Bsbpmg532 Topic 2 v1.0

BSBPMG532
Manage project quality
Topic 02
www.parkerbrent.com.au
Perform Quality Assurance Audit of Project
Processes for Compliance with Agreed Plans
 Quality assurance audits of the project processes focuses on measuring or assessing

the quality of the processes involved to create project deliverables (products/services).
This is also known as process audits and is done to evaluate a method against
determined standards and metrics. Process audits verifies if a process is working
within its limits. Quality Assurance must be implemented at all stages of the project to:
o Assess process quality
o Report non-compliance with quality standards
o Identify the causes of non-compliance and address them
 Below are the steps in performing quality assurance audits
Collect and Compare

analyse data Verify
Determine
data analysis compliance
project processes
relevant to results with from agreed
to be audited
the project agreed plans
processes plans
o Determine project processes to be audited - Identify which tasks you will be auditing.
Although the goal of your audit and the procedures may be the same, focus audit of the
audit may change based the process (e.g. conformance, compliance).
o Collect and analyse data relevant to the project processes - These will include your
quality assurance metrics and information on the specific processes being audited.
o Compare data analysis results with agreed plans - Based on your analysis make a
comparison with the agreed quality plans and determine whether your quality
assurance system for project processes are aligned with each other.
o Verify compliance from agreed plans - Review quality standards and objectives outlined
in your quality management plan. Does your quality assurance reflect these?
 To determine quality assurance for project processes, you may need to consult the
following:
 Compliance Records- Compliance records are documents that may be maintained and
created by different stakeholders or team members. These may be any the following:
o Approved project plans and other planning documents
o Progress plans and schedules
o Communications (meeting minutes, stakeholder communications, surveys,
feedback)
o Quality standards and checklists
o Results and reports of quality reviews, tests, and audits

o Change requests
o Issues register
 Consulting compliance records will give you a general idea of the processes that are
non-compliant with agreed plans.
 Quality Management Plan (QMP)
o Your QMP will have the quality requirements and quality metrics for each project
process (refer to subchapter 1.2). You will have to compare these to assess whether
the results of your quality metrics are aligned with your requirements.
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
o A WBS is a summary of what is required to be developed for the project and the tasks
needed for each step. A WBS can help you identify which processes are involved for
different tasks and its the quality assurance process and metrics. The broken-down
tasks and work packages will allow you to focus on your outcomes and have
measurable milestones.
 Here is a sample basic WBS template:
Project
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3
work package 1.1 work package 2.1 work package 3.1
 The work packages are also known as ‘terminal elements’; they are the most basic part
of a WBS. They are the smallest tasks broken down from the project and are
independent tasks. A work package needs to define the work needed, the duration of
the work, and how much it would cost to do it.
 The project title at the top is the final project deliverable. The project deliverable is the
product of a development process. This may be a service or an object. For example, it
can be a library management system or a house. Note that your work packages may
also be deliverables of its processes and your elements will be the agreed titles for
each.
 You may also use the following tools and techniques for your quality assurance audits:
 Quality audit
o Quality audits are structured reviews used to determine whether project activities comply
with quality policies, processes and procedures.
 Process Analysis
o Process Analysis is done to examine project activities and processes. This will also allow you
to create a process improvement plan for areas that need corrective and remedial
measures.
o Process analysis is used to identify needed quality improvements by examining problems
and constraints experienced during operation of the project processes.
 Process decision program chart (PDPC)
o PDPCs are used to systematically identify potential problems in achieving quality goals and
objectives by anticipating those problems and brainstorming countermeasures.
 Tree diagram
o Tree diagrams are used to represent hierarchies of organisational structures and tasks to
assist in quality decision-making and planning by detailing the component parts of any
complex structure or task.
 Cause-and-effect diagram
o Cause-and-effect diagrams are used to identify possible causes for a quality problem and
helps sorts these causes into categories.
 Below is a sample quality audit template you can use:
Project name:
Prepared by:
Date:
Project manager:
Project phase:
Overall project status:
Audit Date: Audit Number: Audit Leader:
Audit team:
Goal(s) of this specific audit:
Audit of management of project:

1. (Required project objective #1) Assessment: Comment:
Overall assessment of management of project:
Recommended actions/lessons learned regarding management of the project:
Audit of product of project:

1. (Required product
Assessment: Comment:
characteristic #1)
characteristic #2)
characteristic #3)
characteristic #4)
characteristic #5)
Recommended actions/lessons learned regarding the product of the project:
Additional audit comments:
Have you attached additional material/s?  YES  NO

Name/s of attachment/s:
Audit report submitted to: Date submitted:
Assess Quality Control of Project and Product
Output According to Agreed Quality Specifications
 To assess quality control and to verify its compliance with agreed quality specifications
you may follow the steps below:
Collect and analyse Compare data

Identify quality analysis results Verify
data relevant to compliance with
control with agreed
quality control quality
processes quality
processes specifications
specifications
o Identify quality control processes - Which quality control process will you be assessing? At
which phase of your project will you be conducting the assessment?
o Collect and analyse data relevant to quality control processes - These will include your
quality control metrics and results, information of the products being inspected, and the
agreed quality specifications for the products involved.
o Compare data analysis results with agreed quality specifications - Based on the data
gathered, determine whether your quality control is aligned with your quality specifications.
o Verify compliance with quality specifications - To verify compliance, review quality standards
and objectives. Does the quality control system reflect these agreed specifications?
 For your assessment of quality control, you may need to consult the following:
 Quality Control Measurements
o Quality Control Measurements are the results of quality control processes. Your
measurements need to define their purpose. In creating these, make sure to include the
reason it is being done, the processes or variables being measured and where the results
will be used.
 Validated Changes
o Validated changes are those changes that are approved after product or process rework.
You can assess the effectivity of a Quality Control process based on the validated changes
of defective or rejected products.
 Verified Deliverables
o Verified deliverables are the results of the Quality Control process, which
determines whether these results are correct or not and if they are compliant with
quality standards.
 Work Performance Information
o Work Performance Information is the data collected from different processes and
analysed in relation to various project areas.
 Change Requests
o Change requests are the recommendations for preventive and corrective actions for
any process or product that need improvement.
 Project Management Plan Updates
o Project Management Plan Updates are the changes in the processes and activities
involved in the project. This may be a change in the Quality Management Plan, or
this may be a Process Improvement Plan. Project updates focus on the three project
management constraints: cost, time and scope.
 Project Documents Updates

 Project Documents Updates may be changes to the:
o Quality standards
o Quality audit reports
o Agreements
o Assessments
o Training plans
 Organisational Process Assets Updates

 Organisational Process Assets Updates may be changes to:
o Completed checklists
o Lessons learned
 Activity Resource Requirements

 Your activity resource requirements document the resources needed per task for each
work process and can be used to calculate the costs and needed manpower for
specific products.
 Quality Management and Control Tools

o Affinity Diagrams – this is a mind mapping technique used to generate ideas that form organised
patterns when linked.
o Process Decision Program Charts – (P.D.P.C.) this is used to define goals in relation to the process
required to achieve it and can help in anticipating steps that could derail the achievement of a goal.
o Interrelationship diagraphs – this is used to determine relationships between interrelated
processes.
o Matrix diagrams – this is used to analyse data within an organisational structure in the matrix.
o Tree diagrams – This is known as systematic diagrams, are used to represent the decomposition of
hierarchies.
 You may also use the following tools for determining quality control processes and
collecting data for your assessment:
o Informal meetings – You can do this for open discussion without any meeting
agendas for any perceived issues.
o Formal meetings – These are done with formal agendas for discussions on
determined subjects.
o Interviews – This is a more focused meeting with specific individuals.
o Questionnaires – You can provide these to gain answers to specific questions
without the need to discuss them.
o Surveys – These can be done through polls or using multiple-choice questions to

analyse results and input from a wide audience.
o Checklists – These help in identifying existing items and processes and can simplify
obtained data.
o Inspections – You can conduct inspections for your assessment to verify clarity,
content and completeness.
 For an effective assessment of quality control, you may utilise the following techniques:
o Be comprehensive – Make sure that your assessments are clear and thorough. Your
assessment results will be based on the data you have gathered so make sure that you
are as detailed as possible.
o Collaborate – You can work with various stakeholders depending on the activities you
are assessing. Different departments and subjects will have their own experts and
collaborating with them will allow you to gain expert judgment and suggestions for
corrective actions.
o Communicate – Explain your approach and expectations effectively to your assessment
participants. You should have a clear channel of communication to check understanding.
Identify Causes of Variance to Quality
Metrics and Undertake Remedial Action
 Formal sources include:
o Recommendations raised in quality audits
o Communication from government bodies, industry bodies or manufacturers
regarding a change in required specifications
o Change requests where the scope, time, cost or quality is changed
o Documented quality testing by internal team testers or end-users
o Issues raised in contractor reports
o Issues raised at a team meeting and recorded in the minutes
 Informal sources include:

o Issues identified by project team members
o Casual correspondence with an end-user or stakeholder
o Ad hoc issues with contractors or team members
o Bad weather (for outdoor projects)
Identify Causes of Variance to Quality Metrics
and Undertake Remedial Action
 In order to identify causes of variance and understand why certain processes and
products do not meet quality metrics, you may need to review the following:
o Your quality assurance and quality control metrics – The results from these metrics
reflects the effectivity of your quality management system which can be analysed
and identify factors that cause variance.
o Your QMP – This includes assigned quality metrics for every project tasks and
deliverable. Reviewing assigned metrics for project tasks with the use of expert
judgement may help you determine the factors that cause variance.
o Your Critical Success Factors (CSF) – Your project’s critical success factors will help
you identify processes that meet objectives and those that do not. You may use
various quality metrics to identify these, such as:
 Customer satisfaction
 Financial performance
 You may also need the following tools and techniques to identify variance from quality
requirements and its causes:
 Seven Basic Quality Tools
 The Seven Basic Quality Tools, also known as 7QC Tools, are used to solve quality-related
problems (refer to chapter 1.3):
o Cause-and-effect diagrams
o Flowcharts
o Checksheets
o Pareto diagrams
o Histograms
o Control charts
o Scatter diagrams
 Statistical Sampling
o Statistical sampling means choosing part or a sample of a population of interest for inspection
(for example, selecting five hundred products at random from a group of one thousand) to
gather quality control data and make decisions on whether a group of products or deliverables
meet quality requirements without inspecting the entire group. This will allow you to identify
variance to quality metrics and what causes them.
 Inspection
o Inspections are done to examine a work product to determine if it conforms to quality standards.
The results include measurements and may be conducted at any stage. Inspections are also
called reviews, peer reviews, audits, or walkthroughs. In some areas, these terms have narrow
and specific meanings. Inspections may also be used to validate any defect repairs.
 Once you have identified the causes of variance, you will be able to apply the appropriate remedial action
to either prevent or correct. Remedial actions may either be:
• This is done to eliminate the cause of an existing

defect or nonconformity to a metric and to prevent
Corrective actions any recurrence
• This is to eliminate the cause of any potential

nonconformity or defect, or any other undesirable
Preventive actions situations to prevent occurrence.
 To identify which remedial action to undertake you may use the following:
 Fishbone Analysis
o These are cause and effect diagrams, also known as Ishikawa or fishbone diagram,
are useful for identifying risks and problems in quality management by tracing the
problem back to its root cause. Once the root causes are determined, they can be
sorted into categories to aid in determining and developing an improvement plan to
resolve the problem.
 Root Cause Analysis
o Root cause analysis, similar with the Fishbone analysis is a method of solving quality
issues and is used for identifying the root causes of faults or problems the impeded
project success. It involves identifying various causal factors and determining root
cause.
o Root cause analyses are typically done by a small group of people. Brainstorming
and expert judgement is needed to list causal factors for a problem or variance.
Causal Factors are the possible root causes of a variance and will have to be
furthered analysed by asking why it has happened until you have reached all
possible reason for its existence.
Maintain a Quality Management System
for Timely Recording of Quality Audit Data
 Your quality management system is the accumulation of quality management

processes used throughout the project life cycle. Its maintenance, along with all other
management systems used, is vital to your project’s success. As a project manager, it is
your responsibility to make sure that the quality management systems you utilise are
comprehensive and updated. You can maintain your organisation’s quality
management system based on your organisational policies and procedures for a timely
recording of quality audit data.
Maintain a Quality Management System for
Timely Recording of Quality Audit Data
 Here are the steps involved in implementing
a quality management system:
o Design
o Build
o Deploy
o Control
o Measure
o Review
o Improve
 Design and Build are the steps to develop the structure of the Quality Management
System, along with its processes and plans. Deploy is the step where you implement
the processes involved in the system and educate your team of the metrics and
training tools. Control and measure can be accomplished through routine audits of the
system. Review and Improve are the processes that detail the results of the audit, and
this is when you determine how these results are used.
 Here are strategies that you may also use to maintain your quality management
system:
o Institutionalised Dynamism – this means that your organisation or project team
need to have dynamism embedded in your work culture. Everyone needs to be
continually seeking ways for improvement.
o Have a Long-Term Strategic Plan – you need to ensure that your processes and
products are effectively meeting your standards and that your goals and visions for a
project are relevant to the realities of the community.
o Constant Maintenance – this means that your quality management system is

constantly analysed and examined to ensure that you can record audit data in a
timely manner.
o You may also use project management guidelines – Subject Matter Experts (SME)
and other organisations develop project management guides for system
management maintenance. You may use these such as the 21500:2012 guide
prepared by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
 Having an organised and well-maintained quality system will help in the effective recording of
quality audit data. To record quality audit data in a timely manner that allows for continuous
improvement, you may use the following:
 Lean Six Sigma Approach
 Lean Management is a set of management practices that are used to improve efficiency and
effectiveness by reducing and eliminating non-value-adding activities and waste. Six Sigma is
a management methodology that is focused on reducing process variation and enhancing
process control. Lean Six Sigma is a combination of Six Sigma and Lean. It focuses on
customer satisfaction by valuing defect prevention over defect detection. Lean Six Sigma
reduces variation, waste, and cycle time while also promoting the use of work
standardisation and flow.
 Below are the eight types of waste in Lean manufacturing:
o Defects
o Overproduction
o Waiting
o Non-utilised talent
o Transportation
o Inventory
o Motion
o Extra-processing
 Communication Management Plan
 You may utilise a communication management plan to verify quality audit completion and recording.
Communication management plans may be completed by different key stakeholders to allow for an
organised stakeholder engagement. Using these would allow you to consult and monitor timely recording of
quality audit data.
o Regularly check due dates for assigned tasks (best to have your communication plan visible on your desk).
o Check-in with relevant stakeholders on or before the task due date.
o Review assigned tasks requirements.
o Review Completed Tasks against your Project’s Performance Management Plan-The Performance
Management Plan (PMP) will contain the metrics used for ensuring that tasks requirements are being met
by individuals assigned to them.
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BSBPMG532

Manage project quality

 Quality assurance audits of the project processes focuses on measuring or assessing

 Below are the steps in performing quality assurance audits

Collect and Compare

o Results and reports of quality reviews, tests, and audits

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3

work package 1.1 work package 2.1 work package 3.1

Audit of management of project:

Audit of product of project:

Recommended actions/lessons learned regarding the product of the project:

Additional audit comments:

Have you attached additional material/s?  YES  NO

Audit report submitted to: Date submitted:

Collect and analyse Compare data

 Project Documents Updates

 Organisational Process Assets Updates

 Activity Resource Requirements

 Quality Management and Control Tools

o Surveys – These can be done through polls or using multiple-choice questions to

 Informal sources include:

• This is done to eliminate the cause of an existing

• This is to eliminate the cause of any potential

 Your quality management system is the accumulation of quality management

o Constant Maintenance – this means that your quality management system is

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