ITPM - Chapter 8

Scope aspects of IT projects that affect quality:

- Functionality - System outputs - Performance - Reliability - Maintainability

Main outcomes of quality control:

- acceptance decisions - rework - process adjustments

DMAIC

- define - measure - analyze - improve - control

Issues involved with improving the quality of IT projects:

- leadership - understanding the cost of quality - providing a good workplace - working towards the organization's overall maturity level

Deming's cycle for improvement

- plan - do - check - act

Managing quality inputs:

- quality management plan - project documents - organizational process assets

Types of tests:

- unit test - integration test - system test - user acceptance test

Capability levels of CMMI:

0. Incomplete - process is not performed or partially performed 1. Performed - performed process satisfies the specific goals of the process area 2. Managed - a process has basic infrastructure in place to support it 3. Defined process is rigorously defined 4. Quantitatively managed - a process is controlled using statistical/quantitative techniques 5.Optimizing - process is improved based on an understanding of the common causes of variation inherent in the process

Juran 10 steps to quality improvement

1. build awareness of the need and opportunity for improvement 2. set goals for improvement 3. organize tor each the goals 4. provide training 5. carry out projects to solve problems 6. report progress 7. give recognition 8. communicate results 9. keep score 10. maintain momentum by making annual improvement part of the regular systems and processes of the company

7 basic tools of quality:***

1. cause-and effect-diagrams 2. control chart 3. checksheet 4. scatter diagram 5. histogram 6. pareto chart 7. flowcharts

Deming's 14 points for management

1. create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service 2. adopt the new philosophy 3. cease dependence on inspection 4. end the practice of awarding business based on price tag alone. minimize total cost by working with a single supplier 5. improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production, and service 6. institute training on the job 7. adopt and institute leadership 8. drive out fear 9. break down barriers between staff areas 10. eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workforce 11. eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management 12. remove barriers that rob people of workmanship. eliminate the annual rating or merit system 13. institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone 14. put everyone in the company to work to accomplish the transformation

Seven areas of judgement for the MBNQA:

1. leadership 2. strategic planning 3. customer and market focus 4. information and analysis 5. human resource focus 6. process management 7. business results

3 main processes of Project quality management:***

1. planning quality management 2. managing quality 3. controlling quality

5 major cost categories related to quality:

1. prevention cost 2. appraisal cost 3. internal failure cost 4. external failure cost 5. measurement and test equipment cost

Juran Trilogy:

1. quality improvement 2. quality planning 3. quality control

What makes a project a potential six sigma project:

1. there must be a quality problem or gap between current and desired performance 2. the project should not have a clearly understood problem 3. the solution should not be predetermined, and an optimal solution should not be apparent

Pareto analysis

80-20 rule, 80% of problems are often due to 20% of the causes

Normal distribution

a bell-shaped curve that is symmetrical around the mean (average) value of the population

Six Sigma

a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success

Internal failure cost

a cost incurred to correct an identified defect before the customer receives the product

External failure cost

a cost that relates to all errors not detected and corrected before delivery to the customer

Pareto chart

a histogram that can help identify and prioritize problem areas

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes

Fitness for use

a product can be used as it was intended

ISO 9000

a quality system standard that is a 3 part, continuous cycle of planning, controlling, and documenting quality in an organization

Metric

a standard of measurement ex: failure rates, availability of goods and services, customer satisfaction ratings

Design of experiments

a technique that helps identify which variables have the most influence on the overall outcome of a process

Stratification

a technique that shows data from a variety of sources to see if a pattern emerges

Rework

action taken to bring rejected items into compliance with the product requirements, specifications, or other stakeholder expectations

Quality assurance

activities related to satisfying the relevant quality standards for a project

Maintainability

addresses the ease of performing maintenance on a product

Defect

any instance in which the product or service fails to meet customer requirements

Humphrey's definition of Software Defect

anything that must be changed before delivery of the program

Histogram

bar graph of a distribution of variables. each bar represents an attribute or characteristic of a problem or situation, and the height of the bar represents its frequency

Statistical sampling

choosing part of a population of interest for inspection

Process adjustments

correct or prevent further quality problems based on quality control measurements

Measure (DMAIC)

define the measures and then collect, compile, and display data measures are defined in terms of defects per oppurtunity

Define (DMAIC)

define the problem/oppurtunity, process, and customer requirements

Conformance

delivering products that meet requirements and fitness for use

Acceptance decisions

determine if the products or services produced as part of the project will be accepted or rejected

Run charts

displays the history and pattern variation of a process over time. it is a line chart that shows data points plotted in the order of occurrence

Unit test

done to test each individual component to ensure that it is as defect-free as possible performed before moving on to the integration test

Lean

evaluating processes to maximize customer value while minimizing waste

Taguchi's Robust Design methods

focus on eliminating defects by substituting scientific inquiry for trial-and-error methods

Software Quality Function Deployment model (SQFD)

focuses on defining user requirements and planning software projects result: measurable technical product specifications and their priorities

Maturity models

frameworks for helping organizations improve their processes and systems

Improve (DMAIC)

generate solutions and ideas for improving the problem

Benchmarking

generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization

Control chart

graphic display of data that illustrates the results of a process over time

Flowcharts

graphic displays of the logic and flow of processes that help you analyze how problems occur and how processes can be improved. they show: - activities - decision points - order of how information is processed

Ishikawa's Quality circles

groups of nonsupervisors and work leaders in a single company department who volunteer to conduct group studies on how to improve effectiveness of work in their department

Scatter diagram

helps to show if there is a relationship between two variables. the closer data points are to a diagonal line, the more closely the variables are related

Performance

how well a product or service performs the customer's intended use

Planning quality management

identifying which quality requirements and standards are relevant to the project and how to satisfy them. Outputs: quality management plan, quality metrics, project management plan updates, and project document updates

Seven run rule

if seven data points in a row are all below/above the mean, or are all increasing/decreasing, then the process needs to be examined for nonrandom problems

Kaizen

improvement or change for the better

User acceptance test

independent test performed by end users prior to accepting the delivered system, focuses on the business fit of the system, not technical issues

ISO

international organization for standardization

Six 9's of quality

measure of quality control 99.9999% service availability 30 seconds of downtime a year

Standard deviation (sigma)

measures how much variation exists in a distribution of data

Controlling quality

monitoring specific project results to ensure that they are complete, correct, and meet customer expectations Outputs: quality control measurements, verified deliverables, work performance information, change requests, project management plan updates, project document updates

Integration test

occurs between unit and system testing to test functionally grouped components. ensures things work together

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

originated in 1987 to recognize companies that have achieved a level of world-class competition through quality management

5 whys

repeatedly ask the question "why?" to help peel away the layers of symptoms that can lead to the root cause of a problem. these symptoms can be branches on the cause-and-effect diagram

Yield

represents the number of units handled correctly through the process steps

Analyze (DMAIC)

scrutinize process details to find improvement opportunities

Quality audit

structured review of specific quality management activities that help identify lessons learned and that could improve performance on current or future projects

Cost of nonconformance

taking responsibility for failures or not meeting quality expectations

System test

tests the entire system as one entity. focuses on the big picture to ensure the entire system is working properly

Reliability

the ability of a product or service to perform as expected under normal conditions (IT service management)

Measurement and test equipment cost

the capital cost of equipment used to perform prevention and appraisal activities

Cost of quality

the cost of conformance plus the cost of nonconformance

Appraisal cost

the cost of evaluating processes and their outputs to ensure that a project is error-free or within an acceptable error range

Prevention cost

the cost of planning and executing a project so that it is error-free or within an acceptable error range

Functionality

the degree to which a system performs its intended function

Conformance to requirements

the project's processes and products meet written specifications

System outputs

the screens and reports the system generates

Features

the system's special characteristics that appeal to users

ISO definition of quality:

the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs or the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements

Purpose of Project quality management:

to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken

Feigenbaum's TQC

total quality control, the responsibility for quality should rest with the people who do the work

Cause-and-effect diagrams

trace complaints about quality problems back to the responsible production operations (aka fishbone or ishikawa diagrams)

Control (DMAIC)

track and verify the stability of the improvements and the predictability of the solution

Managing quality

translating the quality management plan into executable quality activities. Outputs: quality reports, test & evaluation documents, change requests, project management plan updates, project document updates

68.3% - within 1 sd 95.5% - within 2 sd 99.7% - within 3 sd

true

Crosby developed the Quality Management Process Maturity Grid

true

Customers are ultimately responsible for defining quality

true

Joseph M. Juran "all improvement takes place project by project, and in no other way"

true

Juran stressed the difference between the manufacturers view of quality, and the customers view of quality

true

Manufacturers focus on conformance to requirements while customers focus on fitness for use

true

Philip B. Crosby is best known for suggesting that organizations strive for zero defects

true

Project managers are ultimately responsible for quality management on their projects

true

Quality must be on an equal level with project scope, time and cost

true

Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes

true

Six Sigma's target for quality is no more than 3.4 defects, errors, or mistakes per million opportunities

true

Testing needs to be done during almost every phase

true

The customer ultimately decides if quality is acceptable

true

Watts S. Humphrey states that on average, programmers introduce for every 9 or 10 lines of code, and the final product (after testing) contains about 5 to 6 defects per 1000 lines of code

true

When a process is in control, any variations in the results of the process are created by random events. No adjustment needed

true

When a process is out of control, variations in the results of the process are caused by nonrandom events. You must find the causes of those nonrandom events and adjust the process to correct or eliminate them

true

Checksheet

used to collect and analyze data (tally sheet or checklist)

Look at crosby's 14 steps at some point...

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