Quality vs Grade is the 23rd post in our PMP Concepts Learning Series
Designed to help those that are preparing to take the PMP or CAPM Certification Exam, each post within this series presents a comparison of common concepts that appear on the PMP and CAPM exams.
Quality vs Grade
Two quality terms that are often confused are “quality” and “grade”. Both imply establishing or meeting standards but they are not interchangeable.
Quality
Quality is the degree to which the product or result meets the customer or end-user requirements. Their requirements may or may not be in alignment with the documented project requirements, however. It is simply their assessment on how well the output aligns with their needs and expectations.
It can be said that quality is “in the eye of the beholder”. Even if I feel that my product is high quality, I cannot assume that my customer or end-user will agree with my assessment.
Grade
Grade is a category assigned to products that have the same functional use but different technical characteristics. Grade is usually determined through some set of pre-determined measurements and demonstration of compliance to those measurements.
Example
Eggs are graded based on their technical characteristics. Regardless of their grade, they all can be used for the same functions: cooking, eating, etc. (Same functional use but different characteristics)
I may purchase high grade eggs, however, if one of the eggs is broken, I would consider it low quality because I can’t use it. (Did not meet my requirements)
Summary
Quality is the degree to which the product meets the customer or end-user requirements whereas grade is a category assigned to products that have the same functional use but different technical characteristics.
High grade does not imply high quality.
See all posts in our PMP Concepts Learning Series
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