3. Quality
Quality is a noun meaning "degree of excellence".
The definition of quality often depends on the stakeholders. As defined
by the ISO 9000 standard, it is the features of a product that meets
customers satisfaction.
Our software has quality to the extent that it provides Value to some
living, breathing people with choices and options. If another program
solves a similar problem in a way that the person values more, it has
higher quality.
4. Quality contd.
Quality Demands Constant Attention
"Quality improvement is a never-ending journey.”
There is no such thing as a top-quality product or service.
All quality is relative.
Quality is Different From Correctness
Quality is not the same thing as "Correctness", which is producing a
program that exactly implements the design specifications.
5. Quality Improvement (QI)
What is QI ?
Quality Improvement is a formal approach to the analysis of performance
and systematic efforts to improve it. There are numerous models like
FADE, Six Sigma, CQI etc.
Continuous improvement is the everyday activities executed by a
company in other to enhance it ability to meet customers demands .
These models are all means to get at the same thing: Improvement. They
are forms of ongoing effort to make quality and performance better.
6. Software Quality Needs
• Quality Definition: Define qualities and quality goals operationally
relative to the project and the organization.
• Process Selection: Find criteria for selecting the appropriate methods and
tools and tailoring them to the needs of the project and the organization.
• Quality Evaluation: Evaluate the quality of the process and product
relative to the specific project and organizational goals.
• Quality Organization: Organize quality assurance from planning through
execution through evaluation, feedback and improvement.
10. FADE Model
The FADE Model -There are 4 broad steps to the FADE QI model:
• FOCUS: Define and verify the process to be improved.
• ANALYZE: Collect and analyze data to establish baselines, identify root
causes and point toward possible solutions.
• DEVELOP: Based on the data, develop action plans for improvement,
including implementation, communication, and measuring/monitoring.
• EXECUTE: Implement the action plans, on a pilot basis as indicated,
and Install an ongoing measuring/monitoring (process control) system to
ensure success.
11. FADE contd..
This is a cyclic process. Once you’ve made a change, you start all over again:
• You Evaluate the impact of your change
• You Focus down further
• You Analyze the problem to find the root cause(s)
• Then Develop methods for further improvement
• And Execute and Evaluate again!
• Repeat the process until the goal is achieved.
12.
13. PDSA
Another commonly used QI model is the PDSA cycle:
• PLAN: Plan a change or test of how something works.
• DO: Carry out the plan.
• STUDY: Look at the results. What did you find out?
• ACT: Decide what actions should be taken to improve.
Repeat as needed until the desired goal is achieved
15. PDSA contd..
Cycle 1
PLAN – Took suggestions from group and used the suggestions to plan
implementation of changes to improve the meetings effectiveness.
Assigning tasks prior to meeting
• DO – Documented the process and passed out to group members for
commentary and commitment to changes.
• STUDY – Group members were worried about their assignments and agenda
items to submit, today’s topic may not be the “hot” issue when the meeting was
held.
• ACT – Decided to proceed with the changes in spite of the concerns due to
perception that the concerns were unfounded and based on fear of change.
16. PDSA contd..
• Cycle 2
PLAN – New process initiated but only one topic submitted for agenda.
• DO – He created an agenda with one topic and one regarding the lack of
agenda items, assigned roles and held the meeting.
• STUDY – Meeting was short for the wrong reason. People did not know
what format to use when submitting agenda items. Also, concerned about
how items would be used.
• ACT – A form was created for submitting agenda items. Everyone was
assigned to submit one item using the form for the next meeting.
• Any further process issues would be addressed in the same manner.
17. Six Sigma
• Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for process
improvement, developed by Motorola in 1986.
• Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying
and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability
in business processes.
• Six Sigma is a measurement-based strategy for process improvement and
problem reduction completed through the application of improvement
projects.
• This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma models: DMAIC
and DMADV.
18. • DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) is an improvement
system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for
incremental improvement.
• DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an improvement
system used to develop new process or products at Six Sigma quality
levels.
19. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
• Continuous quality improvement is a process by which an organization can
strive to improve its business processes and outcomes through monitoring
and analyzing data.
• CQI is a management philosophy which belives that most things can be
improved. This philosophy does not subscribe to the theory that “if it is not
broken, don’t fix it.”
• It is a set of concepts, principles and methods developed from quality
principles proposed by early quality gurus, W. Edwards Deming, Joseph
Juran, Philip Crosby, Brian Joiner, and others.
• CQI was evolved and widely applied in healthcare industry but the
principles of CQI can be used in all types of projects, processes and
organizations.
20. Core Concepts of CQI
• Quality is defined as meeting and/or exceeding the expectations of our
customers.
• Success is achieved through meeting the needs of those we serve.
• Most problems are found in processes, not in people. CQI does not seek to
blame, but rather to improve processes.
• Unintended variation in processes can lead to unwanted variation in
outcomes, and therefore we seek to reduce or eliminate unwanted variation.
• It is possible to achieve continual improvement through small, incremental
changes using the scientific method.
• Continuous improvement is most effective when it becomes a natural part of
the way everyday work is done.
21. CQI contd.
• CQI implements the
PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT
i.e. PDCA methodology with a focus on the
“check” and “act” elements of PDCA.
• These elements are most important in CQI and
here, we’ll take a look at the principles that make
this methodology work.
• The model offers a “trial and learning” approach
that helps reveal the outcomes of change.
22. PDCA Cycle (or Deming Cycle)
• In PDCA cycle, the processes of Plan, Do (action), Check and Act are
carried on over and over, until a zero defect status is achieved. Since it is
cyclic, it is called the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle or simply the PDCA Cycle.
• PDCA improvement methodology is a continuous method. That means
that you don't stop working through the PDCA cycle once you've
achieved one goal. Instead, you "lather, rinse, repeat" and continually find
ways to improve your products, services, and processes over time.
23. PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT
"Plan" is really a two-step process.
I. The first step consists of identifying and defining a problem existing within a
process.
II. The second step involves analysis of this problem. During these two processes,
many tools and steps will need to take place including:
• Determining the root cause of the problem.
• Determining the interventions necessary to correct the problem.
• Determining what the expected outcomes are.
• Scheduling the steps of the correction.
• Planning for resources.
24. PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT
Once the plan has been created, the project scope statement signed off
on, and the schedule made, it's time to execute the plan. During this
phase, a solution will be:
• Implemented on a trial basis.
• Continuously checked (see the next step) for efficiency.
• Permanently implemented (if the trial is successful).
• Measured for performance.
25. PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT
Once the implementation of the solution has been started, using the
PDCA improvement methodology, we need to track the performance of
this solution over time. We try to answer the following questions:
• Did the implementation of a change reach desired results?
• What about the implementation or change worked well?
• What did not work?
26. PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT
Should your plan work, then it is time to standardize your process
improvement and implement it across your business practices. During
this final phase of the PDCA cycle, we want to:
• Identify any training needs for full implementation of the improvement.
• Fully adopt the solution for process improvement.
• Continue to monitor your solution.
• See if you can't improve the solution through further implementations
• Find other opportunities for improvement.
27. CQI Principles
CQI principles help put a plan in place that makes continuous improvement
possible, The important and must-have principles of CQI include:
• Process Improvement Plan – Every process improvement plan run alongside
actual project phases. A good plan will be specific on goals and expectations.
• Process for Improving – This principle ensures a process is set up for
improvement.
• Process Problems – Here, the CQI team should clearly assess possible and known
problems.
• Root Causes – What is causing the problems in the next principle in continuous
process improvement. Fault tree diagrams are often used to identify root causes
in order for issues to be controlled or improved.
28. CQI Principles Contd..
• Acting on Improvements – Once root causes are identified, this CQI principle
ensures teams find a way to act on those problems with a specific plan or process
that will remain constant.
• Monitoring Improvements – This may be the most useful part of CQI as it
ensures set plans or processes are working to constantly improve the situation,
product or failed element.
• Developing Quality Assurance Plans – Via research, assessment and monitoring,
the final principle of CQI, developing a quality assurance plan includes audits,
incident reporting, risk management and change controls.
29. Core Steps in Continuous Improvement
1. Form a team that has knowledge of the system needing improvement.
2. Define a clear aim.
3. Understand the needs of the people who are served by the system.
4. Identify and define measures of success.
5. Brainstorm potential change strategies for producing improvement.
6. Plan, collect, and use data for facilitating effective decision making.
7. Apply the scientific method to test and refine changes.
30. Commonly Used CQI Tools and Methods
• Cause & Effect/Fishbone Diagram - Find and cure causes, NOT symptoms To
identify, explore, and graphically display, in increasing detail, all of the possible causes
related to a problem or condition to discover its cause(s).
• Flowchart - Picturing the process,To identify the actual flow or sequence of events in a
process that any product or service follows.
• Histogram - Process centering, spread, and shape To summarize data from a process that has
been collected over a period of time, and graphically present its frequency distribution in bar
form.
• Pareto Chart - Focus on key problems to focus efforts on the problems that offer the greatest
potential for improvement by showing their relative frequency or size in a descending bar
graph.Pareto principle: 20% of the sources cause 80% of any problem.
• Run (Trend) Chart - Tracking trends,To study observed data (a performance measure of a
process) for trends and patterns over a specified period of time.
31. Additional Thoughts About Improvement Efforts
• Before you try to solve a problem, define it.
• Before you try to control a process, understand it.
• Before trying to control everything, find out what is important, and work
on the most important or on that process having the biggest impact.
• Recognize that we can learn from failures, so respect “meaningful
failures”.
32. Things Quality Improvement is NOT
Performance Improvement-
• The terms quality improvement and performance improvement are sometimes
used interchangeably.
• Performance Improvement means a change in the system performance.
33. Things Quality Improvement is NOT
Research
The distinction between QI and research is an important one. There is a
spectrum, and it can be blurry sometimes, but there are some key points (with
legal implications!).
Quality Improvement Research
•Intent is to improve current practice.
For internal use only.
•By definition, the data is confidential.
•Action is within existing standards of
care.
•Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval is not necessary.
•Intended to create generalized
knowledge.
•Desire to publish or present.
•Testing new methods.
•Needs IRB approval!
34. Conclusion
The ultimate goal of CQI and other Quality Improvement models is to
turn thoughts on ways to constantly improve. It doesn’t focus on
reinventing the wheel but making improvements to the wheel to
ensure output success. By using these principles of continuous process
improvement, project leaders can analyze, inspect, foresee and monitor
improvements guaranteeing long-term and on-going quality.
