PROJECT

QUALITY

5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

To conclude on the subject of project quality, and after having seen the essential
project management considerations, we will discuss the different tools or
methodologies to achieve successful project management according to the objectives
that have been set.

This chapter addresses the ISO 21500 standard and three methodologies that will
guide us in project management: PMBOK, Prince2 y Agile.

5.1 ISO 21500

The ISO 21500 standard was intended to provide generic guidance, explain core
principles and elements that constitute good practice in project management. Unlike
the two standards discussed above, this standard does not present requirements as it
is was not created to obtain any type of certification.

It can be used by any type of organisation, including public, private or community

organisations, and for any type of project, regardless of complexity, size or duration.

ISO 21500 provides a high-level description of concepts and processes that are
considered to constitute good practice in project management. New project managers
as well as experienced managers will be able to use the project management guidance
in this standard to improve project success and achieve business results.

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Its main benefits are that it:

- Encourages transfer of knowledge between projects and organisations

for improved project delivery.

- Facilitates efficient tendering processes through the use of consistent

project management terminology.

- Provides universal project management principles and processes.

- Enables the flexibility of project management employees and their

ability to work on international projects.

Having seen these previous considerations, we will now present the standard contents
and considerations. However, it is interesting to note that this standard was designed
to align with the aforementioned standards related to quality, environmental and risk
management. As we have seen, these issues are particularly important if a company
wants to survive in today’s competitive marketplace.

5.1.1 ISO 21500 Structure

The ISO 21500 Standard is organised into four areas:

- Scope

- Terms and definitions

- Project management concepts

- Project management processes

Here are their main considerations:

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▪ Scope

As we have mentioned, this standard provides guidance for project management and
can be used by any type of organisation and for any type of project.

▪ Terms and definitions

The following 16 terms and definitions are essential for the purposes of this standard:

- Activity: identified component of work within a schedule that is

required to be undertaken to complete a project.

- Application area: category of projects that generally have a common

focus related to a product, customer or sector.

- Baseline: reference basis to be considered in order to monitor and

control project performance.

- Change request: documentation that defines a proposed alteration to

the project.

- Configuration management: application of procedures to control,

correlate and maintain documentation, specifications and physical
attributes.

- Control: comparison of actual performance with planned performance,

analysing variances and taking appropriate corrective and preventive
action as needed.

- Corrective action: direction and activity for modifying the performance

of work to bring performance in line with the plan.

- Critical path: sequence of activities that determine the earliest possible

completion date for the project or phase.

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- Lag: attribute applied to a logical relationship to delay the start or end
of an activity

- Lead: attribute applied to a logical relationship to advance the start or

end of an activity

- Preventive action: direction and activity for modifying the work, in

order to avoid or reduce potential deviations in performance from the
plan.

- Project life cycle: defined set of phases from the start to the end of the
project.

- Risk register: record of identified risks, including results of analysis and

planned responses.

- Stakeholder: person, group or organisation that has interests in, or can

affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by, any aspect of
the project.

- Tender: document in the form of an offer to supply a product, service or

result, usually in response to an invitation or request.

- Work breakdown structure dictionary: document that describes each

component in the work breakdown structure.

▪ Project management concepts

This section describes key-concepts in most projects and contexts where projects are
implemented.

The following concepts should be noted:

- Project: consists of a unique set of processes composed of coordinated

and controlled activities with start and end dates, performed to achieve
project objectives. Achievement of the project objectives requires the

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provision of deliverables conforming to specific requirements. A project
may be subject to multiple constraints.

- Project management: is the application of methods, tools, techniques

and competencies to a project. Project management includes the
integration of the various phases of the project life cycle and is
performed through processes.

- Organisational strategy and projects: The organisation’s strategy is

developed through projects. It is set according to the mission, vision and
policies of the company.

- Project environment: The implementation and development of the

project may be affected by the environment. For this reason, two
realities should be considered:

- Factors outside the organisation: socio-economic, geographic, political,

legislative, technological and ecological environment.

- Factors inside the organisation: strategy, technology, project

management maturity, availability of resources, culture and structure of
the organisation.

- Project governance: is the managerial framework within which project

decisions are made. The following elements should be considered:
management structure definition, policies, processes and
methodologies to be used, limits to decision-making authority,
stakeholder responsibility and accountability, and interactions.

- Projects and operations: Project management is included within the

general management framework. Its temporary and unique nature
differentiates it from other management disciplines. Resources must be
organised and managed in order to complete the work required in the
project within the defined scope, time and costs. This work will be

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classified as projects, when they are temporary, and operations, when
they are permanent.

- Stakeholders and project organisation: Both the roles and

responsibilities of stakeholders are defined according to the goals of the
organisation and the project.

Two parts should be taken into account: project organisation and

project governance.

The project organisation defines the human infrastructure, and

identifies roles and responsibilities that facilitate the coordination and
implementation of project activities. These are the roles that can be
found:

- Project manager: the person responsible for leading a project from its
inception to execution.

- Project management team: the individual and sole members of the

project team who find themselves to be directly involved in any or all
project management related activities.

- Project team: a variety of members working under the direction of a

project manager.

The project governance leads and controls projects from an

organisational perspective. It also identifies the appropriate
environment for its adequate implementation. The following roles
should be considered:

- Project sponsor: A role that typically involves approving or supporting

the allocation of resources for a project, defining its goals and assessing
the project’s eventual success.

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- Steering Committee: The aim of the Steering Committee is to ensure
successful delivery of the project including maximising the benefits of
the project and making sure that the approved methodology is
followed.

Other parties also interested in the project are customers or their

representatives, suppliers and the project management office.

- Competencies of project personnel: one of the prerequisites that leads

to successful implementation of the project is the development of the
project team members’ competencies in principles and processes of
management.

It is very important that teams are composed of relevant individuals

capable of applying their knowledge and experience in order to provide
the deliverables of the project.

Three different types of competencies are established: Technical

competencies, which refer to project management technical skills,
including the project management terminology, concepts and processes
defined in this International Standard; behavioural competencies,
associated with personnel skills and behaviour; and contextual
competencies, related to the management of the project inside the
organisational and external environment.

- Project life cycle: Defined set of phases from the start to the end of the
project.

- Project constraints: The project manager often has to manage and

balance project constraints to meet all stakeholder requirements.
Frequent constraints are time, cost, scope, resources, health and
security of workers, environmental impact and laws, regulations and
any other legal requirements.

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- Relationship between project management concepts and processes:
processes are defined as the set of actions and interrelated activities.
Project management is accomplished through processes utilising the
concepts and competencies described. Processes used in projects are
generally categorised into three major types:

- Project management processes: are specific to project management and

determine how the activities selected for the project are managed.

- Delivery processes: are not unique to project management, result in the

specification and provision of a particular product, service or result and
vary depending on the particular project.

- Support processes: are not unique to project management and provide

relevant and valuable support to product and project management
processes in such disciplines as logistics, finance, accounting and safety.

▪ Project management processes

They identify the recommended project management processes that should be applied
across the whole project. These processes are generic and can be used by any project
in any organisation or entity. They may be viewed from two different perspectives:

- Process groups: are applicable to any phase of the project: initiating,

planning, implementing, controlling and closing.

- Subject groups: collect the processes by subject. There are 39

processes, divided into ten project management themes (subject
groups): integration, stakeholders, scope, resource, time, cost, risk,
quality, procurement and communication.

The next section will discuss the different processes presented by the ISO 21500
standard according to the established subject groups.

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5.1.2 Process description by subject group

This second section deals with each of the processes that should be implemented
according to the aforementioned subjects.

Subjects and processes will be briefly discussed, as a complete and detailed description
is available through the links provided in the bibliography section.

▪ Integration

It includes the processes required to identify, define, combine, unify, coordinate,

control and close the different activities and processes related to the project.

Considerations of this group are:

- Coordinating and integrating all the processes of the other subject

groups.

- Deliverables obtained in the other subject groups that provide the basic
parameters of the project.

- Trying to balance project limitations and requirements, search for

alternatives and manage dependencies among the other subject
groups.

The processes of this first group are:

- Develop project charter

- Develop project plans

- Direct project work

- Control project work

- Control changes

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- Close project phase or project

- Compile lessons learned

▪ Stakeholder

This group includes the processes required to identify and manage the project
sponsor, customers and other stakeholders. Basically, the impact of stakeholders
should be analysed, as well as their needs. This will allow the development of
appropriate management strategies to involve and communicate with the parties
during all the project phases.

Satisfaction of the parties should be considered as an objective of the project since this
can contribute to its success.

The processes of this subject group are:

- Identifying stakeholders.

- Managing stakeholders.

▪ Scope

It includes the features and functions to be fulfilled by the product and how much
workload is necessary to carry out the project.

Processes considered in this group are:

- Defining scope

- Creating work breakdown structure

- Defining activities

- Controlling scope

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▪ Resource

It refers to the processes required to identify and acquire adequate project resources
such as people, facilities, equipment, materials, infrastructure and tools. Processes
referring to this group are:

- Establishing the project team.

- Estimating resources.

- Defining project organisation.

- Developing the project team.

- Controlling resources.

- Managing the team in charge of the project.

▪ Time

It includes the processes required to schedule the project activities and to monitor
progress to control the schedule.

Time processes are the following:

- Sequence activities

- Estimate activity durations

- Develop timeline

- Control timeline

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▪ Cost

It focuses on the processes required to develop the budget and to monitor progress to
control costs.

Cost related processes are:

- Cost estimation

- Budget development

- Control of costs

▪ Risk

It includes the processes required to identify and manage threats and opportunities.
There are four processes related to risk which are:

- Identifying risks.

- Assessing risks.

- Treating risks.

- Controlling risks.

▪ Quality

As we have seen, quality management is key for a successful company or project. For
that reason, this group includes the processes required to plan and establish quality
assurance and control.

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This group considers the following processes:

- Plan quality

- Quality assurance

- Quality control

▪ Procurement

It refers to the processes required to plan and acquire products, services or results,
and to manage supplier relationships.

In this phase, it is very important to determine, as precisely as possible, what we will

need, how, how much and when it will be purchased.

In Procurement, the following processes are considered:

- Plan procurements

- Select suppliers

- Administer procurements

▪ Communication

Communication is really important in a project because as the project progresses, it is

important to communicate the achievements and results obtained as well as the
necessary improvements.

This group includes the processes required to plan, manage and distribute information
relevant to the project.

Communication management is key in a project, since it will identify:

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- Who needs information.

- The type of information needed.

- When the information is needed.

- How the information will be provided.

- Who will provide the information.

Processes to be considered are:

- Planning communication.

- Distributing information.

- Managing communication.

5.2. PMBOK

The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a document performed by

the Project Management Institute (PMI), which provides guidelines, rules and
characteristics for project, programme and portfolio management.

As with the ISO 21500 standard, the PMBOK is intended to be a guide to the different
processes of process management, presenting phases and essential processes for the
achievement of good results in project and administration management.

Here are some of its main features:

- It provides a formal framework for project development, guiding project

managers on how to implement processes and the practical steps to
take in order to achieve objectives and obtain good results.

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- Although the PMBOK provides a guide for reaching objectives, it should
not be understood as a closed method, but as guidance for project
development.

- It provides the necessary information for initiating, planning, executing,

monitoring, controlling and closing an individual project. It also
identifies project management processes that have been recognized as
good practice.

The following considerations should be taken into account for the achievement of
successful project management:

- Selecting appropriate processes that are necessary to meet project

objectives.

- Using a defined approach to adapt product specifications and plans so

that project and product requirements are met.

- Complying with requirements to meet stakeholders’ needs, desires and

expectations.

- Balancing competing demands of scope, time, cost, quality, resources

and risk to provide a quality product.

The PMBOK consists of 47 processes that fall into five basic process groups and ten
knowledge areas. This section will only discuss the five basic process groups along with
the ten knowledge areas since you will find a link to the complete document in the
bibliography.

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▪ Process groups

The PMBOK Guide identifies the following process groups:

- Initiating: Processes performed to define a new project or a new phase

of an existing project by obtaining authorisation to start the project or
phase.

- Planning: 24 processes required to establish the scope of the project,

define the objectives, and define the course of action required to
achieve the objectives.

- Executing: Eight processes performed to complete the work defined in

the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.

- Monitoring and controlling: Eleven processes required to track, review,

and regulate the progress and performance of the project.

- Closing: Processes performed to finalise all activities across all Process

Groups to formally close the project or phase.

The ten knowledge areas, each of which contains some or all of the project
management processes, are:

- Project Integration Management: the processes and activities needed

to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes
and project management activities within the project.

- Project Scope Management: the processes required to ensure that the

project includes all the work required to complete the project
successfully.

- Project Schedule Management: the processes required to manage the

timely completion of the project.

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- Project Cost Management: the processes involved in controlling costs
so that the project can be completed within the approved budget.

- Project Quality Management: the processes and activities that

determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities.

- Project Resource Management: the processes that manage and lead

the project team.

- Project Communication Management: the processes that are required

to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation,
distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and
the final draft of project information.

- Project Risk Management: the processes of conducting risk

management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and
controlling risk on a project.

- Project Procurement Management: the processes necessary to

purchase or acquire products, services, tools, structures or external
services for successful project execution and management.

- Project Stakeholder Management: the processes required to identify all

people or organisations impacted by the project, analysing stakeholder
expectations and impact on the project, and developing appropriate
management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project
decisions and execution.

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5.3. PRINCE2

PRINCE2 (an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is another process-

based method for effective project management.

Key features of PRINCE2:

- A structured approach to project management

- Provides a method to manage projects within a clearly defined

framework

- Describes the necessary procedures to coordinate people and activities,

design and supervise the project, and establishes the steps to follow if a
deviation is identified

- Establishes the division of tasks into stages, which allows an efficient

use of resources as well as a better monitoring and control of the
project development

- Establishes the descriptions of management roles, as well as the

responsibilities assigned to the different members of the project team.

PRINCE2 is built upon 7 principles:

- Continued Business Justification: there must be a justifiable reason for

running and managing the project. If not, the project should be closed.

- Learning from experience: project teams should always make the most
of lessons learned, capitalizing on new experiences for future
management.

- Defined roles and responsibilities: the project team should have a clear
organisational structure and involve the right people in the right tasks.

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- Managing by stages: project must be, for each stage, planned,
monitored and controlled.

- Managing by exception: people working within the project should be

given the right amount of authority to work effectively within the
environment. Ground rules on delegating authority should be
established.

- Focus on products: activities should be focused on the product

definition, delivery and quality requirements.

- Tailor to suit the project environment: PRINCE2 must be tailored to suit

the project’s environment, size, complexity, importance, capability and
risk

In addition to these basic principles, PRINCE2 is also based on:

▪ Themes

- Business case

- Organisation

- Quality

- Plans

- Risk

- Change

- Progress

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▪ Processes

- Starting up a project

- Initiating a project

- Directing a project

- Controlling a stage

- Managing product delivery

- Managing stage boundaries

- Closing a project

According to this method, these general processes include 45 subprocesses.

▪ Techniques

- Product-based planning

- Change control

- Quality review

5.4. AGILE

To conclude on the subject of project management, we are going to discuss Agile, a

project management methodology that uses development cycles to focus on
continuous improvement in the development of a product or service.

It should be noted that this type of methodology is commonly used in software

development or in the Internet world, two very changing environments that require
faster methodologies than traditional ones.

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We must not forget that certain sectors are changing very fast, so spending a lot of
time developing products may translate into an obsolete product or service once the
project is completed.

These are some of the main features of this type of methodologies:

- Agile methodologies are based on a flexible approach, which means

that the final product of an agile project may be completely different
from the one originally planned.

- Members of project teams work in small phases and teams on specific

updates of the product.

- As the project progresses, it is important to test every update according

to customer needs. Thus, when a phase is concluded, it should be
tested before proceeding with the project.

Advantages of this type of methodologies include:

- Improvement in product quality because these methodologies

encourage team members to proactively pursue product excellence.
Integration, testing and continuous improvement of the properties of
the product also help to considerably improve the final result.

- Throughout the process, there are several demonstrations and

deliveries of the product to the customer which enhance customer
satisfaction.

- Employees can manage themselves. This makes them develop their

creativity and innovative capacity, and, as a result, they feel more
motivated.

- Work is divided into different groups of members with different roles

and responsibilities, achieving cohesion and promoting teamwork.

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- Dividing work into small phases means better work control and
monitoring, which translates into greater control and predictability over
the project.

- Agile project management virtually eliminates the possibility of absolute

failure, since mistakes are identified as the project progresses, resulting
in significant cost reduction.

Finally, the three main agile methodologies will be discussed:

- Extreme Programming (XP): is an agile software development

methodology that aims to produce higher quality software, and higher
quality of life for the development team. XP is the most specific of the
agile frameworks regarding appropriate engineering practices for
software development. The five values of XP are communication,
simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect.

- Scrum: is an agile method of iterative and incremental product delivery

that uses frequent feedback and collaborative decision making. It is
designed for teams of three to nine developers who break their work
into actions that can be completed within time boxed iterations, called
Sprints (30 days or less) and track progress and re-plan in 15-minute
stand-up meetings, called Daily Scrums.

- Kanban: is a method for managing the creation of products with an

emphasis on continual delivery while not overburdening the
development team. Kanban is a process designed to help teams work
together more effectively.

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