How do you keep your project management framework focused on quality and customer satisfaction?

1 Define quality and customer requirements

The first step to keep your project management framework focused on quality and customer satisfaction is to define what they mean for your project. Quality is the degree to which your project outputs meet the specifications and standards agreed with your stakeholders. Customer satisfaction is the extent to which your project outcomes meet or exceed the expectations and needs of your customers. You should identify and document the quality and customer requirements for your project, such as the features, functions, performance, reliability, usability, and aesthetics of your deliverables. You should also involve your customers and stakeholders in defining and validating these requirements, and use techniques such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or prototyping to collect their feedback.

3 Implement quality and customer processes

The third step to keep your project management framework focused on quality and customer satisfaction is to implement the quality and customer processes that you have planned. You should perform quality assurance activities to ensure that your project processes comply with the quality standards and best practices. You should also perform quality control activities to verify that your project deliverables meet the quality criteria and specifications. You should use tools such as checklists, audits, inspections, tests, or reviews to identify and correct any quality issues or defects. You should also implement customer satisfaction processes to communicate with your customers, deliver value and benefits, and solicit and address their feedback. You should use tools such as newsletters, reports, meetings, surveys, or testimonials to measure and improve customer satisfaction.

4 Review quality and customer results

The fourth step to keep your project management framework focused on quality and customer satisfaction is to review the quality and customer results that you have achieved. You should analyze the quality and customer data that you have collected, such as the quality metrics, defects, audits, or customer satisfaction scores, to evaluate the performance and outcomes of your project. You should also compare the actual results with the planned requirements and goals, and identify any gaps, deviations, or opportunities for improvement. You should also report the quality and customer results to your stakeholders, and celebrate and recognize the achievements and successes of your project team and customers.

5 Improve quality and customer processes

The final step to keep your project management framework focused on quality and customer satisfaction is to improve the quality and customer processes that you have implemented. You should use the quality and customer data that you have analyzed, as well as the feedback and lessons learned from your stakeholders, to identify and implement corrective and preventive actions, changes, or improvements to your project processes and deliverables. You should also use continuous improvement methods, such as the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, the Six Sigma methodology, or the Agile approach, to monitor and optimize your quality and customer processes on an ongoing basis. You should also update and refine your quality and customer plans, standards, and tools, to reflect the changes and improvements that you have made.