PMP Certification: Manage Quality (based on PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition)

— (updated )
  • WHAT Manage Quality Is. Manage Quality implies gathering all of the information available to a project manager at the beginning of the project and determining how quality will be measured and defects prevented.
  • WHY Manage Quality Is Important. The quality management plan, main output of the Manage Quality process, is a key tool for preventing defects on the project and reducing the cost of quality. Therefore, quality is planned from the start of the project – not merely inspected.
  • WHEN Manage Quality Is Executed. A project manager starts the Manage Quality process at the beginning of the planning phase of the project, in conjunction with other Planning processes.
  • HOW Manage Quality Operates.

Project Quality Management (by Process Groups) — PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition Update

Plan Quality Management

Manage Quality

Control Quality

Click here for a detailed analysis of each project management process group and knowledge area.

pmp 2018 manage quality pmbok guide 6th edition tipsographic main

Manage Quality 101

What Does Manage Quality Involve and When Do You Perform It in a Project Life Cycle?

  • WHAT Manage Quality Is. Manage Quality implies focusing on continuous quality improvement. In this executing process, a project manager uses the quality management plan and the measurements collected during the Control Quality process for guidance, to check that the project is following the proper and most efficient processes to meet stakeholders’ requirements.
  • WHY Manage Quality Is Important. An improvement in the quality of project processes and activities has also positive implications for the other five project constraints (time, scope, cost, resources, and risk); which ultimately results in higher-quality products and services.
  • WHEN Manage Quality Is Executed. The Manage Quality process is iterative in nature. A project manager starts managing quality after the outputs from Plan Quality Management and Control Quality processes are made available and continues throughout the life of the project.
  • HOW Manage Quality Operates.
InputsTools and techniquesOutputs
  1. Project management plan
    • Quality management plan
  2. Project documents
    • Lessons learned register
    • Quality control measurements
    • Quality metrics
    • Risk report
  3. Organizational process assets
  1. Data gathering
    • Checklists
  2. Data analysis
    • Alternatives analysis
    • Document analysis
    • Process analysis
    • Root cause analysis
  3. Decision making
    • Multicriteria decision analysis
  4. Data representation
    • Affinity diagrams
    • Cause-and-effect diagrams
    • Flowcharts
    • Histograms
    • Matrix diagrams
    • Scatter diagrams
  5. Audits
  6. Design for X
  7. Problem solving
  8. Quality improvement methods
  1. Quality reports
  2. Test and evaluation documents
  3. Change requests
  4. Project management plan updates
    • Quality management plan
    • Scope baseline
    • Schedule baseline
    • Cost baseline
  5. Project documents updates
    • Issue log
    • Lessons learned register
    • Risk register

Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed., Chapter 8, section 8.2, p. 288.

Manage Quality Key Terms

What Are the Key Terms to Fully Understand the Process of Managing Quality?

  • pmp certification 2018 kit free online training tipsographicJust in Time. An inventory control system in which suppliers provide materials just before they are required. It forces an organization to maintain a high level of quality, since there is no excess inventory on hand in the warehouse to depend on when poor quality is produced.
  • Kaizen. A Japanese philosophy that focuses on what can be loosely translated as “continuous improvement” of processes.
  • Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. An iterative cycle for describing continuous planning and checking processes.
  • Process Analysis. A tool that executes the steps in the process improvement plan to determine ways to improve effectiveness and efficiency of existing processes.
  • Quality Audits. A tool for checking whether the defined project processes are in place and are being carried out as per the quality management plan.

Manage Quality Tips

What Are the Best Tips to Answer Correctly the PMP Certification Exam Questions on Manage Quality Process?

  • Audits Vs. Inspections. Audits relate to processes. Inspections relate to deliverables and products. Moreover, audits are always tools and techniques and never inputs or outputs.
  • Change Requests. Most of the change requests resulting from Manage Quality would be procedural changes.
  • Manage Quality Vs. Quality Control. Manage quality uses audits and revolves around processes. Quality control revolves around inspections and project deliverables.
  • Quality Audits. Quality audits are best done by an independent person or a separate Manage Quality department who can comment objectively, rather than by the project management team itself.
  • Quality Management Flow. Even if the PMBOK Guide illustrates Manage Quality in between Plan Quality Management and Control Quality, actually this is the last process of Project Quality Management to be executed.

Click here for a detailed analysis of each project management process group and knowledge area.

SOURCES: Project Management Institute (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Newtown Square: Project Management Institute.

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