The document introduces the Time, Quality, Money (TQM) approach to project management, which involves balancing the three competing demands of time, quality, and money. It discusses tools for planning, carrying out, and monitoring projects according to the TQM approach. These include critical path analysis, defining clear scope, regular communication, Gantt charts, budgets, and performance indicators.

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Project Management (PM@5PM)
Briefing
October 2008
Introduction to the Time, Quality & Money (TQM)
Approach to Project Management
Adapted from: Keeping your balls in the air: a T-Q-M approach to project management.
INFORM 18(3) – Spring 2008
Andrew Booth, Reader in Evidence Based Information Practice, School of Health and Related
Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, SHEFFIELD, S1 4DA (A.Booth@sheffield.ac.uk)
Abstract
Put simply, successful project management involves juggling the competing demands of
Time, Quality and Money. Attention to one particular “ball” at the expense of the other two
leads to projects going overtime, delivering suboptimal outcomes or going over-budget. Each
of these three components is accompanied by tools to help in planning and for monitoring and
adjusting once the project is underway. These tools form the basis of a project manager's
toolkit. This briefing illustrates the challenges and demands of successful project
management and concludes with salutary lessons on why projects fail.
Time-Quality-Money
For most librarians “TQM” is associated with Total Quality Management. Importantly it also
refers to a valuable approach to thinking about project management. It involves separating an
overall project into three inter-related components – Time, Quality and Money. Effecting this
separation helps the aspiring project manager to comprehend the challenges associated with
project management. Such an approach takes as its justification one of many definitions of a
project:
“A unique venture with a beginning and an end, undertaken by people to meet
established goals within defined constraints of time, resources and quality.” [1]

2. The three components of Time, resources
(a.k.a Money) and Quality can be envisaged as
a triangle whereby moving one component
impacts on the other elements. For example
shortening Time or reducing Money has a
knock-on effect on Quality. Similarly
lengthening Time inevitably results in over-
expenditure of Money. This inter-linked
relationship makes it essential to keep your eye
on all three components simultaneously. In fact
my own failures in project management are
characterised by an inordinate emphasis on one
component at the expense of another. This
challenge is made significantly easier through
tools to help manage each principal component.
These tools target the three critical stages of
planning the project, carrying out the project
and monitoring the project.
Planning the Project
With regard to Time, it is not uncommon to assume that each project starts at Month Zero.
While this may indeed be true I prefer to start from a minus figure, e.g. Minus Three Months.
This seemingly minor amendment recognises that it is rare, almost unheard of, for a project to
hit the ground running. Some lead-in time is required whether the project recruits external
staff or whether internal staff are reassigned or undergo a secondment. This approach,
allowing for contingencies right from conception of the project, carries through to every phase.
As the saying goes “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong”. While a project manager
cannot afford to be unduly pessimistic about project timetables and deadlines it is always wise
to factor in contingencies. Indeed experienced project managers suggest that you should plan
for an earlier deadline than is absolutely necessary and then work backwards.
The tool for managing Time at the
planning stage is the Critical Path
Analysis. Just as an accomplished
cook manages to deliver all
ingredients of a cooked breakfast to
a common end point so too an
experienced project manager
identifies critical dependencies and
recognises that the minimum time
possible for project completion
equals the combined length of the
longest path of dependencies.
Finally a much neglected aspect is
planning for evaluation at the
conclusion of a project. Frequently
this valuable learning opportunity is
lost amidst the pressure to enter
Phase II or to pass on to another

3. project.
Where Quality is concerned it is essential to obtain a clear definition of scope right from
inception. “Scope creep” is a well-recognised phenomenon that invariably results in an inferior
deliverable. It is essential to be explicit about constraints encountered during the project
lifestyle, bringing them to the attention of the commissioners at the earliest opportunity.
Regular communication allows a project manager to keep cross-checking expectations of the
project team against expectations of commissioners. This is a lower risk strategy than leaving
“surprises” to the conclusion of the project.
It is also good to include both Process and Outcome Measures when specifying Quality. Not
only does this provide regular checkpoints but it gives the project team a sense of progress
and accomplishment. Experienced project managers emphasise the importance of being
SMART – that is ensuring all project objectives are Specific Measurable (objectively)
Appropriate Realistic and Time-Bound. The Museum, Libraries and Archives Council supply
one such example:
“A group of three representatives of elderly people and their carers have been invited
to sit on the management committee for the local library and are involved in the
planning and strategic management of the service and its delivery. The group will meet
quarterly for three years”.[2]
and this is accompanied by specific project milestones:
• Recruit project Manager by March 09
• Start on site October 08
Finally, with regards to Money, it is
important to distinguish between
Fixed Costs (including
Infrastructure/Employed Staff
etcetera), Variable Costs (such as
Consultancy/Activity-related costs
etcetera) and Heat/Light/Space and
other Indirect Costs. Important factors
such as Inflation and Pay Increases
and VAT/Overheads should also be
considered and anticipated. A skilful
project manager considers not only
the actual resource itself but is
sensitive to issues around optimal
timing. For example, in a two-year
project staff training will likely occur
during Year One while dissemination
and marketing activities are more
likely to occur in Year Two. Budget
allocations must therefore be made
appropriately and not necessarily
equally. The budget proposal thus
becomes an important project
planning tool. Such issues are dealt
with more fully elsewhere [3,4].

4. Carrying out the Project
Most project managers focus on Time when conducting a project. It is important to build in
both Internal and External Milestones so that progress does not simply anticipate major
meetings with the commissioners. Similarly a regular programme of meetings should be put in
place (in practice, these can be dropped if there is nothing specific to action/report). An
experienced project manager always looks out for opportunities to “telescope” timescales
should unanticipated changes present themselves. Similarly they are alive to opportunities to
substitute action for unanticipated inaction (for example for a postal strike or when non-
delivery of equipment takes place), The Gantt chart is the appropriate tool for ongoing
monitoring of such activity. Far too frequently the Gantt chart is simply used as a visual aid to
support a project bid. Its utility is more usefully demonstrated where each plotted activity is
examined to see whether it is on target or not.
The need to build in regular checkpoints is also seen in relation to Quality. Here too it is
important to share “work in progress” with commissioners so that they can form a shared
understanding and expectation of quality. Such communication can usefully follow the
formulaic “If we are to do……we need you to do…..” after all projects represent a reciprocal
working arrangement. For this reason it is again important to be honest and open about
external constraints that beset the project. Such transparency need not necessarily extend to
internal constraints or errors which might reflect badly upon the competence of the team. The
exhortation is to be like a swan gliding smoothly while paddling frantically beneath the surface
of the water! Performance indicators are the tools by which ongoing quality of the project can
be measured. These may include Balanced Scorecard approaches although a predominantly
quantitative approach should not mask the fact that managers also respond well to narratives,
particularly success stories.
Although the project timescale is frequently the focus of monthly review meetings this should
not distract from the importance of reviewing expenditure, both committed and actual.
Flexibility, as described above, also applies to Money whereby opportunities may arise for

5. savings through Casual Labour, Secondments or Work Experience. Given the importance of
Quality as well as Money it is helpful to ensure that underspends are redirected within the
project and not lost to the project as a whole. Again the project manager should be honest
and open about unanticipable changes to budget assumptions – it is rare but not
inconceivable that commissioners have additional funds to be targeted at maintaining the
original quality of the project deliverables. A Budget Spreadsheet is the most useful tool to
support ongoing monitoring of committed and actual expenditure.
Monitoring the Project
When monitoring a project it is essential to make review meetings synoptic (i.e. to consider
Time, Quality and Money together) so the potential for any one factor to dominate the others
is minimised. Experts concur that it is essential to plan Evaluation from the very beginning
allowing identification of data requirements and of key informants, perhaps for survey or
interview.
Another useful tip is to make Progress Reports work for you as a project manager so that they
are not simply an additional Task at times when time and effort is already overcommitted. It is
helpful to think “what do I want to achieve and what support do I need to achieve this?” and
then to target this message at intended recipients. Similarly management tools, as identified
above, will identify problems or potential problems likely to impact on the project. Above all an
experienced project manager does not seek to overcome all problems through their own
energies and resources – a project team is a valuable resource in generating solutions and
taking ownership of rescue strategies.

6. Box 1 Why Projects Fail (Adapted from
Contingency planning
AST Group) [6]
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’
men gang aft a-gley.” [5]. It is 1. Lack of commitment/understanding from
essential to develop a range of commissioners
strategies to handle major risks to the 2. Misalignment with organisational
project. Again these fall under Time, objectives
Quality and Money. These will be the
focus of a subsequent exercise on 3. Seduction by new technology
this course. However all of them 4. Failure to secure appropriate quantity/
involve “letting go” of one of the three level of staff resource
“balls” in order to continue to achieve
5. Incomplete project scope lacking clear
against the other two targets.
definition of the project's benefits and
Why Projects Fail outcomes
If considering contingency planning 6. Lack of attention to project planning.
gives a pessimistic feeling to this 7. Mismatch (or dislocation) between costs
discussion of project management it is and benefits (“bangs for your buck”)
salutary to revisit a list of the ten most
common reasons why projects, in 8. Insufficient funding and incorrect
general, fail (Box 1). budgeting to meet expectations.
9. Absence of appropriate project
Conclusion management techniques.
A synoptic view of Time, Quality and
10. Lack of knowledge transfer of lessons
Money aspects of project
learnt (“passing the baton”) [7]
management, and utilisation of tools
developed to control these, can help
to anticipate and prevent many
causes of project failure. By keeping
these three “balls” simultaneously in
the air a budding project manager can
circumvent the type of TQM situations
reflected in a JISC InfoNet cartoon –
the user wanted a Ferrari, the budget
allowed for a motorcycle, the
timescale accommodated a penny
farthing, the engineer designed a
space shuttle and the user finally
got……….a wheelbarrow! [8]

7. References
1. Baker, S & K. Baker. (1992), On Time/On Budget: A step-by-step guide for managing any
project, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall
2. Sian-Davis O (nd) Community Libraries: The Application Process.
http://www.mlalondon.org.uk/uploads/documents/Community_Libraries_application_process_
presentation__OSD2.pdf (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)
3. Booth, A (2000). Making a case. In: Booth, A & Walton G (Eds). Managing knowledge in
health services. (pp. 112-121). London: Library Association.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/mkhs/chapters/chap08.rtf (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)
4. Booth, A (2004) Managing projects. In Walton, G. & Booth, A. (Eds) Exploiting Knowledge
in Health Services (pp. 115-124) London: Facet Publishing.
5. Burns, Robert. To a Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough.
http://www.robertburns.org/works/75.shtml (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)
6. AST Group (2001). Techforum The top 10 reasons why projects fail http://www.itweb.co.za/
office/ast/0107120730.htm (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)
7. Booth A. (2002) On a cautious adoption of innovative projects. Health Information &
Libraries Journal 19(4):239-42.
8. JISC InfoNet. Why do Projects Fail? http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/project-
management/projects-fail (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)
Further Resources
JISC InfoNet P3M ”Project Management Infokit http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/project-
management/index_html (Accessed on October 9th, 2008)