Gestión de calidad

What is quality management?

Quality management is a vital component of project management, ensuring that the final results meet the established requirements. It is a continuous process that extends throughout the five stages of project management. Why is it so crucial? Simply because errors or deviations in quality can result in high costs, lower profitability, team and customer dissatisfaction, and ultimately a negative impact on the business.

Why is quality important?

• Increased costs: Poor quality projects lead to significant expenses due to correcting errors.
• Lower team motivation: Demotivation can lead to high staff turnover.
• Lower customer satisfaction: Directly affects profits, as dissatisfied customers may look for other options.
• Rework and delays: Increase the time and effort required to complete tasks.

Identifying and following industry- and project-relevant standards is essential to prevent these problems.

How to plan quality management?

Quality management planning involves identifying the specific requirements and standards for the project. The industry to which the project belongs plays a crucial role, as it determines the minimum measure of quality required. For example, in a financial system, a failure can bring operations to a complete halt, which is unacceptable. In contrast, a minor problem, such as a video not loading in an old browser, might be less critical.

What quality tools exist?

To assist in quality management, there are several tools we can implement:

• Cause and effect diagram (Ishikawa): helps identify the causes of a specific problem. For example, for a problem with incorrectly mounted welcome videos in some browsers, a detailed analysis can be performed considering several dimensions such as people, processes, tools, program and environment.

• Flowchart: Allows to visualize the production or service process and detect inefficiencies.

• Check sheet: Useful to collect data and ensure that all important variables are considered.

• Pareto diagram, histogram, control diagram and scatter diagram: Additional tools that help identify problems and improve processes through data analysis.

These tools are essential not only to detect and correct problems, but also to prevent their recurrence.

How to assure quality during the project?

Quality assurance is not a task to be performed only at the end of the project; it requires continuous monitoring and adjustments. Generally, a quality assurance department or group oversees that the defined minimum standards are met.

What strategies can we use?

• Audits: These can be performed at any stage of the project or at the completion of important milestones to ensure that everything is going according to plan.

• Process analysis: This analysis helps to understand and continuously improve the work methods used during the project.

These quality management practices not only ensure a final product that meets the required standards, but also optimize resources and foster a positive work environment focused on excellence. We invite you to continue learning and applying these techniques to get the most out of your future projects.