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Validate Scope versus Control Quality
The reason we’re looking at these two in particular is because validate scope and control quality can be confused during your PMP exam. So this is really quick outline of both and what the differences are when you use them so that you will know this specifically for when you get questions about these two items in the PMP exam.
Now, one of these is concerned with having the deliverables signed off (Validate Scope). We’re validating that the scope is okay, and we’re able to sign it off but the other is concerned with ensuring the deliverables are working as they should (Control Quality) – we’re controlling that quality, and we’re testing and were ensuring that they’re working in the way that we wanted them to work.
Here’s where they sit in the project management process groups. They’re both monitoring and controlling processes, and the first one is under scope because we’re validating that scope. We’re signing off that scope and it’s going back to our product sponsor or stakeholders. They’re saying “Yes, I can see that everything is fit for purpose,” and they’re giving it the tick of approval. But before it actually gets to that stage, we are controlling that quality.
With Control Quality, we’re testing it, we’re wanting to make sure that it’s OK, and that it meets the requirements that we had. As we control that quality, once that is complete then that will usually feed into the validation and the sign off of those deliverables. So as you can see deliverables are verified for quality during the control quality process, but they become the input into the validate scope process where we’re signing it off and giving that final tick of approval by the stakeholders.
So Control Quality is the testing and checking of that deliverable to ensure it meets the requirements, we’re usually testing fit for purpose. But Validate Scope is that process of formalizing the acceptance of the completed project deliverables signed off and approved by the authorized stakeholder.
And that is the difference between Control Quality and Validate Scope.
– David McLachlan