The benefits of quality in design and architecture can be appreciated at various points in the life cycle of the project, in different ways and varying intensities. Management of quality over the full life cycle must be planned, designed, constructed and maintained over variable lengths of time. The stakeholders in quality must therefore "pass the torch" from one stage to the next, adhering to a quality sustainability plan mapped out at ahead of time.
How can project quality be sustained over the long term?
By conducting a life-cycle analysis
- Specifying the quality objectives by means of observable, measurable indicators.
- Understanding the probable effects (positive or negative) of the long-term strategic objectives of the project.
By drawing up a quality assessment plan
- Conducting quality monitoring beginning with the conceptual phase and continuing through to the post-occupancy phase, from a perspective of continuous improvement.
By selecting a quality manager
- Engaging a management team (e.g., property management) that is interested and motivated with respect to the project's quality objectives.
By contributing to collective learning
- Helping to collectively improve the working methods for achieving design and architectural quality, by sharing learnings from the project post-mortems with the community of practice.
Tips:
- Agree on a resource who will be in charge of post-mortems on the team, or rotation of this role among team members;
- Plan for recurrent meetings dedicated to the post-mortems (per stage) so as to document the learnings;
- Separate meeting agendas into two sections: new learnings and recap of key learnings from the previous meetings, to prevent information from being shelved;
- Target efficient communications channels to ensure wider sharing of knowledge in internal as well as external networks.