8 Quality Management Terms Flashcards
Activity network diagram
These diagrams, such as the project network
diagram, show the flow of the project work.
Affinity diagram
This diagram breaks down ideas, solutions,
causes, and project components and groups
them together with other similar ideas and
components.
Benchmarking
Comparing any two similar entities to measure
their performance.
Cause-and-effect diagrams
Diagrams that show the relationship between
variables within a process and how those
relationships may contribute to inadequate
quality. The diagrams can help organize both the
process and team opinions, as well as generate
discussion on finding a solution to ensure quality.
Checklist
A simple approach to ensure that work is
completed according to the quality policy.
Control chart
A quality control chart that maps the
performance of project work over time.
Control quality
An inspection-driven process that measures work
results to confirm that the project is meeting the
relevant quality standards.
Cost of conformance
This is the cost associated with the monies spent
to attain the expected level of quality. It is also
known as the cost of quality.
Cost of nonconformance to quality
The cost associated with not satisfying quality
expectations. This is also known as the cost of
poor quality.
Cost-benefit analysis
A process to study the trade-offs between costs
and the benefits realized from those costs.
Design of experiments
An approach that relies on statistical scenarios to
determine what variables within a project will
result in the best outcome.
External QA
Assurance provided to the external customers of
the project.
Flowchart
A diagram illustrating how components within a
system are related. Flowcharts show the relation
between components, as well as help the project
team determine where quality issues may be
present and, once done, plan accordingly.
Internal QA
Assurance provided to management and the
project team.
ISO
The abbreviation for the International
Organization for Standardization. ISO is Greek for
“equal,” while “International Organization for
Standardization” in a different language would
be abbreviated differently. The organization
elected to use “ISO” for all languages.
Matrix diagram
A data analysis table that shows the strength
between variables and relationships in the
matrix.
Pareto diagram
A histogram that illustrates and ranks categories
of failure within a project.
Quality
According to ASQ, the degree to which a set of
inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.
Quality assurance
A management process that defines the quality
system or quality policy that a project must
adhere to. QA aims to plan quality into the
project rather than to inspect quality into a
deliverable.
Quality management plan
This plan defines how the project team will
implement and fulfill the quality policy of the
performing organization.
Quality metrics
The operational definitions that specify the
measurements within a project and the expected
targets for quality and performance.
Quality planning
The process of first determining which quality
standards are relevant to your project and then
finding out the best methods of adhering to
those quality standards.
Rule of Seven
A component of a control chart that illustrates
the results of seven measurements on one side
of the mean, which is considered “out of control”
in the project.
Run chart
A quality control tool that shows the results of
inspection in the order in which they’ve
occurred. The goal of a run chart is first to
demonstrate the results of a process over time
and then to use trend analysis to predict when
certain trends may reemerge.
Scatter diagram
A quality control tool that tracks the relationship
between two variables over time. The two
variables are considered related the closer they
track against a diagonal line.
Seven basic quality tools
These seven tools are used in quality planning
and in quality control: cause-and-effect diagrams,
flowcharts, check sheets, Pareto diagrams,
histograms, control charts, and scatter diagrams.
Statistical sampling
A process of choosing a percentage of results at
random. For example, a project creating a
medical device may have 20 percent of all units
randomly selected to check for quality.
System or process flowcharts
Flowcharts that illustrate the flow of a process
through a system, such as a project change
request through the change control system, or
work authorization through a quality control
process.
Tree diagram
Tree diagrams show the hierarchies and
decomposition of a solution, an organization, or a
project team. The WBS and an org chart are
examples of tree diagrams.
Trend analysis
The science of using past results to predict future
performance.
Work performance information
The results of the project work as needed. This
includes technical performance measures,
project status, information on what the project
has created to date, corrective actions, and
performance reports.
