Quality management approach

The quality management approach describes how a project will plan, manage, and control quality to ensure all products meet their agreed specifications and acceptance criteria.

It sets out the techniques, standards, responsibilities, and resources required to achieve and demonstrate quality throughout the project lifecycle.

This approach ensures that:

• Products are fit for purpose and meet customer expectations.
• Quality planning, control, and assurance activities are carried out consistently.
• Any variances from organizational quality standards are justified and approved.

It covers areas such as:

• Quality planning
• Quality control
• Quality assurance
• Roles and responsibilities for achieving quality

Life cycle

The quality management approach is applied throughout the project, aligning with PRINCE2’s processes:

1. Starting up a project (SU) – Identify any critical quality requirements (project product description) or standards that may influence project viability and note these for development during initiation.
2. Initiating a project (IP) – The project manager creates the quality management approach, defining how quality will be planned, controlled, and assured. This includes setting acceptance criteria, quality tolerances, and describing how products will be tested, reviewed, and approved. The project manager may use a standard template from the programme or organisation (if available) to ensure consistency with corporate quality systems.
3. Directing a project (DP) – The project board reviews and approves the quality management approach as part of approving the project initiation documentation.
4. Controlling a stage (CS) – The project manager ensures that quality control activities are carried out as planned, that products are reviewed and approved, and that any quality issues are logged and managed.
5. Managing product delivery (MP) – Team managers ensure products are created and verified according to the quality methods and acceptance criteria defined in the approach.
6. Managing a stage boundary (SB) – The project manager reviews quality performance, updates the quality management approach if needed, and plans quality activities for the next stage.
7. Closing a project (CP) – The project manager confirms that all products meet acceptance criteria, that quality records are complete, and that any lessons about quality management are documented for future projects.

Contents

A quality management approach document will normally include:

• Scope: Products and work in scope for quality management, including any exclusions.
• Quality management procedures: Steps for quality planning, control, and assurance; procedures for product acceptance and variance handling.
• Responsibilities: Defined roles for quality planning, control, and assurance between user, business, and supplier stakeholders.
• Resources: People, skills, equipment, and facilities required for quality activities.
• Supporting tools and techniques: Systems, methods, and techniques (e.g., testing, inspection, prototyping) for ensuring quality.
• Standards: Applicable organisational, industry, or legal standards, including formats for quality records such as the quality register.
• References: Links to relevant documents such as corporate quality management systems, supplier quality frameworks, or product specifications.

Tips

The following tips help you have a better approach to managing quality:

• Engage stakeholders early – Agree on acceptance criteria and quality standards during initiation to avoid disputes later.
• Keep quality visible – Make sure quality checks, reviews, and results are recorded in the quality register for transparency.
• Plan realistically – Allow enough time and resources for thorough quality control activities, including rework if defects are found.
• Monitor continuously – Review quality performance at each stage boundary to identify trends and prevent recurring issues.
• Learn and improve – Capture quality lessons learned and share them with the wider organisation for future benefit.
• Stay compliant – Ensure all quality activities adhere to relevant organisational, industry, and legal standards.

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Written by Frank Turley.

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