Quality Management Plan Template with Sample Example


Quality Management Plan

It is a well-defined set of documents to ensure and manage the quality throughout software development life cycle (SDLC) efficiently. The main objective of creating a quality management plan is to make sure that the project output is of adequate quality and suitable for the software. It helps guide the Project Manager and other to execute quality management and quality assurance activities for a project. This plan is usually developed by a contractor and reviewed by the customer.

The quality management plan describes how the quality has to be managed. It determines quality policies and procedures for the project output and process, defines the responsibilities of each personnel, and documents compliance.

Purpose of Quality Management Plan

The main objective of creating such a plan is to ensure that the project output is of adequate quality and suitable-for-purpose. Quality assurance and quality control are two integral parts of this plan.

Components of Quality Management Plan

  • Quality Assurance − Ensure the quality of the project management process.

  • Quality Control − Through the development of quality products.

  • Quality Improvement − Reviewing to assess and improve quality where possible.

  • Customer Satisfaction − Describes when an output is complete and acceptable as per customer’s standards.

  • Stakeholder Expectations − Describes when a project process is effective as per the project stakeholders.

Quality Strategy

  • Issues related to quality discovered in the application of the project management process.

  • Issues related to quality discovered during the development of outputs.

  • Appropriate standards to be applied.

  • Activities in the plan that must be performed correctly.

Quality Philosophy

It describes the intentions and approach to be adopted to manage quality.

  • Standard and procedures for assuring quality project management.

  • Efficient process(es) to make arrangements for good governance and accountability.

  • Input from technical experts or personnel with appropriate domain knowledge to ensure the development of outputs suitable for the purpose.

Project Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is achieved through defining relevant quality project management process(es).

Methodologies and Standards

Appropriate methodologies and standards must be adopted for the following −

  • Risk management standards must be adopted and maintained.

  • Record management, web publishing, information security, privacy.

  • Appropriate business domain-based standards.

Any change in the above must be recorded as an issue in the Project Issues Register.

Quality Review

  • Project Quality Consultants − The role that quality consultants have to play largely depends on their area of expertise. They also contribute to the formal Project Evaluation through a Project Performance Review

  • Project Evaluation and Review − It defines

    • Timing for reviews, that can be done at the end of a phase or every phase.

    • Topics of a review −

      • Review of project performance and comparison with the specified project target outputs.

      • Review of standards and methodologies required to obtain the outputs.

      • Learning points of the project.

      • Improvement areas.

Management of changes to project scope

It involves −

  • Planning possible changes through risk analysis.

  • Tracking all types of possible anticipated issues.

  • Adopting an iterative approach to enable changes within the scope of a single project.

  • Imitating changes in project scope in Project Business Plan.

Risk assessment and Management

Risk management helps ensure that the risk levels are managed efficiently. It contains level of sourcing, time, expense, quality, and realization of results by the Business Owner must be properly managed to make sure that the project is completed successfully. Here, the project approach to risk assessment and management is well documented to detect the risks to quality during the process.

Information Management

  • Document Management − Here, it is explained what review and acceptance procedures will be applied to the management of the project plan and other major documents.

  • Record Keeping − Here, it is necessary to mention relevant government policy, legislation, and rules which can affect the way records for the project must be kept. It includes details about protocols, needed to apply for records management, and how registration of all official documents must be managed.

Output Quality Control

Quality control can be accomplished by defining the appropriate quality criteria for the outputs, or what characteristics have to be used. It includes identifying the Output Quality Criteria and standards used to determine their acceptability and suitability for purpose. Here, we decide upon the personnel or groups to be involved in the specification of the Output Quality Criteria.

Appropriate methodologies and guidelines may be followed to assist, including technical specifications or other specific criteria. Fitness for purpose for every result is also estimated by the demands, expectations, requirements, and critical success factors of the stakeholders like −

  • Business Owner(s) − They contribute resources to the project during development to make sure that the results are being developed satisfactorily.

  • Advisory Groups − They advise and provide technical expertise relevant to result development and quality assurance.

  • Reference Group − They provide a medium to obtain confidence of stakeholders.

  • Working Groups − They consist small expert work groups, dedicated to producing an appropriate result within a specific timeframe.

  • Consultants − They advise about the development of specific results.

Output Review Procedures

In Output Review Procedures, it is determined when and how the outputs will be tested and reviewed and by whom. It includes −

  • Output Testing and Review: It is assumed that testing is only done of IT systems, but is also useful to other outputs that may need testing to make sure they meet specified functional requirements. Formalization of the output change management procedures, that are used to document problem reporting and rectification, is important.

  • Progressive audits to be performed throughout the project life cycle. These are examined progressively, because quality cannot be built in at the end of the project.

This should also include; technological aspects of the project, project agreement with internal and external audits, form advice, with dates preferred, and to whom this advice will be given should also be defined.

Change Control

Here, we define the process that must be used for changes, that need approval. Any change to specified results must be controlled through a change process which include −

  • A structured process to ease the change to the system.

  • Proper and complete assessment of the impact of the modified project.

  • A method to authorize or authenticate the change.

Output Acceptance Procedures

It includes acceptance of related continuing management roles and responsibilities. It defines −

  • Processes that business owners follow for final review and acceptance of the outputs on the basis of specified criteria.

  • A formal agreement recorded in proper documentation, e.g., Handover Plan.

An appendix includes −

  • Request log.

  • Forms and templates created by the project to provide documentation.

  • Appropriate operational documents.

Key steps of a Quality Management Plan Methodology

  • Planning the development 

    • Determine the clients Quality Objectives. Help them express quality expectations quantitatively.

    • Determine professional standards, such as legal, environmental, economic, code, life, and safety.

    • Balance the demands and expectations of clients and stakeholders in terms of cost, timing and professional standards. Check the expenses and advantages of selected quality objectives and the processes used to achieve the objectives.

    • Create a plan, that includes quality assurance and quality control standards and procedures. Take into account the risk factors and complexity of the project and adopt processes to achieve the specified level of quality. Any project change must be documented in the risk management plan.

    • Determine the threshold parameters for performance measures to obtain agreement on the definition of success based on the Quality Objectives.

    • Ensure client agreement of all quality objectives mentioned in the Quality Management Plan.

  • Execute the plan

    • Follow the approved Program Management Plan (PMP) and other standard operating procedures, and accordingly work.

    • The Product Delivery Team communicates, meets on a regular basis, and adapts to the changing conditions. QMP and PMP may need some changes to ensure that the project objectives are met.

    • Document the conclusions made in the Lessons Learned.

  • Perform Quality Checks

    • Perform technical review, management inspection, and verification to make sure that the quality objectives meet the District Quality Management Plan consistently.

    • Evaluate performance against PMP and client quality objectives performance parameters to cross check the performance will meet quality objectives and to verify sufficiency of the plan.

    • Share the results with stakeholders for facilitating consistent improvement.

  • Take correction measures.

    • In case the performance measure thresholds surpass, take specific measures to fix the cause of any deficiency or unwanted effect.

    • If needed improve document quality, which may include appropriate updates to the QMP, alteration of quality assurance and control procedures, and modifications to resource allocations.

Summary

Quality Management Plan (QMP) is a set of documents and information to manage and maintain the quality throughout the SDLC with efficiency. QMP is an essential part of the Project Quality Management Plan. Quality Philosophy defines all the intentions and approach applied to maintain quality. Quality Assurance is achieved by defining the appropriate quality project management processes. A Quality Consultant largely depends upon their area of expertise. In Quality Planning, the Output Quality Criteria and standards, used to determine their acceptability and suitability for the purpose, are defined. Output Acceptance includes agreement of continuing management roles and responsibilities.

Updated on: 22-Sep-2021

2K+ Views

Kickstart Your Career

Get certified by completing the course

Get Started
Advertisements