Integration of Project Monitoring and Quality Management: A case study

Purpose: The transformations and challenges of higher education demand flexibleness and modernization of universities. This article presents a quality assurance approach for monitoring and controlling projects in a Chilean state-owned university. It aims to integrate project management standards to Quality Management System -QMS-.

Methodology: A questionnaire was developed and used to help identify gaps and evaluate the level of compliance with quality management requirements. To standardize processes, a documentary analysis and revision of work flows was made. Finally, the Project Management Institute standard was integrated with the QMS guidelines.

Findings: The data analysis and of semi-structured interviews showed that the teams had varying levels of knowledge regarding project management and process support provided by the unit under study. The support to internal stakeholders has focused in providing cost and procurement management, but schedule and quality management guidelines has been also provided. Other areas, such as scope, communications, risks and stakeholders have been guided by project leaders. This required, for this study, defining common processes for project monitoring and control, including standardization.

Research limitations: There exists low adherence to project management systems -PMS- in public universities, having scarce to none literature available for making comparisons.

Originality/value: This article provides guidelines to establish a PMS integrated to a QMS for a public university to promote the use of maturity models.

Paper type: Case study

Quality Management Systems – Higher Education – Project Management