Connecting Practice

Quality program is an operational activities that refer to the existing quality materials, procedures, tools, training, organization, and metrics that can be defined and used within an organization in achieving best practices characteristically with the following components:

1. Quality Materials – An artifacts used within an organization that detail how a particular aspect of the project must be undertaken to assist a QA team apply and improve quality in the project. Usually they are gathered and established in the framework of the quality initiative and lead to QA team activities improvement, such as:

• Adherence to relevant design, programming, documentation, security, and naming standards – there can be no deviation from Standards unless a formal variation process is undertaken, and approval granted;
• policies;
• templates;
• checklists;
• criteria; and
• guidelines.

Note it is also useful to have some representation from the receivers of these quality materials in order to ensure the QA team are not using jargon that makes it clear to the producers, but unclear to the receivers. This includes consulting any applicable client quality standards, templates, checklists, criteria, and guidelines; and incorporating them into the definition of quality materials.

2. Procedures – An outlined quality and/or design Control activities undertaken to help review and achieve quality of the project. Describe and establish how the project team will build these quality procedures into works, products, services, and processes. Use of best practice methods, techniques, and/or know-how steps for development, such as:

• document Control to control Project Documents at each Project Phase;
• define conditions and availability of required documentation;
• defining quality standards for the deliverables;
• design Waivers of requirements;
• configuration change control;
• change or problem reporting;
• define responsibilities;
• corrective actions;
• Quality Records;
• design changes;
• Nonconformance;
• risk management;
• Quality review;
• design review;
• sign-off; and
• others.

3. Training – The following activities may be necessary:

• Identifying skill needs;
• Specifying and designing any training requirements and strategies for the project team;
• Developing or identifying course materials;
• Integrating skill development, quality concepts, and motivational training; and
• Recording training needs as notes for training plan.

4. Tools – Support tools, such as:

• performance modeling;
• project planning;
• tracking; and
• others.

5. Organization – Clearly describe and assign the quality roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders for executing each element of the quality process, such as: Responsibility for gathering; and interpreting and reporting on measurements of effectiveness.

6. Metrics – Statistics or any status assessment in the project definition that demonstrate measurements and indicators of evidence are captured and established during the various activities undertaken as part of “Quality Assurance” to measure the progress and effectiveness of quality improvement activities. This includes identifying areas where quality improvements can be made. It is used to establish the baseline.

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