Project Management Tips and Techniques:
Performing a Quality Audit
Tom Mochal

Each month, Tom Mochal, President of TenStep, Inc. presents project management tips and techniques for planning and managing a project. TenStep, Inc. has a comprehensive, scalable project management process called TenStep (www.TenStep.com), as well as a project lifecycle process called LifecycleStep (www.LifecycleStep.com). Tom has also published a popular book called Lessons in Project Management that can be purchased at  www.TenStep.com.  Pipeline readers receive 20% off any TenStep or LifecycleStep purchase by entering the coupon code of "Pipeline" in their purchase.

In many cases, it makes sense to have an outside party come in to evaluate the project management processes being utilized and double-check to make sure the project is progressing as expected. The project manager or functional manager might call for a project audit as part of an overall quality management program. In some cases, such as a government project, periodic audits may be called for as a part of the overall contract.

The person performing the audit could be a functional manager, the sponsor, a project audit specialist, or any internal or external person that knows the kinds of questions to ask and can understand whether the answers given sound right or not. The audit focuses on whether effective project management processes are being utilized and whether the project appears to be on-track. A project audit focuses on quality assurance – asking questions about the processes used to build deliverables. The audit can follow the following process:

1. Notify the parties. The auditor notifies the project manager of the upcoming audit and schedules a convenient time and place. Other key stakeholders should be notified of the audit as well.
    
2. Prepare for the audit. The auditor may request certain information up-front. The auditor might also ask the project manager to be prepared to discuss certain aspects of the project. This ensures that the actual meeting time is as productive as possible.
    
3. Initial meeting. During the initial meeting, the auditor asks the appropriate questions to ensure the project is on-track. If there are any areas that are not on track, the auditor notes them as such.
    
4. Further analysis (optional). On many projects, the audit might culminate in the prior meeting. If the project is large or complex, the auditor might need to perform follow-up analysis. This includes meeting with other team members and clients, and reviewing further documentation.
    
5. Document the findings. The auditor documents the status and the processes used on this project against best practices. If the organization has standards and policies in place for managing projects, the auditor determines whether any of these are not being followed on the audited project. The auditor should also make recommendations on things that can be done to provide more effective and proactive management of the project.
    
6. Review draft audit report. The auditor and the project manager should meet again to go over the initial findings. This auditor describes any project management deficiencies and recommendations for changes. This review also provides an opportunity for the project manager to provide a rebuttal when necessary. In many cases, the initial findings of the auditor might be modified based on specific, targeted feedback from the project manager.
    
7. Issue final report. The auditor issues a final report of findings and recommendations. The project manager may also issue a formal response to the audit. In the formal response, the project manager can accept points and discuss plans to implement them. The project manager may also voice his or her disagreement with certain audit points, and explain his or her reason why. In these cases, the project sponsor and the project director (manager of the project manager) will need to decide if the project manager should comply with the recommendations or not.

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