It’s possible to master the golden triangle of speed, cost and quality in project delivery. It all comes down to embedding quality assurance from the start of your project, and keeping your hands on the quality wheel throughout.
Lately we’ve been thinking about the golden triangle of project delivery (speed, cost and quality). Popular wisdom says you can only really have two of the three at any one time. That is, you can deliver something at speed and with high quality, but it’s probably going to cost you more; or at a lower cost and with high quality, but it will take more time to get it right.
The final combination is, of course, when quality is the lowest priority: you’re delivering at speed and with lower costs, but will you get it right straight away? Probably not, and when you think about it, that’s the crux of agile iterative design – start small (i.e. with a low cost base), fail fast and refine your thinking until you get it right.
Does that mean agile methodology is the natural enemy of quality? Absolutely not. The proof is not only in the pudding – we’ve seen agile teams deliver some of the most incredible, high-quality project outcomes – but it’s also embedded in the methodology itself.
Quality is an integral part of the agile framework, and beware the consequences if you choose to neglect it. While skimping on quality assurance is unlikely to have CrowdStrike-level, global repercussions for most of us, it can still be incredibly damaging to have your name on work that fails to meet the mark.
Balancing quality and speed
How do you get the quality-speed balancing act just right? In our experience, the key is to make some small concessions on the time side of the equation, and build the right quality assurance processes from the very outset of project initiation.
It can also be helpful to start thinking differently about what agile project delivery really means for your organisation. Remember, the outcome you should be looking for is about closing the gap between strategic oversight and governance of programs and projects, and the reality of delivering projects at speed in an agile way. That might mean the reintroduction of an enterprise project management office (EPMO) or maturing your existing agile processes to maintain agility without compromising on non-negotiables such as strategic alignment, and consistent quality.
Three steps to achieve quality
The key message when it comes to quality assurance of your project is to start early and start right. It’s easy for project leaders to view quality assurance as part of the testing process, rather than being fundamental to the design and initiation of your project. Testing is really there to validate the work you put in up-front. We like to break down the quality assurance process into three key stages:
1) Socialise your requirement
When you’re developing your project scope, get as many eyes on the requirements as you can. Are we solving the right problems? Are we including the right things? Are we excluding the wrong things? The quality of your end product will be meaningless if you haven’t addressed the real pain points.
Socialise across the organisation, as well as up and down, to get both the strategic outlook and the on-the-ground view. If you’re not sure where to begin, try starting with one-on-one interviews to get everything out on the table, then refine in a workshop or group format.
The more perspectives you have on your requirements, the better. Diverse feedback can help identify gaps and ensure completeness in the requirements that might otherwise present themselves as costly issues in later phases of the project.
2) Build in requirements traceability
Once you’re confident you’ve got your requirements correct, don’t take your hands off the wheel. The most successful project delivery processes are usually the most vigilant about tracking the progress of each requirement through to completion.
This step is all about ongoing visibility and good decision making in the face of challenges along the way. Are you making enough progress for the time and money you’re investing? If not, what part of the scope is of greatest value, are there dependencies in the work packages and how can the project team deliver the greatest value (i.e. quality) within the time and budget constraints?
Of the three steps, this is the one that’s most overlooked, and yet it can make a significant difference to your final output. The good news is that you don’t need to do anything fancy to trace your requirements – something as simple as a spreadsheet or a Kanban board will do the job. The key to this step is rigour and discipline – not technology.
3) Test for the right things
The third component of the quality triangle is testing – ensuring your deliverables are what was expected and planned and testing them throughout the development process (not just at the end).
Often that means developing a set of test cases. It’s also useful to think laterally about how you develop those test cases.
What do we mean by thinking laterally? It could be as simple as ensuring a balance of functional testing (does this component work – yes or no); and non-functional testing (does this component perform to a desired level).
A great example of this is when your project places a high premium on user experience (UX). You may need to build in regular test cases to measure UX – for example customer feedback loops and focus groups – to ensure you’re meeting those goals as you progress through the project.
On the other hand, if your UX test cases are left to the end, you may find yourself faced with substantial technical rework just prior to going live.
Don’t compromise on quality
Sometimes speed becomes the enemy of quality. Project leaders can avoid that trap (and CrowdStrike level outcomes) by building in the right processes from the outset. Also remember, reworking low quality usually ends adding time and cost to the project, rather than focusing on getting it right the first time.
By focusing on three key steps: share and refine project requirements widely, track these requirements closely throughout the project, and test deliverables regularly – you can achieve consistent levels of excellence across your projects, without compromising on agility.
Quay Consulting is a professional services business specialising in the project landscape, transforming strategy into fit-for-purpose delivery. Meet our team or reach out to find out more about how Quay Consulting can help your organisation, please contact us.
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