TABLE OF CONTENTS Understanding data is important, but it is only an early step in managing project quality. Data are the voices of processes. When performed, processes produce some kind of result. Data are the expressions of those results. The next step in managing project quality is to understand processes.
Three quality tools for understanding processes are useful for project managers. One of them is probably familiar to most project managers. The other two may be less familiar because of their traditional application to manufacturing processes.
Flow charts are probably familiar to most project managers. They are common tools of basic management. A flow chart identifies the sequence of events in a process. Beyond that, it allows even forces identification of the sometimes-obscure elements in a process. Using flow charts requires six deliberate actions:
Set boundaries. A common problem among novices or the overly enthusiastic is that they try to flow-chart the world. This approach seldom has a happy result. The individual or team should decide what they will consider in the flow-charting effort and what they will exclude. A good result often depends on properly framing the effort at the start. The team should also agree on the level of detail to be obtained. A top-level macro view may be all that is necessary at the moment.
Determine the steps in the process. Before attempting to draw the chart, identify the basic framework of inputs, outputs, activities, and decisions.
Establish the...
