Project Toolkit

Quality Planning

Quality Planning

Defining quality standards, acceptance criteria, and quality assurance activities.

Quality Planning

Quality planning defines how the project will ensure deliverables meet required standards and stakeholder expectations.

What is Project Quality?

Definition: Quality is the degree to which deliverables meet requirements and are fit for purpose. It's about meeting expectations, not exceeding them unnecessarily.

Quality Management Components

Component Description
Quality Planning Defining standards and approach
Quality Assurance Process to ensure quality is built in
Quality Control Testing and verification of outputs

Quality Planning Activities

Activity Purpose
Define standards What quality levels are required?
Set acceptance criteria How will we know it’s good enough?
Plan reviews When will quality be checked?
Assign responsibilities Who ensures quality?
Define processes How will quality be managed?

Acceptance Criteria

Good acceptance criteria are:

Characteristic Description
Specific Clearly defined, not vague
Measurable Can be objectively verified
Achievable Realistic to accomplish
Relevant Aligned to requirements
Testable Can be validated

Examples

Poor Better
“System must be fast” “Page load time < 2 seconds”
“Report must be accurate” “Report matches source data 100%”
“Easy to use” “Users complete task in < 3 clicks”

Quality Assurance Activities

flowchart LR A[Define
Standards] --> B[Plan
Reviews] B --> C[Conduct
Reviews] C --> D[Track
Issues] D --> E[Verify
Resolution] classDef blue fill:#108BB9,stroke:none,color:#fff class A,B,C,D,E blue

Review Types

Review Purpose When
Peer review Check work with colleagues During development
Technical review Verify technical quality Before testing
Walkthrough Explain and validate approach At key milestones
Inspection Formal defect detection Before sign-off

Quality Control

Quality control verifies that deliverables meet acceptance criteria:

Activity Description
Testing Verifying functionality works
Inspection Checking against standards
Validation Confirming fitness for purpose
Verification Confirming built correctly

Quality Roles

Role Responsibility
Project Manager Overall quality responsibility
Quality Manager Define and monitor quality approach
Team Members Build quality into deliverables
Reviewers Provide independent assessment
Customer Accept deliverables

Quality Metrics

Track quality through:

Metric What It Measures
Defect count Number of issues found
Defect density Issues per unit of work
Review coverage % of deliverables reviewed
Test coverage % of requirements tested
First-time pass rate % passing first review/test
Customer satisfaction Stakeholder perception

Cost of Quality

Cost Type Examples
Prevention costs Training, planning, process design
Appraisal costs Testing, reviews, inspections
Internal failure Rework, retesting, delays
External failure Warranty, support, reputation

Key insight: Investing in prevention and appraisal reduces total cost of quality.

Quality Checklist

  • Quality standards defined?
  • Acceptance criteria documented?
  • Review points scheduled?
  • Responsibilities assigned?
  • Quality metrics identified?
  • Defect tracking process in place?
Last updated: 13 January 2026
Themes

Planning

Quality