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8
Introducing Project Quality Management
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CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVES
What is quality? According to the PMBOK Guide, quality is the “totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability
to satisfy stated or implied needs.” Every project has an anticipated level of quality
for the project deliverables. Project quality management is the process of ensuring
that the project fulfills its obligations to satisfy the project needs. As projects
vary, so, too, will the anticipated level of quality.
Picture this: It’s late on a hot summer night and you’re hungry. You pull onto a gravel
road and see a diner with a neon “Open” sign. The sign, you notice, really says “Ope”
since the “n” is burned out. Inside the diner, stale smoke drifts around like fog.
Grease, onions, and garlic seep into your clothes. You opt for a booth only to find
the table smeared with catsup, a little gravy, and, guessing by the stickiness, a
glob of maple syrup.
Now picture this: You step off the elevator on the 43rd floor. A maitre d’ welcomes
you and guides you to a table next to a window offering a sweeping view of the city.
A piano player massages a song into the evening. The waiter snaps open a napkin and
drapes it across your lap. Another waiter pours you a glass of cold, crisp water and
presents the menu. By the soft candlelight, everything looks, and feels, grand.
With these two contrasting scenarios, which one do you think will have the better
quality? Or can they both have an acceptable level of quality? For the first scenario—the diner—you expect a certain level of
quality when it comes to service, food, and atmosphere. With the second scenario—the
fancy restaurant—you also have an expected level of quality regarding service, food,
and atmosphere. Both experiences are measured by that expected level of quality.
In the diner, you might get one of the best bacon cheeseburger/milkshake combos you
can find late at night in the middle of nowhere. Just what you’d expect from this
kind of place. And the fancy downtown restaurant? A fancy meal cooked to perfection—also
what you’d expect. The difference between the two restaurants is in their grade. The
expected level of service, food, and atmosphere is the quality of the experience.
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE 8.01
Looking at the Big Quality Picture
Before we hop into the three different facets of project quality management, let’s
establish a few “PMI-isms” on quality. Because quality means so many different things
to so many different people, it’s important to confirm we’re working with a common
understanding of what quality is and what quality management hopes to accomplish from
the PMI’s point of view.
Accepting the Quality Management Approach
The details and specifications set out by the customer determine the expected level
of quality. Project quality management, as far as your exam goes, is compatible with
ISO 9000 and ISO 10000 quality standards and guidelines.
Project quality management also is concerned with both the management of the project
and the product of the project. It’s easy to focus on the product (the thing or service
the project creates), but project managers must also provide quality for the project
management activities. Aspects of the downside of focusing too much on the product
include the following:
Overworking the project team in order to complete the project. This may result in
unacceptable work, a decline in team morale, and the slow, steady destruction of the
project team’s willingness to work. A hurry to complete the project work by speeding through quality inspections. This
can result in unacceptable deliverables.
ISO 9000 is an international standard that helps organizations follow their own quality
procedures. It is not a quality system, but a method of following procedures created
internally in an organization. And for the curious, ISO means uniform in Greek and
it’s from the International Organization for Standardization.
See the video “Project Quality Management.”Quality vs. Grade
Quality and grade are not the same.
Quality is the sum of the characteristics of a product that allow it to meet the demands
or expectations of the project. Quality is all about fulfilling requirements.
Know that low quality is always a problem, but low grade may not be. Depending on
the requirements of the customer, low grade may be completely acceptable, but low
quality never is.
Grade, according to the PMBOK, “is a category or rank given to entities having the
same functional use but different technical characteristics.” For example, there are
different grades of paint, different grades of metal, and even different grades of
travel.
Implementing Quality Project Management
Quality management and project management have similar characteristics:
Customer satisfaction The project must satisfy the customer requirements by delivering what it promised
in order to satisfy the needs of the customer. The PMBOK states it as “conformance
to requirements” and “fitness for use.”
Prevention Quality is planned into a project, not inspected in. It is always more cost-effective
to prevent mistakes than to correct them.
Management responsibility The project team must work toward the quality goal, but management must provide
the needed resources to deliver on the quality promises.
Plan-do-check-act Dr. W. Edwards Deming, arguably the world’s leader in quality management theory
thanks to his management methods implemented in Japan after World War II, set the
bar with his “plan-do-check-act” approach to quality management. This approach is
similar to the project management processes that every project passes through.
Kaizen technology Kaizen is a quality management philosophy of applying continuous small improvements
to reduce costs and ensure consistency or project performance.
Quality improvement programs One of the goals of any organization is to improve quality, reduce errors, and
effectively become more efficient and more productive. Two quality improvements the
PMBOK Guide mentions directly are Total Quality Management and Lean Six Sigma. Both programs
aim to reduce waste, eliminate non-value-added efforts, and help the organization
become more efficient and achieve quality goals.
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE 8.02
Preparing for Quality
Before a project manager can plan for quality, he must know what the quality expectations
are. Specifically, what are the quality standards of the performing organization and
which quality standards are applicable to the project? As part of the planning processes,
the project manager and the project team must identify the requirements of planning,
determine how the requirements may be met, and identify the costs and time demands
to meet the identified requirements.
One of the key principles of project quality management is that quality is planned
in, not inspected in. Planning for quality is more cost-effective than inspecting
work results and doing the work over or correcting problems to adhere to quality demands.
The project manager must consider the cost of achieving the expected level of quality
in contrast to the cost of nonconformance. The cost of quality includes training,
safety measures, and action to prevent poor quality. The cost of nonconformance can
far outweigh the cost of quality with its possible loss of customers, the rework needed,
lost time, lost materials, and the danger to workers.
As part of planning, the project manager must be wary of gold plating. Gold plating
happens when the project manager sees there’s money left in the budget so she adds
features and extras to the project scope only to consume the budget. The customer
does not need or want more than what was requested. Gold plating can be considered
unethical.
Determining the Quality Policy
Top management should define the quality policy; this is part of the organizational
process assets. The quality policy of the organization may follow a formal approach,
such as ISO 9000, Six Sigma, or quality function deployment, or it may have its own
direction and approach to satisfying the demand for quality. There are loads of proprietary
quality management methodologies, and you won’t need to know much about any of them
for your PMP exam. Out in the real world, however, you’ll need to be familiar with
the rules, policies, and procedures of whatever quality management methodology your
organization subscribes to. Lucky you.
The project team should adapt the quality policy of the organization to guide the
project implementation. This ensures that the management of the project and the deliverables
of the project are in alignment with the performing organization’s quality policy.
In addition, the project manager should document how the project will fulfill the
quality policy both in management and in the project deliverable.
But what if the performing organization doesn’t have a quality policy? Or what if
two different entities are working together on a project and they use differing quality
policies? In these circumstances, the project management team should create the quality
policy for the project. The quality policy, in these instances, will accomplish the
same goals as a company’s quality policy: to define quality requirements and determine
how to adhere to them.
Regardless of where the quality policy comes from—management or the project team—the
project stakeholders must be aware of the policy. This is important because the quality
policy and associated quality methodology may require actions that could lengthen
the project schedule—for example, quality audits, peer reviews, and other quality-centric
activities. In addition to the required time to fulfill the quality requirements,
other costs may be incurred.
Reviewing the Scope Baseline
Just as project quality management is focused on fulfilling the needs of the project,
the project scope baseline is a key input to the quality planning process. I know
you know that the scope baseline comprises the project scope statement, the WBS, and
the WBS dictionary. Recall that the scope statement defines what will and will not
be delivered as part of the project, as well as objectives regarding cost, schedule,
and scope. The deliverables, and the expectations of the customers, will help guide
the quality planning session to ensure that the customer requirements are met with
regard to quality.
While the project scope will define the initial product description, the product description
may have supporting detail that the project manager and project team will need to
review. Consider a project to create an apartment building. The requirements, specifications,
and details of the building will need to be evaluated and reviewed since this information
will, no doubt, affect the quality planning.
The WBS and WBS dictionary are needed during quality planning because they define
the specific things that will satisfy the project requirements for deliverables. The
WBS is like a catalog of expectations the customer has of you. When you and your project
team fulfill the elements of the WBS, you’re meeting customer satisfaction, which
maps to quality. The WBS dictionary tags along because it has the specific details
of what each element of the WBS requires.
So what is quality in project management? Quality is the accurate completion of the
project scope and the satisfaction of the stated and implied project needs. In your
quest for your PMP certification, do you have quality? What is the scope of your certification
goal and how will you reach it? Focus on quality as you’re studying, in your preparation,
and in your mental mindset, and you’ll find quality in the execution of your PMP test-taking.Consider Schedule and Costs
From the project management plan you will also need to consider the schedule and costs
baselines. Recall that quality is affected by the balance of the schedule, costs,
and scope, so it stands to reason that you’ll need the baselines of these components
of the project management plan as part of quality planning. The balance of time, cost,
and scope are the Iron Triangle of project management. If your organization has high
demands for quality, but the project is rushed or insufficient funds are available
to achieve the quality demanded in the project scope, then there is a risk that the
project will not be successful because quality could not be achieved.
The schedule of the project does affect quality. Consider a schedule that is perfect
only for the project activities and doesn’t consider time for the quality inspections.
If the quality inspections are rushed, or worse, skipped entirely, there will probably
be errors in the project work. The project schedule should include time for the project
management work, including the quality control activities discussed in this chapter,
in order for the quality expectations to be met.
Costs can also influence the ability of the project to meet quality. If the costs
are not adequate to meet the demands of the project scope—such as purchasing the correct
materials, tools, and equipment—then quality is likely to suffer as well. Costs affect
the elements of the project quality because to achieve the expected quality, you’ll
have to pay for the correct tools, equipment, material, and resources to ascertain
quality. If there are errors and mistakes in the project execution, quality can be
adversely affected by costs again. Consider a project that wastes materials due to
an error. If the organization can’t afford to replace the materials, the quality of
the project suffers because of the error and ultimately because of the cost of the
wasted materials.
Reviewing the Standards and Regulations
The standards and regulations of each industry should be reviewed to determine that
both the project plan and the plan for quality are acceptable. For example, a project
to wire a building for electricity will have certain regulations to which it must
adhere. The relevance of the regulations must be understood and planned into the project
to ensure conformance with regulatory requirements. Standards and regulations are
considered part of the enterprise environmental factors that affect the project planning
and execution.
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE 8.03
Planning for Quality
Once the project manager has assembled the needed inputs and evaluated the product
description and project scope, she can get to work creating a plan regarding how to
satisfy the quality demands. She’ll need to rely on the documentation created to date,
her project team, and the project’s key stakeholders for much of the input. In addition,
the project manager will use several different techniques to plan on meeting quality.
As planning is an iterative process, so, too, is quality planning. As events happen
within the project, the project manager should evaluate the events and then apply
corrective actions. This is a common PMI theme: plan, implement, measure, react—and
document! Throughout the project implementation, things will go awry, team members
may complete less-than-acceptable work, stakeholders will demand changes, and so on;
all of these variables must be evaluated for their impact on project quality. What
good is a project if it’s “completed” on time, but the quality of the deliverable
is unacceptable? Technically, if the product is unacceptable, the project is not finished,
because it failed to meet the project scope. Let’s look at some tools and techniques
the project manager will use to plan for quality.
Using a Benefit/Cost Analysis
Benefits should outweigh costs.
A benefit/cost analysis is a process of determining the pros and cons of any process,
product, or activity. The straightforward approach when it comes to project management
is concerned with the benefits of quality management activities versus the costs of
the quality management activities. There are two major considerations with the benefit/cost
analysis in quality management:
Benefit Completing quality work increases productivity because shoddy work does not have
to be redone. When work is completed correctly the first time as expected, the project
does not have to spend additional funds to redo the work.
Costs Completing quality work may cost more than the work is worth. To deliver a level
of quality beyond what is demanded costs the project additional funds. The types of
quality management activities that guarantee quality may not be needed for every project.
Although quality is required on every project, not every project has the same quality
expenses based on the demands. For example, consider a project to create a temporary
drainage ditch for a field. Specifications are set for the ditch, but the project
may not require the expense of a landscape architect to evaluate the slant and descent
of the temporary ditch.
Another project, to create and secure an information technology department, may require
the expense of a security consulting firm to evaluate, test, and certify the security
of the software code, the network servers, and the physical security of the department.
The cost of the quality requirements is in alignment with the demands of the project.
Applying Benchmarking Practices
Benchmarking, when it comes to quality project management, is all about comparing
one project to another. This technique considers what the project manager has planned
or experienced regarding quality and compares it to another project to see how things
measure up. The current project can be measured against any other project—not just
projects within the performing organization or within the same industry.
The goal of benchmarking is to evaluate the differences between the two projects and
then to make corrective actions to the current project if necessary. For example,
Project A may have better quality performance than Project B. When the project manager
compares the two projects, she’ll want to determine the differences between them.
She’ll look for what’s missing in Project B or what activities the folks in Project
A are doing that she’s not.
If used improperly, benchmarking can create some false goals and internal competition.
If the projects that are being compared are active, truth in reporting is mandatory;
otherwise, the results of the benchmarking will be skewed. Just imagine what could
happen if you compared your cost variances to another project that was hiding cost
variances. By comparison, your project would seem to be performing worse, although
that might not actually be the case. Ideally, benchmarking compares similar, completed
projects early in the quality planning, rather than late in the process.
Benchmarking allows the project manager and the project team to see what’s possible
and then strive toward that goal. Benchmarking can also be used as a measurement against
industry standards, competitors’ pricing, or competitors’ level of performance.
Design of Experiments
The design of experiments approach relies on statistical “what-if” scenarios to determine
which variables within a project will result in the best outcome. This type of approach
is most often used on the product of the project rather than on the project itself.
For example, a project team creating a new bicycle may experiment with the width of
the tires, the weight of the frame, and the position of the handlebars in relation
to the bike seat to determine the most comfortable ride at an acceptable cost to the
consumer.
Although design of experiments is most often associated with product design, it can
be applied to project management activities. For example, a project manager may evaluate
the activities within a project and determine the time and cost of activities, depending
on which employees are assigned to complete the work. A more experienced worker may
cost the project more money on an hourly basis, but this individual is expected to
complete the work in a third of the time that a less experienced worker would. This
is design of experiments: experimenting with different variables to find the best
solution at the best cost.
Design of experiments is also used as a method to identify which variables within
a project or product are causing failures or unacceptable results. The goal of design
of experiments is to isolate the root cause of an effect and then make adjustments
to that cause to eliminate the unacceptable results.
Considering the Cost of Quality
The cost of quality considers the expense of all the activities within a project that
are undertaken to ensure its quality. The cost of quality is divided into two major
categories:
Cost of conformance to requirements This approach is the cost of completing the project work to satisfy the project
scope and the expected level of quality. Examples of this cost include training, safety
measures, measurement, and quality management activities to ensure that quality is
met.
Cost of nonconformance This approach is the cost of completing the project work without quality. The biggest
issue here is the money lost by having to redo the project work; it’s always more
cost-effective to do the work right the first time. Other nonconformance costs include
loss of sales, loss of customers, downtime, and corrective actions to fix problems
caused by incorrect work.
You might use some additional quality management planning tools, such as the affinity
diagram, brainstorming, nominal group techniques, or—here’s a new one—force field
analysis. It sounds like something out of Star Wars, but it’s actually a collection
of diagrams that capture the forces that are for or against a particular change. The
forces could be people, policies, or other constraints in the organization. When you
think about “may the force be with you,” it could mean you want the people, policies,
and other factors on your side as you move toward project execution.
Creating the Quality Management Plan
The end result of quality planning is to find a method for implementing the quality
policy. Because planning is iterative, the quality planning sessions often require
several revisits to the quality planning processes. Longer projects may include scheduled
quality planning sessions to compare the performance of the project in relation to
the quality that was planned.
One of the major outputs of quality planning is the quality management plan. This
document describes how the project manager and the project team will fulfill the quality
policy. In an ISO 9000 environment, the quality management plan is referred to as
the “project quality system.” The quality management plan addresses the following
three things about the project and the project work:
Quality control Work results are monitored to see if they meet relevant quality standards. If the
results do not meet the quality standards, the project manager applies root-cause
analysis to determine the cause of the poor performance and then eliminates the cause.
Quality control is inspection-oriented.
Quality assurance The overall performance is evaluated to ensure that the project meets the relevant
quality standards. Quality assurance maps to an organization’s quality policy and
is typically a managerial process. Quality assurance is generally considered the work
of applying the quality plan.
Quality improvement The project performance is measured and evaluated, and corrective actions are applied
to improve the product and the project. The improvements can be large or small, depending
on the condition and the quality philosophy of the performing organization.
Identifying the Operational Definitions
Operational definitions, also known as metrics, are the quantifiable terms and values
used to measure a process, activity, or work result. An example of an operational
definition could be an expected value for the required torque to tighten a bolt on
a piece of equipment. By testing and measuring the torque, the operational definition
would prove or disprove the quality of the product. Other examples can include hours
of labor to complete a work package, required safety measures, cost per unit, and
so on.
Operational definitions are clear, concise measurements. Designating that 95 percent
of all customer service calls should be answered by a live person within 30 seconds
is a metric; a statement that all calls should be answered in a timely manner is not.
Applying Checklists
Checklists are simple approaches to ensure that work is completed according to the
quality policy. It’s usually a list of activities that workers will check off to make
sure that each task has been completed. Checklists can be quick instructions of what
needs to be done to clean a piece of equipment or questions that remind the employee
to complete a task: “Did you turn off the printer before opening the cover?”
Creating the Process Improvement Plan
One of the goals of quality project management is continuous process improvement.
The process improvement plan looks to improve the project, not just the end result
of the project. Its aim is to identify and eliminate waste and non-value-added activity.
Specifically, this plan aims to accomplish the following:
Increase customer value by eliminating waste within the project.
Establish process boundaries.
Determine process configuration through a flowchart for evaluation and analysis
in order to improve the project as a whole.
Create and manage process metrics within the project.
Establish targets for performance improvement.
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE 8.04
Executing Quality Assurance
Quality assurance (QA) is an executing process. It is the sum of the planning and
the implementations of the plans the project manager, the project team, and management
apply to ensure the project meets the demands of quality. QA is not something that
is done only at the end of the project, but it should occur before and during the
project as well. Because QA is an executing process, you should link it to continuous
process improvement because its aim is to make the project better.
In some organizations, the QA department or another entity will complete the QA activities.
QA is interested in finding the defects and then fixing the problems. There are many
different approaches to QA, depending on the quality system the organization or project
team has adopted. There are two general types of QA activities:
Internal QA Assurance provided to management and the project team
External QA Assurance provided to the external customers of the project
Preparing for Quality Assurance
The project manager and the project team will need to prepare several inputs for QA:
The quality management plan This plan defines how the project team will implement and fulfill the quality policy
of the performing organization.
The process improvement plan This plan aims to improve the project, not just the project’s product.
Quality metrics Quality control tests will provide these measurements. The values must be quantifiable
so results may be measured, compared, and analyzed. In other words, “pretty close
to on track” is not adequate; “95-percent pass rate” is more acceptable.
Results of quality control The measurements taken by the project manager and the project team to inspect the
project deliverables’ quality are fed back into the QA process.
Project documents The technical performance measures, project status, information on what the project
has created to date, corrective actions, and performance reports can all be inputs
to help the iterative process of quality assurance.
Applying Quality Assurance
The QA department, management, or in some instances even the project manager can complete
the requirements for QA. QA can be accomplished using the following tools, and the
same tools can be used during quality planning:
Affinity diagrams These diagrams group similar ideas, deliverables, or concepts together. The WBS
could be considered an example of an affinity diagram.
Process decision program charts These charts help the project team identify all of the steps that are required
to achieve the project goal.
Interrelationship diagraphs Also called interrelationship diagrams, these diagrams help connect the logical
relationships of a project or system. They can be used to illustrate the relationships
of up to 50 elements to assist in problem-solving and quality improvement.
Tree diagrams These diagrams represent a tree, or parent-child relationships. The WBS is an example
of a tree diagram, as is a risk breakdown structure and an organizational chart.
Prioritization matrices These evaluate and prioritize the elements of the issue. Each element is prioritized,
weighed, and then plotted in the matrix to achieve a score that will determine the
actions the project manager and project team should take.
Activity network diagrams These diagrams illustrate the flow of the project work, as do the critical path
and the critical chain method. The most common activity network diagram is the activity-on-the-node,
though the activity-on-the-arrow approach may still be utilized in some industries.
Completing a Quality Audit
Quality audits are about learning. A quality audit identifies the lessons learned
on the current project to determine how to make things better for this project and
other projects within the organization. The idea, for example, is that project manager
Susan can learn from the implementations of project manager Bob, and vice versa.
Quality audits are formal reviews of what’s been completed within a project, what
worked, and what didn’t work. The end result of the audit is to improve performance
for the current project, other projects, or the entire organization. Quality audits
aim to do the following:
Document the best practices the project is using.
Document any variances in the project quality approach.
Recommend best practices that should be implemented in the current project.
Assist the project manager and project team in implementing recommendations for
quality improvement.
Document the outcomes of the quality audit in the project’s lessons-learned documentation.
Quality audits can be scheduled at key intervals within a project, or—surprise!—they
can occur without warning. The audit process can vary, depending on who is completing
the audit: internal auditors or hired, third-party experts. The goal of a quality
audit is to ensure that the project is adhering to the requirements of QA, and the
goal of QA is to reduce the overall cost of quality. As you probably know from your
experience, it’s usually more cost-effective to do something right the first time
than to do it right the second time. That’s QA—do the work according to plan, and
you’ll save time and money.
Improving the Project
The primary output of QA? Quality improvement. But it’s not just the quality of the
project’s deliverables, but also of the process to complete the project work. This
is process analysis, and it follows the guidelines of the process improvement plan.
Process analysis is completed through any or all of the following measures:
An examination of problems and constraints
An analysis of the project for non-value-added activities
Root-cause analysis
The creation of preventive actions for identified problems
Quality improvement requires action to improve the project’s effectiveness. The actions
to improve the effectiveness may have to be routed through the change control system,
which means change requests, analysis of the costs and risks, and involvement from
the change control board.
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE 8.05
Implementing Quality Control
Quality control (QC) requires the project manager, or another qualified party, to
monitor and measure project results to determine that the results are up to the demands
of the quality standards. If the results are unsatisfactory, root-cause analysis follows
the quality control processes. Root-cause analysis allows the project manager to determine
the cause and apply corrective actions. QC occurs throughout the life of a project,
not just at its end.
QC is also not only concerned with the product the project is creating, but with the
project management processes. QC measures performance, scheduling, and cost variances.
The experience of the project should be of quality—not just the product the project
creates. Consider a project manager who demands the project team work extreme hours
to meet an unrealistic deadline; team morale suffers and likely so does the project
work the team is completing.
The project team should do the following to ensure competency in quality control:
Conduct statistical quality control, such as sampling and probability.
Inspect the product to keep errors away from the customer.
Perform attribute sampling to measure conformance to quality on a per-unit basis.
Conduct variable sampling to measure the degree of conformance.
Study special causes to determine anomalies to quality.
Research random causes to determine expected variances of quality.
Check the tolerance range to determine whether the results are within or without
an acceptable level of quality.
Observe control limits to determine whether the results are in or out of quality
control.
Preparing for Quality Control
Quality control relies on several inputs, such as the following:
The quality management plan The quality management plan defines how QA will be applied to the project, the
expectations of QC, and the organization’s approach for continuous process improvement.
Quality metrics The operational definitions that define the metrics for the project are needed
so QC can measure and react to the results of project performance.
Quality checklists If the project is using checklists to ensure that project work is completed, a
copy of the checklists will be needed as part of QC. The checklists can then serve
as an indicator of completed work and expected results.
Work performance data The key performance metrics about the work the project team has performed are needed.
The project manager will need to inspect the variances between what was planned and
what was actually implemented for schedule, costs, and scope.
Approved change requests Approved change requests have an effect on how the project work is scheduled and
performed, which may affect the project’s overall quality.
Work results Execution brings about deliverables. The results of both the project processes
and the product results are needed to measure the results of the project team’s work
and compare it to the quality standards. The expected results of the product and the
project can be measured from the project plan.
Project documents This documentation, such as contracts and technical specifications, can assist
the project manager and the project team inspecting the work to determine whether
the work results are in synch with the promised level of quality.
Organizational process assets The organization’s quality policy, standards for quality control techniques, and
communication requirements based on the outcomes of quality control inspections are
all needed for the quality control process.
Inspecting Results
Although quality is planned into a project, not inspected in, inspections are needed
to prove conformance to requirements. An inspection can be done on the project as
a whole, on a portion of the project work, on the project deliverable, or even on
an individual activity. Inspections are also known as the following:
Reviews
Product reviews
Audits
Walkthroughs
Creating a Flowchart
Technically, a flowchart is a diagram illustrating how components within a system
are related. An organizational flowchart shows the bottom crew of operations up to
the “little squirt” on top. Flowcharts show the relationships between components and
help the project team determine where quality issues may be present; once the project
work is done and any errors have been identified, the project team to can plan accordingly
for defect repair.
You’ll need to be concerned with two types of flowcharts for this exam:
Cause-and-effect diagrams These diagrams show the relationships between the variables within a process and
how those relationships may contribute to inadequate quality. They can help organize
both the process and team opinions, as well as generate discussion on finding a solution
to ensure quality. Figure 8-1 shows an example of a cause-and-effect diagram. To create a diagram, start with the
effect—the problem you want to solve—and then fill out the diagram with possible causes
that contribute to the effect. These diagrams are also known as Ishikawa diagrams
and fishbone diagrams.
FIGURE 8-1 Cause-and-effect diagrams show the relationship of variables to a problem.
System or process flowcharts These flowcharts illustrate the flow of a process through a system, such as a project
change request through the change control system or work authorization through a quality
control process. A process flowchart does not have to be limited to the project management
activities. It could instead demonstrate how a manufacturer creates, packages, and
ships the product to the customer, as shown in Figure 8-2.
FIGURE 8-2 Flowcharts demonstrate how processes within a system are related.
A cause-and-effect diagram is also called an Ishikawa diagram and a fishbone diagram—all
of these terms refer to the same thing.
Creating a Control Chart
Ever feel like your project is out of control? A control chart can prove it. Control
charts illustrate the performance of a project over time. They map the results of
inspections against a chart, as shown in Figure 8-3. Control charts are typically used in projects or operations that involve repetitive
activities—such as projects for manufacturing, a testing series, or help desks.
FIGURE 8-3 Control charts demonstrate the results of inspections.
The outer limits of a control chart are established by customer requirements. Within
the customer requirements are the upper control limits (UCLs) and the lower control
limits (LCLs). The UCL is typically set at +3 or +6 sigma, while the LCL is set at
–3 or –6 sigma. Sigma results show the degree of correctness. Table 8-1 outlines the four sigma values representing normal distribution. You’ll need to know
these for the PMP exam.
TABLE 8-1 The Four Sigma Values Representing Normal Distribution
So what happened to sigma 4 and sigma 5? Nothing. They’re still there; it’s just that
the difference between 3 sigma at 99.73 and 6 sigma at 99.99 is so small that statisticians
just jump to 6 sigma. The mean in a control chart represents the expected result,
while the sigma values represent the expected spread of results based on the inspection.
A true Six Sigma allows only two defects per million opportunities, and the percentage
to represent that value is 99.99985%. For the exam, you can go with 99.99%.
For example, if a manufacturer creates 1000 units per hour and expects an average
of 50 units each hour to be defective, the mean would be 950 units. Of course, a better
approach would be to create a mean based on a history of what’s been produced, but
for now let’s assume that the expectation is 50 units defective per hour out of 1000
units created. If the control limits were set at +/− 3 sigma, the results of testing
would actually expect up to 953 correct units and down to 947 correct units.
Over time, the results of testing are plotted in the control chart. Whenever a result
of testing is plotted beyond the UCL or LCL values, it is considered to be “out of
control.” When a value is out of control, there is a reason why—it’s called an assignable
cause. Something caused the results to change for better or for worse, and the result
must be investigated to understand the why behind the occurrence.
Another assignable cause is The Rule of Seven, which states that whenever seven consecutive
results are all on one side of the mean, this is an assignable cause. Thus, some change
has caused the results to shift to one side of the expected mean. Again, the cause
must be investigated to determine why the change happened.
Although control charts are easily associated with recurring activities, such as manufacturing,
they can also be applied to project management. Consider the number of expected change
requests, delays within a project, and other recurring activities. A control chart
can plot out these activities to measure performance, evaluate positive and negative
results, and track corrective actions.
Some project managers may believe that there should be no variance at all in the results
of testing—they expect it to be 100-percent correct all the time. In some instances,
this is valid; consider hospitals, military scenarios, and other situations dealing
with life and death. When a project manager demands 100-percent perfection, the cost
of quality issues needs to be revisited. What is the cost of obtaining perfection
versus the cost of obtaining 98-percent correctness?Creating Pareto Diagrams
A Pareto diagram is somewhat related to Pareto’s Law: 80 percent of the problems come
from 20 percent of the issues. This is also known as the 80/20 rule. A Pareto diagram illustrates the problems by assigned cause from smallest to largest,
as Figure 8-4 shows. The project team should first work on the largest problems and then move on
to the smaller problems.
FIGURE 8-4 A Pareto diagram is a histogram that ranks the issues from largest to smallest.
Creating a Histogram
A histogram is a bar chart showing the frequency of variables within a project. For
example, a histogram could show which states have the most customers. Within project
management, a common histogram is a resource histogram, which shows the frequency
of resources used on project work. It’s nothing more than a bar chart.
The seven basic quality management tools are scatter diagrams, control charts, histograms,
Pareto diagrams, checksheets, flowcharts, and cause-and-effect diagrams.
Creating a Scatter Diagram
A scatter diagram is similar to a run chart, but it instead tracks the relationship
between two variables. The two variables are considered related the closer they track
against a diagonal line. For example, a project manager could track the performance
of two team members, the time and cost, or even changes between functional managers
and the project’s schedule.
Creating a Run Chart
A run chart, as Figure 8-5 shows, is a line graph that shows the results of inspections in the order in which
they’ve occurred. The goals of a run chart are first to demonstrate the results of
a process over time and then use trend analysis to predict when certain trends may
reemerge. It is similar to a control chart, but it tracks the outcomes of measurements
against when the outcome happened and the time between the measurements. This gives
insight into the measurements that’s different from what the control chart offers.
Based on this information, an organization can work to prevent the negative trend
or work to capitalize on an identified opportunity.
FIGURE 8-5 Run charts track the results of inspections over time.
Completing a Statistical Sampling
Statistical sampling is the process of choosing a percentage of results at random.
For example, a project creating a medical device may have 20 percent of all units
randomly selected to check quality. This process must be completed on a consistent
basis throughout the project, rather than on a sporadic schedule.
Statistical sampling can reduce the costs of quality control, but mixed results can
follow if an adequate testing plan and schedule are not followed. The science of statistical
sampling (and its requirements to be effective) is an involved process. Many books,
seminars, and professionals are devoted to the process. For the PMP exam, know that
statistical sampling uses a percentage of the results to test for quality. This process
can reduce quality control cost.
Revisiting Flowcharting
Flowcharting uses charts to illustrate how the different parts of a system operate.
Flowcharting is valuable in quality control because the process can be evaluated and
tested to determine where in the process quality begins to break down. Corrective
actions can then be applied to the system to ensure that quality continues as planned—and
as expected.
Applying Trend Analysis
Trend analysis is the science of taking past results to predict future performance.
Sports announcers use trend analysis all the time: “The Cubs have never won in St.
Louis, on a Tuesday night, in the month of July, when the temperature at the top of
the third inning was above 80 degrees.”
The results of trend analysis allow the project manager to apply corrective action
to intervene and prevent unacceptable outcomes. Trend analysis on a project requires
adequate records to predict results and set current expectations. Trend analysis can
monitor the following:
Technical performance Trend analysis can ask, “How many errors have been experienced up to this point
in the project schedule, and how many additional errors were encountered since the
last testing of the technical performance?”
Cost and schedule performance Trend analysis can ask, “How many activities were completed incorrectly, came in
late, or had significant cost variances?”
The Results of Quality Control
Quality control should, first and foremost, result in quality improvement. Based on
the results of the tools and techniques to implement quality control, the project
manager and project team apply corrective actions to prevent unacceptable quality
and improve the overall quality of the project management processes.
The corrective actions and the defect repairs that the project manager and the project
team want to incorporate into the project may require change requests and management
approval. The value and importance of the change should be evident so the improvement
to quality is approved and folded into the project. In addition to quality improvement,
there are other results of quality control:
Validated deliverables and changes The work results are either accepted or rejected. Rejected items typically mean
rework. When changes are approved and executed, these changes also need to be validated,
as they’re now part of the project scope baseline.
Rework Nonconformance to quality results in change requests for corrective action. Rework
costs time and money, and it contributes to projects being late, over budget, or both.
It is always more cost-effective to do the work right the first time than to do it
correctly the second time.
Completed checklists If the project is using checklists to confirm the completion of work, the completed
checklists should become part of the project records. Some project managers require
the project team member completing the checklist to initial it as whole and complete.
Process adjustments When results of inspections indicate quality is out of control, process adjustments
may be needed to make immediate corrective actions or planned preventative actions
to ensure that quality improves. Process adjustments, depending on the nature of the
adjustment, may qualify for a change request and be funneled through the change control
system as part of integration management.
Recommendations The project manager and the project team can also make recommendations for additional
defect repairs, preventative actions, corrective actions, and even additional change
requests.
INSIDE THE EXAM
Quality, in project management, has many different meanings. For the PMP exam, you
should know the following four key facts:
Customer satisfaction is the conformance of the requirements and fitness for use.
Quality is distinct from grade.
Quality is obtained by the project team doing what was promised at the start of
the project.
Quality is concerned with prevention over inspection.
Don’t get flustered over the difference between QC and QA. QC focuses on monitoring
the specific results of project work, while QA focuses on monitoring overall performance.
If it helps for the exam, think of QC as being project-wide and QA as being organization-wide.
Another aspect of QC is that the project team must be empowered to stop project work
if quality is outside of the control limits set by the quality management plan.
The quality management plan spans all areas of project quality—not just the product
the project is creating. The experience of the project as led by the project manager
should be of quality as well. There is a direct relationship between the project deliverables
and the quality of project management.
Another area of quality is scheduling. A project manager must examine resources and
how they are allocated, and pay attention to the cost of quality for the assigned
resources. One scheduling technique, just-in-time (JIT) scheduling, demands higher
quality. JIT scheduling means, for example, that you do not order inventory, such
as supplies and materials, until they are needed. This improves cash flow and reduces
the cost of inventory not in use. However, a lack of quality in the project may cause
defects. Because of the defects, the material in use is thus wasted and downtime occurs.
This downtime results because no additional materials are on hand and the project
is waiting for new materials to arrive.
Finally, spend some time learning the values for the four sigmas shown in Table 8-1. You’ll need to know them.
CERTIFICATION SUMMARY
What good is a project deliverable if it doesn’t work, is unacceptable, or is faulty?
Project quality management ensures that the deliverables that project teams create
meet the expectations of the stakeholders. For your PMP examination, quality means
delivering the project at the exact level of the design specifications and the project
scope. No more, no less.
Quality and grade are two different things. Grade is the ranking assigned to different
components that have the same functional purpose. For example, sheet metal may come
in different grades based on what it is needed for. Another example is the grade of
paper based on its thickness, ability to retain ink, and so on. Low quality is always
a problem; low grade may not be.
Quality planning happens before project work begins, but also as work is completed.
Quality planning can confirm the preexistence of quality or the need for quality improvements.
Quality is planned into a project, not inspected in. However, quality control uses
inspections to prove the existence of quality within a project deliverable.
There is a distinct difference between quality assurance and quality control. Quality
assurance is a prevention-driven process. Management wants the project manager and
the project team to do the work right the first time. Quality control, however, is
an inspection-driven process—the project team, the project manager, and sometimes
third-party inspectors examine the work to confirm that it is correct and of quality.
Quality assurance is usually a program for the entire organization, or at least a
line of business or department. In project management, quality control is specific
to the actual project work.
The cost of quality is concerned with the monies invested in the project to ascertain
the expected level of quality. Examples of this cost include training, safety measures,
and quality management activities. The cost of nonconformance centers on the monies
lost by not completing the project work correctly the first time. In addition, this
cost includes the loss of sales, loss of customers, and downtime within the project.
Optimal quality is reached when the cost of the improvements equals the incremental
costs to achieve quality. Marginal analysis is the study of when optimal quality is
reached. The PMP candidate should know what marginal analysis is and why management
is concerned with it. Ideally, the cost of quality is earned back because the deliverables
of the project are better and more profitable than if the quality of deliverables
were lacking.
KEY TERMS
If you’re serious about passing the PMP exam, memorize these terms and their definitions.
For maximum value, create your own flashcards based on these definitions and review
daily.
activity network diagram Illustrates the flow of the project work, as does the critical path and the critical
chain method. The most common activity network diagram is the activity-on-node, although
the activity-on-arrow approach may still be utilized in some industries.
affinity diagram Groups similar ideas, deliverables, or concepts together. The WBS could be considered
an example of an affinity diagram.
benchmarking The process of using prior projects internal or external to the performing organization
to compare and set quality standards for processes and results.
benefit/cost analysis The process of determining the pros and cons of any project, process, product,
or activity.
checklist A listing of activities that workers check to ensure the work has been completed
consistently; used in quality control.
continuous process improvement A goal of quality assurance to improve the project’s processes and deliverables;
it meshes with the project’s process improvement plan, which is to improve the processes
of the project.
control chart Illustrates the performance of a project over time. It maps the results of inspections
against a chart. Control charts are typically used in projects or operations that
have repetitive activities, such as manufacturing, testing series, or help desk functions.
Upper and lower control limits indicate whether values are in control or out of control.
cost of conformance The cost of completing the project work to satisfy the project scope and the expected
level of quality. Examples include training, safety measures, and quality management
activities. Also known as the cost of quality.
cost of nonconformance The cost of not completing the project with quality, including wasted time for
corrective actions, rework, and wasted materials. Could also mean loss of business,
loss of sales, and lawsuits. Also known as the cost of poor quality.
design of experiments approach Relies on statistical “what-if” scenarios to determine which variables within a
project will result in the best outcome; can also be used to eliminate a defect. This
approach is most often used on the product of the project, rather than on the project
itself.
flowchart A chart that illustrates how the parts of a system occur in sequence.
histogram A bar chart, such as a Pareto diagram.
interrelationship digraph A diagram that helps connect the logical relationships of a project or system.
It illustrates the relationships of up to 50 elements to assist in problem solving
and quality improvement.
ISO 9000 An international standard that helps organizations follow their own quality procedures.
ISO 9000 is not a quality system, but a method of following procedures created by
an organization.
operational definition The quantifiable terms and values used to measure a process, activity, or work
result. Operational definitions are also known as metrics.
Pareto diagram A Pareto diagram is related to Pareto’s Law: 80 percent of the problems come from
20 percent of the issues (this is also known as the 80/20 rule). A Pareto diagram
illustrates problems by assigned cause, from smallest to largest.
prioritization matrix Evaluates and prioritizes the elements of the issue. Each element is prioritized,
weighed, and then plotted in the matrix to achieve a score that will determine the
activities the project manager and project team should take.
process adjustments When quality is lacking, process adjustments are needed for immediate corrective
actions or for future preventive actions to ensure that quality improves. Process
adjustments may qualify for a change request and be funneled through the change control
system as part of integration management.
process decision program chart This chart helps the project team identify all of the needed steps that are required
to achieve the project goal.
quality assurance (QA) An executing process to ensure that the project is adhering to the quality expectations
of the project customer and organization. QA is a prevention-driven process to perform
the project work with quality to avoid errors, waste, and delays.
quality audit A process to confirm that the quality processes are performing correctly on the
current project. The quality audit determines how to make things better for the project
and other projects within the organization and measures the project’s ability to maintain
the expected level of quality.
quality control (QC) A process in which the work results are monitored to see if they meet relevant
quality standards.
quality management plan A document that describes how the project manager and the project team will fulfill
the quality policy. In an ISO 9000 environment, the quality management plan is referred
to as the project quality system.
quality policy The formal policy an organization follows to achieve a preset standard of quality.
The project team should either adapt the quality policy of the organization to guide
the project implementation or create its own policy if one does not exist within the
performing organization.
run chart Similar to a control chart, a run chart tracks trends over time and displays those
trends in a graph with the plotted data mapped to a specific date.
scatter diagram Tracks the relationship between two or more variables to determine whether one
variable affects the other. It allows the project team, quality control team, or project
manager to make adjustments to improve the overall results of the project.
statistical sampling A process of choosing a percentage of results at random for inspection. Statistical
sampling can reduce the costs of quality control.
tree diagram Any diagram that represents a tree in a parent-child relationship. The WBS is an
example of a tree diagram, as are a risk breakdown structure and an organizational
chart.
trend analysis Analyzes past results to predict future performance.
TWO-MINUTE DRILLLooking at the Big Quality Picture
The project manager is responsible for the overall quality management of the project
and must set quality expectations based on the requirements of the customers and stakeholders. The project manager must integrate the quality control of the project with the quality
assurance program of the performing organization.
Quality is planned into a project, not inspected in.
Preparing for Quality
Quality doesn’t happen by accident. Quality is satisfying the expectations of the
project scope baseline.
The project team members (the people actually completing the project work) are responsible
for the quality of the deliverables.
The project team, as guided by the project manager and the quality management plan,
should be empowered to stop the project work when preset quality thresholds are exceeded.
Planning for Quality
Quality planning is an iterative process. As quality concerns creep into the project,
the planning processes are revisited to ensure that actions—both preventive and corrective—are
taken to ensure quality.
The quality management plan is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management
plan. It defines how the project will accomplish the quality expectations of the organization
and how the project will adhere to the quality policy of the organization.
The process improvement plan is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management
plan. It defines how project processes will be analyzed and improved upon. The goal
of this plan is to improve the value of the project by removing non-value-added activities.
The cost of quality is the amount of monies the performing organization must spend
to satisfy the quality standards. This can include training, safety measures, and
additional activities implemented to prevent nonconformance.
The cost of nonconformance to quality is the monies or events attributed to not
satisfying the quality demands. These can include loss of business, downtime, wasted
materials, rework, and cost and schedule variances.
Executing Quality Assurance
Quality assurance aims to do the work properly and correctly the first time, according
to plan.
Quality assurance may use a QA program to set quality standards.
Quality assurance represents the implementation of the quality plan.
Quality management is the process to ensure the project is completed with no deviations
from the requirements.
Kaizen technology is used in an organization to apply small changes to products
and processes to improve consistency, reduce costs, and provide overall quality improvements.
Implementing Quality Control
Quality control monitors specific results within a project.
A fishbone diagram is a cause-and-effect diagram that illustrates the factors that
may be contributing to quality issues or problems. It is also known as an Ishikawa
diagram.
Pareto diagrams are histograms that are related to Pareto’s 80/20 rule: 80 percent
of the problems come from 20 percent of the issues. The diagram charts the problems,
categories, and frequency. The project team should first solve the larger problems
and then move on to smaller issues.
A run chart is a line graph that shows the results of inspection in the order in
which each inspection occurred. The goal of a run chart is first to demonstrate the
results of a process over time and then use trend analysis to predict when certain
trends may reemerge.
Control charts plot out the results of inspections against a mean to examine performance
against expected results. Upper and lower control limits are typically set to ± 3
or 6 sigma. Results that are beyond the control limit value are considered out of
control.
SELF TEST
1. Gary is the project manager of the HBB Project for his organization. He’s working
with project customers to define the specifics of the project requirements, the project
scope, and the defined product scope to help define the quality of the project. The
customer asks Gary who is responsible for the quality of the project deliverables.
Which of the following is responsible for the quality of the project deliverables?
A. The project champion
B. The project team
C. Stakeholders
D. Customers
2. As a PMP candidate, you’ll need to recognize all of the quality control charts
and their usage. What type of chart is the following?
A. Control
B. Pareto
C. Scatter
D. Flow
3. You are the project manager for the BBB Project. Stacy, a project team member,
is confused about what QA is. You need all of the project team members and the project
stakeholders to be clear on the quality management processes. To help Stacy, which
of the following best describes QA?
A. QA is quality assurance for the overall project performance.
B. QA is quality acceptance according to scope verification.
C. QA is quality assurance for the project deliverable.
D. QA is quality assurance for the project stakeholders.
4. You are the project manager for the Photo Scanning Project. This project is similar
to another project you have completed. Your project is to store thousands of historical
photos electronically for your city’s historical society. Quality is paramount on
this project. Management approaches you and asks why you have devoted so much of the
project time for planning. Your response is which of the following?
A. This is a first-time, first-use project, so more time is needed for planning.
B. Planning for a project of this size, with this amount of quality, is mandatory.
C. Quality is planned into a project, not inspected in.
D. Quality audits are part of the planning time.
5. You are the project manager for the Floor Installation Project. Today, you plan
to meet with your project team to ensure the project is completed with no deviations
from the project requirements. This process is which of the following?
A. Quality planning
B. Quality management
C. Quality control
D. Quality assurance
6. You are the project manager for the ASE Project, which must map to industry standards
in order to be accepted by the customer. You and your team have studied the requirements
and have created a plan to implement the deliverables with the appropriate level of
quality. What is this process called?
A. Quality planning
B. Quality management
C. Quality control
D. Quality assurance
7. You are the project manager of the NHQ Project, which is part of the HQQ Program
to construct a condominium building. Samuel, the program manager, has required that
you document any variances to costs, schedule, scope, and quality expectations as
part of the program governance. You believe that your project team now has an internal
failure cost that needs to be documented for Samuel. Which of the following is an
example of internal failure cost?
A. Rework
B. Quality audits
C. Random quality audits
D. Project team training
8. Quality assurance is an organization-wide initiative and is part of your enterprise
environmental factors. All projects must adhere to the quality assurance initiatives
in your company. Within your project, however, you also have quality assurance efforts
and you have quality control efforts. Quality control is typically a(n) _______________
process.
A. Management
B. Project manager
C. Audit
D. Inspection
9. Quality assurance is an organization-wide initiative and is part of your enterprise
environmental factors. All projects must adhere to the quality assurance initiatives
in your company. Within your project, however, you also have quality assurance efforts
and you have quality control efforts. Quality assurance is typically a(n) _______________
process.
A. Management
B. Project manager
C. Audit
D. Inspection
10. You are the project manager for a large manufacturer of wood furniture. Your new
project is the Shop Table Project, which will involve the creation and manufacture
of a new table for woodworkers to use in their wood shops. For this project, you have
elected to use JIT for scheduling. Which of the following is an advantage to using
JIT?
A. It requires materials to be readily available.
B. It allows the project team to have control over the materials.
C. It decreases the inventory investment.
D. It allows for a broad range of deviation compared to other inventory solutions.
11. You are the project manager of the HHQ Project for your company. Your company is
a manufacturer of paper products. Your company has elected to use ISO 9000 standards.
What is an attribute of ISO 9000?
A. It ensures that your company follows its own quality procedures.
B. It ensures that your company follows the set phases in each project from initiation
to closure.
C. It ensures that your company maps its processes to a proven process within the
program.
D. It ensures that QA and QC are integrated into the product or service your organization
offers.
12. You are the project manager of the Halogen Installation Project. As this project
gets underway, you receive notice from the program manager that the organization will
be moving to Kaizen technologies as part of its quality management program. What are
Kaizen technologies?
A. Small improvements for small results
B. Small improvements for all projects
C. Small process and product improvements that are carried out on a continuous basis
D. Small process improvements that are made to shorten the project duration
13. Holly Ann is a project manager for her organization. She is working with Jeff,
the manufacturing rep, to analyze the errors in the deliverables as part of their
quality control approach. Jeff recommends that they create a fishbone diagram to help
analyze the problem. A fishbone diagram is the same as a(n) _______________ chart.
A. Ishikawa
B. Pareto
C. Flow
D. Control
14. Management has asked you to define the correlation between quality and the project
scope. Which of the following is the best answer?
A. The project scope will include metrics for quality.
B. Quality metrics will be applied to the project scope.
C. Quality is the process of completing the scope to meet stated or implied needs.
D. Quality is the process of evaluating the project scope to ensure quality exists.
15. Quality is about confirming to requirement and the deliverable’s fitness for use.
Quality also has some attributes that must be considered as part of the project planning,
project costs, and the project schedule. In light of these factors, which of the following
is most true about quality?
A. It will cost more money to build quality into the project.
B. It will cost less money to build quality into the project process.
C. Quality is inspection-driven.
D. Quality is prevention-driven.
16. Which of the following can be described as a business philosophy to find methods
that will continuously improve products, services, and business practices?
A. TQM
B. ASQ
C. QA
D. QC
17. Yolanda is the project manager for her company and she’s working with the project
team to identify errors in the project deliverables. As part of the process, Yolanda
and the team must calculate the cost of the error, the materials, the time, and the
cost to redo the work. In this instance, in regard to quality management, which of
the following is not an attribute of the cost of nonconformance that Yolanda will
need to consider?
A. Loss of customers
B. Downtime
C. Safety measures
D. Rework
18. You are the project manager for the KOY Project, which requires quality that maps
to federal guidelines. To ensure that you can meet these standards, you have elected
to put the project team through training specific to the federal guidelines to which
your project must adhere. The costs of these classes can be assigned to which of the
following?
A. Cost of doing business
B. Cost of quality
C. Cost of adherence
D. Cost of nonconformance
19. You are the project manager for the KOY Project, which requires quality that maps
to federal guidelines. During a quality audit, you discover that a portion of the
project work is faulty and must be redone. The requirement to correct the work is
an example of which of the following?
A. Cost of quality
B. Cost of adherence
C. Cost of nonconformance
D. Cost of doing business
20. You are the project manager of the GHQ Project. Your organization has a requirement
that you use only the seven basic quality tools. Which one of the following is not
one of the seven basic quality tools?
A. Cause-and-effect diagram
B. Histogram
C. Control chart
D. Network diagrams
21. You are the project manager of the JKL Project, which currently has some production
flaws. Which analysis tool will allow you to determine the cause and effect of the
production faults?
A. A flowchart
B. A Pareto diagram
C. An Ishikawa diagram
D. A control chart
22. Linda is the project manager of a manufacturing project. She and her project team
are using design of experiments to look for ways to improve quality. Which of the
following best describes design of experiments?
A. It allows the project manager to move the relationship of activities to complete
the project work with the best resources available.
B. It allows the project manager to experiment with the project design to determine
what variables are causing the flaws.
C. It allows the project manager to experiment with variables to attempt to improve
quality.
D. It allows the project manager to experiment with the project design document to
become more productive and to provide higher quality.
23. You are the project manager of the Global Upgrade Project. Your project team consists
of 75 project team members around the world. Each project team will be upgrading a
piece of equipment in many different facilities. Which of the following could you
implement to ensure that the project team members are completing all of the steps
in the install procedure with quality?
A. Checklists
B. WBS
C. PND
D. The WBS dictionary
24. Mark is the project manager of the PMH Project. Quality audits of the deliverables
show there are several problems. Management has asked Mark to create a chart showing
the distribution of problems and their frequencies. Given this, management wants which
of the following?
A. A control chart
B. An Ishikawa diagram
C. A Pareto diagram
D. A flowchart
25. You are the project manager of the NHH Project for your company and you’re reviewing
the results of quality control. In your analysis you’ve created a quality control
chart. In the following graphic, what does the highlighted area represent?
A. Out-of-control data points
B. In-control data points
C. The Rule of Seven
D. Standard deviation
SELF TEST ANSWERS
1. Gary is the project manager of the HBB Project for his organization. He’s working
with project customers to define the specifics of the project requirements, the project
scope, and the defined product scope to help define the quality of the project. The
customer asks Gary who is responsible for the quality of the project deliverables.
Which of the following is responsible for the quality of the project deliverables?
A. The project champion
B. The project team
C. Stakeholders
D. Customers
B. The project team (the individuals completing the project work) is responsible for
the quality of the project deliverables.
A is incorrect. The project champion may review the work, but the responsibility of
quality does not lie with this individual. C and D are also incorrect choices; the customer and other stakeholders are not responsible
for the quality of the project.
2. As a PMP candidate, you’ll need to recognize all of the quality control charts
and their usage. What type of chart is the following?
A. Control
B. Pareto
C. Scatter
D. Flow
A. The chart shown is a control chart.
B is incorrect because a Pareto diagram maps categories of issues and their frequency.
C is incorrect because a scatter chart compares common values across multiple categories.
D, a flowchart, is also incorrect. Flowcharts illustrate how a process moves through
a system and how the components are interrelated.
3. You are the project manager for the BBB Project. Stacy, a project team member,
is confused about what QA is. You need all of the project team members and the project
stakeholders to be clear on the quality management processes. To help Stacy, which
of the following best describes QA?
A. QA is quality assurance for the overall project performance.
B. QA is quality acceptance according to scope verification.
C. QA is quality assurance for the project deliverable.
D. QA is quality assurance for the project stakeholders.
A. QA is concerned with overall project quality performance.
B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not correctly explain quality assurance.
4. You are the project manager for the Photo Scanning Project. This project is similar
to another project you have completed. Your project is to store thousands of historical
photos electronically for your city’s historical society. Quality is paramount on
this project. Management approaches you and asks why you have devoted so much of the
project time for planning. Your response is which of the following?
A. This is a first-time, first-use project, so more time is needed for planning.
B. Planning for a project of this size, with this amount of quality, is mandatory.
C. Quality is planned into a project, not inspected in.
D. Quality audits are part of the planning time.
C. Of all the choices presented, this is the best answer. Quality is planned into the
project, and the planning requires time.
A is incorrect because a project of this nature has been completed before. B is incorrect because there isn’t enough information provided to determine the quality
demands of the project. D is incorrect because quality audits are not part of the planning processes.
5. You are the project manager for the Floor Installation Project. Today, you plan
to meet with your project team to ensure the project is completed with no deviations
from the project requirements. This process is which of the following?
A. Quality planning
B. Quality management
C. Quality control
D. Quality assurance
A. Quality planning should be completed prior to the work beginning—and should thereafter
be revisited as needed.
B is incorrect because quality management is not an applicable answer to the scenario.
C and D are incorrect because QA and QC are part of quality management.
6. You are the project manager for the ASE Project, which must map to industry standards
in order to be accepted by the customer. You and your team have studied the requirements
and have created a plan to implement the deliverables with the appropriate level of
quality. What is this process called?
A. Quality planning
B. Quality management
C. Quality control
D. Quality assurance
A. Quality planning is the process of creating a plan to meet the requirements of quality.
B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not explain the process in the question’s scenario.
7. You are the project manager of the NHQ Project, which is part of the HQQ Program
to construct a condominium building. Samuel, the program manager, has required that
you document any variances to costs, schedule, scope, and quality expectations as
part of the program governance. You believe that your project team now has an internal
failure cost that needs to be documented for Samuel. Which of the following is an
example of internal failure cost?
A. Rework
B. Quality audits
C. Random quality audits
D. Project team training
A. Internal failure cost is attributed to failure that results in rework. It is an example
of the cost of nonconformance to quality.
B and C are incorrect. Quality audits are not a cost associated with nonconformance. D is incorrect because project team training is an example of the cost of conformance
to quality.
8. Quality assurance is an organization-wide initiative and is part of your enterprise
environmental factors. All projects must adhere to the quality assurance initiatives
in your company. Within your project, however, you also have quality assurance efforts
and you have quality control efforts. Quality control is typically a(n) _______________
process.
A. Management
B. Project manager
C. Audit
D. Inspection
D. QC requires an inspection of the work results. Although quality is planned into a
project, inspections ensure it exists.
A is incorrect because QA is a managerial function. B is incorrect because another department, team member, or SME can complete QC. C is incorrect; an audit is too broad an answer for this question. Audits can be financial-,
schedule-, or quality-driven.
9. Quality assurance is an organization-wide initiative and is part of your enterprise
environmental factors. All projects must adhere to the quality assurance initiatives
in your company. Within your project, however, you also have quality assurance efforts
and you have quality control efforts. Quality assurance is typically a(n) _______________
process.
A. Management
B. Project manager
C. Audit
D. Inspection
A. QA is typically a management process.
B is incorrect because another department, team member, or SME can complete QC. C is incorrect because an audit is too broad of an answer for this question. Audits
can be financial-, schedule-, or quality-driven. D is incorrect because QA is typically not an inspection process.
10. You are the project manager for a large manufacturer of wood furniture. Your new
project is the Shop Table Project, which will involve the creation and manufacture
of a new table for woodworkers to use in their wood shops. For this project, you have
elected to use JIT for scheduling. Which of the following is an advantage to using
JIT?
A. It requires materials to be readily available.
B. It allows the project team to have control over the materials.
C. It decreases the inventory investment.
D. It allows for a broad range of deviation compared to other inventory solutions.
C. JIT (just-in-time) scheduling decreases the investment in inventory. However, mistakes
with the materials can cause downtime if no additional materials are on hand.
A is incorrect because materials are available only when they’re needed. B is incorrect; the project team must use caution not to waste the materials. D is incorrect because JIT does not allow for a broad range of deviation.
11. You are the project manager of the HHQ Project for your company. Your company is
a manufacturer of paper products. Your company has elected to use ISO 9000 standards.
What is an attribute of ISO 9000?
A. It ensures that your company follows its own quality procedures.
B. It ensures that your company follows the set phases in each project from initiation
to closure.
C. It ensures that your company maps its processes to a proven process within the
program.
D. It ensures that QA and QC are integrated into the product or service your organization
offers.
A. ISO 9000 is not a quality management system, but a system to ensure that an organization
follows its own quality procedures.
B, C, and D are all incorrect. These choices do not correctly describe ISO 9000.
12. You are the project manager of the Halogen Installation Project. As this project
gets underway, you receive notice from the program manager that the organization will
be moving to Kaizen technologies as part of its quality management program. What are
Kaizen technologies?
A. Small improvements for small results
B. Small improvements for all projects
C. Small process and product improvements that are carried out on a continuous basis
D. Small process improvements that are made to shorten the project duration
C. Kaizen technologies are small changes to processes and products on a steady, continuous
basis to save costs and improve quality.
A is incorrect. Although Kaizen does implement small process changes, it does not aim
for small results. B and D are also incorrect. Kaizen does not have to be implemented in all projects, although
it often is. Kaizen is also not interested in necessarily reducing the project duration.
13. Holly Ann is a project manager for her organization. She is working with Jeff,
the manufacturing rep, to analyze the errors in the deliverables as part of their
quality control approach. Jeff recommends that they create a fishbone diagram to help
analyze the problem. A fishbone diagram is the same as a(n) _______________ diagram.
A. Ishikawa
B. Pareto
C. Flow
D. Control
A. A fishbone diagram is the same as an Ishikawa diagram.
B, C, and D are incorrect. These charts and diagrams accomplish goals other than the cause-and-effect
of the Ishikawa.
14. Management has asked you to define the correlation between quality and the project
scope. Which of the following is the best answer?
A. The project scope will include metrics for quality.
B. Quality metrics will be applied to the project scope.
C. Quality is the process of completing the scope to meet stated or implied needs.
D. Quality is the process of evaluating the project scope to ensure quality exists.
C. Quality, in regard to the project scope, is about completing the work as promised
and defined in the project scope. It is what the customer is expecting as part of
the project deliverables.
A and B are incorrect because although the project scope will have requirements for acceptance,
it may not have metrics for quality defined. D is also incorrect. D is incorrect because this statement defines quality control
as you and the project team will inspect the results of the work that creates the
project scope to determine if quality exists within the project.
15. Quality is about confirming to requirement and the deliverable’s fitness for use.
Quality also has some attributes that must be considered as part of the project planning,
project costs, and the project schedule. In light of these factors, which of the following
is most true about quality?
A. It will cost more money to build quality into the project.
B. It will cost less money to build quality into the project process.
C. Quality is inspection-driven.
D. Quality is prevention-driven.
D. Quality is prevention-driven. Quality wants to complete the work correctly the first
time to prevent poor results, a loss of time, and a loss of funds.
A and B are incorrect. There is no guarantee that a project will cost more or less, depending
on the amount of expected quality. Incidentally, lack of quality will likely cost
more than quality planning because of the cost of nonconformance. C is incorrect because quality is planned into a project, not inspected in.
16. Which of the following can be described as a business philosophy to find methods
that will continuously improve products, services, and business practices?
A. TQM
B. ASQ
C. QA
D. QC
A. TQM, total quality management, is a business philosophy to find methods to continuously
improve products, services, and business practices.
B, ASQ (American Society of Quality), is not a business philosophy. C and D are attributes of TQM but are incorrect answers for this question.
17. Yolanda is the project manager for her company and she’s working with the project
team to identify errors in the project deliverables. As part of the process, Yolanda
and the team must calculate the cost of the error, the materials, the time, and the
cost to redo the work. In this instance, in regard to quality management, which of
the following is not an attribute of the cost of nonconformance that Yolanda will
need to consider?
A. Loss of customers
B. Downtime
C. Safety measures
D. Rework
C. A safety measure is not an attribute of the cost of nonconformance, but rather a
cost of adhering to quality.
A, B, and D are incorrect choices. These are all attributes of the cost of nonconformance.
18. You are the project manager for the KOY Project, which requires quality that maps
to federal guidelines. To ensure you can meet these standards, you have elected to
put the project team through training specific to the federal guidelines to which
your project must adhere. The costs of these classes can be assigned to which of the
following?
A. Cost of doing business
B. Cost of quality
C. Cost of adherence
D. Cost of nonconformance
B. Training to meet the quality expectations is attributed to the cost of quality.
A, C, and D are incorrect because these choices do not describe training as a cost of quality.
19. You are the project manager for the KOY Project, which requires quality that maps
to federal guidelines. During a quality audit, you discover that a portion of the
project work is faulty and must be redone. The requirement to correct the work is
an example of which of the following?
A. Cost of quality
B. Cost of adherence
C. Cost of nonconformance
D. Cost of doing business
C. When project work results are faulty and must be done over, it is attributed to the
cost of nonconformance to quality.
A, B, and D are all incorrect. These values do not describe faulty work or the cost of nonconformance.
20. You are the project manager of the GHQ Project. Your organization has a requirement
that you use only the seven basic quality tools. Which one of the following is not
one of the seven basic quality tools?
A. Cause-and-effect diagram
B. Histogram
C. Control chart
D. Network diagrams
D. Network diagrams are not part of the seven basic quality tools. The tools are cause-and-effect
diagrams, flowcharts, checksheets, Pareto diagrams, histograms, control charts, and
scatter diagrams.
A, B, and C are incorrect. These answers are three of the seven basic quality tools.
21. You are the project manager of the JKL Project, which currently has some production
flaws. Which analysis tool will allow you to determine the cause and effect of the
production faults?
A. A flowchart
B. A Pareto diagram
C. An Ishikawa diagram
D. A control chart
C. The key words “cause and effect” equate to the Ishikawa diagram.
A is incorrect. A flowchart will show how a process moves through the system, but not
the cause and effect of the problems involved. B is incorrect because a Pareto chart maps out the causes and frequency of problems.
D, a control chart, plots out the results of sampling, but it doesn’t show the cause
and effect of problems.
22. Linda is the project manager of a manufacturing project. She and her project team
are using design of experiments to look for ways to improve quality. Which of the
following best describes design of experiments?
A. It allows the project manager to move the relationship of activities to complete
the project work with the best resources available.
B. It allows the project manager to experiment with the project design to determine
what variables are causing the flaws.
C. It allows the project manager to experiment with variables to attempt to improve
quality.
D. It allows the project manager to experiment with the project design document to
become more productive and to provide higher quality.
C. Of all the choices presented, C is the best. Design of experiments uses experiments and “what-if” scenarios to determine
what variables are affecting quality.
A is incorrect because design of experiments, in regard to quality, is not interested
in changing the relationship of activities to complete project work. B and D are also incorrect because design of experiments will not be changing project design
to determine where flaws exist or to become more productive.
23. You are the project manager of the Global Upgrade Project. Your project team consists
of 75 project team members around the world. Each project team will be upgrading a
piece of equipment in many different facilities. Which of the following could you
implement to ensure that the project team members are completing all of the steps
in the install procedure with quality?
A. Checklists
B. WBS
C. PND
D. The WBS dictionary
A. Checklists are simple but effective quality management tools that the project manager
can use to ensure that the project team is completing the required work.
B, C, and D are all incorrect. The WBS, PND, and WBS dictionary are not tools the project team
can necessarily use to prove they’ve completed required work. Checklists are the best
approach for this scenario.
24. Mark is the project manager of the PMH Project. Quality audits of the deliverables
show there are several problems. Management has asked Mark to create a chart showing
the distribution of problems and their frequencies. Given this, management wants which
of the following?
A. A control chart
B. An Ishikawa diagram
C. A Pareto diagram
D. A flowchart
C. Management wants Mark to create a Pareto diagram. Recall that a Pareto diagram maps
out the causes of defects and illustrates their frequency.
A is incorrect because a control chart does not identify the problems, only the relationship
of the results to the expected mean. B is incorrect because an Ishikawa diagram does not map out the frequency of problems.
D is also incorrect. Flowcharts show how a process moves through a system and how the
components are related.
25. You are the project manager of the NHH Project for your company and you’re reviewing
the results of quality control. In your analysis you’ve created a quality control
chart. In the following graphic, what does the highlighted area represent?
A. Out-of-control data points
B. In-control data points
C. The Rule of Seven
D. Standard deviation
C. The highlighted area shows seven consecutive sampling results all on one side of
the mean. This is known as the Rule of Seven and is an assignable cause.
A is incorrect. These values are in control. B is correct, but it does not fully answer the question as well as choice C. D is incorrect because standard deviation is a predicted measure of the variance from
the expected mean of a sampling.
