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SAJJAD KHUDHUR ABBASChemical Engineering , Al-Muthanna University, IraqOil & Gas Safety and Health Professional – OSHACADEMYTrainer of Trainers (TOT) - Canadian Center of Human Development

Episode 24 : Project Quality Management

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Project Quality ManagementProject Quality Management

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IntroductionIntroduction

Include the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken

Include all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities and implements them by means such as quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement, within the quality system

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What is Quality?What is Quality?

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines quality as “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements” (ISO9000:2000).

Other experts define quality based on: Conformance to requirements: The project’s processes and products meet

written specifications.

Fitness for use: A product can be used as it was intended.

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What Is Project Quality Management?What Is Project Quality Management?

Project quality management ensures that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.

Processes include: Quality planning: Identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project

and how to satisfy them. Quality assurance: Periodically evaluating overall project performance to ensure

the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards. Quality control: Monitoring specific project results to ensure that they comply

with the relevant quality standards.

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Project quality management must address: Management of the project Product of the project

Quality vs grade Grade – “a category or rank given to entities having the same

functional use but different technical characteristics” Software product:

high quality (no obvious bugs, readable manual) but low grade (a limited number of features

Low quality (many bugs, poorly organized user documentation) and high grade (numerous feature)

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Modern Quality Management PracticesModern Quality Management Practices

Customer satisfaction – understanding, managing and influencing needs so that customer

expectation are met. Conformance to requirements Fitness for use

Prevention over inspection Cost of preventing mistakes is always much less than the cost of

correcting them as revealed by inspection

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Modern Quality Management PracticesModern Quality Management Practices

Management responsibility Success requires the participation of all members of the team, the responsibility of management to provide the resources needed to

succeed Processes within phases

Plan-do-check-act cycle Quality improvement initiatives by the performing organization

(TQM, Continuous Improvement etc)

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Who’s Responsible for the Quality Who’s Responsible for the Quality of Projects?of Projects?

Project managers are ultimately responsible for quality management on their projects.

Several organizations and references can help project managers and their teams understand quality. International Organization for Standardization

(www.iso.org) IEEE (www.ieee.org)

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QUALITY PLANNINGQUALITY PLANNING

Involves identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and determining how to satisfy them

Should be performed regularly and in parallel with the other project planning processes

Implies the ability to anticipate situations and prepare actions to bring about the desired outcome.

Quality is planned in, not inspected in

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The processesThe processes

Inputs1. Quality policy2. Scope statement3. Product

description4. Standards and

regulations5. Other process

outputs

Tools and Techniques1. Benefit/cost analysis2. Benchmarking3. Flowcharting4. Design of experiments5. Cost of quality

Outputs1. Quality

management plan2. Operational

definitions3. Checklists4. Inputs to other

processes

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InputsInputs Quality Policy

The overall intentions and direction of an organization with regard to quality, as formally expressed by top management

Project team can adopt the performing organization policy “as is” or develop a policy for the project

Scope statement Documents major project deliverables, as well as the project objectives that serve

to define important stakeholder requirements Product descriptions

Contain details of technical issues and other concerns that may affect quality planning

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Standards and regulations Must consider any application area-specific standards or regulations

that may affect the project Other process outputs

Processes in other knowledge areas may produce outputs that should be considered as part of quality planning

Eg in procurement planning may identify contractor quality requirements that should be reflected in the overall quality management plan

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Tools and TechniquesTools and Techniques

Benefit/cost analysis Primary benefit of meeting quality requirements is less rework, which

means higher productivity, lower costs and increased stakeholders satisfaction

Primary cost is the expense associated with project quality management activities

Benchmarking Involves comparing actual or planned project practices to those of

other projects to generate ideas for improvement and to provide a standard by which to measure performance

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Flowcharting Any diagram that shows how various elements of a system relate

Cause-and-effect diagrams System or process flow charts

Flowcharting can help the project team anticipate what and where quality problems might occur and thus can help develop approaches for dealing with them

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Cause-and-effect diagrams, also called Ishikawa diagrams or fishbone diagrams, which illustrate how various factors might be linked to potential problems or effects

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An example of a process flow chart for design reviews

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Design of experiments is a quality planning technique that helps identify which variables have the most

influence on the overall outcome of a process. Also applies to project management issues, such as cost and schedule trade-

offs. Eg senior engineers will cost more than junior engineers, but can also be expected

to complete the assigned work in less time

Involves documenting important factors that directly contribute to meeting customer requirements.

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Cost of quality Refers to the total cost of all efforts to achieve product/service

quality and include all work to ensure conformance to requirements, as well as all work resulting from non-conformance to requirements

Three types of costs that are incurred Prevention cost Appraisal costs Failure costs

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OutputsOutputs

Quality management plan Should describe how the project management team will implement

its quality policy ISO 9000 terminology :- “the organizational structures,

responsibilities, procedures, processes and resources needed to implement quality management”

Provides input to the overall project plan and must address quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement for the project

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Operational definitions Describes in very specific terms what something is and how it is

measured by the quality control process Checklists

Structured tool used to verify that a set of required steps have been performed

Input to other processes Identify a need for further activity in another area

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QUALITY ASSURANCESQUALITY ASSURANCES Quality assurance includes all the activities related to satisfying the relevant

quality standards for a project. Another goal of quality assurance is continuous quality improvement. Benchmarking generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing

specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization.

A quality audit is a structured review of specific quality management activities that help identify lessons learned that could improve performance on current or future projects.

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Inputs1. Quality

management plan2. Results of quality

control measurements

3. Operational definitions

Tools and Techniques1. Quality planning tools

and techniques2. Quality audits

Outputs1. Quality

improvements

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QUALITY CONTROLQUALITY CONTROL

Involves monitoring specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant quality standards, and identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory results

Often performed by a Quality Control Department

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Requires some knowledge of statistical quality control, especially sampling and probability, to help evaluate quality control outputs Prevention (keeping errors out of the process) and inspection (keeping errors out

of the hands of the customer) Attribute sampling (the result conforms, or it does not) and variables sampling

(the result is rated on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity) Special causes (unusual events) and random causes (normal process variations) Tolerances (the result is acceptable if it falls within the range specified by the

tolerance) and control limits (the process is in control if the result falls within the control limits)

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Inputs1. Work results2. Quality

management plan3. Operational

definitions4. Checklists

Tools and Techniques1. Inspection2. Control chart3. Pareto diagrams4. Statistical sampling5. Flowcharting6. Trend analysis

Outputs1. Quality

improvements2. Acceptance

decisions3. Rework4. Completed

checklists5. Process

adjustments

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Pareto AnalysisPareto Analysis

Pareto analysis involves identifying the vital few contributors that account for the most quality problems in a system.

Also called the 80-20 rule, meaning that 80 percent of problems are often due to 20 percent of the causes.

Pareto diagrams are histograms, or column charts representing a frequency distribution, that help identify and prioritize problem areas.

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Sample Pareto DiagramSample Pareto Diagram

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Statistical Sampling and Standard Statistical Sampling and Standard DeviationDeviation

Statistical sampling involves choosing part of a population of interest for inspection.

The size of a sample depends on how representative you want the sample to be.

Sample size formula:Sample size = .25 X (certainty factor/acceptable error)2

Be sure to consult with an expert when using statistical analysis.

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Six SigmaSix Sigma

Six Sigma is “a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes.”*

*Pande, Peter S., Robert P. Neuman, and Roland R. Cavanagh, TheSix Sigma Way, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000, p. xi.

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ISO StandardsISO Standards

ISO 9000 is a quality system standard that:

Is a three-part, continuous cycle of planning, controlling, and documenting quality in an organization.

Provides minimum requirements needed for an organization to meet its quality certification standards.

Helps organizations around the world reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.

ISO 15504, sometimes known as SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination), is a framework for the assessment of software processes.

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Improving Project QualityImproving Project Quality

Several suggestions for improving quality for projects include:

Establish leadership that promotes quality.

Understand the cost of quality.

Focus on organizational influences and workplace factors that affect quality.

Follow maturity models.

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LeadershipLeadership

As Joseph M. Juran said in 1945, “It is most important that top management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below.”*

A large percentage of quality problems are associated with management, not technical issues.

*American Society for Quality (ASQ), (www.asqc.org/about/history/juran.html).

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The Cost of QualityThe Cost of Quality The cost of quality is the cost of conformance plus the cost of

nonconformance. Conformance means delivering products that meet requirements and fitness for

use. Cost of nonconformance means taking responsibility for failures or not meeting

quality expectations. A 2002 study reported that software bugs cost the U.S. economy $59.6

billion each year and that one third of the bugs could be eliminated by an improved testing infrastructure.*

*RTI International, “Software Bugs Cost U.S. Economy $59.6 Billion Annually, RTI Study Finds,” July 1, 2002.

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Costs Per Hour of Downtime Caused by Software Costs Per Hour of Downtime Caused by Software DefectsDefects

Business Cost per Hour Downtime

Automated teller machines (medium-sized bank) $14,500

Package shipping service $28,250

Telephone ticket sales $69,000

Catalog sales center $90,000

Airline reservation center (small airline) $89,500

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Five Cost Categories Related to QualityFive Cost Categories Related to Quality

Prevention cost: Cost of planning and executing a project so it is error-free or within an acceptable error range.

Appraisal cost: Cost of evaluating processes and their outputs to ensure quality.

Internal failure cost: Cost incurred to correct an identified defect before the customer receives the product.

External failure cost: Cost that relates to all errors not detected and corrected before delivery to the customer.

Measurement and test equipment costs: Capital cost of equipment used to perform prevention and appraisal activities.

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Media Snapshot*Media Snapshot*

A 2004 study by Nucleus Research Inc. estimates that spam will cost large companies nearly $2,000 per employee in lost productivity in 2004 alone, despite investments in software to block spam. Spam currently accounts for more than 70 percent of total e-mail volume worldwide.

In just one month (August 2003), at least 50 new Internet viruses surfaced, and losses related to computer viruses cost North American companies about $3.5 billion. Businesses have suffered at least $65 billion in lost productivity because of computer viruses since 1997.

*McGuire, David, “Report: Spam Costs Are Rising at Work,” Washington Post (June 7, 2004).

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Organizational Influences, Workplace Organizational Influences, Workplace Factors, and QualityFactors, and Quality

Study by DeMarco and Lister showed that organizational issues had a much greater influence on programmer productivity than the technical environment or programming languages.

Programmer productivity varied by a factor of one to ten across organizations, but only by 21 percent within the same organization.

Study found no correlation between productivity and programming language, years of experience, or salary.

A dedicated workspace and a quiet work environment were key factors to improving programmer productivity.

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Expectations and Cultural Differences Expectations and Cultural Differences in Qualityin Quality

Project managers must understand and manage stakeholder expectations.

Expectations also vary by:

Organization’s culture

Geographic regions

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