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POSTER 25
Extension · Quality Management

Quality Management

Quality = the degree to which a deliverable meets requirements (fitness for purpose & conformance). The golden rule: quality is planned in, not inspected in — prevention beats inspection. Plan quality, build it in (assurance), and verify it (control), improving continuously.

Visual Map — Control Chart (Statistical Process Control)

UCL (+3σ) CL (mean) LCL (−3σ) out of control 7 points one side of CL → "rule of seven" → assignable cause

Control limits = the voice of the process (±3σ, set by the process). Specification limits = the voice of the customer (the requirement). A point beyond a control limit, or a run of 7, signals a special (assignable) cause to investigate.

Plan → Assure → Control

Plan Quality
standards, metrics, CoQ▸ Manage / Assure
audit & improve process▸ Control
inspect & accept output
  • QA = process-focused — "are we doing things right?" (prevention, audits).
  • QC = product-focused — "is this output correct?" (inspection, measurement).

Cost of Quality (CoQ)

  • Conformance
  • · Prevention — training, good process
  • · Appraisal — inspection, testing, audits
  • Non-conformance
  • · Internal failure — rework, scrap
  • · External failure — warranty, recall, reputation

Rule of thumb: $1 prevention < $10 appraisal < $100 failure.

The 7 Basic Quality Tools

  • Cause-&-effect (Ishikawa / fishbone)
  • Flowchart
  • Check sheet
  • Pareto chart (80/20)
  • Histogram
  • Control chart
  • Scatter diagram
  • + 5 Whys for root cause

Improvement Approaches

  • PDCA (Deming) — Plan · Do · Check · Act.
  • Six Sigma — DMAIC; 6σ ≈ 3.4 defects / million.
  • Lean — eliminate waste; Kaizen — continuous small improvement.
  • TQM — org-wide quality culture.

Exam Concepts

  • Prevention over inspection; quality is planned in.
  • QA = process, QC = product.
  • Control limits (process, ±3σ) ≠ spec limits (customer).
  • Quality vs grade: low quality is bad; low grade may be fine.
  • Gold plating (extra beyond requirements) is waste.

Executive View

  • Failure is the expensive part — invest in prevention.
  • Quality is customer-defined, then engineered in.
  • Build a continuous-improvement culture, not a blame one.

Industry Example

Manufacturing
  • SPC control charts on the line, Pareto on defect types, 5 Whys root cause, and a Six Sigma DMAIC project to cut scrap — justified by a CoQ case favouring prevention.

Relationships

  • Realises PMBOK 7 Principle 8 (Quality) & the Delivery domain (Poster 3).
  • Accuracy vs precision echoes the distinctions on Poster 22.
  • Lean/Kaizen tie to your operational-excellence world.

Memory Hooks

  • "Quality is planned in, not inspected in."
  • Prevention > appraisal > failure ($1 / $10 / $100).
  • Control limits = voice of the process; spec limits = voice of the customer.
60-sec Review QA vs QC CoQ: conformance vs not Name the 7 tools Control vs spec limits Quality vs grade
PMI Visual Wall · Poster 25 · Quality Management · original instructional design · A3 landscape