Quality assurance in development - Project Management

Question 1

The Theory of Project Management

Answer 1

• System Thinking, Process Thinking
• Principles and structures of management
• Tools and Methods
• Skills (≠ capability!)
• Practicability&raquo_space; try it your self
• Evidence: Success Stories from your own experience, for example driving
licence, start of your studies, etc.

Question 2

The Six Typical Mistakes within

Project Management

Answer 2

• Typical mistake 1: Current analysis
• Typical mistake 2: Unclear definition
• Typical mistake 3: Inept alternatives
• Typical mistake 4: Unclear responsibilities for the project
• Typical mistake 5: Staff / problem solving input
• Typical mistake 6: Wrong risk assessment

Question 3

Conceptual Framework of Six Sigma

Answer 3

Define - Measure - Analyse - Improve - Control —- Customer

Question 4

Project management (Definition)

Answer 4

Project management: process for decision-making and implementation, which
can be divided into the following sub-functions:
• Planning or preparation (thinking ahead),
• Deciding (choice between different courses of action),
• Arranging, coordinating and organizing (structures, responsibilities, processes).

Question 5

The magic triangle of project management

Answer 5

Time: dates for achieving the set goals
Costs: mostly technical (machinery and material) as well as staff expenses
Quality: degree of the final solution

Question 6

Matrix of the Project Organisation

Project pool

Answer 6

Organisation by project pool: coordination of the field performance by employees
without command and decision-making power (head of project)
Function und features:
• the heads of project advise, plan and prepare the decisions (assistance),
• project and function are not organisationally linked,
• suitable for many small projects, which are carried out repeatedly.

Question 7

Matrix of the Project Organisation
Business Units (BU)

Answer 7

Business Unit (BU): all employees involved in the project are separated from their department and assigned to the project.
Function und features:
• head of the BU usually has full power to give directives and to make decision,
• project and function are organisationally linked,
• suitable for one-time large-scale projects.

Question 8

Success has „many parents“

Answer 8

Vision - Motivation - Capability - Resources - Plan for action

Question 9

The Quality Control Circle (QCC)

Answer 9

Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) – PDCA-Cycle

Act - Monitoring of the current situation
Plan - Quality monitoring (problem identification), problem analysis and solution
Do - The route of problem solving
Check - Evaluation of the problem solving

Question 10

Project phases

Answer 10

Project definition
Project planning
Project implementation
Project closure

Question 11

Tools for project planning

Answer 11

• Targets of the project
• Project agreement (=customer inquiry)
• Work Breakdown Structure
(object-, activity-, organisationally oriented)
• Project documentation
• Meeting schedule and milestones with results (quality gates)
• Software for project planning (e.g. MS Project)
• Project diagrams (master plan, GANTT)
• Financing budget
• Analysis of uncertainty / risk and strengths / weaknesses
• Project controlling (milestone trend analysis and cost trend analysis)

Question 12

Project management

The Targets

Answer 12

SMART (Specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, timeline)

Question 13

Project management
Project agreement (= customer inquiry)

Answer 13

Within the project agreement the following issues should be considered to enable a
structured project management:
• Initial situation or problem definition
• General structure of the tasks (bound of the project)

Project contract with regards to:
 Project scope
- What is the scope of the project?
- What is not scope of the project?
 Clear project goals
 Customer / concerned departments
 Requirements of the customer
 Project manager / members of the team
 Rights and responsibilities of
the project team
 Significant milestones with
results
 Available budget
 Overall vision of the solution
 Overall vision of the procedure

Question 14

Project management

Meeting Schedule – rule and types

Answer 14

Rules
 never do a meeting without goal
 never plan a meeting without invitation
 never prepare a meeting without agenda
 never close a meeting without protocol
Types
 start-up meetings in order to start the project
 progress measuring meetings
 phase change meeting (information to steering committee)
 jour fixe meeting (planned conversations on a daily/weekly basis)
 information workshops
 extraordinary meetings

Question 15

Project management

Milestones with results (quality gates)

Answer 15

Types of milestones:
• Decision milestones (management)
• Quality milestones (save intermediate results)
• Payment milestones (release funds)
• Contract milestones (ensure time schedule)
Milestones allow the formation of phases and the control of:
• required intermediate results
• time requirements
• financial requirements
• forecasting
• progress

Question 16

Project management
Project diagrams (master plane)

Answer 16

The Project plan is:
• agreed on and followed by all departments involved
• includes responsibilities and capacities
• checked by the team at regular intervals, differences should be recorded
• Additionally, for all departments involved there is a sub-project plan which is
synchronised to the master plan of the project
• Usually, the project
plan is structured
as a network plan: