Project deliverables are essential to everyone on a project, not just the project manager. They are a way to measure the project's success or failure. Deliverables can be as large as a milestone or as small as an email, but all deliverables should be treated with the same quality standards. So, what is a deliverable, and why is it essential to ensure it meets the standards of success?

Recently, I was asked what I usually do to set up a new Quality Department. I have done it several times over my career, and here are a few lessons I’ve learned. It isn’t a difficult task, but it requires analysis and project planning.

Total quality management (TQM) is a top-down organization concept that dedicates quality to every function of an organization. It was developed in the 20th century and was initially created for product manufacturing. Over time, it was adopted by numerous agencies to gain a competitive advantage in their market. TQM is a way to harness an organization’s resources to improve effectiveness and efficiency with support, training, and guidance.

When I was a QA Manager, I was frequently asked the question, “Why do I need to pay for testing?” Quality is a cost. It costs money to test and maintain those tests. The trick for project managers is to show the value of quality.