Quality control vs. quality assurance
Quality control and quality assurance are important concepts, yet most project managers have only a vague understanding of the meanings and the differences between these terms. Here’s what they mean.
Managing quality on your project means that you must first understand the specific quality expectations of your customer and then put a proactive plan in place to meet those expectations. The “proactive plan” contains a number of elements — the most important of which are the quality control and quality assurance activities that need to be performed.
Quality control and quality assurance are important concepts, yet most project managers have only a vague understanding of the meanings and the differences between these terms. It’s actually pretty easy.
Quality Control refers to quality related activities associated with the creation of project deliverables. Quality control is used to verify that deliverables are of acceptable quality and that they are complete and correct. Examples of quality control activities include deliverable peer reviews and the testing process.
Quality Assurance refers to the process used to create the deliverables, and can be performed by a manager, client, or even a third-party reviewer. Examples of quality assurance include process checklists and project audits. If your project gets audited, for instance, an auditor might not be able to tell if the content of a specific deliverable is acceptable (quality control). However, the auditor should be able to tell if the deliverable seems acceptable based on the process used to create it (quality assurance). That’s why project auditors can perform a quality assurance review on your project, even if they do not know the specifics of what you are delivering. They don’t know your project, but they know what good processes look like.
Here’s an example to drive home the point. Let’s say a project manager asked the sponsor to approve the Business Requirements Report. If you were the sponsor, how would you validate that the business requirements seemed complete and correct?
One solution would be for you to actually review the document and the business requirements. If you did that, you would be performing a quality control activity, since your actions would be based on validating the deliverable itself.
However, let’s say the document was thirty pages long and that you (as the sponsor) did not have the expertise, the time, or the inclination to do a specific content review. In that case, you wouldn’t ask to review the document itself. Instead, you would ask the project manager to describe the process used to create the document. Let’s say you received the following reply.
Project manager – “I gathered eight of your major users in a facilitated session. After the meeting, I documented the requirements and asked the group for their feedback, modifications, etc. I then took these updated requirements to representatives from the Legal, Finance, Manufacturing and Purchasing groups and they added requirements that were needed to support company standards. We then had a meeting with the four managers in your area that are most impacted by this system. These managers added a few more requirements. I then asked your four managers to sign off on the requirements and you can see their signatures on the last page.”
If you were the sponsor, would you now feel comfortable to sign the requirements? If it were me, I would feel pretty comfortable.
That’s the difference. Quality control activities are focused on the deliverable itself. Quality assurance activities are focused on the process used to create the deliverable. They are both powerful techniques and both must be performed to ensure that the deliverables meet your customers quality requirements.
by Tom Mochal
http://www.builderau.com.au/strategy/projectmanagement/soa/Quality-control-vs-quality-assurance/0,339028292,339191784,00.htm
Don’t know how to filing?? Let me teach you..haha..sorry,we learn together..i don’t know also..wahahahaha…;p
1. Categorizing
A filing system is only effective, if you can find everything you need, when you need it–without a struggle. And all good filing systems have different categories of papers. Your papers are either going to fall into a MAIN category, or a SUB-category.
For example, a main category might be FINANCIAL. Some sub-categories within Financial, may be: –Savings Account –Checking Account –Money Market Account
In your filing cabinet, your main categories should always be hanging file folders with a labeled tab. Your sub-categories should be labeled manila file folders inside the appropriate main category hanging folder.
2. Basic Filing Systems
For the most part, people choose to use one, or a combination of, these basic filing systems:
A. Alphabetical (A, B, C, D, etc.)
B. Numerical (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)
C. Chronological (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, etc.)
The one you use, depends on what you’re using it for. For example, if you need to keep files for all of your customers (or associates, friends, etc.), alphabetical by last name usually will work best.
For sequential case numbers or projects that are numbered, a numerical system would probably work best.
If it is necessary for you to find things by date, then chronological may be your choice.
Some people get really creative and use a combination of these systems. For example, you may want your main categories to be chronological, but the sub-categories inside to be alphabetical.
3. Labeling
If a file isn’t labeled properly, it’s not going to be quick and easy to find:
• Always write your subject on the tab of the file folder, close to the top of the tab, so you can easily see it when you’re looking through your files.
• Use a medium point, black marker to label your files. Print; don’t use script.
• Use as few words as possible on the tab.
K-Sharing at HQ
June 10, 2010 – QA COP has made a sharing in respect of the “Standard ISO 9001. This is the second after sharing the first done in Roadcare Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Session organized by COP own QA advisor Mrs. Pauziah Abu Kasim, which began at 9.30 am to 5 pm. The objective of this sharing was to increase knowledge of QA COP in standard ISO 9001. This activity will continue again in the next location, Kuantan which is still in discussions to set a suitable date. The session was attended by 16 QA COP members and their present is highly appreciated as it shows their commitment to that particular COP.
QA
K-Sharing Session on Standard ISO 9001 at Roadcare Kota Bharu
2 Jun 2010- Quality Assurance (QA) COP buat julung kalinya menganjurkan satu sesi K-Sharing bertajuk “Sistem Pengurusan Kualiti” bertempat di Roadcare cawangan Kota Bharu yang berlangsung dari jam 9 pagi hingga 5 petang.
Sesi berkenaan dikendalikan oleh Pengurus Cawangan Roadcare kawasan Kuala Krai, Encik Azfian Aziz dan seramai tujuh ahli QA COP daripada negeri Kelantan dan Terengganu menyertai sesi tersebut.
Selain daripada ahli QA COP, mereka yang terlibat dengan audit di kawasan berkenaan turut sama menyertai sesi berkenaan bagi menambahkan ilmu berkenaan kerja-kerja pengauditan dan sebagainya.
Pengurus QA dari HCM Engineering, Puan Pauziah Abu Kassim yang bertindak sebagai ketua bagi QA COP juga hadir bagi membantu Encik Azfian dalam menerangkan dengan lebih lanjut mengenai topik yang dipilih.
Sesi K-Sharing itu diadakan sebagai satu daripada aktiviti QA COP yang dirancang pada tahun ini dan dalam masa yang sama ia juga bertujuan untuk menerangkan mengenai kepentingan ISO kepada syarikat serta apa kriteria yang perlu dipatuhi bagi mencapai standard yang sudah ditetapkan.
Kesemua kakitangan yang terlibat turut memberi pandangan dan idea masing masing bagi memantapkan lagi pengetahuan mereka berkaitan topik tersebut dan jutaan terima kasih diucapkan kepada semua kakitangan yang meluangkan masa dengan hadir ke sesi berkenaan.
k-sharing
