What is a primary objective of a control plan?

A primary objective of a control plan is to ensure sustained process improvements. Control plans are essential tools in quality management as they provide a structured approach to monitoring and controlling processes consistently over time. They include specifications for how the process will be maintained, what metrics will be tracked, and the actions that will be taken if the process deviates from desired performance levels. By doing so, they help organizations maintain high-quality outputs, reduce variability, and enable continuous improvement through ongoing feedback and adjustments.

In the context of total quality management (TQM), the focus is on long-term success through customer satisfaction, which can only be achieved when processes are not only improved but also sustained over time. Thus, a control plan serves as a roadmap that helps organizations adhere to standards and best practices, ensuring that improvements remain effective and that processes do not regress.

The other options, while relevant to various aspects of business management, do not directly relate to the primary objective of a control plan. Tracking project budgets pertains to financial management, developing team structures relates to organizational design, and identifying market competition is focused on strategic positioning rather than process control.