Control Quality

00:01 Hello and welcome.

00:02 This module will cover the control quality process in the PMBOK guide. The difficulty is ranked as very high because a lot of the concepts and the application of those concepts you may not have done before memorization and exam importance, though, are both medium.

00:24 So pay particular attention to this one if you don't routinely undertake quality control activities on your projects.

00:34 The particular domain task that this process helps us understand better is the monitoring and control task three, which says verify that project deliverables conform to the quality standards established in the Quality Management Plan by using appropriate tools and techniques in order to meet project requirements and business needs.

01:01 Obviously, we need a quality management plan, so let's look out for it as an input into this process.

01:08 The key theme of the control quality process is that we're going to be using inspection as our main tool to check whether or not the deliverables we're making meet the required technical specifications and requirements.

01:24 There's a range of inputs we can use, starting with our project management plan, specifically our quality management plan, as the most important part of our project management plan.

01:38 But there are other aspects of our project management plan we may wish to use as well things like our scope management plan, quality or so time and cost management plans as well.

01:49 In fact, all of the other planning documents are useful here for controlling quality.

01:56 We'll also want the quality metrics and quality checklists we developed as outputs from plan quality management because now what we're going to use to check whether we have achieved quality with our deliverables.

02:12 Well, also want some raw work performance data about the deliverables that we're going to be inspecting.

02:19 Now remember work performance data as raw metrics.

02:23 Work performance information is having a technique applied to that data to make an understandable.

02:29 And then we take work performance information and we include it in his work performance reports.

02:37 Approved change requests as an input.

02:40 Now that leaps out a little bit, there's a little bit strange.

02:42 Why are approved change requests and input into the control quality process? Well, because they represent work to be done, approved change requests.

02:54 They are an input here.

02:56 They're an output from perform integrated change control.

03:00 Here, we need to check that the work that's been approved has been done as required.

03:08 And that's why approved change requests are used as an input here.

03:12 Look for them as an output, as validated changes from this process.

03:16 Once we've inspected them and said, yes, we did that change as per the documentation.

03:24 Perhaps the most important input into the control quality process.

03:29 Deliverables, because that's what this process is focused on, is checking those deliverables and making sure they meet the required standards now deliverables. Of course, they are an output from direct and manage project work.

03:43 They're an input here.

03:46 We'll also want relevant project documents around quality control, and we'll also want those parts of our project management methodology or organizational process assets to help us do our quality control activities.

04:02 The particular tools and techniques that we may find useful include Ishikawa, seven basic quality tools, which are those seven diagrams that Ishikawa developed. To help understand complex quality statistical tools in an easy to understand manner.

04:20 We'll also want to look at statistical sampling.

04:23 Obviously, if we're looking at multiple deliverables or destructive testing is involved, will want to use statistical sampling and extrapolate from our small population to the entire population.

04:35 But perhaps the total technique which distinguishes this process from the perform quality assurance process, the best is inspection.

04:43 If you remember, the perform quality assurance process used audits as one of its main tools.

04:50 Control Quality uses inspection as one of its main tools, and that's a nice way to remember the distinction between perform quality assurance and control quality processes.

05:03 Obviously, since we have approved change requests coming in as an input, another total technique will be approved change request review.

05:11 And this is simply the technique of taking a look at the change requests.

05:14 What was required and then checking that what was required was done.

05:22 Let's take just a quick look at Ishikawa seven quality tools or diagrams, we covered them in depth during the planned quality management process.

05:31 And in fact, these tools are featured in each of the three quality management processes. We're going to go through them one at a time and show you what each one is.

05:42 So pay particular attention because there will be questions in the exam that expect you to know what these are.

05:50 The first is the cause and effect ishikawa or Fishbone diagram.

05:53 It does have three names, and all it does is seek to investigate a particular effect and all of its potential causes.

06:02 And if we want to get to the root cause, we may then choose to apply a five whys as in: Why is this a problem? To each of those causes to get to the root cause of them . A control chart.

06:16 There will be questions in the exam about the control chart, particularly around control quality.

06:22 Here we have a chart where we have specified and expected mean the customer has set upper and lower specification limits outside of those limits. They don't want what you produce.

06:34 It's faulty goods.

06:35 So in order for us to determine whether our process is in control or not, we set upper and lower control limits.

06:43 Three standard deviations either side of our expected mean obviously three standard deviations, either side of the mean.

06:52 We would expect to capture 99 percent of our data points within those control limits. So if a data point appears outside the control limits but within the specification limit, it indicates that we should investigate. Highly improbable that it occurs.

07:12 The other conditions under which we should investigate, that's the rule of seven.

07:17 If we get seven consecutive data points either above or below the mean, as indicated by the seven red data points in this diagram, that's highly improbable and we should investigate.

07:30 It's not impossible, just highly improbable.

07:34 So remember, if a data point is outside, the specification limits stop, something's wrong.

07:41 If the data point is outside of the control limits, but within the specification limits investigate.

07:47 And also, if you note the rule of seven investigate as well.

07:54 This is an example of a check sheet, which we would use here in order to determine whether or not we have done the required quality control activities. A process flowchart is useful for explaining to people how your quality management processes work when inspections are done.

08:13 Who does the inspections, how decisions are made and feedback loops as well. Pareto's Law, or the 80/20 rule is just a way to focus on the 80 percent of the problems causing 20 percent of the causes, and that's where we focus our quality control efforts.

08:31 Best bang for buck or best value for money is on those causes.

08:37 So, for example, using a Pareto diagram here, we can see that in proper rotation, noise and wobbles, when added up, cumulatively, those three causes make up 80 percent of our problems.

08:52 So let's focus on those three and we'll solve 80 per cent of our problems.

08:58 That's the value of a Pareto diagram.

09:01 A scatter diagram shows two variables which can be independent or interdependent or mutually exclusive.

09:09 This example shows a high linear correlation between those variables, as it sort of shows a line going through them.

09:18 A histogram is just a way to present frequency of causes or frequency of problems in an easy to understand graphical format.

09:27 We can quickly see what our main problems are.

09:32 Statistical sampling, as I've already mentioned, is a great way to sample a small population or part of a total population and extrapolate those results to the entire population particularly useful when testing the entire population would take too long or cost too much or when distractive testing is involved.

09:55 And the Run-Chart another way to track some of our quality control activities in a Run Chat, the horizontal axis generally always has time on it.

10:05 The x axis or the vertical axis has whatever other metric is important to.

10:12 There are seven additional quality tools.

10:16 These are diagrams developed by a contemporary of Mr Ishikawa.

10:21 Again, they are diagrams to explain and understand easily quality management concepts.

10:28 And they include affinity diagrams.

10:32 The Process Decision Program chart.

10:35 The interrelationship diagraph of a tree diagram.

10:41 Prioritization matrices.

10:44 Activity network diagrams, and remember, we saw those and the time management knowledge area and matrix diagrams.

10:53 So if you come across a question in the exam about the seven additional quality tools, first know that like the original seven quality tools, they are diagrams to explain complex mathematical or statistical quality analysis.

11:09 And those are the seven additional ones.

11:13 The outputs that we may get from the control quality process include our quality control measurements because we've been inspecting and observing and measuring.

11:24 So we'll have a range of quality control measurements.

11:29 Remember that approved changes were an input into this process.

11:34 Well, if we've inspected those changes and determined that the work has been done as required, they become validated changes.

11:44 Also, remember that deliverables were an input.

11:48 If we've inspected those deliverables and they meet the specifications and requirements, we give them a big tick and they become verified deliverables. Now verified deliverables, the output here they go on to be an input into the validate scope process, and that's where we present them to the client for their approval.

12:10 And remember, if they're approved, they become accepted deliverables and then become an input into close project or phase.

12:20 Work performance data was one of the inputs into this process, once we've inspected that data and turned it into useful information, it becomes work performance information and we can use that to put into work performance reports at another point. We may also issue some change requests, changes that need to be made in order to make sure these deliverables meet the specifications and requirements.

12:47 And remember, these change requests will go off to be an input into the peform integrated change control process.

12:54 We may also choose to update our project management plan, relevant project documents like our lessons learned and historical information, and also parts of our project management methodology or other organizational process assets.

13:08 And that's all part of our commitment to continuous improvement on our project.

13:14 So in summary, the control quality process has been focused on using a wide variety of tools to inspect whether the project deliverables have met expected specifications and requirements before before presenting them to the customer for acceptance.

13:35 Thank you very much.

13:36 This has been an introduction and an overview to the control quality process in the PMBOK guide.