Project Quality Management - Perform Quality Assurance

This process audits the quality requirements and the results from quality control measurements to ensure that appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are used. It facilities the improvement of quality processes.

Lets take a look at the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of this process:

1) Quality Management Plan

• Describes the quality assurance and continuous process improvement approaches for the project.

2) Process Improvement Plan

• The project's quality assurance activities should be consistent with the performing organization's process improvement plans. 

3) Quality Metrics

• Provide the attributes that should be measures and the allowable variables

4) Quality Control Measurements

• Are the results of control quality activities that are used to analyze and evaluate the quality of the processes against the standards. 

5) Project Documents

• Monitor for configuration management as they may impact the quality assurance work

6) Quality Management and Control Tools

• Affinity diagrams 
• similar to mind-mapping techniques
• help generate ideas and can be linked to organize patterns of thought about a problem
• click here for an example
• Process decision program charts (PDPC) 
• used to understand a goal in relation to the steps for getting to the goal
• click here for an example
• Interrelationship digraphs
• provide a process for creative problem solving in moderately complex scenarios that possess intertwined logical relationships for up to 50 revenant items
• click here for an example
• Tree diagrams
• Also known as systematic diagrams
• Used to represent decomposition hierarchies such as the WBS, risk breakdown structure (RBS) and organizational breakdown structure (OBS) 
• click here for an example
• Prioritization matrices
• identifies the key issues and the suitable alternatives to be prioritized as a set of decisions for implementation
• Click here for an example
• Activity network diagrams
• Also known as arrow diagrams
• Includes the Activity on Arrow (OA) and the Activity on Node (AON) 
• used with project scheduling methodologies like program evaluation and review technique (PERT), critical path method (CPM) and precedence diagramming method (PDM) 
• Click here for an example
• Matrix diagrams
• Used to perform data analysis within the organizational structure created in the matrix and shows the strength of relationships between factors, causes, and objectives that exist between the rows and columns that form the matrix. 
• Click here for an example

7) Quality Audits

• A structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures. May include:
• Identify all good and best practices being implemented
• Identify all nonconformity, gaps, and shortcomings 
• Share good practices on other projects
• Proactively offer assistance to help raise productivity
• Highlight contributions of each audit in lesson learned

8) Process Analysis

• Identifies the needed improvements, problems experienced, constraints experiences, and non-value-added activities during process operation

9) Change Requests

• Used to take corrective action and are processed through the Perform Integrated Change Control process

10) Project Management Plan Updates

• May include:
• Quality Management Plan
• Scope Management Plan
• Schedule Management Plan
• Cost Management Plan

11) Project Documents Updates

• May include:
• Quality audit reports
• Training plans
• Process documentation

12) Organizational Process Assets Updates

• May include:
• Organization's quality standards
• Quality management systems

Source: PMBOK 5th ed.