Chapter 8:

Project Quality
Management
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth
Edition
Note: See the text itself for full citations

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

• Develop a justification for project quality management

and its importance in achieving project success for
information technology (IT) products and services
• Define project quality management and understand how
quality relates to various aspects of IT projects
• Describe quality management planning and how quality
and scope management are related
• Discuss the importance of managing quality and quality
assurance
• Explain the main outputs of the quality control process
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

• List and describe the tools and techniques for quality

control, such as the Basic Tools of Quality, statistical
sampling, Six Sigma, and testing
• Summarize the contributions of noteworthy quality
experts to modern quality management
• Describe how leadership, the cost of quality,
organizational influences, expectations, cultural
differences, and maturity models relate to improving
quality in IT projects
QUESTION

• Who makes good quality products?

• Who makes really poor quality products?
Most people simple accept poor
quality from many IT projects.
Most people simple accept poor
quality from many IT projects.
The Importance of Project Quality Management

• Many people joke about the poor quality of IT products

(see cars and computers joke)
• Most people simply accept poor quality
• Quality is very important

You get what you pay for…

QUESTION
• What is mission critical?
• What are examples of some mission critical software
projects?
What Went Wrong?

• 1981: small timing difference caused by a computer

program change created a 1-in-67 chance that the space
shuttle’s five onboard computers would not synchronize
• Error caused a launch abort
• 1986: two hospital patients died after receiving fatal
doses of radiation from a Therac 25 machine
• Software problem caused the machine to ignore calibration
data
• Wells Fargo bank were forced to cease any business
expansion until they proved they cleaned up their act
• Lost millions of dollars in docked pay
• 2018: Facebook data break
QUESTION

• What is ISO?
What Is Project Quality Management? (1 of 3)

• International Organization for Standardization

(ISO) definition of quality
• “Totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs” (ISO8042:1994)
• “The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils
requirements” (ISO9000:2000)
• Other definitions of quality
• Conformance to requirements
• Project’s processes and products meet written specifications
• Fitness for use
• Product can be used as it was intended
The customer ultimately decides if
quality is acceptable.
What Is Project Quality Management? (2 of 3)

• Project quality management ensures the project will

satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken
• Project quality management processes
• Planning quality management: identifying which quality
standards are relevant to the project and how to satisfy them; a
metric is a standard of measurement
• Managing quality: translating the quality management plan
into executable quality activities
• Controlling quality: monitoring specific project results to
ensure they comply with the relevant quality standards
Planning Quality Management (1 of 2)

• Implies the ability to anticipate situations and

prepare actions to bring about the desired
outcome
• Defect prevention methods
• Selecting proper materials
• Training and indoctrinating people in quality
• Planning a process that ensures the appropriate outcome
Planning Quality Management (2 of 2)

• Scope aspects of IT projects

• Functionality: degree to which a system performs its intended
function
• Features: system’s special characteristics that appeal to users
• System outputs: screens and reports the system generates
• Performance addresses: how well a product or service
performs the customer’s intended use
• Reliability: ability of a product or service to perform as
expected under normal conditions
• Maintainability: ease of performing maintenance on a product
• All project stakeholders must work together to
balance the quality, scope, time, and cost
dimensions of the project
• Project managers are ultimately responsible for quality
management on their projects
Quality becomes as issue…
Managing Quality

• Quality assurance includes all the activities

related to satisfying the relevant quality
standards for a project
• Another goal is continuous quality improvement
• Kaizen is the Japanese word for improvement or change
for the better
• Lean involves evaluating processes to maximize customer
value while minimizing waste
• Benchmarking generates ideas for quality improvements by
comparing specific project practices or product characteristics
to those of other projects or products within or outside the
performing organization
• A quality audit is a structured review of specific quality
management activities that help identify lessons learned that
could improve performance on current or future projects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZYC2XBF2U
What Went Right?

• Kanban uses five core properties

• Visual workflow
• Limit work-in-process
• Measure and manage flow
• Make process policies explicit
• Use models to recognize improvement opportunities
• Application of Kanban is different for every team
Controlling Quality

• Main outputs of quality control

• Acceptance decisions
• Rework
• Process adjustments
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (1 of
9)

• Basic tools of quality that help in performing quality

control
• Cause-and-effect diagrams
• Control chart
• Checksheet
• Scatter diagram
• Histogram
• Pareto chart
• Flowcharts/run charts
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (2 of
9)

cause-and-effect
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (3 of
9)

control
chart
seven run rule – seven data appoints either way need
examination
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (4 of
9)

checkshee
t
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (5 of
9)

scatter diagram
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (6 of
9)

histogra
m
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (7 of
9)

Pareto chart
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (8 of
9)

flowchart
Tools and Techniques for Quality Control (9 of
9)

run
chart
Statistical Sampling (1 of 2)

• Choosing part of a population of interest for inspection

• Size of a sample depends on how representative you want
the sample to be
• If you survey the college in just ATHS are you getting a
true picture?
• Sample size formula
• Sample size = .25 x (certainty factor/acceptable error) 2

Dr. C’s Ph.D.

Statistical Sampling (2 of 2)

Desired Certainty Certainty Factor

95% 1.960

90% 1.645
80% 1.281

Table 8-1 Commonly used certainty factors

QUESTION

• What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma (1 of 2)

• The Six Sigma Way authors, Peter Pande, Robert

Neuman, and Roland Cavanagh, define Six Sigma
• A comprehensive and flexible system for achieving,
sustaining, and maximizing business success. Six Sigma
is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer
needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical
analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving,
and reinventing business processes.”
Six Sigma (2 of 2)

• DMAIC is a systematic, closed-loop process for

continued improvement that is scientific and fact
based
• Define: define the problem/opportunity, process, and customer
requirements
• Measure: define measures, then collect, compile, and display
data
• Analyze: scrutinize process details to find improvement
opportunities
• Improve: generate solutions and ideas for improving the
problem
• Control: track and verify the stability of the improvements and
the predictability of the solution
How is Six Sigma Quality Control Unique?

• Six Sigma principles that help organizations improve

their competitiveness and bottom-line results
• Requires an organization-wide commitment
• Training follows the “belt” system
• Organizations have the ability and willingness to adopt
contrary objectives, such as reducing errors and getting
things done faster
• An operating philosophy that is customer focused and
strives to drive out waste, raise levels of quality, and
improve financial performance at breakthrough levels
Six Sigma and Project Selection and
Management

• What makes a project a potential Six Sigma project?

• Must be a quality problem or gap between the current
and desired performance
• Project should not have a clearly understood problem
• Solution should not be predetermined, and an optimal
solution should not be apparent
Six Sigma and Statistics (1 of 5)

• Sigma means standard deviation

• Standard deviation measures how much variation exists in a
distribution of data; a key factor in determining the acceptable
number of defective units found in a population
• Six Sigma projects strive for no more than 3.4 defects
per million opportunities
Six Sigma and Statistics (2 of 5)

• Six Sigma uses a conversion table

• Yield represents the number of units handled correctly through
the process steps
• A defect is any instance where the product or service
fails to meet customer requirements
• There can be several opportunities to have a defect
• Six nines of quality is a measure of quality control equal
to one fault in one million opportunities
• In the telecommunications industry, it means 99.9999 percent
service availability or 30 seconds of down time a year
Six Sigma and Statistics (3 of 5)
Testing (1 of 4)

• Many IT professionals think of testing as a stage

that comes near the end of IT product
development
• Testing needs to be done during almost every phase of the
systems development life cycle, not just before the
organization ships or hands over a product to the customer
Testing (3 of 4)

• Types of tests
• Unit testing tests each individual component (often a
program) to ensure it is as defect-free as possible
• Integration testing occurs between unit and system testing
to test functionally grouped components
• System testing tests the entire system as one entity
• User acceptance testing is an independent test performed
by end users prior to accepting the delivered system
Testing (4 of 4)

• Testing alone is not enough

• Watts S. Humphrey, a renowned expert on software quality,
defines a software defect as anything that must be changed
before delivery of the program
• Testing does not sufficiently prevent software
defects
• The number of ways to test a complex system is huge
• Users will continue to invent new ways to use a system that its
developers never considered
• Humphrey suggests that people rethink the software
development process to provide no potential defects
when you enter system testing
• Developers must be responsible for providing error-free code at
each stage of testing
Modern Quality Management (1 of 4)

• Modern quality management:

• Requires customer satisfaction
• Prefers prevention to inspection
• Recognizes management responsibility for quality
• Noteworthy quality experts:
• Deming, Juran, Crosby, Ishikawa, Taguchi, and Feigenbaum
Modern Quality Management (2 of 4)

• Quality experts
• Deming was famous for his work in rebuilding Japan and his 14
Points for Management
• Juran wrote the Quality Control Handbook and ten steps to
quality improvement
• Crosby wrote Quality is Free and suggested that organizations
strive for zero defects
• Ishikawa developed the concepts of quality circles and
pioneered the use of cause-and-effect diagrams
• Taguchi developed methods for optimizing the process of
engineering experimentation
• Feigenbaum developed the concept of total quality control
Modern Quality Management (3 of 4)

• Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

• Originated in 1987 to recognize companies that have achieved
a level of world-class competition through quality management
• Given by the President of the United States to U.S. businesses
• Three awards each year in different categories
• Manufacturing
• Service
• Small business
• Education and health care
Modern Quality Management (4 of 4)

• ISO standards
• ISO 9000: a three-part, continuous cycle of planning,
controlling, and documenting quality in an organization
• Provide minimum requirements needed for an organization to
meet its quality certification standards
• Help ensure that projects create products or services that meet
customer needs and expectations
Global Issues

• In 2015,15 electric cars were introduced throughout the

world
• Driverless cars are also being tested
• In March of 2018, a woman was killed by a self-driving
car operated by an Uber driver
Improving IT Project Quality

• Suggestions for improving quality for IT projects

• Establish leadership that promotes quality
• Understand the cost of quality
• Provide a good workplace to enhance quality
• Work toward improving the organization’s overall maturity level
in software development and project management
Leadership

• A large percentage of quality problems are

associated with management, not technical issues
• Top management must take responsibility for creating,
supporting, and promoting quality programs
• Leadership provides an environment conducive to
producing quality
• When every employee insists on producing high-quality
products, then top management has done a good job of
promoting the importance of quality
The Cost of Quality (1 of 2)

• Cost of conformance plus the cost of nonconformance

• Conformance means delivering products that meet
requirements and fitness for use
• Cost of nonconformance means taking responsibility for failures
or not meeting quality expectations
The Cost of Quality (2 of 2)

• Cost categories related to quality

• Prevention cost: cost of planning and executing a project so it
is error-free or within an acceptable error range
• Appraisal cost: cost of evaluating processes and their outputs
to ensure quality
• Internal failure cost: cost incurred to correct an identified
defect before the customer receives the product
• External failure cost: cost that relates to all errors not
detected and corrected before delivery to the customer
• Measurement and test equipment costs: capital cost of
equipment used to perform prevention and appraisal activities
Media Snapshot

• Computer viruses and malware software have been a

quality concern for years
• Consumers are now being warned that e-cigarettes can be bad
for computers
• Anything can infect your computer if it can be inserted into a
USB port
• Other consumer products like smart TVs can invade privacy
The Impact of Organizational Influences, and
Workplace Factors on Quality

• Study by DeMarco and Lister showed that organizational

issues had a much greater influence on programmer
productivity than the technical environment or
programming languages
• Programmer productivity varied by a factor of one to ten across
organizations, but only by 21 percent within the same
organization
• Study found no correlation between productivity and
programming language, years of experience, or salary
• A dedicated workspace and a quiet work environment were key
factors to improving programmer productivity
• Dr. C has been saying this for years!
Expectations and Cultural Differences in
Quality

• Project managers must understand and manage

stakeholder expectations
• Expectations vary
• Organization’s culture
• Geographic regions
Advice for Young Professionals

• Managing expectations is a critical skill

• It’s important to understand other people’s expectations as well
as your own
• Too many people, including experienced project
managers, make assumptions about expectations and
get surprised when they do not match those of their
stakeholders
• Never be afraid to ask what is expected of you
Maturity Models (1 of 3)

• Frameworks for helping organizations improve

their processes and systems
• Software Quality Function Deployment Model focuses on
defining user requirements and planning software projects
• Capability Maturity Model Integration is a process
improvement approach that provides organizations with the
essential elements of effective processes
Maturity Models (2 of 3)

• CMMI levels
• Incomplete
• Performed
• Managed
• Defined
• Quantitatively Managed
• Optimizing
Maturity Models (3 of 3)

• PMI released the Organizational Project

Management Maturity Model (OPM3) in December
2003
• Model is based on market research surveys sent to more than
30,000 project management professionals and incorporates 180
best practices and more than 2,400 capabilities, outcomes, and
key performance indicators
• Addresses standards for excellence in project, program, and
portfolio management best practices and explains the
capabilities necessary to achieve those best practices
Considerations For Agile/Adaptive
Environments

• Agile methods can be used on all types of projects, not

just software development
• Quality is a very broad topic, and it is only one of the ten
project management knowledge areas
• Project managers must focus on defining how quality relates to
their specific projects and ensure that those projects satisfy the
needs for which they were undertaken
Discussion Questions

1 - Discuss some of the examples of poor quality in IT

projects presented in the “What Went Wrong?” section.
Could most of these problems have been avoided? Why
do you think there are so many examples of poor quality
in IT projects?
Discussion Questions

1 - Discuss some of the examples of poor quality in IT

projects presented in the “What Went Wrong?” section.
Could most of these problems have been avoided? Why
do you think there are so many examples of poor quality
in IT projects?

• Many of these problems could be avoided by performing

better quality management. One problem is that
software and hardware is hitting the market too fast, so
people selling these might be more concerned about
money than safety or well- being of the consumers or the
company in the long term.
Discussion Questions

2 - What are the main processes included in planning

project quality management?
Discussion Questions

2 - What are the main processes included in planning

project quality management?

• The project quality management processes include

planning quality management, managing quality, and
controlling quality.
Discussion Questions

3 - Why is quality management becoming more

important? What does it mean to use lean in quality
assurance?
Discussion Questions

3 - Why is quality management becoming more

important? What does it mean to use lean in quality
assurance?

• Many IT projects require high quality as the products

they produce affect people’s lives and livelihoods. Lean
involves evaluating processes to maximize customer
value while minimizing waste. Lean helps make
organizations more efficient.
Discussion Questions

4 - How do functionality, system outputs, performance,

reliability, and maintainability requirements affect quality
planning?
Discussion Questions

4 - How do functionality, system outputs, performance,

reliability, and maintainability requirements affect quality
planning?

• All of these factors affect quality planning because they

will drive the requirements that need to be met to
ensure quality.
Discussion Questions

5 - What are benchmarks, and how can they assist

in performing quality assurance?
Describe typical benchmarks associated with a college or
university.
Discussion Questions

5 - What are benchmarks, and how can they assist

in performing quality assurance?
Describe typical benchmarks associated with a
college or university.

• Benchmarks help you compare project practices or

product characteristics to others within or outside the
organization. Typical benchmarks with a college or
university include rankings, student/faculty ratio,
acceptance rate, graduation rate, percentage of faculty
with Ph.D.s, etc.
Discussion Questions

6 - What are the three main categories of outputs of

quality control?
Discussion Questions

6 - What are the three main categories of outputs of

quality control?

• The three main categories of outputs of quality control

are acceptance decisions, rework, and process
adjustments.
Discussion Questions

7 - Provide examples of when you would use the Seven

Basic Tools of Quality on an IT project.
Discussion Questions

7 - Provide examples of when you would use the Seven

Basic Tools of Quality on an IT project.

• See the examples provided in the text.

Discussion Questions

8 - Discuss the history of modern quality management.

How have experts such as Deming, Juran, Crosby, and
Taguchi affected the quality movement and today’s use of
lean and Six Sigma?

• These experts have made quality a visible criterion that

companies strived to achieve. Awards have been
established to seek quality and reward those who have
achieved it. Quality projects have been used to meet
customer expectations instead of only company needs. A
wider scope of what quality is and isn't has been
developed to provide benchmarking criteria for
businesses. (more)
Discussion Questions

8 - Discuss the history of modern quality management.

How have experts such as Deming, Juran, Crosby, and
Taguchi affected the quality movement and today’s use of
lean and Six Sigma?

• Pointing out the cost of poor quality will give motivation

to companies and increase their desire for quality. U.S.
businesses observed BOTH the emphasis on quality in
other nations AND those nations' successes in the
marketplace. It was the economic success attributable
to the emphasis on quality that made U.S. companies sit
up and take notice.
Discussion Questions

9 - Discuss three suggestions for improving IT project

quality that were not made in this chapter.
Discussion Questions

9 - Discuss three suggestions for improving IT project

quality that were not made in this chapter.

•Some ideas would be providing better training for people

in information technology to produce better quality,
providing incentives for meeting quality goals,
establishing minimum quality requirements for specific IT
products, and so on.
Discussion Questions

10 - Describe three different types of software that can

assist in project quality management.
Discussion Questions

10 - Describe three different types of software that can

assist in project quality management.

• You can use spreadsheet software, databases, charting

software, statistical software, and other specialized
software for quality management.
Discussion Questions

11 - What are some of the considerations for project

quality management in agile/adaptive environments?
Discussion Questions

11 - What are some of the considerations for project

quality management in agile/adaptive environments?

• Agile/adaptive environments require frequent quality and

review steps throughout the project rather than toward
the end of the project. Retrospectives are used to check
of quality processes.
Chapter Summary

• Quality is a serious issue

• Project quality management includes planning quality
management, performing quality assurance, and controlling
quality
• Many tools and techniques are related to project quality
management
• Many people made significant contributions to the development
of modern quality management
• There is much room for improvement in IT project quality
• Several types of software are available to assist in project
quality management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.