Total quality management focuses on customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, process quality, prevention of defects, employee involvement, and performance measurement based on quality outcomes. Basing performance evaluations mainly on the number of projects completed can encourage speed and volume at the expense of quality, stakeholder satisfaction, innovation, safety, and defect prevention. That approach conflicts with quality management principles. Benchmarking against other engineering departments, as described in Option B, can support continuous improvement. Creating a quality council, Option C, helps coordinate quality initiatives, set standards, and monitor improvement efforts. Conducting post-project surveys, Option D, provides feedback on performance, customer satisfaction, and lessons learned. From an internal audit perspective, a quality program should align incentives with quality objectives, not simply output quantity. Therefore, Option A is the exception.