible for preparing the project quality work plan. This plan may include the following:

1. Coordination with discipline leads to verify staff availability
2. Document management from coordination to filing protocols
3. Integrating the schedule of quality control activities into the project schedule
4. Determining the quality management budget for the project (prior to proposal submission)
5. Defining quality control responsibilities for the project

Additionally, prior to the project start, the project manager reviews and confirms contract completeness and accuracy and completes the accounting system for the new project. The project quality manager reviews these with the project manager and confirms their completion in the project files. A contract review and accounting system checklist may be part of this process.

This first article of a series on project quality management looks at its role as part of a firm-wide quality management system, or QMS. Subsequent articles will look at the various phases of a project and recommend actions your firm can take to incorporate quality management into each.

Take a few moments to reflect on one or two problems you’ve recently experienced on your firm’s projects. What could have prevented these issues? Is it possible there are gaps in your project quality management system that need to be addressed? Or…is it possible that while your firm has an overall quality management system, you don’t have a system that specifically addresses project quality?

Our intention is to give you the basics for creating an effective project quality management system for your firm. Future articles will cover project quality management during the following phases:

— Proposal and post-project-award

— Design and engineering

— Project completion

Let’s first look at quality management systems, or QMS.

What is a quality management system?

To paraphrase Wikipedia on the subject, a QMS is defined as a formal system that documents processes, procedures and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives. A QMS directs an organization’s activities to meet customer needs and regulatory requirements and to improve its effectiveness and efficiency on a continual basis. A QMS may include everything from strategic planning, hiring practices, cyber security, and employee health and safety to the ways you manage and meet your clients’ expectations.

A QMS goes well beyond checking your designs for errors and omissions. According to architect Charles Nelson of MQIA.com (Managing Quality in Architecture), the high-level structure of an ISO 9001:2000 QMS (see more about the ISO standard below) includes the following:

— Management responsibility:  Describes how top management demonstrates its commitment to its QMS

— Resource management: Sets minimum staffing requirements for system operation and customer satisfaction

— Product realization: Presents the definition and requirements for design planning

— Measurement, analysis and improvement: Sets requirements for measurement, analysis and improvement functions, including statistical techniques¹

Within each of these standards there are multiple sub-categories, providing guidance for preparing a strong QMS.

Your firm’s QMS may use a structure and guidelines that you’ve developed or that you’ve borrowed from others and tailored to your firm. Here are a few of the quality management systems most often used by businesses of all types:

Continuous Quality Improvement – CQI focuses on continuous improvement by emphasizing the roles that teams and individuals play in the process. It follows the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” approach that’s been adapted to fit many industries.²

International Organization of Standardization 9001:2015 – The ISO 9001 international standard specifies requirements for a QMS. It defines rules and standards to aid in the way products are made and quality control tests performed. Organizations follow the standard to demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer needs and regulatory requirements.

— ISO 9001 requires internal and external audits. External audits are conducted by a third-party auditor and include the certification audit and ongoing surveillance audits. Internal audits are self-performed and assess conformity and evaluate opportunities for improvement. They also prepare your firm for the external audits. 

— ISO 9001 may be more common in A/E firms that work internationally and firms that work with clients, e.g., manufacturers that follow their own ISO 9001 processes. Firms that have become ISO-certified have endorsed the process as a valuable effort to document and establish a process for improved outcomes.

Project Management Institute – PMI’s The Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (PMBOK) presents generally recognized good practices within the project management profession. It provides a project management framework, which is broken down into 47 processes, each of which includes inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. Like CQI above, PMBOK follows the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” approach.

— Anecdotal evidence indicates there are A/E firms in the U.S. and Canada that require PMI PMP (Project Management Professional) certification for their project managers as part of the firm’s internal professional development program.

Six Sigma – This intensive and expensive data-driven approach aims for perfection in quality. It focuses on the reduction of product deviation through specific processes. Six Sigma is currently most commonly used in large organizations within the manufacturing, finance, supply chain, healthcare, and IT industries. It’s also used by large design firms that can support the investment.

PMI and Six Sigma provide certification of individual competence, experience and passing a written certification exam, but their certifications are not applied to the organization as with ISO: 9001. Those individuals who have earned PMP certifications from PMI and/or Black Belts from Six Sigma bring the associated structures from these organizations to their companies.