How to align our global ISO 9001 procedures to each specific project

[Paul Simpson]

Project management is about one offs!

Thanks to all replies,

Sidney - we already prepare project specific quality plans, but if we want to include there all specific requirement, then why we need global procedures (requirements). May be your idea is to specifiy in such plan all additional requirements and to refer to the relevant global quality procedures. Therefore, we should include all process related to quality - Human Resources, Management Responsibilities, but all this processes are not only project specific, they are global organizational specific. For example - how to take additional employees with the necessary qualification - to train them or to hire new one - this is organizational specific. I think the idea of project specific quality plan is appropriate, but this do not exclude customizations in our global procedures.

Sidney is right. The development and verification plan will be different for each project. The (global) project management procedure should describe how the organization captures customer requirements, decides how it is going to manage a project to deliver those requirements (including who is going to do it, at what stages the design is going to be verified / validated) without specifying the detail (as this will be in the project plan). The procedure should define the "standard" method while allowing the flexibility to bring in (for example) the customer testing requirements.

JaneB - this is good attitude also, but how to guaranty that these new documents are in accordance with our global procedures and also with ISO 9001? For the registar competence - yes it is very important

Again the procedure should require that a set of project deliverables / ouputs are defined at start of project and may include a "standard" set but allow flexibility of output to meet customer requirements.

Joe and Roxanne - ok, the procedures should be general enough, but thus will postpone the idea of coherent and managed processes - the ISO 9001 is general enough to apply for each firm, but we should be more specific if we want to guaranty the quality.

While "standard" procedures might be an aim, in organizations employing project management you will normally require a great deal of flexibility - from both you and your registrar!

 

[stanislavd]

The idea

Thank to all answers,

I realize your main idea, but tell me - how we may strive for better quality if our procedures are so generic. I think the most important value of the procedures is to specifiy concrete path to follow and to change them for improvment. If we use generic procedures (for instance - get into the car, start the car and so on) how we will be diferent for all other drivers - i mean how we will assure providing a better quality from the rest drivers. If we use project oriented documents for each project, and do not have general good practices that are customized for the relevant project I don't think that the global procedures will help us. We may use all items in the ISO 9001 as a procedures ... but where is the quality managemet and the improvement then ...

 

[Paul Simpson]

How standard is the product?

Thank to all answers,

I realize your main idea, but tell me - how we may strive for better quality if our procedures are so generic. I think the most important value of the procedures is to specifiy concrete path to follow and to change them for improvment. If we use generic procedures (for instance - get into the car, start the car and so on) how we will be diferent for all other drivers - i mean how we will assure providing a better quality from the rest drivers. If we use project oriented documents for each project, and do not have general good practices that are customized for the relevant project I don't think that the global procedures will help us. We may use all items in the ISO 9001 as a procedures ... but where is the quality managemet and the improvement then ...

Unless you have a standard product you cannot have a standard procedure. There are things that you can standardize, for example you might say all enquiries are handled a certain way and specify a minimum set of information before the project proceeds. You can also standardize the ouput in terms of the sign off process,format, documentation etc.

The procedures don't give you quality improvement, the project management process measures do ..... for example degree of satisfying customer specification, software performance evaluation, on time delivery of projects, number of "bugs" in the software after it's released. The organization can set itself objectives for each of those and use problem solving methods to improve the performance.

 

[stanislavd]

How?

Sorry for this question Paul, but when we set metrics and goals and by using problem solving methods found the solutions - what to do to apply such solutions and to ensure they will be our "know how" in the future, for me the best way is to change our procedures ... Is there other ways?

 

[Paul Simpson]

The 64,000 dollar question

Sorry for this question Paul, but when we set metrics and goals and by using problem solving methods found the solutions - what to do to apply such solutions and to ensure they will be our "know how" in the future, for me the best way is to change our procedures ... Is there other ways?

Like all of these things the means of capturing continuous improvement into the organization's "body of knowledge" depends on the company and the type of lesson learned.

There may be an improvement that can be tied to a procedure. E.g. if a lesson learned is that we need more information at the contract stage then that can be built into the procedure for project initiation. If there is an improvement about review then that can be built into a review procedure or stage sign off document.

What you cannot be with project managment is too specific - every project will involve a multi disciplinary team, 3 stages of development and against a standard set of objectives - it doesn't work like that.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

Stop the dysfunction

Sorry for this question Paul, but when we set metrics and goals and by using problem solving methods found the solutions - what to do to apply such solutions and to ensure they will be our "know how" in the future, for me the best way is to change our procedures ... Is there other ways?

The answer to your question is the buzzword "Knowledge management". Notwithstanding the importance of DOCUMENTED command media, if you believe that only documented knowledge is captured knowledge, your organization should fund a reforestation project because you will be killing millions of trees in your organizational journey.
You asked for ideas and you fight back all of them. So.....good luck.

 

[Paul Simpson]

Bad day, Sidney?

The answer to your question is the buzzword "Knowledge management". Notwithstanding the importance of DOCUMENTED command media, if you believe that only documented knowledge is captured knowledge, your organization should fund a reforestation project because you will be killing millions of trees in your organizational journey.
You asked for ideas and you fight back all of them. So.....good luck.

Oooh, I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of you, Sid! I prefer to think stanislavd is on a genuine search - looking to increase his own "Knowledge management" structure - grey matter to you and me - before bringing the pearls of wisdom back to his organization.

Like you, I think documentation is a means to an end (I actually think of it as a necessary evil, only the majority of documents I see are both unnecessary and evil ) and the less of it and the simpler it is, the better.

Lets see if this goes any further.

 

[RoxaneB]

Sorry for this question Paul, but when we set metrics and goals and by using problem solving methods found the solutions - what to do to apply such solutions and to ensure they will be our "know how" in the future, for me the best way is to change our procedures ... Is there other ways?

Standardize - Do - Check - Act.

Standardize the process...this may include documentation...maybe not. Standardization can be obtained through training and verified via audits.

Do. Do the process. Follow the process. Everyone. This is part of adhering to the standard process.

Check. Is the process being done by everyone the same way? Is the process under control? Are the results achieving the goals and within designated control limits?

Act. If there is improvement, modify the standard. Communicate and train people on the new process. This may result in a change to the document if there is one.

If you are worried that the documentation needs to be so detailed, then create a procedure for each situation. I don't like that...I think it's overkill on the paperwork and I think you're creating a nightmare for control issues. But a system must be selected that will work for your organization.

Let me put it this way, though....

We have process for improvement projects...every department (almost) has improvement projects...production, engineering, management systems, finance, shipping and so on. This does not mean that we will have a different procedure for each department on how to control their improvement projects. A tool was created that can be used by anyone in anyone department and even allows for multi-department projects.

If your document needs to change for each Customer, then perhaps the tools being used need to be looked at.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

Bad day, Sidney?

I miss Randy. So, I decided to use the Randy's take-no-prisioners-shoot-first-ask-later approach to posting....

 

[JaneB]

how to guaranty that these new documents are in accordance with our global procedures and also with ISO 9001? .

That's the big question, always, isn't it? It's hard to give very specific replies without knowing more about your company. But one possible way of doing it is:
1. Overall procedures/process map/whatever, defining the high level
2. Keep consistency by providing templates for mandatory outputs at certain stages. Specify sections that MUST be included in the templates & leave others flexible. Specify that exceptions can be allowable IF approved by (& put in appropriate approvals).

Strongly agree with keeping flexibility (while understanding it's a challenge!). Project managers are problem-solvers by nature, and often want to do their own thing. So the challenge becomes how to harness their good points and get what's required without making it too hard for them (in which case you spend ages fighting them to try to bring them into line).

I'd keep it as simple and flexible as you can. By nature projects differ and thus DO require flexibility... and software development particularly so.

Figure out the minimum that you MUST control for consistency. Control that. I'd only do that at the top level... and then expect to find the detail in particular documentation for each project. Some of that will be mandatory & specified; some won't (ie, unique for the project. But you don't, for example, want to find that projects in one place call it the 'High Level Design Document' for example, and others call the same thing the Project Design Plan and yet others call it the Preliminary Plan. That's where consistency DOES help a lot. And means you can move project managers & personnel around, for one thing, quickly & easily, plus bring new peole up to speed quickly.
Believe me, it can be done. But on a global scale, yes, it is a challenge. I've found it enough of a challenge on a national/regional scale!
Hope this helps.