What Are Quality Control Measurements?

Quality Control Measurements are the documented results of quality control activities — the quantified observations and test results that confirm whether deliverables meet their defined acceptance criteria. In PMBOK 8, quality control is a core process in the Project Quality Management performance domain. Quality control measurements are used to assess actual quality performance, identify defects, trigger corrective actions, and provide objective evidence for deliverable acceptance. They feed directly into quality reports and lessons learned, and they serve as the basis for the formal sign-off that closes each deliverable.

What's Inside This Quality Control Measurements Example

This Quality Control Measurements example covers Project Phoenix — MCG's $72,250 website launch, March 17 to June 13, 2025. The spreadsheet is organized by deliverable and test phase:

• Design QC tab: Measurements from design review sessions — brand compliance checks (color, typography, spacing), accessibility contrast ratios (WCAG 2.1 AA), and stakeholder review scores across four design iterations
• Development QC tab: Code quality metrics (linting pass rate, unit test coverage 87%), cross-browser compatibility test results (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge), and performance measurements (PageSpeed scores: Mobile 78, Desktop 94)
• Content QC tab: Word count per page vs. SEO minimums, reading level scores, broken link check results (0 broken links at launch), and metadata completeness (100%)
• UAT tab: 143 test cases executed — 138 passed, 5 failed. All 5 failures resolved before launch sign-off. Defect density: 0.035 defects per test case.
• Performance tab: Load time measurements under various conditions, uptime test results from staging, and mobile responsiveness scores across 12 device profiles

How Alex Morgan Used These Measurements

Alex Morgan and the QA Analyst built the quality control measurement framework during Week 2 planning, before any development began. Each acceptance criterion in the Requirements Documentation had a corresponding measurement method defined — so the team knew from the start how "done" would be proven, not just described.

Three measurement decisions were consequential during execution:

• ISS-006 (Android 12 navigation bug): The QA Analyst's mobile device test matrix included Android 12 — a version the development team had not manually tested. The QC measurement that flagged the bug was a Selenium-automated test on a real Android 12 device profile. Without that specific coverage, the bug would have reached production.
• PageSpeed Mobile score (78): This measurement was below the target of 85. The team traced the gap to unoptimized hero images and resolved it with WebP conversion before launch — a fix that added two hours of work and prevented a post-launch performance complaint.
• UAT defect rate: The 0.035 defect-per-test-case rate was measured against an industry benchmark of 0.05–0.10 for similar web projects. Being below benchmark gave Alex objective evidence to present to Riley Park that the product quality was above average — a claim backed by data, not opinion.

Download and Customize

This Quality Control Measurements example is available as a free download. Use it as a reference to build your own QC measurement framework, or start with the blank template and populate it for your deliverables.

• Download the Quality Control Measurements Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to use)
• Read the article: Quality Control Measurements in PMBOK 8 — Guide and Best Practices

Quality Control Measurements Example: Key Takeaways

The central lesson from Project Phoenix's Quality Control Measurements is that quality is only measurable if you define the measurement method before execution begins. The QA Analyst's Android 12 test coverage was not improvised — it was specified in the QC framework during Week 2. The PageSpeed Mobile target of 85 was written into the acceptance criteria, not assumed. Every measurement in this spreadsheet corresponds to a pre-defined criterion that made the measurement actionable from the moment the number appeared. Define your acceptance criteria with measurement methods; otherwise, quality is just a feeling.

Want to go deeper? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference for modern project management. Get your copy and use it alongside these examples to build a solid, practical understanding of every performance domain.