BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Managing Quality in Projects: Advances in Project Management
Author: Ron Basu, UK
Publisher: Gower/Routledge
List Price: $59.96
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
Publication Date: December 2012
ISBN: 978-1-14094-4092-5
Reviewer: Sarah Delgado Visser, PMP
Review Date: November 2023
Introduction
Working in the medical field, the importance of quality is clear to me: A lack of project quality would be detrimental to both our patients and our customers. Working instead in the field of national infrastructure, Basu convinced me early in Managing Quality in Projects of the lack of a project management-specific definition of quality and lack of clarity on ensuring quality in projects. He argues that there is a need within project management to manage and track quality, especially as it is part of the iron triangle.
Overview of Book’s Structure
The introduction includes a short literature review to establish that there is a gap of knowledge in project management about how to meet the requirements of quality. Basu discusses how quality is related to project excellence and that he wants to provide practical ways to establish quality as an important part of any project.
Chapter 1 discusses quality management and project management, and how quality management has traditionally been a focus more in operations management, especially as it relates to supply chains. He defines what project management and its processes are. He discusses stakeholder management and change control as critical supports to quality.
Chapter 2 seeks to define what project quality is after reviewing the partial definitions established in the project management body of knowledge. Basu then has a more extensive literature review, proving again the need for his book as he details what are the dimensions and definitions of project quality. He arrives at the definition, “Project quality is the philosophy of the adherence of standards to fulfill acceptable delivery objectives throughout the life cycle of a project” and he chooses to focus on “three . . dimensions[:] . . . design quality, process quality and organisation quality” (47). He continues to return to these three dimensions throughout the book.
Chapter 3 looks at the unclear guidelines relating to quality in three main project management bodies of knowledge: the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE2), and International Standards Organization (ISO). Basu looks at eight causes of project failure and connects all of them to organizational, process and product quality. Basu concludes the chapter with recommendations for “developing and applying a quality management strategy” to make his analysis more practical.
More…
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How to cite this review: Delgado Visser, S. (2024). Managing Quality in Projects, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue I, January. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pmwj137-Jan2024-Delgado-Visser-Managing-Quality-in-Projects-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Sarah Delgado Visser
Irving, Texas, USA
Sarah Delgado Visser works as an Associate Project Manager in the medical industry. Her background in technical writing has taught her to care about the details and the customer’s needs. She enjoys hiking throughout Texas and the United States with her dog Taquito.
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