3.4.1T Quality Assurance Options

Use Quality Assurance Activities to Validate the Processes Used to Build the Deliverables (3.4.1T.P1)

Quality assurance is focused on the processes you are using to run the project and build the deliverables. There are a number of QA activities that should be considered.

  • Quality Audit. Since quality assurance is associated with the processes used to create the deliverables, the most effective technique is a formal quality assurance review or audit. In a quality review a third party asks questions about the processes used to create the deliverables to ensure they are adequate. The deliverable itself does not need to be reviewed during the quality assurance review at all.

The quality audit should also validate that the project quality processes are actually being followed. For instance, if the team had a formal process for managing issues and scope changes, an audit would review project issues and scope changes to see if the processes were, in fact, followed. This would include a review of the Issues Logs, Scope Change Logs, schedule activities, Status Reports, etc. These should all provide an indication of how effectively the team is following its issues and scope management processes.

  • Quality planning. Creating a Quality Plan is a way to establish good overall quality processes for your project.

  • Quality training. Training is a way to prevent errors.

  • QA Checklists. Another quality assurance activity is a checklist that ensures that a standard process was followed. For instance, a checklist could include deliverable completion dates, deliverable review dates, validation that all action items were completed, client approval dates, etc. Since this type of checklist focuses on a process and not the actual deliverable, it is an example of quality assurance. See 3.4.2T Quality Assurance Checklist for more information and an example of a quality assurance checklist.