Quality of Deliverables & Products Flashcards
What is the definition of quality?
The degree to which the project fulfills requirements
What is the “definition of done”?
Agile teams define what “done” looks like throughout the project
Definitions of done are decided at the project, release, and story levels
Define grade.
General classification of a product that can be used for various technical specifications
What does gold plating mean?
Giving the customer extras (extra functionality, higher-quality components, extra scope, or better performance)
It is often the team’s impression of what is valued by the customer (the customer might not agree)
What does continuous improvement involve?
Continuously looking for ways to improve the quality of work, processes, and results
What is the focus of total quality management (TQM)?
Finding ways to continuously improve the quality of products and business practices at every level of the organization
How much inventory is maintained in a just in time (JIT) environment?
How does this affect attention to quality?
Little inventory is maintained
It forces attention to quality as well as schedule
According to the Process Groups model, what processes are involved in quality management?
Plan Quality Management
Manage Quality
Control Quality
What artifacts result from the Plan Quality Management process?
Quality management plan
Quality metrics
Updates to project management plan and project documents
What artifacts result from the Manage Quality process?
Test and evaluation documents
Quality reports
Change requests
What are quality metrics?
Specific measures of quality that the project manager uses to determine how the project is performing compared to what was planned
What artifacts result from the Control Quality process?
Quality control measurements
Work performance information
Updates to project management plan and project documents
Change requests
Verified deliverables
What does mutual exclusivity mean?
Two events are said to be mutually exclusive if they cannot both occur in a single trial (e.g., flipping a coin once cannot result in both a head and a tail)
In what form is probability usually expressed?
As a decimal or a fraction
What is normal distribution and how is it used?
Expressed as a chart that takes the shape of a bell curve and is used to measure variations away from the “norm”
What is statistical independence?
The probability of one event occurring does not affect the probability of another event occurring (for example, the probability of rolling a six on a die is statistically independent from the probability of getting a five on the next roll)
What does sigma signify in a process?
What’s another name for sigma?
It is a measure of how far you are from the mean (not the median)
Standard deviation
Name some methods used in Plan Quality Management.
Interviews
Brainstorming and benchmarking
Decision-making
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost of quality (COQ)
Marginal analysis
Logical data models
Matrix representations
Mind mapping
Prioritization matrix
Flowcharts
Test and inspection planning
Meetings
Define benchmarking.
Comparing the project to other projects or organizations to establish quality metrics and acceptable variance ranges, and measure quality
Define cost-benefit analysis.
Comparing the costs of an effort to the benefits of that effort to determine the appropriate quality level and requirements for the project
What does the cost of quality (COQ) do?
Ensures the project is not spending too much to achieve a particular level of quality
What does a logical data model represent?
The types of data an organization needs to use in a particular application, and the relationships between those data types
What does a flowchart show?
How a process or system flows from beginning to end, how the elements interrelate, and alternative paths the process can take
What is the purpose of test and inspection planning?
How the team will confirm that the required level of quality has been achieved in the completed project deliverables, and how the deliverables will be evaluated for performance and reliability
What is the purpose of marginal analysis?
Finding the point at which the benefits or revenue to be received from improving quality equals the cost to achieve it
What is a prioritization matrix used for?
To numerically rank available options
It is useful for decision analysis about quality management planning
What are some of the methods used in the Manage Quality process?
Checklists
Cause-and-effect diagrams
Histograms
Scatter diagrams
Document analysis
Alternatives analysis
Design of experiments (DOE)
Process analysis
Root cause analysis
Failure analysis
Multicriteria decision analysis
Flowcharts
Affinity diagrams
Audits
Design for X
Problem-solving
What is a cause-and-effect diagram?
A graphical tool used to confirm that policies and procedures are being followed and metrics are being used correctly, and that the procedures were adequate to produce the required level of quality in project deliverables
It is also called a fishbone, Ishikawa, or why-why diagram
What is design of experiments?
A technique used to quickly discover optimal conditions in which to produce a quality deliverable
What is process analysis?
As part of the continuous improvement effort, it focuses on identifying improvements that might be needed in project processes
What is the purpose of failure analysis?
It analyzes failed components of deliverables, or failed processes to determine what led to that failure
What is design for X used for?
Analyzing variables to evaluate both the effectiveness of the quality management plan and the team’s ability to meet objectives
It can help determine what changes are needed
Name some Control Quality methods.
Checklists
Statistical sampling
Questionnaires and surveys
Performance reviews
Root cause analysis
Inspection
Control charts
Cause-and-effect diagrams
Histograms and Pareto charts
Check-sheets
Scatter diagrams
How does a check-sheet differ from a quality checklist?
Although a check-sheet is a type of checklist, its primary purpose is to keep track of data
In Control Quality, checklists are used to determine that all required features and functions are included, and that they meet acceptance criteria
What is statistical sampling?
Inspecting by testing only part of a population
What is a control chart?
Control charts are used in Control Quality to help determine if the results of a process are within acceptable limits
What do specification limits represent on a control chart?
The customer’s expectations or contractual requirements for performance and quality on the project
What is a mean on a control chart?
The average—the middle of the range of acceptable variation
How is a process defined as statistically out of control?
A data point falls outside the upper or lower control limit
There are nonrandom data points; these may be within the upper and lower control limits
What does out of control mean?
There is a lack of consistency and predictability in the process or its results
What is the rule of seven?
What does it signify?
A group or series of nonrandom data points that total seven on one side of the mean
The rule of seven indicates that, although none of these points are outside of the control limits, they are not random and the process is out of control
What is an assignable cause/special cause variation?
An assignable cause or special cause variation signifies that a process is out of control
If there is an assignable cause or special cause variation, it means a data point, or a series of data points, requires investigation to determine the cause of the variation
What is a Pareto chart?
A histogram that arranges the results from most frequent to least frequent to help identify which issues are resulting in the most problems
What is a scatter diagram used for?
It is used to compare actual results to what was anticipated, and to estimate and forecast future outcomes based on this comparison
What term describes how discovering quality issues early may decrease cost and rework that can impact a project?
Cost of change
On agile and hybrid projects, how does getting feedback on small increments of work as soon as possible help the project manager evaluate when there is an issue with quality?
Learning about quality issues early, when they are usually still small and minor, allows them to be corrected while they are still low on the cost of change curve
What is frequent verification and validation?
Regular testing, short time-boxes, and reviews to meet the customer’s needs
Used by agile teams as a way to discover and address human error or the misinterpretation of customer expectations, early and often
What is a retrospective?
A meeting that may be held after a release, or even the entire project
Most often refers to the meeting that is held at the end of each short, time-boxed iteration of product development
What is the difference between lead time and cycle time?
Lead time measures how long something takes to go through an entire process
Cycle time measures how long something takes to go through just a part of the process
Define WIP and throughput.
WIP (Work in Progress) is the number of unfinished pieces of work going on at one time
Throughput is average time it takes to complete the work
How can WIP and throughput be used to calculate cycle time?
Cycle time is a function of WIP and throughput and can be calculated by using the formula:
cycle time = WIP/throughput
What is defect cycle time?
Defect cycle time is the amount of time between the time the defect was introduced and the time it was fixed.
Why is it important to create a safe and open environment?
Creating a safe and open environment will help the project team feel comfortable not just to do their work but to admit their problems, failures, and mistakes and ask for help so that the project can stay on track and save time and money
