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CTV – Quality in Eu projects

What is quality?

Ennio Figini© Progetto FIAF-CSVnet “Tanti per tutti. Viaggio nel volontariato italiano

It is necessary to define quality at this point. In projects, the role of project quality management is to define and refine the concept of quality for a product.

The quality triangle

The project management triangle ( also called the triple constraint, iron triangle and project triangle) is a model of the constraints of project management which can help us to understand what quality is.

It contends that:

  1. The quality of work is constrained by the project’s budget, deadlines and scope (features).
  2. The project manager can trade between constraints.
  3. Changes in one constraint necessitate changes in others to compensate or quality will suffer.

For example, a project can be completed faster by increasing the budget or cutting scope. Similarly, increasing scope may require equivalent increases in budget and schedule. Cutting budget without adjusting schedule or scope will lead to lower quality.

Anyway, even if it helps us to understand quality as the balance between constraints. The Project Management Triangle is considered insufficient as a model of project success because it omits crucial dimensions of success including impact on stakeholders, learning and user satisfaction.

In this unit, we will see several instruments, theories and approaches to quality but it is also important to clarify that quality is also a dynamic concept that includes creativity, adaptability, context analysis and monitoring. Quality can also mean that you need to adapt the project as you go along due to changing circumstances. You also need to constantly monitor and adapt as necessary what you are measuring.