5 whys
a technique where you repeatedly ask the questions "why?" to help peel away the layers of symptoms that can lead to the root cause of a problem
acceptance decisions
decisions that determine if the products or services produced as part of the project will be accepted or rejected
appraisal cost
the cost of evaluating processes and their outputs to ensure that a project is error-free or within an acceptable error range
benchmarking
a technique used to generate ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization
capability maturity model integration
a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes
cause and effect diagram
diagram that traces complaints about quality problems back to the responsible production operations to help find the root cause
conformance
delivering products that meet requirements and fitness for use
conformance to requirements
the project processes and products meet written specifications
control chart
a graphic display of data that illustrates the results of a process over time
cost of nonconformance
taking responsibility for failures or not meeting quality expectations
cost of quality
the cost of conformance plus the cost of nonconformance
defect
any instance where the product or service fails to meet customer requirements
DMAIC
a systematic, closed loop process for continued improvement that is scientific and fact based
design of experiments
a quality technique that helps identify which variables have the most influence on the overall outcome of a process
external failure cost
a cost related to all errors not detected and corrected before delivery to the customer
features
the special characteristics that appeal to users
flowchart
graphic display of the logic and flow of processes that helps you analyze how problems occur and how processes can be improved
fitness for use
a product can be used as it was intended
functionality
the degree to which a system performs its intended function
ISO 9000
a quality system standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that includes a three part, continuous cycle of planning, controlling, and documenting quality in an organization
maintainability
the ease of performing maintenance on a product
maturity model
a framework for helping organizations improves their processes and systems
performance
how well a product or service performs for the customer's intended use
process adjustments
adjustments made to correct or prevent further quality problems based on quality control measurements
project quality management
ensuring that a project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken
quality
the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs or the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements
quality assurance
periodically evaluating overall project performance to ensure that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards
quality audit
structured review of specific quality management activities that helps identify lessons learned and can improve performance on current or future projects
quality circles
groups of nonsupervisors and work leaders in a single company department who volunteer to conduct group studies on how to improve the effectiveness of work in their department
quality control
monitoring specific project results to ensure that they comply with the relevant standards and identifying ways to improve overall quality
quality planning
identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and how to satisfy them
reliability
the ability of a product or service to perform as expected under normal conditions
rework
action taken to being rejected items into compliance with product requirements or specifications or other stakeholder expectations
robust design methods
methods that focus on eliminating defects by substituting scientific inquiry for trial and error methods
seven run rule
if seven data points in a row on a quality control chart are all below the mean, above the mean, or all increasing or decreasing, the the process needs to be examined for nonrandom problems
six 9s of quality
a measure of quality control equal to 1 fault in 1 million opportunities
six sigma
a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success that is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, impr
software defect
anything that must be changed before delivery of the program
system outputs
the screens and reports the system generates
system testing
testing the entire system as one entity to ensure that it is working properly
yield
the number of units handled correctly through the development process