Within the field of information technology (IT) project management, the use of quality control and quality assurance (QC / QA) programs involves the precise application of numerous tools, techniques, principles and practices designed to ensure that IT projects prioritize quality during the duration of their planning, implementation, and delivery. Decades of research focused on the theoretical foundations of project management have resulted in the development of Seven Basic Tools of Quality, including cause-and-effect diagrams, control charts, run charts, scatter diagrams, histograms, Pareto charts, and flowcharts (Schwalbe, 2011). These advanced forms of statistical analysis assist IT project managers in the intricate process of achieving continual balance with regards to the triple constraint of budget, time, and scope that limits a project's progression. According to a recent research project conducted to assess the use of QC / QA tools in a total of 370 ISO 9001:2000 certified companies in Greece, "quality tools such as control charts, histogram and run chart appeared to be utilized throughout the production stages at one-third of the surveyed companies" (Fotopoulos & Psomas, 2009), and further study has suggested that these results can be extrapolated the worldwide IT industry.
Total Quality Management Tools
Within the field of information technology (it) project management, the use of quality control and quality assurance (QC / QA) programs involves the precise application of numerous tools, techniques, principles and practices designed to ensure that it projects prioritize quality during the duration of their planning, implementation, and delivery. Decades of research focused on the theoretical foundations of project management have resulted in the development of Seven Basic Tools of Quality, including cause-and-effect diagrams, control charts, run charts, scatter diagrams, histograms, Pareto charts, and flowcharts (Schwalbe, 2011). These advanced forms of statistical analysis assist it project managers in the intricate process of achieving continual balance with regards to the triple constraint of budget, time, and scope that limits a project's progression. According to a recent research project conducted to assess the use of QC / QA tools in a total of 370 ISO 9001:2000 certified companies in Greece, "quality tools such as control charts, histogram and run chart appeared to be utilized throughout the production stages at one-third of the surveyed companies" (Fotopoulos & Psomas, 2009), and further study has suggested that these results can be extrapolated the worldwide it industry. The following explication of these three Basic Tools of Quality will demonstrate both their specific functions within the field of quality control and quality assurance, as well as the factors which make them a crucial component of an organization's project management efforts.
Run Chart: This quality tool is a deceptively simple line chart used to measure the variations which naturally occur during the operation of all processes during an it project. Stripped to its core function, a run chart is "a line chart that shows data points plotted in the order in which they occur (and) displays the history and pattern of variation of a process over time" (Schwalbe, 2011), and when properly utilized by a qualified it project manager, run charts can be used to perform detailed trend analysis which use historical results to extrapolate future conditions and outcomes. Run charts are essential components in the continual effort to rid it project processes of defects which can easily become fatal on a systemic level, allowing project managers to chart various deficiencies across extended periods of time while searching for observable patterns (Liang, 2010). Although they are considered to be a vital tool in the arsenal of any it project manager, one of the primary disadvanatges associated with run charts is their limited scope of analysis. While identifying shortfalls within project processes, run charts assist it project managers with maintaining equilibrium in terms of resource allocation, but a run chart alone is unable to fully explain the reasons such shortfalls exist. Furthermore, run charts can be quite labor intensive to produce, which means they may not be appropriate QC / QA tools for every it project scenario.
Control Chart: Used to grahically display resultive data gleaned from process analytics, a control chart is one of the primary it project management techniques used to ensure that the triple constraint of scope, schedule, and budget are strictly controlled throughout the duration of the project life. At the heart of QC / QA methodology lies the conviction that proper "quality planning identifies which quality standards are relevant to the project and how to satisfy them, (while) quality assurance involves evaluating overall project performance to ensure that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards" (Schwalbe, 2011), and without the use of control charts to quantify and interpret process data, this crucial it project management task would border on the unfeasible. Control charts enable it project managers to diligently track the progress of various interrelated processes, adusting for resource allocation, personnel issues and human resources conflicts, and efficiency measures on a continual basis throughout a project's design, planning, and implementation phases. Disadvantages associated with control charts include the delay time needed to transfer input and out information from QC / QA staff to project managers, and the tool's relatively limited scope of analysis.
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