Submit A Project Quality Plan (Sections 1 Through 3) ✓ Solved

Submit a Project Quality Plan (sections 1 thru 3 only) for y

Submit a Project Quality Plan (sections 1 thru 3 only) for your assigned semester project using the Project Quality Plan Template provided in the Semester Project folder. A summary of the sections follow: Section 1 = Project Overview Section 2 = Specifications/Standards Section 3 = Quality Tools Note: Review the Semester Project Instructions which contains the details of your assignment and the Semester Project Student Assignments which identifies the project you are assigned to. For this assignment you are only to complete sections 1 thru 3 of the Project Quality Plan Template.

Paper For Above Instructions

1. Project Overview

The Project Quality Plan (PQP) begins with a concise Project Overview that defines what the project is intended to achieve, who will be involved, and the boundaries within which the work must occur. A well-structured overview sets the foundation for all subsequent quality activities by aligning stakeholders on purpose, scope, and success criteria. For a typical semester project, the overview should identify the project name, objective, high-level scope, deliverables, and key milestones, along with assumptions and constraints that could affect quality outcomes. It should also articulate the project’s alignment with learning goals and client expectations (PMI, 2021).

Key components to include are: project purpose and objectives, scope boundaries (inclusions and exclusions), a measurable success criteria set (e.g., performance targets, acceptance criteria, and quality targets), major deliverables and milestones, and the project organization (roles and responsibilities). The overview should summarize how quality planning will be integrated with requirements management, risk management, and change control throughout the project lifecycle (Kerzner, 2017; ISO, 2015). In practice, this section helps establish a common understanding among teammates and instructors about what constitutes “done” for the semester project and how quality will be demonstrated and verified (PMI, 2021).

Example content for a semester project might describe the goal of delivering a thoroughly documented plan with risk management, defined quality metrics, and traceability from requirements to deliverables. It should also note any critical success factors, such as timely communication with the instructor, adhering to template standards, and meeting the assessment rubric expectations (Deming, 1986). The Project Overview serves as the blueprint for the more detailed sections that follow and anchors quality practices in the overall project strategy (Montgomery, 2009).

2. Specifications/Standards

The Specifications/Standards section defines the concrete requirements and the quality standards the project must meet. This includes the identification of customer or instructor requirements, acceptance criteria for each deliverable, and the standards or frameworks that govern the project’s processes. Key activities in this section involve establishing traceability between requirements and deliverables, defining validation and verification criteria, and specifying how compliance with applicable standards will be demonstrated (PMI, 2021; ISO, 2015).

Practically, you should list the specific standards that apply to your project’s domain, such as documentation quality, formatting conventions, risk assessment methods, and any discipline-specific guidelines. Also include how changes to requirements will be managed (change control), how requirements will be baselined, and how acceptance will be tested or reviewed. It is important to describe the measurement approach: what metrics will be collected (e.g., defect density, requirement coverage, review finding severity), how data will be collected, and how it will influence decision-making (Montgomery, 2009; ISO, 2015).

Incorporating robust Specifications/Standards practices supports both QA (quality assurance) and QC (quality control) activities by ensuring every deliverable has explicit acceptance criteria and traceable requirements. This alignment with standardized processes strengthens consistency and repeatability across the project’s work products and supports evidence-based decision making (Juran & Godfrey, 1999; ISO, 2015).

3. Project Quality Tools

Project Quality Tools provide the mechanisms by which quality is planned, executed, and evaluated. This section should describe the specific tools and methods you will use to ensure the project meets its quality objectives. Common tools include checklists for requirements and deliverables, process flowcharts to visualize steps, and cause-and-effect diagrams (Ishikawa) to identify potential root causes of issues. Pareto analysis and histograms can help prioritize quality improvements, while control charts and other statistical tools support monitoring process stability (Montgomery, 2009; Shewhart, 1939).

Further enhancements include risk-based QA practices such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) to proactively identify failure modes and their effects, and formal audits or peer reviews to verify compliance with standards. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, a core philosophy in quality management, can structure iterative improvements throughout the project’s duration (Deming, 1986; ISO, 2015). It is important to tailor these tools to the semester project’s scope and to document how each tool will be applied to specific deliverables, how data will be captured, and how results will be reported to the instructor (PMI, 2021).

For example, you might use a requirements traceability matrix to link each requirement to its corresponding design element and verification activity, along with a checklist to confirm that all acceptance criteria are met before submission. A simple control chart could monitor a process such as document review turnaround times to keep the quality process within predefined limits. The combination of these tools enables transparent, data-driven quality management and fosters continuous learning and improvement (Kerzner, 2017; ASQ, 2020).

4. Additional Notes on the Full Paper (optional context)

The above sections provide a concise but robust structure for a Project Quality Plan appropriate to a semester project. In practice, many instructors expect the PQP to be aligned with a formal project management approach, including risk management and quality assurance threads that run concurrently with planning and execution. The organization of sections should reflect a logical flow from defining what needs to be achieved (Overview) to how quality will be defined and measured (Standards) and finally how quality processes will be implemented on a day-to-day basis (Tools). Throughout, maintain clear documentation, version control, and traceability to facilitate both review and learning outcomes (PMI, 2021; Kerzner, 2017).

References

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
2. International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems — Requirements. ISO.
3. Juran, J. M., & Godfrey, A. B. (1999). Juran's Quality Handbook (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
4. Crosby, P. B. (1979). Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain. McGraw-Hill.
5. Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the Crisis. MIT Center for Advanced Educational Services.
6. Montgomery, D. C. (2009). Introduction to Statistical Quality Control (6th ed.). Wiley.
7. Ishikawa, K. (1982). Guide to Quality Control. Asian Productivity Organization.
8. Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (12th ed.). Wiley.
9. American Society for Quality. (2020). Quality Tools for Continuous Improvement. ASQ.
10. Pressman, R. S. (2014). Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.