Project Management Quality Assurance

Project management and Quality assurance 1

Project Management and Quality Assurance

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1.0 Introduction

Boo Too is a startup company that hopes to become the biggest online fashion retailer. The

Company has acquired large modern premises in Chelmsford that will act as their Head

Office and IT centre. In addition, thee company intends to have a large network of

warehouses and distribution channels in different countries all over the world. To facilitate

the whole process of installing modern and quality technological infrastructure, the company

appointed me as the project manager to oversee the whole process. After considering the

nature of the business, its sensitivity, demands and challenges related to technology, I first

focused of critical success factors and quality assurance as the major concepts that would

enable me effectively work in this capacity. Discussed in this report are some of my

approaches, views, insights and strategies regarding critical success factors and quality

assurance.

2.0 Critical success factors

The factors discussed are those considered to carry more weight in making the project

successful. However, other factors have also been coupled with the ones discussed to

complement the main factors outlined. The key success factors are directly related to how an

organization is directly related to the operations of its world. Every organisation needs the

five essential factor s for it to thrive. These include:

2.1 Effective risk management

Online business can not be rated successful if the numerous threats posed by the nature of the

business are not effectively managed. Boo Too being a company aiming to operate all over

the world will have high data traffic from other businesses and individuals. So that a

consumer is able to enjoy the exceptional services Boo Too intends to offer, the initial

process would be filling of forms by the consumer. Thereafter, a system generated

mechanism would verify the authenticity of information provided so that a transaction can be


validated. On major concern is the protection of companies, businesses and individuals

sensitive and highly confidential information. This information involves credit cards details,

bank account information, passwords and many others. Today as technology advances,

incidences of hacking, tapping and snooping are also increasing at an advanced rate (Holland

& Light 30). To curb such threats, the infrastructure of Boo Too Company, software used and

the technical team should be advanced, resilient and tamper proof. The move prevents fraud

incidences, and malicious destruction of information among other threats. In order to achieve

this, a risk log should be produced together with probable action against each risk. A clear

risk log with courses of action guides the technical team on when to make a timely move,

how to do it and where the action should be targeted.

2.2 Time frame

A clear guideline should be in place showing the start date of the project, phases in which it

should be completed and expected completion of the whole project. If a clear guideline is

missing, the project ends up consuming a lot of time and resources due to unnecessary delays

and redundancy. For example, the project manager of BooToo Company should have a clear

mind on the time the completion of head office is expected. When the offices are complete,

the maximum resources and time expected for procurement of servers, network

infrastructure, computers and other technological infrastructure should be adhered to. Other

business partners and channels in other countries should also be adequately involved in the

completion of the whole project for effective roll out. It is imperative to note that for a start

up company like BooToo, it would be effective to roll out the project in phases as satisfaction

surveys are being conducted so as to achieve true success of the whole project. The testing

should also be included as part of the project when setting the time frame. This is because the

end user has to be involved so as to ensure the project meet expectations today’s competitive

markets (Holland & Light 36).


2.3 Effective communication

Online fashion retail that BooToo Company is focusing on will involve a large team both in

Chelmsford and in other countries. Maximum coordination and timely conveyance of

message is an aspect that can not be overlooked. Any communication breakdown to such a

large company with complex and sensitive transaction would mean massive destruction to the

company (Holland & Light 34). Consider numerous customers from different countries

keying in to place their orders but nobody is there to attend them or hundreds of suppliers

requesting statements with no feedback. Channels of communication should be clear with

each designated role bearing some form of accountability.

2.4 Strategic planning

Planning not only in projects but also in other spheres of life determines the success to be

obtained. Strategic planning would help set a stage for Boo Too Company’s installation of

technological infrastructure since it would give ample time for thorough consideration on

what to install. During the planning stage, the objectives of the company and the desired

results are revisited. Brainstorming helps in critical discussion of all the infrastructure so that

elimination is done to the infrastructure considered to be of little contribution towards

realization of desired goals. A layout is sketched on how the whole project should be

structured. In this case all the computers, modems, servers, network connections and

personnel required are clearly captured. The capacity of technical team that would be in

charge of the information systems cannot be overlooked by a planner so as to know the level

of sophistication the whole system should have. Since the nature and size of Boo Too

Company’s business is complex, the project manager should install sophisticated modern

infrastructure managed by personnel with advanced skills and expertise in information

technology.


The business world at all levels including the e-commerce has become dynamic and very

competitive. Therefore, when installing the technological infrastructure, marketing will be

given weight considering Boo Too is a fashion retailer. Talking of fashion refers to anything

popular and which has been accepted by people as ideal. Coming up with something

fashionable requires innovation, extensive research and commitment to quality. Developing

something fashionable is not the end of the road. People have to be informed of the existence

of that product. The awareness part entails a lot of marketing. In short, fashion marketing

refers to promotion and creating awareness to customers on a certain product which has

become popular due to exceptional quality and design.

2.5 Cost effectiveness

A project manager in charge of the installation of technological infrastructure should have

full information on the Boo Too Company’s allocation for this task. With full information,

the manager should maximize on installing standard infrastructure within the budgetary

allocation (Freund 23). In this case, after all the required infrastructure has been identified,

quotations should be invited from various suppliers through a tendering process. Without

compromising quality the supplier with best offer is given the tender to supply. Finally the

project manager oversees the installation process to ensure quality and satisfactory job has

been done.

3.0 Quality assurance

Technology is growing fast just like business competition. New technology is assisting

businesses to exploit global transactions through cloud technology and e-commerce services.

Amazon and Oracle are some of the renowned companies in offering technological solutions

and software development. During the installation and implementation process, Boo Too

Company will work closely with such established companies that can offer consultancy

services on technical information (Schmitz 76-84). As technology grows, risks are becoming


numerous and enormous thus calling for caution in terms of quality and complexity.

Functionality and assurance of product and service security are mostly associated with

computer software security. Common criterions used in the evaluation of the functionality

and assurance of the system ranges with different levels. The common criteria guide helps in

the evaluation of information technology security. It ensures that through testing of the

system, performance and design is verified, where it has seven assurance levels which range

from Evaluation Assurance Level. The security functionality requirement of information

technology is classified into eleven classes that include: audit, resource utilization,

identification and authentication, privacy, trusted path/channels, communication. Security

management, cryptographic support, use of data protection, TOE access and protection of the

TOE are part of the eleven classes of functionality requirement in every information system.

Each of these classes contains families, where the families contain one or more components,

and the components may or may not be in hierarchy (Stevenson & Hojati 156).

Using the common criteria, the security assurance requirements are also grouped into

eight assurance classes. They include; configuration management, guidance documents,

delivery and operation, life cycle support, assurance maintenance, development, vulnerability

assessment, and tests. In addition there are two classes that contain assurance requirements

for PPs and STs, where these classes contain a number of families. Requirement in each class

contains several families. Within each family security objectives are shared but differ in rigor

or emphasis. For instance, the development class contains seven families dealing with various

aspects of design documentation. In each family there are one or more components that are in

strict hierarchy. For example, the functional specification family contains four hierarchical

components that deal with increasing completeness and formality in the presentation of the

functional specification (Willem & Trienekens 271-279).


Security functionality and assurance evaluation and implication can be well demonstrated by

the discussion of the following case studies. All these factors will be observed by Boo Too

Company so as to withstand emerging threats and also remain relevant in the modern market.

Maintaining exceptionally high quality of fashions offered into the market is an aspect

worth consideration. Quality customer service entails the way communication take place

between the customers and the attendants in a business. Communication, tone of voice used

and the body language contributes a lot in showing the plight of customers is guarded. This

also builds or defames the image of a business (Schmitz 379). In order to address the

expectations of customers, their needs should be understood. Extensive research should be

carried out so as to understand the customers of a given business, their requirements, and

their economic status as well. Giving quality services to customers is a continuous process

that requires receiving feedbacks from customers and acting swiftly towards the complaints

and compliments of customers. This helps in building the confidence and trust of customers

hence a high retention rate. In addition, a company should make customers feel recognized

and welcome by paying keen attention to them and treating them with a positive and

energized attitude.

Quality assurances are the processes and procedures used to monitor diverse aspects of a

good or a service to detect errors and ensure that all standards regarding quality are met

(Karripidis 2009). The procedures help in eliminating defective products in the market thus

maintaining quality production thus higher sales.

The start-up need to take the necessary steps to ensure the best quality assurance

regime practises are followed for increases sales volume. The need for quality assurance is to

monitor the performance of project and services if the start up is committed to being producer

who values quality, high quality assurance standard should be met to have a competitive edge

over other competing producers (Rahmann 2001). Quality assurance standards should be met


through the development, designing, also in manufacturing and delivery of the end products

in the market. A start-up that utilizes the quality control procedures build a strong reputation

in its branding thus enabling it to maintain high profits margins.

Process checklists are one of the quality control procedures that should be met for

quality production. In each of the manufacturing process there is every need to develop each

stage thus ensuring production process is a success. When each line is completed the line

manager also known as the shift manager should check off in each step that each process is

followed to the letter. The practise is a diligent process which usually prevents avoidance or

negligence throughout all the stages of production.

Financial analysis for any start up project is important because without finances the

company cannot run or purchase or rather maintain the assets used in production and

maintain its debts at a low level (Ziggers 1999). Therefore project audits should be carried

out to ensure the financial resources are utilized to achieve the desired results. There must be

thorough reviews of the processes that have been used to create particular projects. The

principal reason for carrying the process review is to aid the project managers to evaluate

whether steps have been taken to make the best out of quality. Quality audits should include:

Review of accounting internal control systems. The management is responsible for

establishing internal control system. The system requires proper attention and continuous

review; a function usually assigned to internal audit .Internal audit function designs a plan on

areas and control procedures that will be reviewed during the financial year. Carrying out

examination of financial and operational information may include:

i. Review of company’s compliance with external laws and regulation.

ii. The internal audit functions checks whether procedure are in place to ensure that

all relevant laws and regulations are adhered to.


iii. Review of entity’s compliance with management policies and other internal

requirements.

iv. Carrying out independent investigations into company affairs as required by

management such as investigation areas of suspected fraud or misuse of

company’s resources.

After all this has been done there is a need for presentation and disclosure. This is the

assertion that an item is disclosed, classified and described in accordance with the applicable

financial reporting framework. The information in financial statements should be Presented

without bias, be relevant to the needs of the users and meet qualitative characteristics of

understand ability, relevance, reliability and comparability (Giomplankis 1999). This

assertion is not assessed for truth but rather adequacy or reasonableness.

In conclusion, truth and fairness of financial statements can be assessed on these

seven

Assertions i.e. the financial statements will reflect a true and fair view of company’s financial

Position and performance if the seven assertions are used as guidelines in preparing the

financial statements .However in some of the instances, independent quality auditors cannot

be able to determine whether the statements represent the true fair value of the business start-

up. To combat that there is a need to review the steps in production and get the financial

information that is not availed in the audit.

Sometimes the start up may lack enough human labour thus the need for hiring arises.

The quality assurance will only be of help if the employees hired in the specific step in

production process clearly understand their roles and perform those roles consistently without

failure .To be able to achieve the management should come up with diligent hiring process to

ensure the best candidates are suited for the job (Brown 1998). For this to be done effectively

there should be thorough analysis on the job thus considering each step in t he production


process in which the new employee has been inducted. Each candidate professional

competence should be matched with the academic qualification to ensure the best candidate is

suited for the particular task assigned to him.

If start-up fails to adhere to the quality assurance control measures, the funding for

establishment of quality production wouldn’t be enough (Hua 1201). Customers will stop

using the product of that company thus there will be loss of revenue. Some of the employees

may fail to understand their roles in the entity thus there would be a slump in production .If

the business profit slump it would be a very long process to keep the business on the track of

recovery.

4.0 Quality assurance under constrained budget

The project is demanding considering the infrastructure required and the level of expertise

involved. Proper planning and efficient management have been employed to ensure the

project achieves true objectives within the set time and resources (Freund 20-22). Two

strategies have been used as it is illustrated in the network analysis and Gantt chart below.

First there is tendering process that is meant to cut costs by giving the tender to supply

required infrastructure to the lowest bidder. Second, the project completion time has been

reduced from 38 days to 34 days so that the saved resources would be used to adequately

train the recruited team.

5.0 Stakeholders report

For a project to be effectively started, implemented and started, all the involved

activities must be identified and the time within which each activity should be accomplished

is set (Umble, Haft & Umble 288). In this case all the interrelated activities have been

identified, time schedule has been set and the whole project is presented in a network model

and Gantt chart as shown.

Network analysis


Activity Preceding Activity Duration Days

A- Power supply installation

- 4

B- Tendering process A 7

C- System design A 5

D- Recruitments A 6

E- Supply of computer hardware and other

infrastructure

B 2

F- Monitoring and evaluation

C 3

G- Installation E 5

H- Re-design B,F 11

I- Backing up system

G,H 7

J- Electric fence construction

C 4

K- Trainings D 3

L- Implementation I,J,K 4

Gantt

chart


Expected start time and expected finish time is shown for each event and checkpoints

that provide checks and balances have been set to avoid excessive use of resource on a certain

event at the expense of others (Stevenson & Hojati 66).

Bibliography

Brown, A., Van Der Wiele, T., & Loughton, K. (1998). Smaller enterprises’ experiences with

ISO 9000. International journal of quality & reliability management, 15(3), 273-285.

Engelbart, D. C. (1995). Toward augmenting the human intellect and boosting our collective

IQ. Communications of the ACM, 38(8), 30-32.

Freund, Y. P. (1988). Critical success factors. Strategy & Leadership, 16(4), 20-23.

Holland, C. P., & Light, B. (1999). A critical success factors model for ERP implementation.

IEEE software, 16(3), 30-36.

Hua, H., Chin, K. S., Sun, H., & Xu, Y. (2000). An empirical study on quality management

practices in Shanghai manufacturing industries. Total quality management, 11(8),

1111-1122.


Karipidis, P., Athanassiadis, K., Aggelopoulos, S., & Giompliakis, E. (2009). Factors

affecting the adoption of quality assurance systems in small food enterprises. Food

Control, 20(2), 93-98.

Rahman, S. U. (2001). Total quality management practices and business outcome: Evidence

from small and medium enterprises in Western Australia. Total Quality Management,

12(2), 201-210.

Schmitz, H. (Ed.). (2004). Local enterprises in the global economy: Issues of governance and

upgrading. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Stevenson, W. J., & Hojati, M. (2007). Operations management (Vol. 8). Boston: McGraw-

Hill/Irwin.

Umble, E. J., Haft, R. R., & Umble, M. M. (2003). Enterprise resource planning:

Implementation procedures and critical success factors. European journal of

operational research, 146(2), 241-257.

Willem Ziggers, G., & Trienekens, J. (1999). Quality assurance in food and agribusiness

supply chains: developing successful partnerships. International Journal of

Production Economics, 60, 271-279

Project Management Quality Assurance

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