9 Principle #6: The perfect is the enemy of the good

Test, assure, excel

Principle #6 encourages you to keep the purpose and the customer in mind, whenever you are managing a project. Use your imagination to progress a step at a time towards a successful outcome, keeping your eye on what that is at all times.

Ensuring that the outcome of the project meets the quality expectations and the customer requirements is an integral part of project management, yet it is often overlooked or not a priority. Teams frequently focus on doing the work and leave the quality part to the end of the project, when adjustments are most expensive.

Recognizing when you are no longer progressing

The launch of a new state-of-the-art airport in Denver was delayed for 16 months by shortcomings in the highly innovative automated baggage handling facility, costing the airport $560 million. This was compounded by the finished system, which carried maintenance costs of $1 million a month.1

Compare this with the development of the new automated baggage handling facility at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3. The project involved a complete rethink of how baggage is prepared and delivered to the aircraft, and the state-of-the-art centre needed to be built in the middle of one of the busiest working airports in the world, involving multiple contractors, multiple elements and a major change management programme for the handlers themselves.

The success of the project was put down to the decision to create an integrated project team of Heathrow staff and contractors who ‘started the project with the end in mind’.2

It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that a project meets, or exceeds, the expected quality. Any project for which the outcome becomes unfit for purpose needs to be cancelled.

Quality validation is key

Some projects require official and significant quality-validation tests in order to start commercial production. This is the case with many infrastructure, production, life science and engineering projects.

Refurbishment brings its own quality requirements

Building validation involves several distinct assessments.3 A condition report is required for buildings that are being repurposed or reused. Similarly, there is a need to assure the space is compliant with the people and systems that will be occupying it: does the building have the requisite capacity, not just in terms of physical space but in terms of the heating and cooling or other systems? Risk management will look at issues such as maintenance (which was such a problem for the Denver Airport project).

The role of user testing and simulations

For IT development, it is common to do user testing and other simulations to ensure that the end product satisfies the needs of the organization. Traditionally, the testing of new systems has been done towards the end of the project, often leading to additional work and delays in the schedule. Nowadays, with agile development methods, quality checks are often done on a weekly basis.

One of Apple’s greatest strengths is that it makes its products look and feel easy to use. But there was nothing easy about making the iPhone – its inventors say the process was often nerve-wracking. Steve Jobs wanted to see a demo of everything. Designers would often create mock-ups of a single design element – such as a button on the iPhone – up to fifty times, until it met his stellar quality standards.4

Ensuring quality and consistency

Think about the Summer Olympic Games, which take place every four years and are the most watched event in the world. Quality and consistency are paramount for the event organizers. The most recent summer Games, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, drew in an audience of 3.6 billion viewers. Every event, every venue, every image has to meet the highest standards, no matter where the event takes place.

The selection of the host city is made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seven years before those particular Games are scheduled to be held. Apart from the host city and country, the format is pretty much the same: 16 days’ duration, approximately 30 sports encompassing 300+ events. The morning after the announcement of the host venue, the IOC hands over to the leadership team an all-encompassing and comprehensive manual, with all the details and plans that need to be taken into account to make the Games project a success. Almost every aspect is documented, and lessons learned from previous Games are included. Few details are left to chance, including the thorough rehearsals of the opening and the closing ceremonies.

How to put Principle #6 into practice

Quality has to be embedded in the life of the project. Involve the quality experts – internal and/or external – and ensure they commit time to your project. Quality checks, prototyping, testing, rehearsals, etc. all have to be incorporated into the project plan and reported upon. The sooner potential deviations and faults in the end product are found, the less impact they will have on the project’s progress, budget and timelines.

Principle #6 highlights the importance of quality when working towards a successful outcome, keeping your eye on what that is at all times. Here are some tools to use, to get you started.

Apply project quality management

According to the Project Management Institute’s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, project managers can use the following quality-control tools and techniques to ensure their projects meet quality standards and satisfy stakeholders’ and customers’ expectations.5

• Cause and effect diagrams: also known as Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams. These diagrams are used to identify the root cause(s) of potential or existing problems that impact the quality of the project.
• Flow-charting: can be used to predict potential flaws in a process flow.
• Histogram: a graphical representation of failure frequencies.
• Run charts: a series of recorded data over time that is graphically represented. This trend will help in understanding whether there is a problem or not with the outcome of the project.
• Inspection: this involves reviewing the product to see if it meets the defined quality standards.
• Statistical sampling: measuring a portion (sample) of the entire population instead of measuring the entire population. For example, if you have to inspect 10,000 units a day, then it would take forever to complete the activity. By sampling, it takes much less time.

Embed quality assurance and quality control

As seen with the Olympic Games, achieving success in a project requires a strong focus and no compromise on quality.

Quality in projects is usually split into quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). Although QA and QC are closely related concepts, they are distinct.

• Quality control is used to verify the quality of the outputs and end product of the project (defined as ‘a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements’).6
• Quality assurance is used to verify that the project processes are sufficient (defined as ‘a part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled’).7

Process checklists and project audits are two methods used for project quality assurance. If they are adhered to, the project deliverables will be of good quality.

In simple terms, make sure your project has a process or method to test whatever the project is delivering (whether a product, system, bridge, phone, plane or something else) and that the project plan includes regular quality checks, prototyping and testing time.