Quality Theme Flashcards
What’s the definition of quality?
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of a product, service, process, person, organization, system or resource fulfils requirements
What’s the definition of quality management?
The coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality
What’s the main aim of quality management within a project environment?
Ensure that products meet business expectations and enable the desired benefits to be realized
What’s the definition of customers’ quality expectations?
A statement about the quality expected from the project product, captured in the project product description
Which principle is central to the approach to quality?
Focus on products
What’s the definition of acceptance criteria?
A prioritized list of criteria that the project must meet before the customer accepts it
What is quality planning?
It’s about defining the project’s products and their quality criteria.
The Project Board needs to agree to the overall quality expectation, the products and quality criteria
These need to be communicated so all stakeholders have a common understanding
Quality planning also sets a baseline for the project’s quality controls
What is quality control?
It’s about testing products and making sure they meet quality criteria, and identifying ways of eliminating poor performance
What is the difference between quality assurance and project assurance?
Quality assurance is independent of the project and checks that it is managed and directed properly (process-focused)
Project assurance is a Project Board responsibility, making sure the project is managed correctly to fit their needs (product-focused)
What does the quality management approach need to cover as a minimum? (8)
- Approach to quality control
- Approach to project assurance
- The way quality will be communicated through the life cycle
- Relevant roles and responsibilities
- Quality criteria for products, specified in the product descriptions
- Maintain quality records
- Specify the customer’s quality expectations and acceptance criteria
- Use lessons to inform planning
What two products must be produced and maintained under the quality theme?
- Quality management approach
2. Quality register
What is contained in a quality management approach?
It describes how quality will be managed and includes specific processes, procedures and techniques, standards and responsibilities
What is a quality register?
It summarizes all the quality activities and provides information for end stage and end project reports.
It
- has a unique reference for each quality activity
- acts as a pointer to quality records
- acts as a summary of the number and type of quality activities undertaken
CQE
Customer quality expectations
What should be covered in the customer quality expectations? (4)
- quality requirements for the project’s product
- standards and processes that should be applied
- how any customer or supplier quality management system will be used
- Any measurements that will be useful to assess whether the product meets expectations
Once these are covered, the (prioritized) acceptance criteria should be developed.
What is the purpose of quality planning, and what is included in it?
The purpose is to establish the objectives and requirements for quality and lay out the overall approach to quality during the initiation stage.
It is important to:
- establish the activities that are needed within a stage to ensure quality is achieved
- ensure the customer’s quality expectations and acceptance criteria are fully understood and documented before the project starts
What are the two types of quality control?
- In-process (during creation of products)
- Appraisal (finished products are assessed)
These are set our in the quality management approach
What provides an audit trail of quality activities?
The quality register
What is a quality review?
A team of qualified people get together and check a completed product for errors
Typically this is carried out in the managing product delivery process
What are the four objectives of a quality review?
- To assess the conformity of a product
- To involve key interested parties in checking the product’s quality and providing wider acceptance of the product
- To provide confirmation that the product is complete and ready for approval
- To baseline the product for change control
What are the three basic steps in the quality review technique?
- Review preparation (set up meeting and determine participants, distribute product and quality criteria/question list)
- Review meeting agenda (discuss and clarify any major errors, agree on appropriate actions and review outcome, and sign off on appropriate actions
- Review follow-up (complete actions, communicate results and file records)
What are the three possible results of a quality review?
- Complete (product is fit for purpose)
- Conditionally complete (complete subject to some further actions)
- Incomplete (another review cycle is required)
What are the four roles in the quality review process?
- The Chair (responsible for conducting the review)
- The Presenter (Responsible for introducing the product to the reviewers)
- The Reviewer
- The Administrator (who records results and any recommended actions)
You need a minimum of two people too carry out a review.
