SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

Student Name: Praveen Kumar Mandi Registration Number:1205033442 Subject Name: Project Quality Management

Course: MBA LC Code: LC00023 Subject Code: PM0017

Q1. Discuss the various tools used for understanding data. (10 marks) Ans: The four tools that help project managers understand data are graphs, histograms, Pareto charts, and scatter diagram: 1. Graphs: The purpose of graphs is to organise, summarise and display data. The different types of graphs are line graphs, bar graphs, and circle graphs. The steps involved in preparing graphs are: Define events and data: Just like the cheek sheet it is important to determine the information that will be addressed in the graph. Design the graph: Considering the data and the audience of the graph choose the type of graph to be used. Collect data if this has not been done: A check sheet will help in this step. Data may be collected incrementally and cumulatively over time. Enter data: Prepare the graph by entering data. 2. Histograms: Histograms show a visual summary of the data, which is simple to understand. Raw data is difficult to understand and a pictorial representation helps to understand it better. In such cases this tool can be used. It is a type of bar graph that deals with data that exists in a continuous range from a lower number to a higher number. It displays the frequency of occurrence of an individual data points across the data from low to high. Histogram can be more easily understood than a table of collected numbers. The six steps for creating and using histograms are: Select the measure to be examined: Typical measures are sizes, speed, time, weight, dimensions, and so on Collect the data: A check sheet may be useful. Data may already exist in some tabular form or spread sheet. Prepare a frequency table: It is a summary of data in a sequential format. This is the first step of organising data. Design the histogram: These are constructed in a disciplined way. Draw the histogram: Enter the data and prepare the graphic display. Chart making capabilities are available in most of the word-processing and spreadsheet programs, these will help in this step. Interpret the data: View the bars of the histogram and analyse their relationship to each other. 3. Pareto Charts: It is a very helpful tool to identify the greatest opportunity for improvement among various possibilities and to identify the small number of most influential causes among the complete set of possible sources of error. A Pareto chart is a bar graph with data in descending order from left to right. The first step is to create a bar graph with defects or error data arranged in descending order. The y-axis of the chart accounts for the number of defects.
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SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

The next step is to add a cumulative percentage scale on the right-hand side of the chart. This second scale along the vertical y-axis mirrors the scale along the left hand side. A line graph that extends over the top of the bar data is the cumulative percentage curve. Plotting of the curve is done as a series of connected points that are obtained by assign the values from left to right and dividing by the total. In the Pareto charts the left most bar indicates the greatest opportunity for improvement as it represents the source of error responsible for most defects. Pareto charts also helps to identify those few sources of errors that account for most of the defects or errors. 4. Scatter Diagrams: The possible relationships between two variables are identified using scatter diagrams. In order to understand data as a whole, it is very important to understand the relationships among data elements. The steps to create a scatter diagram are: Define the theoretical relationship: Relationships between variables are not always obvious. It is easy to assume the relationship between variables. The first step is to identify the two variables that will be examined. Collect 50 to 100 paired samples of data: Analysis is based on a sufficient amount of data. Less data will result in erroneous conclusions. Plot the data on x-y axis: The horizontal axis or x-axis should be used for independent variables. These variables are the base. If there is a relationship between the base and data of other variables, then when the base changes, the data of other variable also changes. The y-axis is used for the dependent variables. These variables will surely change if the base changes. Interpret the data: Find regular patterns among the plotted points. Q2. Write short notes on The Enterprise Project Management Model. (10 marks) Ans: Enterprise project management is a tool that gives an overall view of the resources and the project management activities and brings in quality and success of the project management in your organisation. It entails connecting the organisations vision, mission, goals and objectives, and strategies in a hierarchal style to make sure that the organisation commits its resources to the appropriate projects and activities at the correct time. This definition consists of those efforts in use and the fundamental control over projects, but in a holistic view. EPM is the dedication of the organisation to doing work through projects, where appropriate, and obtaining more benefits from projects. Working of EPM within the model: The replica of the enterprise functions provides the foundation for implementing a rigorous move to selecting projects that have both strategic and operational fit to provide the most benefits for the organisation and its stakeholders. From the top down, the model works from all- purpose, organisational guidance to project-specific implementation. The nodes are connected in some way to ensure consistency of purpose and predictable outcomes. The ensuing outcome for the organisation is that every project makes a positive contribution to the enterprise in support of the mission. Some items that must be incorporated in the policies and procedures are the following. Project selection: Each project selected must meet criteria that confidently point out a contribution to the success of the organisation and that each project must be within the scope of the organisations objectives and goals. Projects must be accepted and
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SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

implemented for specific reasons such as R&D, building a product or service for sale, creating a product for a client, and initiating organisational change. Project planning: Every project needs some point of planning to set up goals that are to be met, to design a roadmap for the implementation of the project, to establish controls over the projects implementation, and to design the means for finishing the project. Huge projects necessitate more planning to describe the work and visualise the overall concept of operation. Small projects, on the other side, require considerably adequate planning. Project termination: Projects are frequently selected and become unsuccessful in the early stages. These projects do not provide evidence to be beneficial to the organisation. Other projects advance with some difficulty or little difficulty. It is vital in EPM to know about when a project has the potential to deliver the promised benefits or whether there should be early termination. Pre mature termination and harvesting of the work that has been completed may be the most excellent solution for projects that cannot deliver all the promised benefits. Project controls: A source for measuring the progress of projects not in favour of the plan must be in place. Project growth requires information from the project plan (the roadmap) and points inside the project to obtain information that objectively shows the forward movement. Implementation of EPM: It is not a minor matter to espouse the EPM strategy and implement it in an organisation. A fresh organisational structure and new practices have to be communicated to those affected within the organisation as well as clients or other critical stakeholders. Individuals may need training with new knowledge and skills. Leaders may need to alter their way of organising, motivating, planning, directing, and controlling work forces. Senior managers must evidently communicate and show their support for the change. It is the duty of senior management, usually the Board of Directors, to study and analyse the profits of change in an enterprise project management organisation. They may look at the existing projects to determine whether the selection process is adequate or whether the existing projects are less than optimal in terms of size, risk, profitability, a strategic and operational fit with the organisation, and other factors that are unique to the business. Advantages of EPM: One of the key rewards of converting to an EPM system is that projects have superior focus to their profitability. They fit within the organisation as building blocks to successfully meet the objectives and goals. Often, organisations discover that the wrong projects are being pursued because of a lack of criteria for selecting projects. Many times there are projects with less priority that would make a greater contribution to the organisations success than the current ongoing projects. EPM requires an efficient approach to the allocation of resources to projects that have the more importance to the organisations success. Once selected and implemented, the most important projects must get priority for resources and apt decisions for issues linked to those projects. Policies and procedures supporting the EPM will encourage the best allocation of critical resources.

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

Q3. Explain communities of practice. (10 marks) Ans: Communities of Practice (CoP) are a network of people who are engaged in the process of collective learning in a shared domain. In the organisational context, it could be a group of engineers who are working on similar problems or it could be group of analysts who try new methods of problem analysis. Communities of Practice have groups of people who engage in joint activities and discussion or share their knowledge in there area of specialisation. They need not be colleagues at work place but they essentially interact on a regular basis to discuss the knowledge area. CoPs are practioners who share knowledge of experience that enable them to work efficiently. The community develops their practice through different activities which include solving problem, requesting for information (For example, a software code requested for a particular module), seeking experience (For example, while addressing complicated problems), reusing the assets (For example, setting up a second unit of network similar to the first with the same plans and procedure approach), coordinating and synergising, discussing the latest technological changes, documenting the projects of the experience and also mapping knowledge and also identifying the gaps. Knowledge acquired has to be spread across the organisation to enable others to leverage on the same. Communities of practice in strategic areas are the best way to promote knowledge as an asset as they help greatly in the proliferation of knowledge. In knowledge economy, there is explosive development in knowledge which makes it difficult for the organisations to spread knowledge. Increased complexity of knowledge needs greater specialisation and also collaboration. With half-life (the short time by which the present knowledge becomes obsolete) of knowledge getting shorter, it is tough for organisations to keep pace with the rapid changes and manage knowledge without these communities. An organisational change could be due to internal and external factors and there would be a huge onus to respond to the demands of shifting the market. This could cause restructuring. Communities of practice are the best solution to make the organisation embrace change and make it adaptable. The knowledge economy poses an additional challenge. The knowledge markets are globalising quickly. Communities of practice help organisations to compete globally through information sharing across the globe. The advantage which the company will enjoy is the influx of innovative ideas which brings about excellence in the field of application, thereby solving an instant stream of the competitive problems. In globalised knowledge economy, the companies dont just compete for the market share but also compete for the talented people who have the expertise and the capabilities to generate and also implement the creative ideas. Finding and keeping the right people can also make a difference in the companys ability to become a market leader and also gain access to the venture capital. In fact, the knowledge driven markets make it essential to develop the knowledge strategy along with the business strategy. A knowledge strategy details, in the operational terms, the way to develop and apply the capabilities needed for executing the business strategy.

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

Q4. The project management initiative program is a six step process which is designed to bring about a measurement team from the introduction to the project management focused Measurements through the design, the development and the implementation of the project management value measurement program. Explain the six steps in the project management initiative program. (10 marks) Ans: 1. Measurement readiness planning In this the measurement initiative is clearly understood and aligned to support the organisations strategy which is an essential element to support the sustained success of the initiative. The primary project management, business unit and organisational goals influence the developmental measures of project management. The organisational goals and objectives include the reduced costs, the improved quality, the improved timing and the improved productivity. The project management aims and objectives include more predictable project performance and more repeatable project performance. 2. Initiative Planning In this, the team will align itself around the measurement programs objectives, the scope, the development approach, the timeline, the deliverables and the implementation strategy. It will develop the project management initiative plan and the project management initiative schedule. 3. Measures development In this, the team develops and also prioritises the initial list of the measures for the scorecard. It is the initial pass at recognising and measuring with the primary activity. A comprehensive list of measure is created keeping in mind that they will have to be logically linked to the aims. The measurement will also have to meet the criteria for the good measures. This would mean that the measures chosen should provide the meaningful information. It should be supported by valid data which is cost effective to capture. It should be accepted by the stakeholders, repeatable and also actionable. 4. Scorecard development In this, the team will review the prioritised measures information created to date and develop the measure packages and the consistent project management value scorecard. The team will first engage in the measures review, prioritise the validation, and measure the package definition. The information is then used to construct the scorecard for review and also be accepted by the measurement team in the preparation for implementation. The measure package will include: a. Measure (What) The data which has to be collected has to be clearly recognised b. Objective (Why) The measures objective must be clearly defined c. Data capture (How) The mechanism for collecting the data should be recognised d. Timing (When) The timing of the data collected should be defined 5. Measurement program Implementation Planning In this, the framework around the measurement processes and the data collection will be used to support the ongoing measures program implementation. The main activities will include the development of the implementation strategy and the process. The project value measurement program process describes the systematic approach to the project management performance measures, collecting, analysing, and reviewing using the performance data. This data can be used to drive the performance improvement.

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

6. Measurement program implementation Here, there will an ongoing effort to execute

the program as it is documented in the implementation plan. The measure packages can be used to reinforce the data requirements, the collection timing and also the data contact responsibilities. Q5. Briefly explain the seven forces involved in the success of quality in project management. (10 marks) Ans: 1. Placing the budgetary considerations ahead of the quality: As per this root cause category, management does not understand the fundamental concept of the cost of quality, as defined by Philip Crosby and Frank Gryna. Obtaining quality in performance and service is still viewed as an expense, rather than an indispensable element for profitability. Major decisions are made based on accounting principles that do not recognise the idea of the cost of (poor) quality. 2. Placing schedule considerations ahead of quality: When quality processes are in place, schedules will be met. But many organisations do not consider that they can take the time to do things right the first time, although they spend a great deal of time on rework and response to customer complaints. Many organisations succumb to meet deadlines, even when they know they are not providing a quality product or service. 3. Placing political considerations ahead of quality: In few organisations it is not possible to discuss problems that may exist. In fact, mentioning a problem can be a career limiting shift. Sometimes this is because acknowledging the problem will reveal past efforts to fix it have been unsuccessful. 4. Being arrogant: Any organisational culture that creates an environment in which the captain, chief surgeon, scientist, pilot or president cannot be viewed as competent of making a mistake and cannot be questioned has embraced an arrogance that will eventually lead to disasters. This is termed by ancients as excessive pride or selfconfidence hubris. 5. Lack of fundamental knowledge, research or education, the principles of quality assurance: Such as independent verification, testing, auditing and calibration control should be considered as necessary. 6. Pervasively believing in entitlement: In some cases, management adopts a laissez-faire attitude, allowing the employees to judge as to how they actually run the organisation. Employee participation is a positive attribute, and in a few cases, employees really do own the company. This is a corporate model that works very well in a variety of settings and does not generally lead to a belief in entitlement. The entitlement conviction system is one in which employees believe they are entitled to their jobs and their benefits due to years of service, past sacrifices and past performance. They believe they should be immune to the vagaries of market forces, impact of new technologies and changes in customer requirements. 7. Practicing autocratic behaviours, resulting in enrolment: In the enrolment, employees talk about being mushrooms kept in the dark by management. Many of the early efforts to develop team based organisations ran smack into the issues of autocratic leadership and the resulting sense of enrolment, and stopped right there.
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SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

Q6. Explain briefly the Inspection- Planning and necessity in quality. (10 marks) Ans: Inspection can be defined as the formal evaluation exercise which studies the characteristics of the product to ensure conformance. They can be called as reviews, product reviews, audits and walk through. By doing so, it gives an assurance that the product will be built in accordance with project specifications, code and standard requirements, and meet local government regulations. Inspection thus is a technique for quality control. Inspections are generally conducted at different levels there might be inspection at one single level or it could be inspection of the final product of the project. The inspection and the test plans should identify the product which is to be tested and inspected. It should clearly define the requirements and criteria for acceptance. The inspection procedures at every stage are to be defined. The parameters used for conformance must include those which are to be verified by the manufacturing procedures. Testing of products is a very important and mandatory step. The procedures for test planning and inspection include: Preparing the requirements that describe the product and the characteristics that have to be verified. Produce the forms to record the results of tests and inspection. The following are the activities of inspection planning: Designating the stages at which inspection should occur. Defining the requirements and acceptance criteria that are to be used. Defining the parameters which are to be tested at every single stage. Performing a verification of the various parameters, and this should include the elements which are to be varied by the manufacturing process. Describing the aids ways of doing inspection and test equipment, this is to be used. Encompassing the results of the inspections and tests that need to be recorded. Providing the stations with the means for knowing what to do plus facilities for doing it. In case of simple routine characteristics, the planning is often done by the inspector. The planning in case of complex products made in large multi departmental organisations is usually done by specialists such as quality engineers. Necessity: In case of project management, planning and quality management are necessary processes. However, for quality maintenance and project conformity to all quality standards efficient processes needs to be accomplished. Quality management software is necessary to be applied as a mechanism for quick reaction to occurred errors and discrepancies during the project performance. The necessity to enhance project quality can be achieved as a result of proper working of the software during the project performance. The quality management software allows making quick revision of all project stages and finding errors. At all variety of possible kinds of project organisational structures, observance of following basic principles is necessary: Advisability: The general project objectives must thoroughly follow the designed structure. Cost Effectiveness: The structure shouldnt be excessive, costs for staff increase the project cost, and the project should have certain profit.
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SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Assignment format

Flexibility: The project structure shouldnt be too rigid. It makes it impossible to react to change in external conditions. Coordination: The project breakdown into tasks and their assignment to related resources requires accurate collaborative work of the resources. Project management status report is provided in a particular way. As an a example, consider the criteria for doctor to monitor health , he or she checks pulse, temperature , blood pressure and so on. Similar way, a project needs mixture of criteria. If the ground covered in methodologies and literature is distilled on project management, there are six criteria that constantly emerge, they are as follows: Time (How are we going against schedule). Cost (How are we going against budget). Resources (How much time are we spending on the project). Scope (Is the scope steady in line with expectations). Quality (Are we reviewing and fixing quality problems). Actions (Do we have action items outstanding). By having a look at the performance against these six criteria as a project dashboard, a view of the parts of the project that are Okay and that are not Okay can be formed.