Analyse the process involved in Project Execution, Quality and Control, and Close-out which includes the following:
The project management is given great importance in management studies on every field and discipline. The project specifics might be different from one another but the overall scope of the project and its completion depends upon the management procedure that is used to ensure the compliance of the process with the project design and scope statement.Thus, the aspect of managing the quality of the project is a topic explored in great detail in project management studies and it is carried over in almost all aspect of the projects like the people involved, time and resources and external factors like legal factors and other quality benchmarks of the industry. This review is based on these constraints that affect the quality of the project outcome and the prevention of the same through strategic planning.As critical review requires an objective and factual analysis of all aspects of the issue the review discusses the different aspect s of the constraints that affect project outcome and quality and thus are considered a part of the project quality management. The review therefore, analyses the different stages of the project like the execution and closeout and discusses the significance of the different quality control mechanisms and policies to form a rational opinion in the matter.
According to Burke, (2013) the project management control aspects can be generally divided into the human elements and process elements that are considered mainly in the quality control policy of a project. The human and process related quality issues therefore are managed by different principles and this is very important in the international project management as the project management body of the knowledge indicates that the variety of the standards that are applicable and people from different backgrounds having different general ideas and understanding is one of the greatest threats to project quality.Kerzner, (2013) opined that the project control aspect is dependent highly on the quality policy and the setting of an acceptable standard for the outcome which is then used throughout the planning process so the need for a separate project quality management plan is minimal as most organizations have quality control supervisors present in every aspect of the project tasks. The duty of the setting a standard and communicating the requirements of the same to the project staff are therefore often vital for the project success.The quality standards and quality policy determination in case of a specific project therefore is a task that is undertaken from the start of the planning process and identifies the different areas that need to be specifically taken care of to ensure the project scope fulfillment and compliance with both organizational and legal standards of the project. The project scope statement is the first document that is used as the foundation of the quality control of any project in any industry (Schwalbe2015).In the opinion of Meredith & Mantel Jr,. (2011), the managerial aspect of the project quality management is concerned with the definition of the project scope and outlining of the deliverables and the transfer of the targets to the specific individuals. Thus, it is common for the project quality control plan to address the individual tasks and their set standards and compliance check which include the human elements and their allocated tasks and responsibilities and ownership for the completion of the task within the set parameters of the time and resource.According to Kerzner, (2013) the issue of the compliance with project quality mandated by the organization or the legal authorities needs to be considered by the project manager and the understanding of the human elements responsible for the separate tasks is paramount for the quality management of the process. The culture and other aspects the affect the project processes on a local scale is often not included in the quality standards like the ISO::9000 so the understanding of the same principles on a local scale needs to be achieved to ensure compliance with the international standard on the projects (Dunne & Dunne, 2011). This fact, points out the importance of the determination of the project quality policy and the understanding of the local cultural factors affecting the understanding for project manager and team leaders.Hence, training and understanding of the legal aspects that needs to be understood to ensure quality and should be part of the knowledge management process for any project which is instrumental for the understanding of the project teams about the quality standards specified and quality management plan and comply (Ajmal, Helo & Kekäle, 2010). As the scope of the quality management plan addresses individual tasks or elements within the project the outlining of the different parts of the project and the specific quality standards to be maintained. Therefore, this understanding requires not only knowledge of the process, but also the different team members responsible for the tasks.According to Mosadeghrad, (2012) understanding the areas where the quality issue needs to be monitored in the quality management approach therefore is not limited to procedural knowledge and the requirement of training for managing projects with different individuals from different fields is evident.The quality approach is part and parcel of the quality control plan and for the duration of the project the management of the deliverables is dependent on the execution after the defining of the same has been carried out (Wysocki, 2011). The quality approach is where the specific technical knowledge of the tasks is applied by the professionals with guidance of the knowledge of the human elements and management to guide the efforts. Therefore, this is the stage where the different quality standards that are set from the internationally accepted standards like the ISO: 9001 are stated.This is usually supported by the documents that would provide guidance on what aspects of the project process and outcomes need to be considered in the monitoring of the individual tasks. In the opinion of Allué et al., (2013) these documents are the basic guidelines on the basis of which the quality appraisal is carried out. The tools that are used in the appraisal are design reviews, client reviews, and management reviews and the particulars each address where the individual tasks and their coordination with other tasks’ quality wise outcome should be. According to Oakland, (2012) there needs to be equal emphasis on the definition of the quality requirements and consideration for the effect of the different factors like cultural differences of teams, technical knowledge and external environment on the understanding of the said quality requirements defined by the leaders in the project. Müller & Turner, (2010) did not agree on this fully as they emphasized on the leadership qualities and management styles rather than training as the main factor outlining project quality and compliance with the quality management plan.According to Wysocki, (2011) all the different project management concepts like tradition, agile and extreme address the quality management differently but all of them depend upon the project leaders or managers so the process is less important than the competency of the project managers and their inherent characteristics and qualities. As the compliance to the quality standards on international levels are an essential part for project success and relevant industry certification and the quality management is rarely addressed separately from the overall project plan, the importance of the project leaders in determining the success and quality of the outcome can be understood. Meng, (2012) clearly indicated the role of the communications and relationship management to be a great part of the quality management of any project in the construction industry and the importance of the management of the human element as the measurement of the quality is easier in defining the standards and measuring them. There is divided opinion in the industry about the balance of the elements in determining the quality standard compliance.Schwalbe, (2015) clearly indicated the setting of the standards and deliverables are more important as the understanding can be assisted with supervision and training and constant feedback throughout the processes but the setting of the quality standards are definite and thus more important in Information technology. Therefore the matter of the relationship of the different critical factors affecting quality compliance in the international projects is dependent upon not only the project specifics but the industry the project comprises and the standards both legal and regulatory.
From this review it is clear that the setting of the standards for the project quality and the different aspects of the project that is impacted by the same are vastly different in different industries. In addition, the process of the quality management of the individual tasks is just as important as the process of defining the quality required based on the international or local standards.The information technology industry has international standards but the compliance level and the significance given to the same in project management is dependent upon both actors to varying degrees depending upon the project specification and location which makes the training in and cultural understanding an important asset for a project manager in both defining and supervising the progress.