8.1 Plan Quality Management

Definition: the process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements and/or standards.

Key benefit: it provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and verified throughout the project.

Frequency: once or at predefined points in the project.

Process/ Asset Group	Input	The Process	Outputs	Process/ Asset Group
4.1 Develop Project Charter	Project Charter	8.1 Plan Quality Management	Quality management plan	Project Management Plan
Project Management Plan	Requirements management plan		Risk management plan
	Risk management plan		Scope baseline
	Stakeholder management plan		Quality metrics	Project documents
	Scope baseline		Lesson learned register
Project Documents	Assumption log		Requirements traceability matrix
	Requirements documentation		Risk register
	Requirements traceability matrix		Stakeholder register
	Risk register
	Stakeholder register
Enterprise/ Organization	Enterprise environment factors
	Organizational process assets

8.1.1 Inputs

8.1.1.1 Project Charter

It provides high-level project description and product characteristics, approval requirements, project objectives, related success criteria.

8.1.1.2 Project Management Plan

• Requirements management plan. The approach for identifying, analyzing, and managing the requirements that the quality management plan and quality metrics will reference.
• Risk management plan. The approach for identifying, analyzing, and monitoring risks.
• Stakeholder engagement plan. The method for documenting the stakeholders' needs and expectations.
• Scope baseline. WBS -> for which objects quality management + the acceptance criteria.

8.1.1.3 Project Documents

• Assumption log. For quality requirements.
• Requirements documentation. Captures the requirements for the project and deliverables.
• Requirements traceability matrix. It links product requirements to deliverables -> ensure each requirement is tested.
• Risk register. It contains information on threats and opportunities.
• Stakeholder register. It helps to identify stakeholders who have a particular interest/impact on quality.

8.1.1.4 Enterprise Environmental Factors

Includes:

• Governmental agency regulations;
• Rules, standards, and guidance specific to the application area;
• Geographic distribution;
• Organizational structure;
• Marketplace conditions;
• Working or operating conditions of the project or its deliverables;
• Cultural perceptions.

8.1.1.5 Organizational Process Assets

Includes:

• Organizational quality management system:
  • Policies;
  • Procedures;
  • Guidelines;
• Quality templates such as check sheets, traceability matrix, others;
• Historical databases and lesson learned repository.

8.1.2 Tools and Techniques

8.1.2.1 Expert Judgement

Topics:

• Quality assurance;
• Quality control;
• Quality measurements;
• Quality improvements;
• Quality systems.

8.1.2.2 Data Gathering

Includes:

• Benchmarking. Comparing actual or planned project practices or the project quality standards to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvements, and provide a basis for measuring performance.
• Brainstorming. To gather data creatively from a group of team members or subject matter experts to develop the quality management plan.
• Interviews. To gather project and product quality needs and expectations, implicit and explicit, formal or informal.

8.1.2.3 Data Analysis

Include:

• Cost-benefit analysis. A financial analysis tool to estimate the strengths and weakness of alternatives in order to determine the best alternative. To determine if the planned quality activities are cost effective.
• Cost of quality COQ.
  • Prevention costs.
  • Appraisal costs. Costs related to evaluating, measuring, auditing, and testing.
  • Failure costs (internal/external).

8.1.2.4 Decision Making

Multicriteria decision analysis to identify the key issues and suitable alternatives to be prioritized as a set of decisions for implementation. Criteria are prioritized and weighed before being applied to all available alternatives to obtain a mathematical score for each alternative. The alternatives are then ranked by score.

8.1.2.5 Data Representation

• Flowcharts. The sequence of steps.
• Logical data models.
• Matrix diagrams.
• Mind mapping.

8.1.2.6 Test and Inspection Planning

The tests and inspections are industry dependent. Identify how to test/inspect the product, deliverables, how to meet the goal for the product's performance and reliability.

8.1.2.7 Meetings

8.1.3 Outputs

8.1.3.1 Quality Management Plan

It describes how applicable policies, procedures, guidelines will be implemented. Activities and resources for the project to achieve the quality objectives.

Formal/informal, detailed/broadly framed.

It should be reviewed early to ensure that decisions are based on accurate information.

Components:

• Quality standards that will be used by the project.
• Quality objectives;
• Quality roles and responsibility;
• Project deliverables and processes subject to quality review;
• Quality control and quality management activities planned for the project;
• Quality tools that will be used;
• Major procedures relevant for the project.

8.1.3.2 Quality Metrics

It specifically describes a project or product attribute and how the Control Quality will verify compliance to it (failure rate, number of defects, ...)

8.1.3.3 Project Management Plan Updates

Change control process.

Components:

• Risk management plan. Decisions on quality -> risks.
• Scope baseline. Quality management activities -> scope of work.

8.1.3.4 Project Documents Updates

• Lesson learned register.
• Requirements traceability matrix.
• Risk register.
• Stakeholder register.