Schedule and Cost Control Techniques - Quality - Essay Example

However, from the perspective of the project management, total quality management poses a slightly different orientation. Quality in terms of project management means "project management technique or strategy that is implemented to assure that an awareness of quality is embedded in all phases of the project from conception to completion." (http://www.project-management-knowledge.com, 2008). It is believed that implementing quality in service oriented organizations as well as the project management is trickier in comparison to the manufacturing concerns mostly due to the measurement issues related with the quality (David A.

Waits, 1994). However, despite that organizations and project managers are continuously stressing on the use of quality measurement tools for project management so that a consistent level of performance is achieved which is comparable with certain standards of quality. Insuring a good quality in project management requires that certain key areas are taken care of before implementing the concepts of quality and expecting the results which may be exceeding the expectation. First and foremost, it is very critical that quality assurance within the project management must get the commitment from the top management.

Top management of the organization must have the ability to plan for the quality in project management but also have the required willingness to provide the resources to the project managers to deploy the necessary resources required to make the quality an integrated part of the project management. Further, top management of the organization must review the progress made against the set standards for the project management and must have the ability to reward the appropriate successes made in achieving the required quality standards for projects.

It is also important that in order to achieve the quality in project management, the employees' empowerment is the key. This empowerment is achieved through the training and development of the members of the project teams. Further, empowerment can also be achieved through initiating the culture of appreciation and rewarding the genuine successes made towards achieving the required quality within the projects as well as through the various suggestion schemes so that the members of the project management team should feel themselves as part of the project as well as the whole organization.

This can create strong stimulus for the project management team to deliver beyond the expectations of the management while achieving and maintaining a defined level of quality also.In order to achieve and maintain quality within the projects, it is very critical that the decision making is based on the facts and not made out of the emotions or guess work. As we have been discussing the various techniques of project management such as PERT and CPM, it is of the highest importance that the data provided for calculations made with the help of such techniques are correct and that the decisions made by the project managers at the various stages of the project are made inconsistent with the available facts and figures. This