With a focus on doing the right thing right the first time, Ireland has constructed a solid presentation on how to invest in quality throughout all the project management processes. Understanding customers’ requirements and the essential nature of planning to meet quality expectations is explored thoroughly, along with a solid discussion of the choices of resources. Other topics include human factors and the effects of internal and external demands, as well as the tools, management techniques, methodologies, and costs associated with infusing quality into project management. The book is essential reading to learn more about one of the knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®). |
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 Application to Projects is Unclear Oct 13, 2009
This book does collect a lot of thoughts on quality management in general. I am familiar with quality concepts, but I was expecting from the title to find better application of these concepts to a project. Dr. Ireland seems to drift between referring to the project and referring to the product. That, coupled with some unnecessarily complex language, makes this book difficult to understand. It is phrased as though it is a general discussion of projects of all types, but I found that many areas did not apply to the types of projects that I work on - development of a product for subsequent mass production. I suspect that Dr. Ireland leans towards "build-to-order" projects, such as construction or custom IT projects. Practitioners in these areas may find his book more helpful than I did.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 High-level, but covers the important points Jun 28, 2002
If you're seeking a solid introduction to basic quality techniques and how to apply them to project management this book will meet your needs. It starts off with a macro view of quality, starting with why quality is important and how it meets both project and business objectives within the context of competitive advantage.There is nothing new in this book. It's the way that the critical success factors for integrating quality into projects are presented that makes it valuable. For example, the chapter on customer requirements is common sense, but the issues and challenges are exposed in the next chapter on planning for quality projects. In that chapter the elements and dimensions of a project and stakeholder requirements are dissected, which then adds insights into the previous chapter. This material is then taken to a new level in the chapter on cost of quality, which explores the cost to achieve quality, and the costs of not having quality - these are the foundation for building a business case for taking a quality-focused approach in the project. They will also provide ammunition to rebut management when they want to take short cuts as the project evolves (especially product development projects) by quantifying the ramifications of their decisions. One chapter that I especially like is V, Statistical Concepts and Quality Tools. Not only does this chapter introduce tools and techniques that can be applied to project management, but it also introduces statistical process controls. While statistical process controls are overkill for many projects, they can serve as a dashboard at the program management office level for tracking cost and performance indices, requirements churn and other key indicators across a portfolio of projects. Overall, this book is brief and only touches upon many of the factors for incorporating quality into project management. However, it is sufficiently detailed to teach the concepts and the value, and will point you in the right direction.
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based on 2 reviews
