Managing Quality in Projects

Dr Ron Basu is the founder of the consulting company, Performance Excellence Limited and a Visiting Professor at SKEMA Business School in France and a Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School, UK. Ron is the author or co-author of ten management books including Managing Project Supply Chains (2011).

When in the early 1990s I wrote my first book on project management I wanted to describe how to manage time, cost and quality (amongst other things). So I started to read what other people had written. I looked at one famous text book published by Gower. In the index "quality" had two page references. So I looked at both. Both just said that project managers need to manage time, cost and quality. Although chapters were devoted to time and cost, nothing was said about quality on projects. Although a substantial amount has been written about managing quality on projects now, including in my books such as the Gower Handbook of Project Management, there is still much less than has been written on cost and time. A comprehensive guide on how to manage quality on projects is needed, and so Ron Basu's book is very welcome.'Rodney Turner, Professor of Project Management, SKEMA Business School, France'I have worked on four mega-projects over the last 25 years, Yanbu city building programme, the Channel Tunnel, HS1 and Crossrail. During this, Directors have invariably asked how their project compared with others. This book provides a complete analysis of project excellence and a unique means of measuring it.' Daniel Keeling, Head of Quality, Crossrail, UKIf you cannot define you cannot measure and if you cannot measure you cannot control, assure or improve. By identifying and linking project quality success criteria with critical success factors Ron Basu adds substantially to the body of knowledge. He shows how to go above and beyond to achieve project excellence. An easy to apply model for self assessment to achieve project quality is also provided. This is a well researched book complete with meaningful case examples.'J Nevan Wright, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand'Projects play an important role in many organisations. Large projects consume great resources and costs runs into billions of pounds. Delays or poor quality frequently costs organisations many millions and adversely affects other stakeholders. This book offers a practical solution to the problem caused by quality failures. The practical lessons can help those involved in project management to avoid many of the pitfalls and save money and avoid reputational damage.'A. Ghobadian, Professor of Business Strategy, Henley Business School, UK'Ron believes that if you can't measure it you can't manage it and if you can't manage it you can't assure it. Who would argue with that? Managing projects is not easy. Ron clearly articulates the importance of people and the need to have a quality organisation. This book sets out a range of models and reference material to increase the likelihood of successful project delivery. The bigger the project the better the communication needs to be. A good read and a useful reference tool.'Chris Little, Quality Assurance Leader, BAA Capital Programmes

• Contents: Introduction: why managing quality is essential in project management; Fundamentals of project management; The definition and dimensions of project quality; The application of the guidelines of project quality in bodies of knowledge; Project success criteria and success factors; Project excellence and maturity models; Operational excellence concepts in major projects; How project quality and project excellence are practised: an empirical study; Heathrow Terminal 5: case study; Channel Tunnel Rail Link, High Speed 1 project (HS1): case study; Implementation: how to make project quality and project excellence happen; Appendices; Glossary; References; Index.