Quantitative project management is a review method that does not tend to use mathematical techniques. The two most common ways of engaging in this project management method is through quality and process performance standards. In short, quantitative project management is a form of gap analysis. Reviewers look at the quality and process performance standards and measure them against actual performance. This helps improve a company one piece at a time and in an overall manner as the individual projects work up to an aggregate level.
Quality performance standards can either be product or employee based, though the former is mostly likely the case. Owners and executives work with operational managers to set product quality standards for all goods or services produced. The best way to engage in quantitative project management here is to review a random sample of products. The quality reviewer then makes reports as to how well they matched up to expectations. Standards may change whenever necessary to improve product quality.
Employee performance standards are similar. Here, a company creates rules and guidelines for each employee position in the business. Many of the performance standards will improve the work of each individual in order to manage performance. Supervisors and managers then have the responsibility, as a form of quantitative project management, to ensure each employee works appropriately. Employee standards can change whenever quality improvements are necessary for the company’s goals and objectives.
Process performance standards for a quantitative project manager focus on the activities in a company. Many of these activities may fall under recommendations from the company’s accounting department. The individuals in this department review each project — and other items — from a monetary standpoint. Finding ways to improve processes in terms of cash expenditures and other methods are most common here. Managerial accountants tend to be those most responsible for this task.
Any method similar to these may be offshoots of quantitative project management. Individuals may have a sole job responsibility where they work only on gathering data and improving the many projects in a company’s control. In some cases, reviewers may look at projects individually and in total. The purpose for these reviews comes from the fact that some quality and process performance standards are only for specific projects, while other standards are for multiple projects. Ongoing reviews can help the company remain competitive in the business environment.
