Project Assurance is the process of critically assessing the health and viability of a project (at the risk of over-simplifying it, think of it as an audit function). Quality assurance in project management is a process of verifying quality standards through inspection to ensure that the outcome meets standardization and quality requirements for a product or a service.
The two are often best combined and provided externally and independently to offer objective and impartial assessment for the benefit of client / customer and vendor / supplier.
The Association for Project Management (APM)’s identify ten areas in a project organisation which assurance can increase the likelihood of success:
Client and scope
Risks and opportunities
Planning and scheduling
Organisational capability and culture
Supply chain
Solution
Finance
Social responsibility and sustainability
Performance
Governance
There may be10 areas, but each may be viewed differently according to one of these three perspectives:
Business assurance…
measures project performance against its projected benefits to the organization. Is it an effective use of the company’s resources, for both finances and manpower?
User assurance…
considers the intended recipients of the project outcome, be it a product or service, and if they are being met.
Specialist assurance…
measures how suitable the delivered solution is for software and technical requirements.
Project Assurance can offer a view on process and product, outputs and outcomes and ostensibly as a coach guiding the conversation, rather than client or vendor making decisions it can facilitate a better communication, coordination, and collaboration in design, documentation and delivery of products and projects.
I have more than 30 years’ experience delivering projects, programme and change and have gathered many tools, templates and tips for every type and scale of project. I love drinking coffee and exchanging ideas, so if you need anything please feel free to message me.
Tim HJ Rogers
MBA Management Consultant + Change Practitioner
ICF Trained Coach, IoD Business Mentor, Mediator
Mob 447797762051 Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com
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