Part 1: Total Quality Management and Project Management
Based on what I read and studied, I think that Total Quality Management and Project Management complement each other as they both address everything in projects and works (“Topic 5,” n.d.). With these two combined, a company can look after the quality control of various projects and products to make sure that they are delivered well. Everything undergoes total quality control so that a project of high-quality will be delivered.
The Program Management Information System is also combined with Total Quality Management. It is a software application that supports the planning, monitoring, and controlling of the project. Included in this software are features for cost estimating, scheduling, communication, collaboration, configuration management, document control, records management, and risk analysis.
When these detailed functions are combined with total quality control management, the project team will have access to all the project-related information, enabling companies to become more detail-oriented in every project. Most companies connect their success by “improving product quality and shortening project development time to the speed with which managers understood and integrated total quality management and project management” (Kerzner, 2004b, p. 353). It enables companies to address the product introduction process well.
Yes, I believe that I see some similarities between Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and the phases in a project life cycle. In fact, I see them as almost being the same as they are both used for the improvement of projects, processes, and products. They also both have four phases and steps in order to complete everything well.
If you look closely, the four-step management of Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and the four phases in the project life cycle indicate how projects should be done and finished. For Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act, it consists of the steps plan, do, check, and act, which help improve and complete projects. For the project life cycle, its steps include initiation, planning, execution, and evaluation---which is the same as Deming’s -- if you analyze it. The main goal of both is to properly complete and improve projects and products in detail.
Part 2: Change Management
Benefits of Creating a Configuration Control Board
The benefits of creating a Configuration Control Board is that it enables you to regulate changes in the company and perform change management so that you can control both internally generated changes and customer-driven changes (Kerzner, 2004a). For the latter, the customer participates by becoming a member of the configuration control board and by helping in addressing various issues.
With this control board, you are allowed to manage your customers. When a customer initiates a change request, the project manager must be able to predict immediately the impact of the change on the project’s cost, safety, and technical performance. He or she must learn to educate the customer on how you are planning the project and how the methodology works as these are critical in getting customer buy-in for the recommendations during the scope change process.
Structured Change Control Process is Critical to Successful Implementation of a Configuration Control Board Methodology
The structured change control process is critical to the successful implementation of a Configuration Control Board methodology because there are no standard or well-structured processes in place, but these controls have been managed in a discretionary form by the responsible people involved in the projects and according to the company regulations. This minimizes the risks and it lays out a launch date or a deadline so that those involved can get the job done immediately.
Part 3: Integrating Processes and Risk Management
Companies Achieving Excellence Through Integrating Processes
For Johnson Controls, they were able to achieve excellence by combining total quality management and project management. They do so to help improve the total quality of the project and to shorten the project development time. Here, planning everything is important so that the foundation is laid out well.
Once the foundation is laid out, the actual project management begins. They make sure that everyone is defining their roles and responsibilities so that the whole company would understand their contribution and role in the project management initiative. Everyone is selected carefully and are screened to ensure that they can work on the project well and fulfill their jobs and roles.
Nortel
Nortel’s business segments are project-driven and they realized that they need a global management system. As such, they emphasized the following factors during the development of the system:
• Development of the project control forms
• Training and education of the employees
• Development of the project management standards
• Support of project management certification for project managers
I like Nortel best because it involves both the projects and the company employees. They make sure everything is done the way they want it---and correctly---so that every project is done well. They want every employee to know what their job is and what they should do to make the company successful. They are successful by using this method and I want to use this the next time I manage a new project.
References
Kerzner, H. (2004a, December). 9.6: Change management. In Advanced project
management: best practices on implementation. Wiley.
Kerzner, H. (2004b, December). 9.8: Integrated processes at work. In Advanced project
management: best practices on implementation. Wiley.
