Chapter 8 Vocab Flashcards
benchmarking
A process of using prior projects internal or external to the performing organization to compare and set quality standards for processes and results.
benefit/cost analysis
The process of determining the pros and cons of any project, process, product, or activity.
checklists
A listing of activities that workers check to ensure the work has been completed consistently; used in quality control.
continuous process improvement
A goal of quality assurance to improve the project’s processes and deliverables; meshes with the project’s process improvement plan, which is to improve the processes of the project.
control charts
These illustrate the performance of a project over time. They map the results of inspections against a chart. Control charts are typically used in projects or operations that have repetitive activities, such as manufacturing, testing series, or help desk functions. Upper and lower control limits indicate if values are in control or out of control.
cost of conformance
The cost of completing the project work to satisfy the proj- ect scope and the expected level of quality. Examples include training, safety measures, and quality management activities. Also known as the cost of quality.
cost of nonconformance
The cost of not completing the project with quality, including wasted time for corrective actions, rework, and wasted materials. Could also mean loss of business, loss of sales, and lawsuits. Also known as the cost of poor quality.
design of experiments
This relies on statistical “what-if” scenarios to determine which variables within a project will result in the best outcome; it can also be used to eliminate a defect. The design of experiments approach is most often used on the product of the project, rather than on the project itself.
flow chart
A chart that illustrates how the parts of a system occur in sequence.
histogram
A bar chart; a Pareto diagram is an example of a histogram.
ISO 9000
An international standard that helps organizations follow their own quality procedures. ISO 9000 is not a quality system, but a method of following proce- dures created by an organization
operational definitions
The quantifiable terms and values used to measure a process, activity, or work result. Operational definitions are also known as metrics.
Pareto diagrams
A Pareto diagram is related to Pareto’s Law: 80 percent of the problems come from 20 percent of the issues (this is also known as the “80/20 rule”). A Pareto diagram illustrates problems by assigned cause, from smallest to largest.
process adjustments
When quality is lacking, process adjustments are needed for immediate corrective actions or for future preventive actions to ensure that quality improves. Process adjustments may qualify for a change request and be funneled through the change control system as part of integration management.
quality assurance
An executing process to ensure that the project is adhering to the quality expectations of the project customer and organization. QA is a prevention- driven process to perform the project work with quality to avoid errors, waste, and delays.
quality audits
A quality audit is a process to confirm that the quality processes are performing correctly on the current project. The quality audit determines how to make things better for the project and other projects within the organization. Quality audits measure the project’s ability to maintain the expected level of quality.
quality control
A process in which the work results are monitored to see if they meet relevant quality standards.
quality management plan
This document describes how the project manager and the project team will fulfill the quality policy. In an ISO 9000 environment, the quality management plan is referred to as the “project quality system.”
quality policy
The formal policy an organization follows to achieve a preset stan- dard of quality. The project team should either adapt the quality policy of the organiza- tion to guide the project implementation or create its own policy if one does not exist within the performing organization.
run chart
Similar to a control chart, a run chart tracks trends over time and displays those trends in a graph with the plotted data mapped to a specific date.
scatter diagram
Tracks the relationship between two or more variables to deter- mine if the one variable affects the other. It allows the project team, quality control team, or project manager to make adjustments to improve the overall results of the project.
statistical sampling
A process of choosing a percentage of results at random for inspection. Statistical sampling can reduce the costs of quality control.
trend analysis
Trend analysis is taking past results to predict future performance.
