Appearance
7.2 Quality Management
In the 2026 PMP exam, Quality is defined as the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. Put simply: Quality is about delivering exactly what was promised, no more and no less.
💎 Quality vs. Grade
A common PMP trap is confusing these two concepts.
Grade
Category
A rank assigned to items having the same functional use but different technical characteristics (e.g., "Economy" vs. "First Class").
Quality
Performance
How well the item follows the predefined specifications and requirements. (e.g., Does the economy seat actually recline?).
🚦 The Golden Rule
Low Grade is acceptable (if that's what was paid for). Low Quality is never acceptable.
🏗️ The Quality Lifecycle
Modern project management moves from checking for errors (Reactive) to preventing them (Proactive).
Quality Assurance (QA)
"The Process"
Proactive activities aimed at preventing defects by ensuring the team follows the right procedures.
- Integrity Audits
- Process Analysis
- Peer Reviews
Quality Control (QC)
"The Result"
Reactive activities aimed at identifying defects in the final deliverables before they reach the customer.
- Testing & Lab Work
- Inspections
- Verification
🛠️ The Quality Toolbox (The 7 Basics)
You must know when to use each tool for the exam:
- Fishbone (Ishikawa): Used when you need to find the Root Cause of a problem.
- Pareto Chart: The 80/20 rule. Focus on the few causes creating the most defects.
- Control Chart: Determining if a process is stable and "In Control" via Upper/Lower Control Limits.
- Flowchart: Visualizing a process to identify where bottlenecks or quality leaks occur.
- Scatter Diagram: Seeing if there is a relationship between two variables (e.g., "Number of hours worked" vs "Number of defects").
🔄 Agile Quality: DoD & TDD
In Agile, quality isn't an "end-of-sprint" activity; it's continuous.
- Definition of Done (DoD): The non-negotiable quality checklist for every user story.
- Test-Driven Development (TDD): Writing the test before the code to ensure requirements are understood.
📝 Exam Insight: If a project is producing consistent defects, the FIRST step is to perform Root Cause Analysis (Fishbone). You cannot fix the quality without knowing what is actually broken.