IT 301 Unit 8 Seminar Option 2

Unit 8 discussed quality management. Quality management is important because it helps to standardize the methods to ensure the project is meeting all of its goals and requirements successfully. The three processes associated with quality are plan quality management, manage quality, and control quality. Quality management also looks to continuously improve a project throughout its lifecycle (also known as Kaizen).

Prevention is the concept of keeping defects from happening while inspection focuses on identifying and detecting errors before they impact outside stakeholders.

Managing quality is measured in quality assurance on a project’s processes. The three big achievements of quality assurance are ensuring the design is optimal, ensure requirements are met, and improve the processes and activities of the project.

Audits can be used to identify issues with quality on a project, identify best practices and share good practice implementation on other projects. Audits can be internal or external, however external audits can be a better measure as internal audits can be more prone to bias.

Control quality is used to measure the completeness, compliance and fitness of the end result of the project. It can be seen as the “final check” to determine if the project successfully met all requirements. Control quality validates the project.

There are several theories on quality. This week’s assignment covers theories by Deming, Juran, and Crosby. Deming’s theory looks at how to improve quality while focusing on the big overall picture as opposed to small induvial parts. Juran’s philosophy stressed quality management from the top and then trickling down. Crosby focuses on prevention and keeping issues from happening all together, his theory claims that requirements should be met on time, the first time and every time.