IT Project Management

IT project Quality Assurance

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 Content
What is Quality?
Project Quality Management
PQM Processes
ISO 9000
The IT Project Quality Plan

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 What is Quality?
 IEEE Glossary: Degree to which a system, component, or process
meets (1) specified requirements, and (2) customer or user needs or
expectations.
 ISO: the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service
that bear on its ability to satisfy specified or implied needs.
 Traditional definition: fitness of purpose, a quality product does
exactly what the users want it to do.
 What makes a car a quality car - number of features, reliability, safety,
affordability, high price?
 Achieving a high level of customer satisfaction with the product. This is
problematical for software systems:
 Tension between customer quality requirements (efficiency, reliability, etc.)
and developer quality requirements (maintainability, reusability, etc.)
 Some quality requirements are difficult to specify in an unambiguous way

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 cont’d
Features & functionality – is that enough to define
quality?
 we can build systems that have a great deal of functionality,
but perform poorly. On the other hand, we can develop
systems that have few features or limited functionality, but
fewer defects.

Quality depends on the needs or expectations of the

customer
 The PM and team must define accurately those needs while
staying within resource constraints

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 Project Quality Management
The purpose of project quality management is to
ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for
which it was undertaken.
 Concerned with ensuring the required level of quality is
achieved in a software product
 Involves the definition of appropriate quality standards and the
definition of procedures to ensure that these standards are
followed
 Works best when a ‘quality culture’ is created where quality if
seen as everyone’s responsibility

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 PMBOK® – PQM Processes
Quality planning
 Determining which quality standards are important to the
project and deciding how these standards will be met.

Quality assurance
 Evaluating overall project performance regularly to ensure that
the project team is meeting the specified quality standards.
 Measures the quality of processes used to create a quality
product.
 A set of activities designed to ensure that the development
and/or maintenance process is adequate to ensure a system will
meet its objectives.
 QA activities ensure that the process is defined and appropriate.
 Methodology and standards development are examples of QA
activities.

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 PQM Processes(cont’d)
Quality control
 Measures the quality of a product.
 A set of activities (inspections, reviews, and test ) designed to
evaluate a developed work product.
 QC activities focus on finding defects in specific deliverables.
 QC compare the work products with the specified and
measurable standards.
 Software quality control is a control of products while
Software quality assurance is a control of processes.

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 ISO 9000
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
 Formed in 1947. It has over 130 member organizations, with
one member per country.
ISO published its 9000 series of standards in 1987.
The ISO 9000 standard specifies guidelines for
maintaining a quality system.
ISO 9000 specifies:
 guidelines for repeatable and high quality product development.
 Also addresses organizational aspects
 responsibilities, reporting, procedures, processes, and resources for
implementing quality management.

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 ISO 9000(cont’d)
A set of guidelines for the production process.
 not directly concerned about the product it self.
 a series of three standards:
 ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003.
Based on the premise:
 if a proper process is followed for production good quality
products are bound to follow.
ISO 9001 - Applies to organizations engaged in
design, development, production, and servicing of
goods.
 applicable to most software development organizations.

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 ISO 9000(cont’d)
ISO 9002 - applies to organizations who do not design
products but are only involved in production.
 Example:
 steel or car manufacturing industries - buy the product and plant
designs from external sources
 only manufacture products.
 not applicable to software development organizations.
ISO 9003 - applies to organizations involved only in
installation and testing of the products.

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 IT vs. Other Industries
Very difficult to interpret many clauses for software
industry
 software development is radically different from development
of other products.
Software is intangible
 therefore difficult to control.
 It is difficult to control anything that we cannot see and feel.
 In contrast, in a car manufacturing unit:
 we can see a product being developed through stages such as
fitting engine, fitting doors, etc.
 one can accurately tell about the status of the product at any time.

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 Cont’d
During software development the only raw material
consumed is data.
For any other product development lot of raw
materials consumed
 E.g. Steel industry consumes large volumes of iron ore, coal,
limestone, etc.
ISO 9000 standards have many clauses
corresponding to raw material control.
 not relevant to software organizations.
Radical differences exist between software and other
product development, difficult to interpret various
clauses of the original ISO standard in the context of
software industry.
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 ISO 9000 Part-3
ISO released a separate document called ISO 9000
part-3 in 1991
 to help interpret the ISO standard for software industry.
At present, official guidance is inadequate

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 Why Get ISO 9000 Certification?
Several benefits:
 Confidence of customers in an organization increases if
organization qualified for ISO 9001 certification.
 This is especially true in the international market.
 Many international software development contracts insist
development organization to have ISO 9000 certification.
 Requires a well-documented software production process to
be in place.
 contributes to repeatable and higher quality software
 Makes development process focussed, efficient, and cost-
effective
 Points out the weakness of an organizations; recommends
remedial action.

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 Cont’d
Sets the basic framework for development of an
optimal process and TQM (Total Quality
Management).
 TQM – Advocates continuous process improvements through
process measurements.
 optimizes them through redesign.

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 The IT Project Quality Plan
 There is no commonly accepted approach for PQM so many
project managers approach it differently
 A basic framework will be introduced to integrate the knowledge
areas of quality planning, assurance, control and improvement

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 Quality Philosophies & Principles
Focus on customer satisfaction
Prevention, not inspection – quality is built into the
product
Improve the process to improve the product
Quality is everyone’s responsibility; management
must provide resources, remove barriers and provide
leadership

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 Developing Standards & Metrics
Standards provide the foundation for any quality plan
Metrics are vital for evaluating quality by establishing
tolerance limits and identifying defects.
 There are two parts to a metric:
 the metric itself and
 an acceptable value or range of values for that metric

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 Project Quality Metrics
 Process
 Control the defects introduced by the processes required to create the
project deliverables
 Can be used to improve software development or maintenance
 Should focus on the effectiveness of identifying and removing defects or
bugs
 Product
 Focuses on the intrinsic quality of the deliverables and satisfaction of the
customer, client, or sponsor with these deliverables
 Attempt to describe the characteristics of the project’s deliverables and
final product
 Project
 Focus on the control of the project management processes to ensure that
the project meets its overall goal as well as its scope, schedule, and
budget objectives

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Process, Product & Project Metrics Examples
Type Metric Description
Process Defect Arrival Rate The number of defects found over a specific period of time.
Defects by Phase The number of defects found during each phase of the project.
Defect Backlog The number of defects waiting to be fixed.
Fix Response Time The average time it takes to fix a defect.
Defective Fixes The number of fixes that created new defects.
Product Mean Time to Failure Average or mean time elapsed until a product fails.
Defect Density The number of defects per lines of code (LOC) or function points.
Customer Found Defects The number of defects found by the customer.
Customer Satisfaction An index to measure customer satisfaction – e.g., scale from 1 (very unsatisfied)
to 5 (very satisfied)
Project Scope Change Requests The number of scope changes requested by the client or sponsor.
Scope Change Approvals The number of scope changes that were approved.
Overdue tasks The number of tasks that were started but not finished by the expected date or
time.
Tasks that should have started The number of task that should have started but have been delayed.
Over budgeted tasks The number of tasks (and dollar amount) of tasks that have cost more to complete
than expected
Earned Value Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)
Over allocated Resources The number of resources assigned to more than one task.
Turnover The number of project team members who quit or terminated.
Training Hours The number of training hours per project team member.
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 Verification & Validation (V&V)
Verification Are we building the product the right way?
 Focuses on process-related activities to ensure that the
products & deliverables meet specified requirements before
final testing
 Technical Reviews – ensures that the IT solution conforms to
specified requirements
 Walk-through programmer/designer leads a group of his peers through a program
or technical design
 Inspection – checklist to identify errors
 Business Reviews – ensure that the deliverable is complete,
provides info needed for next phase, meets standards and project
methodology
 Management Reviews – actual vs baseline comparison

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 V & V(cont’d)
Validation Did we build the right product?
 Product-oriented activities that attempt to determine if the
system or project deliverables meet the customer or client’s
expectations
 Testing
 Does the system function as intended and have all the capabilities
& features defined in the project’s scope and requirements
definition
 Test plan should outline what is to be tested
 A test plan should act as a service level agreement among the
various project stakeholders and should encourage “quality before
design and coding.”

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Change, Control & Configuration Management
Changes to the project work must be managed
 What changes were made?
 Who made the changes?
 When were the changes made?
 Why were the changes made?

Configuration management includes a set of

processes and tools that allow the project team to
manage its various documents and files as various
configurations of IT solutions and project deliverables
are derived.
 It may include specifying and enforcing various policies that
restrict access to specific individuals or preventing two people
from changing the same document or file at the same time –
version control
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 Monitor and Control
 Monitor project’s standards to ensure that the project quality
objective is achieved
 Control is necessary for identifying problems in order to take
corrective action and make improvements once a process is
under control
 Quality Control Activities should focus on the inputs and outputs
of each process.
 Quality Control Tools – Ishikawa diagram, control chart, Pareto
diagram, checklist, run chart and project management tools

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 Learn, Mature, and Improve
Lessons learned
 Provide the basis for continual improvement
 Can be the basis for identifying and implementing best
practices

A project quality plan should do more than an

attempt to build a better IT solution, it should also
support the organization in searching for ways to
build a better product.

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 SQA plans by IEEE [IEEE98]
 Purpose of plan and its scope
 Management
 organization structure, SQA tasks, their placement in the process
 roles and responsibilities related to product quality
 Documentation
 project documents, models, technical documents, user documents.
 standards, practices, and conventions
 reviews and audits
 test
 test plan and procedure
 problem reporting, and correction actions
 Tools, code control, media control, supplier control,
 records collection, maintenance, and retention
 Training and risk management 27
Chapter 8:
Project Communications
Management

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 Importance of Good Communications
The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to
communicate
Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being
good communicators
Research shows that IT professionals must be able to
communicate effectively to succeed in their positions
Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career advancement
for IT professionals

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Project Communications Management Processes
Communications planning: determining the
information and communications needs of the
stakeholders
Information distribution: making needed information
available in a timely manner
Performance reporting: collecting and disseminating
performance information
Administrative closure: generating, gathering, and
disseminating information to formalize phase or
project completion

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 Communications Planning
Every project should include some type of
communications management plan, a document that
guides project communications
Creating a stakeholder analysis for project
communications also aids in communications
planning

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Communications Management Plan Contents

A description of a collection and filing structure for

gathering and storing various types of information
A distribution structure describing what information
goes to whom, when, and how
A format for communicating key project information
A project schedule for producing the information
Access methods for obtaining the information
A method for updating the communications
management plans as the project progresses and
develops
A stakeholder communications analysis
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Sample Stakeholder Analysis for Project
Communications

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 Information Distribution
Getting the right information to the right people at the
right time and in a useful format is just as important as
developing the information in the first place
Important considerations include
 using technology to enhance information distribution
 formal and informal methods for distributing information

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Table 10-2. Media Choice Table

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 Performance Reporting
Performance reporting keeps stakeholders informed about
how resources are being used to achieve project objectives
 Status reports describe where the project stands at a specific point in
time
 Progress reports describe what the project team has accomplished
during a certain period of time
 Project forecasting predicts future project status and progress based on
past information and trends
 Status review meetings often include performance reporting

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 Administrative Closure
A project or phase of a project requires closure
Administrative closure produces
 project archives
 formal acceptance
 lessons learned

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Suggestions for Improving Project Communications

Manage conflicts effectively

Develop better communication skills
Run effective meetings
Use e-mail effectively
Use templates for project communications

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Conflict Handling Modes, in Preference Order

Confrontation or problem-solving: directly face a

conflict
Compromise: use a give-and-take approach
Smoothing: de-emphasize areas of differences and
emphasize areas of agreement
Forcing: the win-lose approach
Withdrawal: retreat or withdraw from an actual or
potential disagreement

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 Conflict Can Be Good
Conflict often produces important results, such as new
ideas, better alternatives, and motivation to work
harder and more collaboratively
Groupthink can develop if there are no conflicting
viewpoints
Research by Karen Jehn suggests that task-related
conflict often improves team performance, but
emotional conflict often depresses team performance

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Developing Better Communication Skills
Companies and formal degree programs for IT
professionals often neglect the importance of
developing speaking, writing, and listening skills
As organizations become more global, they realize
they must invest in ways to improve communication
with people from different countries and cultures
It takes leadership to improve communication

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 Running Effective Meetings
Determine if a meeting can be avoided
Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting
Determine who should attend the meeting
Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting
Prepare handouts, visual aids, and make logistical
arrangements ahead of time
Run the meeting professionally
Build relationships

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 Using E-Mail Effectively
 Make sure that e-mail is an appropriate medium for what you
want to communicate
 Be sure to send the e-mail to the right people
 Use meaningful subjects
 Limit the content to one main subject, and be as clear and
concise as possible
 Limit the number and size of attachments
 Delete e-mail you don’t need, and don’t open it if you question
the source
 Make sure your virus software is up to date
 Respond to and file e-mails quickly
 Learn how to use important features

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Using Templates for Project Communications
Many technical people are afraid to ask for help
Providing examples and templates for project
communications saves time and money
Organizations can develop their own templates, use
some provided by outside organizations, or use
samples from textbooks
Recall that research shows that companies that excel
in project management make effective use of
templates

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Figure 10-2. Sample Template for a Project
Description

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Table 10-3. Sample Template for a
Monthly Progress Report

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Sample Template for a Letter of Agreement for a
Class Project

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Developing a Communications Infrastructure
A communications infrastructure is a set of tools,
techniques, and principles that provide a foundation for the
effective transfer of information
 Tools include e-mail, project management software,
groupware, fax machines, telephones, teleconferencing
systems, document management systems, and word
processors
 Techniques include reporting guidelines and templates,
meeting ground rules and procedures, decision-making
processes, problem-solving approaches, and conflict
resolution and negotiation techniques
 Principles include using open dialog and an agreed upon
work ethic

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Using Software to Assist in Project Communications

There are many software tools to aid in project

communications
Today more than 37 percent of people telecommute
or work remotely at least part-time
Project management software includes new
capabilities to enhance virtual communications
Project 2002’s enterprise edition includes features for
portfolio management, resource management, and
collaboration

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 Discussion Question
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
different ways to distribute project performance
information.

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