Quality Management in Projects: Planning for It, Building It In, and Making It Stick

📚 What is Quality Management?

Quality management is about ensuring a project's deliverables meet the required standards and stakeholder expectations. According to APM, it's the discipline of defining quality criteria, planning how to achieve them, and systematically checking that work meets those standards.

But here's what makes quality management actually work in practice: it's not just technical compliance. It's about building trust with the people who'll use what you deliver. It's about clear communication, early involvement of end users, and creating a shared understanding of what "done" really means.

Why Quality Management Matters

Poor quality has real costs. Industry studies show that rework due to poor quality averages about 5% of project cost (Get It Right Initiative). On a £10 million project, that's half a million pounds potentially wasted. Beyond the financial impact, poor quality damages stakeholder trust, creates technical debt, and demoralises teams who have to constantly fix preventable problems.

Quality management shifts the focus from fixing problems to preventing them. It's the difference between discovering a foundation issue after the building is up versus catching it in the design review. It's involving the maintenance team at the planning stage rather than surprising them at handover.

These four stages work together as a cycle. You plan the standards, build quality into your processes, check the outputs, and learn for next time. Each stage feeds into the others, creating a continuous loop of improvement.

In the next tab, you'll experience these concepts through the railway handover crisis - where poor quality management turned successful track delivery into a years-long nightmare.

When Reality Kicks In

In practice, you won't always see every stage of quality management play out neatly. Large engineering projects can last several years, with handovers between teams and suppliers along the way. Often, you inherit a quality system already in place, or you help design one for others to follow.

In these environments, project quality management works alongside organisational or industry quality systems. As a PM, you may not own the entire cycle, but you still play a vital role: developing the approach where it's missing, executing it where it's established, and driving continuous improvement wherever you can.

When you're working on railways or other infrastructure where people's safety depends on getting it right, there's no room for error. But here's the thing: whether you're building a railway, developing software, or managing an office refurbishment, the same quality principles apply. Plan what good looks like, build quality in as you go, test before you finish, and learn from what went wrong. The context changes, but the approach doesn't.

🚂 The Railway Handover Crisis

Railway track works were being delivered successfully. Tracks laid, trains running, all technical milestones hit. But handovers were taking months, sometimes years, to complete. The technical delivery was working. The handover process wasn't.

Looking closer, I realised the maintenance teams who'd be looking after these tracks for the next 20+ years were only brought in a few weeks before the actual works. No earlier touchpoints. No input on design decisions. No say in what would make their lives easier. What could have been early conversations became last-minute negotiations.

We started involving the end user at the planning stage. We built relationships and key checkpoints throughout the project, started developing rapport with them, and worked towards the same definition of "done." Quality wasn't just about meeting our specifications. It was about delivering something they could actually trust and maintain.

The result? Smoother handovers and significantly less rework. The shift from "just get the track open" to "deliver a package the end user can actually trust" didn't happen overnight. But it did happen. That's when I understood what quality management really means.

📋 Quality Planning: Figuring Out What "Good" Looks Like

Main outcome: Define what "good" looks like upfront, agree acceptance criteria, and make sure everyone understands success before you start.

The Everyday Example

Think about buying new furniture. You need a wardrobe that'll last several years, fit your room, hold what you need, and not break the bank. You work out your requirements: dimensions, budget, storage capacity, style. After comparing options, you decide IKEA best fits your specific needs. Maybe it's the modular design, the price point, or the warranty.

That's planning and defining your requirements upfront and knowing what "good" looks like for your situation before you start.

How This Applied to Our Track Works

The same principle applies. We'd been laying tracks without properly involving the people who'd actually live with them. Here's what we discovered: the maintenance teams who'd be looking after these tracks for the next 20+ years were only brought in a few weeks before the actual works. No earlier touchpoints, no input on design decisions, no say in what would make their lives easier.

This was the root cause of our handover problems.

The solution seems obvious now, but it took us months to figure out. We started involving the end user at the planning stage. We built relationships and key checkpoints throughout the project, started developing rapport with them, and worked towards the same definition of "done."

The result? Smoother handovers and significantly less rework.

What Quality Planning Actually Looks Like

Here are the key tools you'll work with:

The Key Lesson

Quality planning isn't bureaucracy. It's the conversation that saves you months of rework later. Define "good" with the people who'll inherit your work, and you'll deliver something they actually want to accept.

🔧 Quality Assurance: Building Quality Into the Process

Main outcome: Build quality into the way you deliver, so problems don't stack up at the end.

Back to That Wardrobe

When you assemble it, you follow the instructions step by step. You check the right screws are going in the right holes. You make sure everything lines up before tightening it.

That's assurance (building quality into the process so the final product actually stands up).

How This Applied to Our Track Works

We introduced assurance checks before and during delivery. We'd verify materials were ready, check track components met specifications, and ensure everything was in place before installation began. Instead of waiting until the end to discover problems, we were catching issues early.

And here's the crucial bit: if we noticed something that could impact the end user, we'd discuss it transparently and work together on a solution. This not only reduced defects but also built trust with the end user, who could see quality being built in at every stage.

In hindsight, this was one of those transferable lessons. Quality isn't something you bolt on at the end. You build it in as you go.

What Quality Assurance Looks Like

Here's what you'll typically see:

The Psychology Factor

Trust is built through behaviour, not documents. If teams cut corners in one phase, stakeholders assume corners have been cut elsewhere. Small slips damage perception disproportionately.

Being consistent in the little things matters as much as passing the big tests. Quality assurance is as much about managing perceptions as meeting specifications.

✅ Quality Control: Making Sure It Actually Works

Main outcome: Test and verify that the finished output meets the requirements before handover.

Your Wardrobe Is Built

Now you open the doors, check the drawers slide smoothly, make sure it doesn't wobble.

That's control (confirming it's fit for purpose before it's put to use).

How This Applied to Our Track Works

We learned the value of transparency. We got the end user involved to witness tests and see the results first-hand. Once the work was done, we agreed any snags together and followed up to action them quickly. We made sure all the paperwork was spot on before handover.

This collaborative approach gave them the confidence to sign off without the lengthy negotiations that used to drag on for months.

It seems obvious in hindsight, but people don't trust what they weren't part of. Exclude them from testing and they'll find problems later, guaranteed.

What Quality Control Looks Like

These are the typical deliverables:

The Psychology of Sign-Off

Quality is as much about perception as compliance. Here's what matters:

Loss aversion is real. People fear losses more than they value gains. One quality failure weighs heavier than five successful deliveries. Past failures raise the bar for your current project.

Ownership signals confidence. When someone stands up and says, "I personally confirm this is ready," it changes the room. People respond to confidence and accountability more than spreadsheets alone.

How you frame things matters. Saying "95% compliance" feels different from saying "5% failures," even though they're the same number. Present results in a way that aligns with stakeholder concerns.

📈 Continuous Improvement: Learning As We Go

Main outcome: Learn from each project and embed improvements for next time.

Think About That First Wardrobe Build

It takes hours. Screws in the wrong places, plenty of frustration. By the second or third, you've figured it out. You lay everything out, organise the parts, maybe use an electric screwdriver. Each time, you get faster and better.

That's continuous improvement (learning from experience and applying it to the next challenge).

How This Applied to Our Track Works

Every site taught us lessons we couldn't ignore. We started slowly making changes to the way things were done: standardising templates, clearing snags as we went rather than leaving them until the end, building relationships earlier. Each small improvement helped shift the perspective and gradually influenced the culture.

It seems easy on the surface, but culture change takes time. It wasn't perfect. After a few bumps we developed a rhythm and continued to be open to learning, trying to do the right thing better each time.

The shift from "just get the track open" to "deliver a package the end user can actually trust" didn't happen overnight. But it did happen.

What Continuous Improvement Looks Like

Here are the common approaches:

Quality in Agile Projects

Agile takes a different view. Quality isn't a stage, it's continuous. Acceptance criteria are built into user stories, "definition of done" sets standards upfront, and reviews happen every sprint. Instead of waiting until the end, quality is checked in small, frequent cycles.

It's not less rigorous. It just spreads the effort across the lifecycle.

And honestly? That makes more sense than trying to fix everything at the end.

The Bottom Line

Continuous improvement is the habit that changes culture. You don't have to get it perfect from day one. What matters is building the habit of asking: what did we learn here, and how do we embed it for next time?

That simple approach? It changes everything.

🛠️ Quality Tools: Your Practical Toolkit

Quality management comes with established tools and practices. You don't need to use all of them, but knowing what's available helps you pick what fits your context.

From lessons learned across engineering and infrastructure projects, quality issues come from both technical and human factors. Yes, technical capability matters (getting specifications right, following standards, ensuring proper installation). But what often gets overlooked is the process and behaviour side.

Scenario 1: Unclear Requirements

Problem: New office refurbishment project. Stakeholders all have different ideas of what "finished" means. No one can agree on acceptance criteria. Risk of endless changes and disputes at handover.

Select tools that could help:

Scenario 2: Defects Found Late

Problem: Software release project. Bugs discovered in production every sprint. Testing happens too late. Team spending more time fixing old issues than building new features.

Select tools that could help:

Scenario 3: Handover Nightmare

Problem: Large infrastructure project. Handover to operations team taking months. Multiple teams, unclear ownership, documentation scattered. Operations team finding issues that should have been caught earlier.

Select tools that could help:

Common Quality Failures

From lessons learned, quality issues typically arise from:

• End users brought in too late (classic trap we fell into)
• Acceptance criteria vague or misaligned (everyone has different definitions of "done")
• Checklists used mechanically, not thoughtfully (box-ticking without understanding)
• Ownership of quality unclear (everyone's responsibility means no one's responsibility)
• Teams dispersing before handover finalised (knowledge walks out the door)

The pattern is clear: Quality fails when technical excellence isn't supported by trust, clarity, and accountability. You need both to succeed.

💡 Knowledge Check

Test your understanding of quality management. Select the best answer for each question.

Question 1:

Industry studies show that rework due to poor quality averages what percentage of project cost?

Question 2:

What was the root cause of the railway handover problems in the blog story?

Question 3:

What's the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control?

Question 4:

Which psychological principle explains why stakeholders scrutinise projects more heavily after one past failure?

Question 5:

How does quality management differ between waterfall and agile projects?

🌟 Your Reality

Answer these questions about your current quality management approach. Be honest. This isn't about what should be, it's about what is. Your answers will help you understand where you are and what to focus on next.

Quality Maturity Assessment

Move the sliders to reflect your current reality:

Your Quality Maturity Level

Key Takeaways

• Plan for quality early and don't leave it until testing
• Build quality into how you work, not just what you produce
• Define "done" with the people who'll inherit the asset
• Get the technical details right first time to avoid costly rework
• In agile, treat every sprint as a quality checkpoint
• Don't confuse paperwork with readiness
• Most quality failures combine technical and communication issues
• Continuous improvement is the habit that changes culture

Here's the Bottom Line

Quality can feel like an abstract idea when you're starting out - something buried in procedures, checklists, or systems. But the truth is, it's about making things that work properly and that people can trust.

You don't have to get it perfect from day one. What matters is building the habit of asking: what does good look like here, and how do we prove it? This means getting both the technical details right (specifications, standards, proper execution) and managing the human side (involvement, communication, ownership).

If you keep that dual focus at the heart of your projects - technical excellence supported by good process - you'll already be doing more for quality than many seasoned professionals.

We're all figuring it out together, but that simple approach? It changes everything.

Your Action Commitment

Reflect on your quality maturity and plan concrete improvements: