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Friday, 20 January 2012

Quality Management 8.3 Perform Quality Control


Quick Link for Quality Management

Quality Management 8.1 Plan quality

Quality Management 8.2 perform quality assurance



Quality control involves monitoring and recording specific project results to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. Project results include both product deliverables and project performance measures such as cost and schedule.
Project teams should know the differences between:
·         Prevention (keeping errors out of the process) and inspection (keeping errors away from the customer).
·         Attribute sampling (the result conforms or it does not) and variables sampling (results are measured to determine the degree of conformity).
·         Tolerances (the result is acceptable if it's within the range specified by the tolerance) and control limits (the process is in control if the result falls within the control limits).

Perform quality control
Inputs
Tools
Outputs
1.       Project management Plan
2.       Quality metrics
3.       Quality checklists
4.       Work performance measurements
5.       Approved change requests
6.       Deliverables
7.       Organizational process assets
1.       Cause and effect diagrams
2.       Control charts
3.       Flowcharting
4.       Histogram
5.       Pareto chart
6.       Run chart
7.       Scatter diagram
8.       Statistical sampling
9.       Inspection
10.   Approved change requests review
1.       Quality control measurements
2.       Validated changes
3.       Validated deliverables
4.       OPA updates
5.       Change requests
6.       Project management Plan updates
7.       Project document updates


Seven Key lnputs for Perform Quality Control:

1.       Project Management Plan: Contains the quality management plan which documents how quality control is to be handled.
2.       Quality Metrics: Also known as operational definitions, metrics describe how something will be measured. Quality metrics might include failure rates and reliability. A related project performance metric might measure whether an activity is on time (A decision would have to be made as to whether on time means starting on time, finishing on time, or both).
3.       Quality Checklists: A structured tool to verify that all steps in a process have been performed. Checklists are often used in the quality management process, especially in a complex or for tasks performed frequently.
4.       Work Performance Measurements: Contains measures of actual progress which are compared to planned progress. These metrics include:
·         Planned vs. actual technical performance
·         Planned vs. actual schedule performance
·         Planned vs. actual cost performance
5.       Approved Change Requests: Approved changes may affect work methods, schedules, and defect repairs. The correct and timely implementation of approved changes must be verified.
6.       Deliverables: Described in Section 4.3.3.1 (any verifiable product or result).
7.       Organizational Process Assets: Organizational Process Assets that may affect quality control include:
·         Quality standards and policies
·         Standard work guidelines
·         Procedures and policies for issue reporting, defect reporting, and communication


1.    Ten Key Tools for Perform Quality Control:



1.       Cause and Effect Diagram: You must know that cause and effect diagrams are also called lshikawa or Fishbone diagrams. They are used to illustrate the possible factors that may be causing or influencing certain problems. PMI also emphasizes that they may be used to stimulate thinking and discussion.
2.       Control charts: Control charts are used to determine whether a process is stable (under control) and is therefore producing predictable results. The charts track three major types of data:
a.       Specification limits are requirements in the contract,
b.      Control limits define points at which corrective action is considered and 
c.       There is a planned goal (the perfect outcome). 

Control charts are graphic, time-based displays of process results. The charts are used to determine whether a process is under control. In other words, are the differences in the results caused by random variations or are they the result of "special causes" that indicate a need for corrective action? The following list reviews key points:
·         Control limits indicate how much variation is inherent in a process. control limits are often at a range of plus or minus three sigma (where sigma is the standard deviation of process outcomes).
·         Outcomes outside the control limits are referred as special causes (or assignable causes) and indicate a need for corrective action.
·         Specification limits are established in the contract and represent customer demands (how much variation is allowable before the results are rejected or penalized in some way). This concept is also referred to as a tolerance.
3.       Flow charting: Described in Section 8.1.2.7. Flowcharts are diagrams used to help analyze how problems occur. Most flowcharts show activities, decision points, and the sequence in which process steps occur. These diagrams help improve processes and help anticipate where problems might occur.
4.       Histogram: A vertical bar chart that rank orders or prioritizes data. The next tool, Pareto chart, is an example of a histogram.
5.       Pareto chart: A histogram (vertical bar chart) ordered by the frequency of occurrence that shows results by specific causes. The greatest cause of defects or variances is shown as the tallest bar on the left of the chart. The causes are rank ordered from left to right, and the rank ordering is used to guide corrective action-the greatest cause of variance is worked on first.
The tool was named after an Italian economist who discovered that 80% of the wealth in a particular region in Europe was held by only 2a% of the population. This discovery eventually was dubbed the 80/20 rule, indicating the importance of focusing efforts toward improvement on the "significant few."

6.       Run chart: Trend analysis is performed using a run chart, which is a line graph that plots data points in the order in which they occur (i.e., on a time scale). The data may show:
·         Variation
·         Declines or improvements over time
·         Trends
7.       Scatter Diagram: Shows the relationship between two variables known as the dependent and the independent variables. 
8.       Statistical Sampling: Choosing part of a population for inspection. For example, one might examine 150 of the 1,000 welds on a bridge construction project to determine whether the welds conform to requirements. Sampling is done to reduce the cost of quality control.

For the exam, you should know the conditions under which sampling is most appropriate:
·         When the population is large
·         When the cost of inspection is high
·         When destructive testing is required (duh)
·         When you believe there are not many defects
Attribute sampling looks for the presence or absence of particular defects. Variable sampling provides the basis for control charts by numerically measuring the degree of conformity for particular factors.
9.       Inspection: The examination of a work product to determine whether it conforms to standards. Inspections generally include measurements and may be conducted at any level (the final product, a sub-system, or a single activity). As before, other names include reviews, audits, and walkthroughs.
10.   Approved Change Requests Review: These reviews are designed to ensure that approved change requests were implemented correctly.

Seven Key Outputs for Perform Quality Control:

1.       Quality Control Measurements: As described in quality assurance, these measurements are used as feedback to QA to reevaluate any quality standards currently in use.
2.       Validated Changes: Repaired or changed items are inspected and either accepted or rejected. Rejected items may require rework.
3.       Validated Deliverable: A major goal of quality control is to ensure that deliverables are correct. Validated deliverable are inputs to Verify Scope (Section 5.4) for formal acceptance.
4.       Organizational Process Assets Updates: Recording the use of checklists and incorporating those records into the historical database of the organization.
5.       Change requests: If recommended corrective actions, preventive actions or defect repairs lead to change requests, the requests must be processed using integrated change control.
6.       Project management plan updates: Portions of the project management plan that may be updated include:
·         Quality management plan
·         Process improvement plan
7.       Project document updates: Documents that may be updated include quality standards.


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