Quality Management Strategy 1.1.0

Scope

This document is used to define the quality techniques and standards to be applied to all project’s products.

Quality is a specific property of the scope (see “Iron Triangle”) and dictates the standards to be used for accepting any outcome. These standards are to be set in accordance with the customer (setting budget) and the available resources (mostly skilled people).

In order to promote a correct and fruitful definition of these standards, there are two complementary definitions suggested by Wikipedia:

Specification quality (consumers)

It is focused on features. Their number and ability to fulfil the users’ needs/wishes (where these categories are in for setting priorities).

Conformance quality (producers)

The product / service’s properties of those values shall be within the tolerances set by the “Acceptance Criteria”.

It is important to say that those two categories (consumers and producers are not permanently juxtaposed : external customers vs. internal producers).

For example, the business requirements are supplied by (or with the fundamental help) of the customers and consumed by developers. With the same logic, during the definition phase, reports belong to the consumers’ products, more than the services. This situation changes when the production phase starts.

Quality

This document sets the policies about the respect of agreed standards for any project’s outcome. Therefore, every statement has to be expressed with the utmost attention to clarity and feasibility.

Any suggested modification to the existing company’s policy has to be justified and approved by the Project Board.

RACI (who does what)

Operation desc./Roles Quality

Manager

 Spr PM SME BA Stkhd
Updating the “standard” manual for “Project’s Quality” to the specific needs A C C C R C
Verifying that all necessary information is consisted with the company’s current standards. A C R C R C
Approving R A C C C C
Updating whenever the board authorizes it R A R I I C

Document structure

Distribution list

This kind of information has to be made publicly available (read-only).  A special care has to be spent on making available and easy to cite the single elements. The document itself is a road-map that will be implemented in several areas; therefore, it is important that its accessibility will be granted to everybody.

Registrar section

In this section are listed the areas to be managed. For organizational reasons, it is suggested to delegate the tasks to the Project Manager, who will work together with the designated Subject Matter Expert.

Quality Management Procedures
Planning The schedule for the activities required by the Quality (Assurance) are described in the following terms:

  1. Frequence (how many times for the given interval (time or stage)
  2. Deemed duration (detailed per needed resources)
  3. Resources required (e.g. people, resort, machine)
  4. Methods (e.g. Peer Review)

These are the concepts to be considered in setting the process:

  1. Value of “quality” to be intended as share of the available budget to be allocated to the controls suggested in the following section (as indicated in the WBS) .
  2. Availability of the required skills and other resources necessary for complying with the set rules
  3. Timing to be synchronized with the (integrated) main schedule and plan.
  4. Requests focused on auditing purposes.
Specific areas of intervention

Technical

This document is bound to set the guidelines. All details will be defined in enclosed documents, this is a list of proposed solutions:

1) Coding. It covers all aspects of producing and reviewing the developers’ outcome (e.g. comments, metrics and (unit) testing).

2) Architecture. The topics to be analyzed span from readability (e.g. use of specific tools/languages like UML) to usability (i.e. versatility in responding to any technical challenge offered by the required functions).

3) Testing. The definition of tools, metrics, policies (including auditing) for verifying that the outcomes are verified for being acceptable by the criteria set in the “Benefit Management Review”.

4) Skills. In order to have a benchmark for evaluating the abilities of candidates, it is essential to set the minimum level of competence.

5) Tools. These elements will be judged for these criteria:

  1. a. Efficiency
  2. b. Efficacy
  3. c. Ease of use
  4. d. Safety & Security as per industry and company’s policies.

Business

This section contains the “translation” into operational guidelines of the Project Brief and Business Case.

Organizational

All the mandates to be issued will be checked for approval using the guidelines set for each role.

The list of proposed roles will be developed in the next version.
Quality Controls Tools and procedures (including template) to be used for checking the correct application of the guidelines set in this document.
Recording Quality activities A register will be created for the only purpose of recording any activity done for assuring that each property (as specified in this document) of the examined outcome, fells in the set range of values.
Planning audits These operations will be planned in accordance with project’s needs (usually end of stage) and staff availability.
Reporting (templates and timing) This section will be filled in accordance with the following documents:

  1. Organizational diagram
  2. Project Brief scope and timing, therefore the strategy for planning.
  3. Approved templates to be enclosed as part of this document.
Major Risks Any non compliant procedure is a source of risk. For the bulk of information, these will be supplied by the audits’ outcomes.
Approved Project Sponsor / Project Manager/Quality Manager

Technical domains

All possible efforts to comply to have been stated in the Business Case.

Financial / Commercial domains

Notes