How can a Quality Management leader improve project success?

A quality management leader should meticulously define clear quality objectives aligned with the overarching goals of the project. These objectives serve as the guiding principles for the team, establishing a framework within which quality expectations are articulated and understood. Clear communication of these objectives is crucial to ensuring that every team member comprehends the significance of quality in project outcomes. This proactive approach not only aligns the team's focus but also empowers them to make decisions and take actions that consistently contribute to the desired level of quality throughout the project lifecycle.

A Quality Management professional is person setting tone of project quality with focus on right at first time. Doing risk assessment of all the associated process steps and designing controls before getting started is what we call it as preventive approach. Must be well documented, communicated and impart training to key personal involved in project execution.

If your quality management system is based on ISO 9001, quality objectives should be aligned with the quality policy. The policy sets a framework for the objectives with measurement criteria and targets that support project goals such as reducing defects and rework to avoid impact on project costs and schedule.

To enhance the success of a Quality Management project, the leader should establish a clear vision and objectives aligned with organizational goals. Exercising effective leadership, fostering open communication, engaging key stakeholders, and proactively managing risks are essential. Promoting a culture of continuous improvement, empowering and developing the team, utilizing quality metrics, being adaptable to changes, leveraging technology, maintaining a customer-centric focus, and conducting post-project evaluations are key strategies for achieving project success and contributing to the overall success of the organization.

A Project Success starts with a good planning. A good Quality plan layouts how quality management will play for a successful project delivery. And quality planning not only focuses on the quality compliance and more importantly on apply PDCA (Plan- Do Check Act) continuously improve project performance for the project success. In past, some successful stories of the Project delivery model by using Lean continuous improvement.

The quality control activities and acceptance criteria can be planned and defined in Inspection and Test Plans.(ITP). The ITP details the necessary work steps, the inspections and tests to be done at each work step to verify that a product meets specified requirements and acceptance criteria.

Identifying and addressing potential quality issues at an early stage is key to preventing them from evolving into larger problems that could jeopardize project outcomes. By integrating risk management into project planning and execution, the leader ensures that the team is equipped to anticipate challenges and proactively mitigate them. This approach not only safeguards the quality of project deliverables but also contributes to overall project resilience. It empowers the team to navigate uncertainties effectively, promoting a proactive mindset that aligns with the goal of achieving and maintaining high-quality standards throughout the project.

Quality culture is one of the most important things IMO, that needed to be improve, because the culture will lead your company to sucess. When you have a team with a quality sense and quality purpose in common, things get easier naturally, the tasks, the performance, communication, etc.

It is useful to review lessons learned at the commencement of a project, after major milestones and at the end. Workshops with interactive participation from various project functions are a good way to identify lessons learned; what worked well, what needs improvement along with specific actions for improvement.

In my Experience and opinion QM Leaders can enhances project success by establishing clear standards, implementing a robust quality assurance plan, fostering a quality culture, providing training, integrating risk management, soliciting feedback, monitoring performance metrics, emphasizing continuous improvement, prioritizing customer satisfaction, and promoting cross-functional collaboration. This ensures a holistic approach to quality and contributes to the overall success of the project.

Establish clear documentation standards and ensure adherence to them. Well-documented processes contribute to consistency and facilitate quality management. Encourage collaboration and cross-functional cooperation. A collaborative environment enhances the collective expertise of the team, leading to improved problem-solving and decision-making. By incorporating these strategies, a quality management leader can contribute significantly to the success of projects by ensuring that they meet or exceed quality standards and expectations.