PMO Series: Quality Management

The first part of this series provided an overview of the PMO, types of PMOs and typical functions.

The second part looked at the role of PMO in setting up and monitoring Change Management processes and activities.

This post looks at the Quality Management/Assurance responsibilities of the PMO.

Quality Management is a less-emphasized function of the PMO. In large IT organizations, primary Quality guidance is provided by a centralized Quality function and actual implementation guidance by the PMO. For smaller IT organizations, the PMO.

However, it is important that the PMO incorporate the Quality Management aspects into its guidance and governance systems, since process-orientation can bring in discipline and streamline all activities in the Programs/projects.

The key responsibilities of a PMO for Quality Management include:

Setting up quality standards if none exists or tailoring organizational standards
Provide guidance on defining acceptance criteria to measure successful completion of the project
Provide guidance on setting up Program and project specific metrics for monitoring, tracking progress and quality
Schedule, conduct and review Program and project audits to ensure they are following the guidance provided by the PMO.
These aspects can be detailed out in a Quality Management Plan. A well-structured QM Plan can help the Program/Project adhere to the accepted practices in their projects. In addition, the PMO may also provide
Quality management support to projects through a dedicated team of people.

A typical QM Plan will have the following Table of contents (sections):

Reference to organizational processes (if available)
List and reference to any adaptations to the organizational processes, templates and checklists
List and reference to program/project specific processes, templates and checklists
List and reference to all standards/guidelines (including technical, industry-specific regulations, domain etc)
Release Reviews performed by the Quality function before any customer/production release
Program/Project specific metrics and tolerances
Work product reviews that will be performed by people in the Quality function
Tools and techniques used for Quality activities
Defect prevention, causal analysis activities and techniques
Reports and Dashboards
Frequency and timing of project reviews and audits by the Quality function