Project Quality Management
Cost of Nonconformance
$$ spent during & after project DUE TO FAILURES Internal Failure Costs (failure found by project) Rework Scrap External Failure Costs (Failures found by customer) Liabilities Warranty work Lost business
Cost of Conformance
$$ spent during project to AVOID FAILURES Prevention Costs (Build a quality product) Training Document processes Equipment Time to do it right Appraisal Costs (Assess the quality) Testing Destructive testing loss Inspections
Precision
A measure of exactness. For example, the magnitude for each increment on the measurement number line is the interval that determines the measurement precision - the greater the number of increments, the greater the precision An illustration of this concept is the comparison of archery targets. Arows clustered tightly in one area of the target, even if they are not clustered in the bulls-ye, are considered to have a high precision. Targets where the arrows are both tightly grouped and within the bull's-eye are considered to be both accurate and precise. Precise measurements are not necessarily accurate measurements and accurate are not necessarily precise.
Validated changes
Any changed or repaired items are inspected and will be either accepted or rejected before notification of the decision is provided. Rejected items may require rework
Grade
As a design intent; a category assigned to deliverables having the same functional use but different technical characteristics. A low grade of quality may not be a problem. It may not be a problem if a suitable low-grade software product (one with a limited number of features) is of high quality (no obvious defects, readable manual). The product would be appropriate for its general purpose of use
Seven Basic Quality Tools - 7QC Tools
Cause-and-effect diagrams / Fishbone / Ishikawa Flowcharts / Process maps Checksheets / Tally sheets Pareto diagrams Histograms Control charts Scatter diagrams/Correlation Charts
Perform Quality Assurance - Outputs
Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Organizational process assets updates
OPAs updates
Completed checklists Lessons learned documentation
Cost of Poor Quality
Failure costs Failure costs are often categorized into internal (found by the project) and external (found by the customer).
Process analysis
Follows steps outlined in the process improvement plan to identify needed improvements. This analysis also examines problems experienced, constraints experienced, and non-value-added activities identified during process operation. Process analysis includes root cause analysis - a specific technique used to identify a problem, discover the underlying causes that lead to it, and develop preventive actions
Prioritization matrices
Identify the key issues and the suitable alternatives to be prioritized as a set of decisions for implementation. Criteria are prioritized and weighted before being applied to all available alternatives to obtain a mathematical score that ranks the options
Benchmarking
Involves comparing actual or planned project practices to those of comparable projects to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance. They may exist within the performing organization or outside of, or can be within the same application area. It allows for analogies from projects in a different application area to be made.
Checksheets / Tally sheets
May be used as a checklist when gathering data. They are used to organize facts in a manner that will facilitate the effective collection of useful data about a potential quality problem. They are especially useful for gathering attributes data while performing inspections to identify defects. For example, data about the frequencies or consequences of defects collected in checksheets are often displayed using *Pareto diagrams*
Quality
Quality as a delivered performance or result is "the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics or 'the project' fulfills requirements" A quality level that fails to meet quality requirements is always a problem It may be a problem if a high-grade software product (one with numerous features) is of low quality (many defects, poorly organized user documentation). In essence, it's high-grade feature set would prove ineffective and/or inefficient due to its low quality
Project documents updates
Quality audit reports Training plans Process documentation
Verified deliverables
A goal of this process is to determine the correctness of deliverables. The results of performing this process are verified deliverables. These are an input to Validate Scope for formalized acceptance
Matrix diagrams
A quality management and control tool used to perform data analysis within the organizational structure created in the matrix. The matrix diagram seeks to show the strength of relationships between factors, causes, and objectives that exist between rows and columns that form the matrix
Histograms
A special form of bar chart and are used to describe the central tendency, dispersion, and shape of a statistical distribution. Unlike the control chart, the histogram does not consider the influence of time on the variation that exists within a distribution
Design of experiments (DOE)
A statistical method for identifying which factors may influence specific variables of a product or process under development or in production. Determine the number and type of tests and their impact on cost of quality. Plays a role in optimizing products or processes. It's used to reduce the sensitivity of product performance to sources of variations caused by environmental or manufacturing differences. An important aspect of this technique is it provides a statistical framework for systematically changing all of the important factors, rather than the factors one at a time. Analysis of the experimental data should provide the optimal conditions for the product or process, highlight the factors that influence the results, and reveal the presence of interactions and synergy among the factors. Auto designers use this technique to determine which combination of suspension and tires will produce the most desirable ride characteristics at a reasonable cost.
Quality checklists
A structured tool usually component-specific, used to verify that a set of required steps has been performed. Based on the project's requirements and practices, checklists may be simple or complex. Many organizations have standardized checklists available to ensure consistency in frequently performed tasks. Quality checklist should incorporate the acceptance criteria included in the scope baseline. In some application areas, checklists are also available from professional association or commercial service providers.
Project Documents
Agreements Quality audit reports and change logs supported with corrective action plans Training plans and assessments of effectiveness Process documentation such as those obtained using either the seven basic quality tools or the quality management and control tools
Tree diagrams
Also known as systematic diagrams May be used to represent decomposition hierarchies such as the WBS, RBS, and OBS. They are useful in visualizing the parent-to-child relationships in any decomposition hierarchy that uses a systematic set of rules that define a nesting relationship. Tree diagrams can be depicted horizontally (such as RBS) or vertically (such as a team hierarchy or OBS). Because tree diagrams permit the creation of nested branches that terminate into a single decision point, they are useful as decision trees for establishing an expected value for a limited number of dependent relationships that have been diagramed systematically
Interrelationship digraphs
An adaptation of relationship diagrams. The interrelationship digraphs provide a process for creative problem solving in moderately complex scenarios that possess intertwined logical relationships for up to 50 relevant items. It may be developed from data generated in other tools such as the affinity diagram, the tree diagram, or the fishbone diagram
Accuracy
An assessment of correctness. For example, if the measured value of an item is very close to the true value of the characteristic being measured the measurement is more accurate. An illustration of this concept is the comparison of archery targets. Targets where arrows are moresprad out but equidistant from the bull's eye are considered to have the same degree of accuracy. Targets where the arrows are both tightly grouped and within the bull's-eye are considered to be both accurate and precise. Precise measurements are not necessarily accurate measurements and accurate are not necessarily precise.
Statistical sampling
Choosing part of a population of interest for inspection (for example, selecting 10 engineering drawings at random from a list of 75). Sample frequency and sizes should be determined during the Quality Management process so the cost of quality will include the number of tests, expected scraps, etc. There is a substantial body of knowledge on statistical sampling. In some application areas, it may be necessary for the PM team to be familiar with a variety of sampling techniques to assure sample selected represents population of interest.
Quality management plan
Component of PM plan Describes how the organization's quality policies will be implemented and how the PM team plans to meet quality requirements set for the project. It may be formal or informal, detailed or broad. Style and detail of the plan are determined by the requirements of the project. The plan should be reviewed early in the project to ensure that decisions are based on accurate information. Benefits can include sharper focus on project's value proposition & reductions in costs & frequency of schedule overruns caused by rework.
Plan Quality Management - T & Ts
Cost-benefit analysis Cost of quality Seven basic quality tools Benchmarking Design of experiments Statistical sampling Additional quality planning tools Meetings
Quality metrics in Control Quality
Describes a project or product attribute and how it will be measured. Some examples include: Function points Mean time between failure (MTBF) Mean time to repair (MTTR)
Flowcharts / Process maps
Display the sequence of steps and branching possibilities that exist for a process that transforms one or more inputs into one or more outputs Flowcharts show the activities, decision points, branching loops, parallel paths, and overall order of processing by mapping the operational details of procedures that exist within a horizontal value chain of a SIPOC model. Flowcharts may prove useful in understanding and estimating the cost of quality in a process. This is obtained by using the workflow branching logic and associated relative frequency to estimate expected monetary value for the conformance and nonconformance work required to deliver the expected conforming output
Inspection
Examination of a work product to determine if it conforms to documented standards. The results of an inspection generally include measurements and may be conducted at any level. For example the results of a single activity can be inspected or the final product of the project can be inspected. Inspections may be called reviewes, peer reviews, audits, or walkthroughs. In some application areas, these terms have narrow and specific meanings. Inspections also are used to validate defect repairs
Cost of quality
Includes all costs incurred over the life of the product by investment in preventing non conformance to requirements, appraising the product or service for conformance to requirements, and failing to meet requirements (rework).
Quality Management
Includes creating and following policies and procedures to ensure that a project meets the customer's needs Policies, procedures, templates.....requirements of PMI - If you do a project that does not meet scope, or is late, over schedule, over budget = poor quality. Ahead of schedule and under budget = poor quality Why didn't you plan it that way to begin with Did not spend time on quality aspect It also includes completing the project with no variance from the project requirements
Additional quality planning tools
Other quality planning tools are used to define the quality requirements and plan effective management activities: Brainstorming Used to generate ideas Force field analysis Diagrams of the forces for and against change Nominal group technique Used to allow ideas to be brainstormed in small groups and then reviewed by a larger group Quality management and control tools Used to link & sequence the activities identified
Control Quality - Inputs
PM Plan Quality metrics Quality checklists Work performance data Approved change requests Deliverables Project documents OPAs
Plan Quality Management- Inputs
PM Plan Stakeholder register Risk register Requirements documentation EEFs OPAs
Quality management and control tools
Perform QA process uses the tools and techniques of the Plan Quality Management and Control Quality processes. Other tools available are: Affinity diagrams Process decision program charts (PDPC) Interrelationship digraphs Tree diagrams Prioritization matrices Activity network diagram Matrix diagrams
Work performance data
Planned vs actual technical performance Planned vs actual schedule performance Planned vs actual cost performance
Scatter diagrams/Correlation Charts
Plot ordered pairs (X, Y) and are sometimes called correlation charts because they seek to explain a change in the dependent variable, Y, in relationship to a change observed in the corresponding independent variable X. The direction of correlation may be proportional (positive) inverse (negative) or a pattern of correlation may not exist (zero). If correlation can be established, a regression line can be calculated and used to estimate how a change to the independent variable will influence the value of the dependent variable
Activity network diagram
Previously known as arrow diagrams They include both the AOA (Activity on Arrow) and most commonly AON (Activity on Node) formats of a network diagram. Activity network diagrams are used with project scheduling methodologies such as program evaluation and review technique (PERT), critical path method (CPM) and precedence diagramming method (PDM)
Cost-benefit analysis
Primary benefits of meeting quality requirements include less rework, higher productivity, lower costs, increased stakeholder satisfaction, and increased profitability. A cost-benefit analysis for each quality activity compares the cost of the quality step to the expected benefit
Cause-and-effect diagrams / Fishbone / Ishikawa
Problem statement placed at the head of the fishbone is used as a starting point to trace the problems source back to its actionable root cause. The problem statement typically describes the problem as a gap to be closed or as an objective to be achieved. The causes are found by looking at the problem statement and asking "why" until the actionable root cause has been identified or until the reasonable possibilities on each fishbone have been exhausted. Fishbone diagrams often prove useful in linking the undesirable effects seen as special variation to the assignable cause upon which project teams should implement corrective actions to eliminate the special variation detected in a control chart
Perform Quality Assurance
Process of auditing the quality requirements and the results from quality control measurements to ensure appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are used. It facilitates the improvement of quality processes by implementing a set of planned and systematic acts and processes defined within the project's quality management plan. Quality assurance seeks to build confidence that a future output or an unfinished output, also known as "work in progress", will be completed in a manner that meets the specified requirements and expectations. Quality assurance contributes to the state of being certain about quality by preventing defects through the planning processes or by inspecting defects during the work-in-progress stage of implementation. It is an execution process that uses data created during Plan Quality Management and Control Quality processes. Prevention and inspection aspects of QA should have a demonstrable influence on the project. QA work will fall under conformance work category in the cost of quality framework. Perform QA also provides an umbrella for continuous process improvement, which is an iterative means for improving the quality of all processes. Continuous process improvement reduces waste and eliminates activities that do not add value. This allows processes to operate at increased levels of efficiency and effectiveness. A QA department or similar organization often oversees QA activities. QA support may be provided to the project team, the management of the performing organization, the customer or sponsor, and other stakeholders not actively involved in the work of the project.
Plan Quality Management
Process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with relevant quality requirements and/or standards. It provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and validated throughout the project. Quality planning should be performed in parallel with the other planning processes. Proposed changes in the deliverables to meet identified quality standards may require cost or schedule adjustments and a detailed risk analysis of the impact to plans.
Control Quality
Process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. It identifies the causes of poor process and product quality and recommends and/or takes action to eliminate them It validates that project deliverables and work meet the requirements specified by key stakeholders necessary for final acceptance Uses a set of operational techniques and tasks to verify that delivered output will meet requirements. QA should be used during the project's planning and executing phases to provide confidence that the stakeholder requirements will be met Quality control should be used during the project executing and closing phases to formally demonstrate, with reliable data, that the sponsor and/or customer's acceptance criteria have been met. The PM team may have a working knowledge of statistical control processes to evaluate data contained in the control quality outputs. May be useful to know differences of the terms: Prevention Keeping errors out of the process Inspection Keeping errors out of hands of customer Attribute sampling Result either conforms or does not conform Variables sampling Result is rated on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity Tolerances Specified range of acceptable results Control limits Identify the boundaries of common variation in a statistically stable process or process performance
Project Quality Management
Processes and activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives and responsibilities so the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. Uses policies and procedures to implement, the organization's quality management system and it supports continuous process improvement activities as undertaken on behalf of the performing organization. It works to ensure that the project requirements, including product requirements are met and validated. Addresses the management of the project and the deliverables of the project. Applies to all projects, regardless of the nature of their deliverables. Quality measures and techniques are specific to the type of deliverables being produced by the project. For example, software deliverables may use different approaches and measures vs building a nuclear power plant. In either case, failure to meet the quality requirements can have serious, negative consequences for any or all of the project's stakeholders. Meeting customer requirements by overworking the project team may result in increased profits and increased project risks, employee attrition, errors, or rework Meeting project schedule objectives by rushing planned quality inspections may result in undetected errors, decreased profits, and increased post-implementation risks
Fitness for use
Product or service needs to satisfy the real needs Requirements on the project Produce what I said I would, meet requirements
Control Quality - Outputs
Quality control measurements Validated changes Verified deliverables Work performance information Change requests PM Plan updates Project documents updates OPAs updates
Perform Quality Assurance - T & Ts
Quality management and control tools Quality audits Process analysis
PM Plan updates
Quality management plan Process improvement plan
Plan Quality Management - Outputs
Quality management plan Process improvement plan Quality metrics Quality checklists Project documents updates
Perform Quality Assurance - Inputs
Quality management plan Process improvement plan Quality metrics Quality control measurements Project documents
Project management plan updates
Quality management plan Scope management plan Schedule management plan Cost management plan
Prevention over inspections
Quality should be planned, designed, and built into - not inspected into the projects management or deliverables. The cost of preventing mistakes is generally much less than the cost of correcting mistakes when they are found by inspection or during usage
Project documents updates - Control Quality
Quality standards Agreements Quality audit reports and change logs supported with corrective action plans Training plans and assessments of effectiveness Process documentation, such as information obtained using the seven basic quality tools or the quality management and control tools
Cost of quality (COQ)
Refers to total cost of the conformance work and the non conformance work that should be done as a compensatory effort On the first attempt to perform that work the potential exists that some portion of the required work effort may be done or has been done incorrectly. The costs for quality work may be incurred throughout the deliverables life cycle. For example, decisions made by the project team can impact the operational costs associated with using a completed deliverable. Post-project quality costs may be incurred because of product returns, warranty claims, and recall campaigns. Due to temporary nature of projects and potential benefits that may be derived from reducing the post project cost of quality, sponsoring organizations may choose to invest in product quality improvement, which are generally made in the areas of conformance work that act to prevent defects or act to mitigate the costs of defects by inspecting out nonconforming units. Issues related to post -project COQ should be the concern of program management and portfolio management as those offices should apply appropriate reviews, templates and funding allocations for this purpose
PM Plan
Scope baseline Project scope statement WBS WBS Dictionary Schedule baseline Cost baseline Other management plans
Control Quality - T & Ts
Seven basic quality tools Statistical sampling Inspection Approved change requests review
Affinity diagrams
Similar to mind-mapping techniques They are used to generate ideas that can be linked to form organized patterns of thought about a problem. In PM, the creation of the WBS may be enhanced by using the affinity diagram to give structure to the decomposition of scope
Pareto diagrams
Special form Vertical bar chart Used to identify the vital few sources that are responsible for causing most of a problem's effects. The categories shown on the horizontal axis exist as a valid probability distribution that accounts for 100% of the possible observations. The relative frequencies of each specified cause listed on the horizontal axis decrease in magnitude until the default source named "other" accounts for any non specified causes. Typically, the Pareto diagram will be organized into categories that measure either frequencies or consequences.
Quality metrics
Specifically describes a project or product attribute and how the control quality process will measure it. A measurement is an actual value. The tolerance defines the allowable variations to the metric. If the quality objective is to stay within the approved budget by +/- 10% the specific quality metric is used to measure the cost of every deliverable and determine the percent variance from the approved budget for that deliverable. Quality metrics are used in the perform quality assurance and control quality processes. Some examples include: On-time performance, cost control, defect frequency, failure rate, availability, reliability and test coverage.
Project documents updates
Stakeholder register Responsibility assignment matrix WBS and WBS Dictionary
Quality audits
Structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures. The objectives of a quality audit may include: Identify all good and best practices being implemented Identify all nonconformity, gaps, and shortcomings Share good practices introduced or implemented in similar projects in the organization and/or industry Proactively offer assistance in a positive manner to improve implementation of processes to help the team raise productivity Highlight contributions of each audit in the lessons learned repository of the organization The subsequent effort to correct any deficiencies should result in a reduced cost of quality and an increase in sponsor or customer acceptance of the project's product. Quality audits may be scheduled or random, and may be conducted by internal or external auditors. Quality audits can confirm the implementation of approved CRs including updates, corrective actions, defect repairs and preventive actions.
Process improvement plan
Subsidiary or component of the PM plan detailing steps for analyzing PM and product development processes to identify activities that enhance their value. Areas to consider: Process boundaries Process configuration Process metrics Targets for improved performance
Management Responsibility
Success requires the participation of all members of the project team. Nevertheless, management retains, within its responsibility for quality, a related responsibility to provide suitable resources at adequate capacities
Continuous improvement
The PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle is the basis for quality improvement as defined by Shewhart and modified by Deming. In addition, quality improvement initiatives such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma could improve the quality of the project's management as well as the quality of the product. Commonly used process improvement models include Malcolm Baldrige (Organizational Project Management Maturity Model - OPM3) and Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
Project Quality Management Basic Approach
The basic approach to project quality management is intended to be compatible with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) quality standards. Every project should have a quality management plan. Project teams should follow the plan and should have data to demonstrate compliance with the plan. In the context of achieving ISO compatibility, modern quality management approaches seek to minimize variation and to deliver results that meet defined requirements. These approaches recognize the importance of: Customer satisfaction Prevention over inspections Continuous improvement Management Responsibility Cost of quality (COQ)
Quality control measurements
The documented results of control quality activities. They should be captured in the format that was specified through the Plan Quality Management process
Customer satisfaction
Understanding, evaluating, defining, and managing requirements so that customer expectations are met. Requires a combination of Conformance Fitness for use
Control charts
Used to determine whether or not a process is stable or has predictable performance. Upper and lower specification limits are based on requirements of the agreement. They reflect the maximum and minimum values allowed. There may be penalties associated with exceeding the specification limits. Upper and lower limits are different from specification limits. The control limits are determined using standard statistical calculations and principles to ultimately establish the natural capability for a stable process. May use the calculated limits to identify the points at which corrective action will be taken to prevent unnatural performance. The corrective action typically seeks to maintain the natural stability of a stable and capable process or repetitive processes The control limits are generally set at +/-3 round a process mean set at 0. A process is considered out of control when: A data point exceeds a control limit 7 consecutive plot points are above the mean Most frequently used to track repetitive activities required for producing manufactured lots, but these charts may be used to monitor cost and schedule variances, volume, and frequency of scope changes, other management results to help determine if the PM processes are in control
Process decision program charts (PDPC)
Used to understand a goal in relation to the steps for getting to the goal. The PDPC is useful as a method for contingency planning because it aids teams in anticipating intermediate steps that could derail achievement of the goal
Conformance
What it was created to produce Conformance to requirements To ensure project produces what it was created to produce