Quality Management vs Project Management - Concept of PRINCE 2 Project Management

[NINO777]

Hello! fellow forum users,
I'm MR in a design company that has implemented a QMSsince 2009. In the next time in our organization will be implemented the concept of project management as PRINCE 2 method. I want to help me understand what will be my role in project management as MR. I want to know some more about interaction between quality management and project management. Now I'm doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements, but how I'll do audits when projects will be executed under Prince 2, or else will make quality audits.I also ask you if I need to change the QMS procedure and Quality Manual?
I would like hearing soon some information from your experience.
Thank you

[Marc]

I have not heard of PRINCE 2 project management so I can't help there.

As to Quality Management vs. Project Management, quality management has a limited role in project management. The type of project determines what part quality management will play.

I am not sure what you mean by: "I'm doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements".

Can you tell us a bit more about what type of project you are referring to?

[NINO777]

I am not sure what you mean by: "I'm doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements".

At present I make audit for either project in according with ISO 9001 requirements, but in project management who is responsible to do audits? What you think, can be ISO 10006 as reference document in project management audit?
Thank you.

[Marc]

I *assume* you are referring to internal audits in which the project management *system* would be audited. I am not aware of any specific project auditing requirements by a specific standard. I would think you would determine in-house who would "audit" a project and what they would audit it to.

I found this on PRINCE2: PRINCE2 but I am not familiar with that specific project management method.

[qusys]

In Reply to Parent Post by NINO777

I am not sure what you mean by: "I'm doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements".

At present I make audit for either project in according with ISO 9001 requirements, but in project management who is responsible to do audits? What you think, can be ISO 10006 as reference document in project management audit?
Thank you.

Probably I am a bit confused
Your programme of internal audit shall meet 8.2.2. clause of ISO 9001.
I would guess that project mgmt is not a process of QMS but it is only a method to manage projects.
I would think to audit the process of product realization planning ( that is usually one of the key process of a QMS), where Project mgmt is usually considered as a quality tool to get the product realization.
Document and records inside that process is one of the output of project management.
if you are in automotiva market and ISO TS certified , APQP is the common tool for this purpose.
Besides ISO 10006 is aonly a guide document, not intended for audit purpose.
Probably, this is another guess of mine, you would like to audit the process in place to manage project, for instance, are due date met? are resposiblity for tasks clear? etc... This could be included in the process audit for product realization planning.
This is only a suggestion...hope this helps

[Ady12]

Quality in Prince2 falls into the following places;
1) Quality System - mirrors directly to QMS (org structure / process / procedures)
2) Quality Assurance - ensuring the system delivers the the needed quality & customer requirements
3) Quality Planning - establish the objectives and requirements for quality and lays out the activities required in delivering the tasks associated in delivering the project
4) Quality Control - ensure the product meets requirements

The Prince2 manual breaks all these down and the interactions with the multiple process elements within Prince2

Deployment of Prince2 is not possible without the manual and training, as Prince2 is method not an application, it is configurable to your environment.

Good luck with your journey

[JaneB]

In Reply to Parent Post by NINO777

Hello! fellow forum users,
I'm MR in a design company that has implemented a QMSsince 2009. In the next time in our organization will be implemented the concept of project management as PRINCE 2 method. I want to help me understand what will be my role in project management as MR. I want to know some more about interaction between quality management and project management. Now I'm doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements, but how I'll do audits when projects will be executed under Prince 2, or else will make quality audits.I also ask you if I need to change the QMS procedure and Quality Manual?
I would like hearing soon some information from your experience.
Thank you

Prince 2 is a method which specifies how things are to be done on a project, and specifies mandatory inputs and outputs. It's necessary to learn to understand its terminology, as it has particular words for things ('artifacts' for example, which I seem to recollect means 'something made' whether that's a physical widget or an electronic file, piece of software, report, etc etc).

I too don't really understand what you mean about 'doing audits for each project in according with ISO 9001 requirements'. IF you mean that you are currently doing your audits against the clauses of the Standard, I strongly urge you to cease doing it that way and instead to do process audits! The Standard is based upon a process approach - auditing clause by clause is not the right way to go. And doing a process audit of projects using the Prince 2 methodology should be 'simply' a matter of auditing whether they are following the method as defined in your organisation.

Will you have to change the QMS procedures or Quality Manual? Probably yes. How much you'll have to change them will depend upon how they are structured and written now - impossible for me to say without knowing/seeing them. It might be as simple as merely referring in the Quality Manual to the use of the Prince 2 methodology for projects. But procedures... almost certainly, unless your previous procedures for managing projects were very similar to/compatible with Prince 2.

I haven't worked with that methodology for quite a while, but last I looked, it tended to start at the point where a contract to do a certain project had been awarded, and was focussed both on the customer (whose project it was) and the supplier (ie, the company delivering said project) speaking the same language.

Ultimately, there's no conflict between Prince 2 and ISO 9001, nor between Prince 2 and what the ISO guidelines for quality in projects says. Think of Prince 2 as going into considerable (and at times somewhat prescriptive) detail about how a project is to be planned, managed and reported on, including the various project stages and the inputs and outputs that are mandated at each gateway - where 1 stage ends and the next begins.