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Archive for January, 2009

Quality Assurance

January 6th, 2009 No comments

Q1. Adequate attention to quality in IT normally results in
a. low system maintenance costs and customer dissatisfaction.
b. high system maintenance costs and customer satisfaction.
c. high system maintenance costs and customer dissatisfaction.
d. low system maintenance costs and customer satisfaction

Q2. The Quality manager is not a significant factor in determining the success of the ongoing success of the quality activities. (T/F)

Q3. State the four project variables

Q4. The important principle of getting something accepted is referred to as _________ rule.

Q5. The Carnegie Mellon university states that it takes at least —– to move from Level 1 to level3
a) 4 years
b) 2 years
c) 3 years
d) 5 years

Q6. An organization in Initial Phase of Quality Function Maturation is result-driven, focusing on defining and controlling product quality. (T/F)

Q7. In Final Phase of Quality Function Maturation an organization’s objectives move from control to assurance. The emphasis is on defining, stabilizing, measuring, and improving work processes (T/F)

Q8. During Intermediate Phase of Quality Function Maturation, objectives such as consulting, motivating, and benchmarking move the organization toward optimization. (T/F)

Q9. State the major Drivers that Change the Role of the QA Analyst.

Q10. Quality management as a ___________ philosophy leads management to begin defining, measuring and improving processes.

Q11. Dr. Deming said that a leader of ____________ is needed to drive the quality management process.

Q12. The benefits of the Quality are always achieved without the assistance of QA Analysts. (T/F)

Q13. State the contents of the Quality charter.

Q14. A major reason to appoint a quality manager is to ensure that there will be a continuous force on quality in the organization. (T/F)

Q15. The best positioning for reporting for quality groups is
a. Reports to senior IT manager
b. Reports to manager of systems programming
c. Reports outside of the IT function

Q16. Quality tools can be used to
a) To define measures
b) To manipulate measures
c) Collect data and Improve processes
f) All of the above.

Q17. Name the three major Quality tools.

Q18. __________ is a technique used to quickly generate a quantity of creative or original ideas on or about a process, problem, product, or service.

Q19. To generate affinity diagrams, steps should be continued after __________
a) Affinity diagram
b) Force field analysis
c) Cause and effect Diagram
d) Brain storming
e) None of the above

Q20. Define Nominal Group Technique.

Q21. Cause and Effect diagrams are applicable for
a. Analyzing problems.
b. Identify sources of defect causes.
c. Scheduling problems/Cycle times
d. Implementing anything new
e. None of the above
f. All of the above
g. a,b,c

Q22. Force field analysis is useful in
a. Implementing a quality function
b. Developing education and training programs
c. Empowering the work force
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

Q23. A ________ is a more detailed flowchart that depicts processes, their relationships, and their owners.

Q24. What are the three types of benchmarking?

Q25. Collection of data is the step in planning phase. (T/F)

Q26. Determine Current Competitive Gap is one of the steps in analysis phase (T/F)

Q27. Define Matrix.

Q28. Write the two common types of matrices.

Q29. Give an example of task deployment.

Q30. Name some Statistical Tools.

Q31. A _______ is a form used to gather and record data in an organized manner.
a) Check Sheet
b) Pareto Chart
c) Affinity Diagram
d) None of the above

Q32. Check sheets can be used to record end user surveys. (T/F)

Q33. Histogram is a bar graph. (T/F)

Q34. Histogram can explain graphically whether the process is in control or out of control (T/F)

Q35. Pareto chart is a special type of histogram. (T/F)

Q36. Run charts are often used to monitor and quantify process outputs before a control chart is developed. (T/F)

Q37. What are the two types of variation?

Q38. A scatter plot is used for problem solving and understanding cause-and-effect relationships (T/F)

Q39. The stem-and-leaf chart is a variation of the bar chart using the actual distributed values shown by category (T/F)

Q40. Bar chart is two-dimensional. (T/F)

Q41. A pie chart graphically presents the ____________ of a total population.

Q42. ________ Chart is a variation of the bar chart using the actual distributed values shown by category.

Q43. The first step in generating a histogram is to
a) Clarify what must be collected objectively.
b) Gather data and organize it from lowest to highest value.
c) Tally the results
d) Use brain storming
e) None of the above

Q44. Questions on check sheets need not be organized by topic. (T/F)

Q45. Line charts are used to compare
a) Like units
b) Related or fixed variables
c) Like periods
d) Unlike periods
e) unlike units
f) ABC
g) All of the above.

Q46. Pareto chart is otherwise called as _________ rule.

Q47. Formula for Effective Behavior Change.
a. Behavior = Individual + Environment
b. Behavior = Individual — Environment
c. Behavior = Individual * Environment
d. Behavior = Individual / Environment

Q48. State the three deployment phases.

Q49. Some key activities performed by QA analysts that are not normally performed by internal auditors are
a. Developing policies, procedures, and standards
b. Acquiring and implementing tools and methodologies
c. Marketing or creating awareness of quality programs and concepts
d. Measuring quality
e. All of the above

Q50. _____________verify compliance to corporate policies, plans, procedures, and applicable laws and regulations

Also See:

Answers:

1. D
2. F
3. Scope, schedule, resources, and quality
4. Mafia
5. c
6. T
7. F
8. F
9. The two major drivers that change the role of the QA analyst are the management philosophy used in the IT group, and the personal belief system of managers
10. Process-oriented
11. Statistical methodology
12. F
13. Scope, Objectives, Responsibilities
14. T
15. a
16. False
17. Management Tools, Statistical Tools, Presentation Tools
18. Brainstorming
19. d)
20. The nominal group technique is a structured, facilitated technique where all team members participate by individually ranking ideas, issues, concerns, and solutions, and then achieve consensus by combining the individual rankings
21. g
22. d
23. Process map
24. Process Benchmarking, Product Benchmarking, Performance Benchmarking
25. T
26. T
27. A matrix is a structured, problem-solving technique used to show the relationship between groupings
28. the L-type matrix and the T-type matrix.
29. A combined example would be a training class
30. Check Sheet/Histogram/Pareto Chart/Run Chart/Control Chart/Scatter Plot
31. Checksheet
32. T
33. T
34. T
35. T
36. T
37. Common or random causes of variation
38. T
39. T
40. T
41. Components
42. The stem-and-leaf chart
43. B. Gather data and organize it from lowest to highest value.
44. F
45. f a,b,c
46. 20-80
47. a. Behavior = Individual + Environment
48. Assessment, Strategic, Tactical
49. e
50. Internal auditors

Categories: CSQA Tags:

Quality Baselines

January 6th, 2009 No comments

Q1. Organization needs to establish performance baseline for __________, ___________ and ____________.

Q2. A baseline provides ______________ base from which change can be measured

Q3. The baseline studies are conducted by
a) Project Team
b) SQA
c) Quality Assurance Group
d) Internal Auditors

Q4. Objective baseline studies are one which are viewed as __________ and ___________

Q5. The cost and effort to develop new and innovative quality approaches within IIT is cost prohibitive (T/F)

Q6. The organizational climate is the workers __________ towards their organization.

Q7. A model can be used as a guide for continuous improvement (T/F)

Q8. Models may be customized to meet new or changing needs (T/F)

Q9. CMMI was developed to evaluate a software contractor’s capability to deliver quality software (T/F)

Q10. Which of the following are software process improvement models?
a) MBNQA
b) ISO 9001
c) CMMI
d) All of the above

Q11. An ________ is a process used to measure the current level of performance or service.

Q12. An ________ is a independent appraisal activity

Q13. A maturity level is a well defined _____________ plateau for achieving a mature software process

Q14. In a crisis, projects typically abandon any planned procedures and revert to a code and fix methodology in
a) Level 1
b) Level 2
c) Level 3
d) Level 4

Q15. Schedules, budget and product quality are generally unpredictable in Level 2 (T/F)

Q16. Project managers track software cost, schedules and functionality in Level 2 (T/F)

Q17. An organization wise training program is implemented in Level 2 (T/F)

Q18. The capability of an organization is summarized as standard and consistent in
a) Level 2
b) Level 3
c) Level 4
d) Level 5

Q19. The capability of an organization is summarized as predictable in
a) Level 2
b) Level 3
c) Level 4
d) Level 5

Q20. A level 4 organization sets quantitative goals for both software products and processes (T/F)

Q21. The organization has means to identify the weaknesses and strengthen the process proactively in
a) Level 2
b) Level 3
c) Level 4
d) Level 5

Q22. The MBNQA award can be given to Educational organizations. (T/F)

Q23. ___________ manages the Baldrige program
a) NITS
b) NIST
c) NISP
d) NISTS

Q24. ___________ addresses how the organization determines the requirements, specification, expectation, and preferences of customers and markets

a) Strategic Planning
b) Process Management
c) Customer and Market Focus
d) Business Results

Q25. MBNQA award scoring are based on two evaluation dimensions ___________ and ___________.

Q26. Each MBNQA applicants will not receive a feedback report at the conclusion of the review process (T/F)

Q27. Deming prize is awarded in ___________

Q28. Gives an introduction and guide to using the other standards in the 9000 family
a) ISO 9000
b) ISO 9001
c) ISO 9004
d) ISO 10011

Q29. Includes guidelines for auditing quality systems
a) ISO 9000
b) ISO 9001
c) ISO 9004
d) ISO 10011

Q30. Identify the subclause(s) in Measurement, analysis and improvement clause
a) Customer related process
b) Control of Non Conformity
c) Quality Policy
d) Provision of Resources

Q31. Following are the subclause(s) in Product realization
a) Customer related process
b) Control of Measuring and Monitoring devices
c) Work Environment
d) a and b
e) None of the above

Q32. ISO/IEC 12207 assumes a specific life cycle model (T/F)

Q33. Identify the supporting process as per ISO/IEC 12207
a) Supply Process
b) Acquisition Process
c) Training Process
d) Verification Process

Q34. Identify the Primary process as per ISO/IEC 12207
a) Problem Resolution Process
b) Audit Process
c) Supply Process
d) Improvement Process

Q35. ISO IEC 12207 is especially applicable for acquisitions. (T/F)

Q36. ________ provides a framework for the assessment of software processes that is appropriate across all application domains and organization sizes
a) ISO/IEC 12207
b) CMM
c) ISO/IEC 15507
d) ISO/IEC 15504

Q37. ________ Provides Guidance on performing assessment
a) ISO/IEC 15504-1:2004
b) ISO/IEC 15504-2:2003
c) ISO/IEC 15504-3:2004
d) ISO/IEC 15504-4:2004

Q38. The reference model alone can be used as the basis for conducting reliable and consistent process capability (T/F)

Q39. ________ rating scale shows that there is significant achievement of the defined attribute.

a) N
b) P
c) L
d) F

Q40. An post –implementation audit is conducted to determine
a) The system objectives were met
b) The system specifications were implemented as specified
c) The development standards were followed
d) Any or all of the above

Answers:

1. CMMI, MBNQA, ISO9001:2000
2. Quantitative
3. Quality Assurance Group
4. Factual and Nonargumentative
5. True
6. Attitude
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. d
11. Assessment
12. Audit
13. Evolutionary
14. Level 1
15. False
16. True
17. False
18. Level 3
19. Level 4
20. True
21. Level 5
22. True
23. NIST
24. c)
25. Process and results
26. False
27. Japan
28. ISO 9000
29. d)
30. b)
31. a and b
32. False
33. Verification process
34. c)
35. True
36. d)
37. a)
38. False
39. c)
40. d)

Also See:

Categories: CSQA Tags: ,

Quality Leadership

January 6th, 2009 No comments

Q1. Who is responsible for implementation for any major quality initiative?
a) Management
b) Employees
c) A and b
d) None of the above

Q2. Implementing quality management is a long term effort
a. True
b. False

Q3. Executive management should develop a quality policy and mission, vision, goals, and values statements (True/ False)

Q4. Management commitment is the single most important requirement for successful implementation of __________

Q5. Having management commitment does not guarantees quality management success but improves odds for successful implementation. (True/False)

Q6. Committing to quality management means
a) Understand the concept of quality management.
b) Adopt behaviors to show quality management.
c) Accept the need to change the participative leadership.
d) Provide funds for training.
e) All of the above

Q7. Executive Management should develop
a) Quality policy
b) Mission
c) Vision.
d) Goals
e) Value statement
f) All of the above

Q8. As the lowest group to accept the process, middle management is the strongest link in the most quality management effort. (True/false)

Q9. Which is the best source of motivation that a leader can provide to his team
a) Coaching
b) Reinforcement
c) Modeling
d) Training

Q10. Which is the first step in establishing the trust among employees in implementation of quality
a) Actively listening down
b) Talking down
c) A) or B)
d) None of the above

Q11. Understanding comes after behavior change (True/False)

Q12. ___________ leads to increased creativity.
a) Competition
b) Cooperation
c) Commitment
d) None of the above

Q13. Customer and user satisfaction is normally increased when they can get quick action from front line staff (True / False)

Q14. ___________ is a technique to build group compatibility
a) Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation
b) Fundamental Internal Relations Orientation
c) Functional Interpersonal Relations Orientation

Q15. A task force is a _____________activity organized for a specific purpose
a) cross-functional
b) Functional
c) Departmental

Q16. Task forces should be organized for a single purpose
a) True
b) False

Q17. Task forces are _______ for decision-making than for solving problems.

Q18. Research shows that complaints must be resolved within ______ minutes.
a) One
b) Two
c) Four
d) Five

Q19. Following is part of complaint resolution process
a) Get on your customer’s wavelength
b) Follow up with the customer
c) Establish and initiate an action program
d) All the above

Q20. Quality and performance are judged by an organization’s ____________

Q21. The ______________ sets the tone of an organization

Q22. The quality environment is established by _________________

Q23. Effective communication is _____________, not spontaneous

Q24. Corporate governance is a _____________problem, not a procedural problem

Q25. ____________ communication is rated as the number one skill for the quality analyst.

Q26. How many channels exist for listening to a speaker?
a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7
e) 3

Q27. __________ is the most frequently used form of communication.

Q28. __________ is a statement of principles, and a broad guide to action.

Q29. In monitoring, there are both _________ and _________ controls

Q30. After criticism is made, what should be made with the candidate?
a) Document regarding the bad work done.
b) Contract regarding what will happen afterwards
c) Agreed document between the manager and the candidate
d) All of the above

Q31. Which of the following is discriminative listening?
a) Directed at selecting specifice pieces of information, not the entire communication.
b) Complete message with minimal distortion
c) To put youself in the speakers situation
d) To analyse what the speaker has said.
e) None of the above.

Q32. Which of the following is Therapeutic listening?
a) Complete message with minimal distortion
b) Directed at selecting specifice pieces of information, not the entire communication.
c) To put youself in the speakers situation
d) To analyse what the speaker has said.
e) None of the above

Q33. Which attributes were included in establishing status when equated to IT environment?
a) leadership
b) technical skill
c) years of experience
d) all the above.

Q34. Quality promotes turning problems into opportunities (True / False)

Q35. When the quality processes are mature with defined, improving work processes the focus of the quality function is on
a) Optimization
b) Product quality
c) Process deployment and compliance
d) All of the above

Q36. Which is the least important skill for a quality manager in the below list?
a) Verbal communication
b) Project management
c) Programming
d) Systems knowledge
e) Knowledge of operations
f) Written communication

Q37. The size of the quality function ideally will vary with the size of the organization (True/False)

Q38. Which of the below tool help people to determine whether a process is in control or not?
a) Run Chart
b) Control Chart
c) Pareto Chart
d) U Chart

Answers:

1. a
2. a
3. True
4. Quality Management
5. True
6. e
7. f
8. False
9. B
10. A
11. False
12. B
13. True
14. A
15. A
16. A
17. Better
18. Four
19. D
20. Customers
21. Quality Environment
22. Executive Management
23. Planned
24. People
25. Oral
26. Five
27. Listening
28. Quality Policy
29. preventive, detective
30. b
31. a
32. c
33. d
34. true
35. a
36. c
37. true
38. b

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Categories: CSQA Tags: ,

Quality Principles

January 6th, 2009 No comments

Q1. From a ______________ viewpoint, a defect is a product requirement that has not been met.

Q2. A procedure is a step-by-step method to ensure that _____________ are met.

Q3. Meeting requirements is ___________ view of quality.

Q4. Customer’s view of quality is referred to as ______________________.

Q5. A ___________ is the requirement that a product or process should fulfill.

Q6. Fit for use means that the product or service meets the customer needs, regardless of the _________ __________.

Q7. The organization policy states that all modules to be tested 100%. However the project team did only 70% testing in each of the modules. This is a type of ___________ quality gap.

Q8. The customer wanted an export and print facility on all screens, however the team provided the same only on some of the screens. This is a type of ______________ quality gap.

Q9. Closing the producer’s gap enables the IT function to provide its customers ____________ in what it can produce.

Q10. Many technical experts believe that _____________ inhibit their creativity.

Q11. It should take not more than 2 days to locate and fix an error in an application. This is a measure of the ________________ attribute of an application

Q12. Password should be more than 6 characters, should have at least one special character and should be changed every 2 months. This is a measure of the ________________ attribute of an application

Q13. The program prepared for a processing VISA card payments should also be useful when preparing an application which processes card payments for MasterCard. This is a measure of the ________________ attribute of an application

Q14. The application should be up 99.9% of the time doing its intended function. This is a measure of the ________________ attribute of an application

Q15. It takes 20 years to change a culture from an emphasis on _______________ to an emphasis on _______________.

Q16. A major premise of a quality management environment is an emphasis on ____________ improvement.

Q17. ROI is achieved by increasing the ____________ and / or the _____________ costs of quality in order to reduce the _______________ cost such that the overall cost of quality is still less than what it would have been without implementing a quality program.

Q18. ___________ should be actively involved in the establishment of their own standards and procedures.

Q19. Six sigma means _______ defects per million opportunities

Q20. _______________ is defining current level of performance.

Q21. Comparing processes within the organization or with an external organization is _______________.

Q22. QC is defined as the processes or methods used to compare product quality to its stated ____________ and applicable ____________.

Q23. ________ is the responsibility of the unit producing the product, while QA is a _________ function.

Q24. It is possible to have QC without QA. T / F

Q25. The Juran trilogy is quality __________, quality ___________ and quality____________.

Q26. TQM is a process of _________ change.

Answers:

1. producer
2. standards
3. producers
4. fit for use
5. standard
6. product requirements
7. producers
8. customer
9. consistency
10. standards
11. maintainability
12. integrity
13. reusability
14. reliability
15. productivity, quality
16. continuous
17. prevention, appraisal, failure
18. workers
19. 3.4
20. baselining
21. benchmarking
22. requirements, standards
23. QC, staff
24. T
25. planning, control, improvement
26. controlled

Also See:

Categories: Uncategorized Tags:

Job Openings in Gurgaon, Noida, Delhi -NCR

January 4th, 2009 No comments

====================================================

Date: July 21, 2009

Location: New Delhi

Position: Sr. Process & Quality Analyst

Exp:  3+ years

Candidate must be trained/ certified on Six Sigma & ITIL. Should have exposure on SLA analysis, maintaince & definion.

Responsibilities:

  • List of activities performed within each responsibility area
  • Definition of any new process required to deliver services to the customer as per business requirement
  • Revision of any existing process as per changes in business requirement or for improvement in service performance
  • Ensuring all processes are having defined speps to be audited, defined samples to audited and defined frequency at which the audit needs to be conducted. There should be a signoff on these with the process owner
  • Ensure that all engineers following the process are trained on audit steps as and when the audits steps are gettign defined or revised
  • Ensure all audits are conducted as per schedule
  • Ensuring all processes are having defined metrics to measure the performance of the process as per business requirement
  • Ensure that the frequency of generation of reports are signed off with the process owners are adhered to
  • Ensure all reports are delivered as per the schedule
  • Ensure that all process are adhering to document management guidelines and are stored live and updated at all times in the central repository
  • Ensure that all audit steps are documented as per document management guidelines and are stored live and updated at all times in the central repository
  • Ensure that SOPs for all reports and dashboards are documented as per document management guidelines and are stored live and updated at all times in the central repository
  • Analyse and identify Improvement areas to help increase productivity
  • Analyse and identify Improvement areas to help reduce average Incident resolution time
  • Analyse and help improve Incident ratio and reduce incidents through the definition of Problem Management
  • Analyse process performance metrics to identify any areas of improvement and drive improvement together with process owner
  • Analyse processes to identy any areas of automation in the process and drive automation initiatives together with process owners
  • Participare in internal reviews to discuss metrics on performance of processes, understand process owners pain points, identify areas of improvement and drive improvement together with process owner
  • Participare in operations reviews with customer to discuss metrics on performance of processes, understand customer pain points, identify areas of improvement and drive improvement together with process owner
  • Keeping track of current and forecasted tasks which needs to be delivered by self and team on daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis
  • Proper estimation of effort required for all tasks
  • Identifing gap in resource strength required and work with reporting manager to find a solution such as resource adddition
  • Updation of team skill matrix – Assessment of each team member as per the defined frequency to assess skill gaps for each individual
  • Signoff on TNI based on the skill gap scores and coordinate with QM/AQM, TTC for impartation of training
  • Track application of skills as well as assessment scores of all team members and mentor them for skill development
  • Suggest changes in processes to incorporate best practies in order to improve service performance, reduce cost of deliver and enhance customer satisfaction
  • Understanding the processes required to deliver the signed of deliverables for the customer
  • Understaning of service management tool to be used to deliver services to the customers
  • Understanding of methodology of data collection in order to generate service performance metrics for agreed services and processes
  • Alignment of processes to Microland & Business standard processes and signoff with the customer on the same
  • Definition of metrics to the shared with the customers and signoff on the same
  • Training of all resources on processes signed off with the customers
  • Training on usage of service management tool required to deliver services to the customers
  • Training of data analysts on methodology required to collate data and publish dashboards signed off with the customers

If your are interested, please mail your resume at o_manishad@microland.com

====================================================

====================================================
Date: July 21, 2009

Location: Gurgaon

Experience: 5 – 10 Years

Desired Candidate Profile: Graduate/MBA with 5-6 years of total exp and 1-2 years of managerial exp/ISO 9000 Lead Assessor, Six Sigma Green / Black Belt in a large BPO setup. Excellent Knowledge of ISO 9000. Knowledge on KAIZEN & Suggestion scheme & process orientation

Job Description Overview:

• Excellent Knowledge of ISO 9000.
• Knowledge on Six Sigma tools & techniques.
• Exposure to Six Sigma, 7 QC Tools, Policy Deployment,Extensive work on Problem Solving tools & techniques. Design training and sensitizing programmes

If you are interested, please mail your resume at anshu@creativeindians.com

Contact Anshu at 011-45088685
====================================================

Categories: Job Openings Tags:

CSQA Question Papers

January 3rd, 2009 No comments
Categories: CSQA Tags:

Causal Analysis Guidelines

January 3rd, 2009 1 comment

Causal Analysis is to find causes that you can treat rather than treating symptoms. It provides the real reason why things happen and allows focused change activity.

A root cause is the basic reason why something happens and can be quite distant from the original effect.

Sources of information for causal analysis: Causal Analysis are triggered through one or more of the following ways:
• Reviews / Testing
• Audits of the quality system/projects
• Management Review Meetings
• Maintaining the quality system and deviations sought
• Customer complaints
• Problems / issues encountered at the project and organizational levels.

The goals of causal analysis are:

- To identify critical problem areas in a systematic way.
- Investigate and determine the root cause(s) of the nonconformance and document the root cause(s)
- Determine a plan to eliminate the root cause(s) of the nonconformance, taking into consideration the magnitude of the problem and the risk involved

1. Identify Crtical problems: The individual or team that encounters the problems shall organize a brainstorming meeting to identify the causes for the problem(s). Participants at the meeting shall include the individual or team that encounters the problem(s), experts in the domain and representatives of the Quality team and the Defect Prevention Analyst of the project. The lists of problem areas are determined, based on their impact on the performance of the team.

2. Identify causes and root causes: During the meeting, the participants define (or redefine if necessary) the problem for a precise understanding. Following this, brainstorming shall identify the possible causes of the problem. The causes of the problem shall also be prioritized and root causes are identified after eliminating others, the root cause of the problem is then documented appropriately.

The defect prevention group analyzing the problem shall use a combination of one or more of the following to identify the critical problem, possible causes and root causes:

Pareto analysis to seek out the vital few causes / characteristics known to contribute to the problem(s). Pareto Analysis is used to prioritize and attack the various causes that contribute to the problem so that the effect of the action taken would result in substantial improvement. Pareto Analysis is extensively used where quantitative data is available.

Cause-and-Effect Diagram or “Fishbone” diagram to visualize, clarify, link, identify and classify possible causes of a problem. Using Cause and Effect Diagram, a root cause analysis (WHY-WHY analysis) is done which helps in taking appropriate corrective action, to prevent the recurrence of the root cause, in future. The Cause and Effect Analysis is a qualitative technique and requires the involvement of team members since brainstorming will be used in conjunction with this tool.

3. Identify Corrective action: The participants of the meeting propose and discuss possible mitigation methods or strategies to correct the problem as well as to prevent the problem from occurring in future.The participants shall also decide on responsibilities assigned for acting on the action items identified, along with any risk perceived and target date for closure. The action items are tracked to closure and follow-up takes place during subsequent meetings.

Performing Causal analysis and preventive actions across the Organization: Causal analysis and appropriate preventive actions are performed at the following levels across the organization:
• Project / Work Group
• Organization

Project Level: The scope of a causal analysis at a project level is to identify critical problem areas with respect to Defects and Issues.

The project team members meet periodically to track the performance of the defects and issues along with the inputs given by the team members.

Based on the discussion, the team identifies, suitable intervals on a planned, as well as an event driven basis to perform causal analysis and determine suitable corrective actions and follow it up to closure. Causal analysis is performed at the end of a phase or once in a month, whichever is earlier. In cases where Phases overlap, Causal analysis for the current phase will be done before the start of the succeeding phase.

The team shall also track the effectiveness of such corrective actions periodically.
In order to support and prevent problems, the team shall initiate discussions and identify a suitable plan along with appropriate methods to prevent problems, as needed. The team shall also periodically, review the performance of such activities and identify suitable corrective actions.

Significant points resulting from these meetings shall be recorded and the minutes of meeting are circulated to all members of the project team. The Project Manager assigns responsibilities for any action items that arise and tracks the action items to closure. During project team meetings the entire project team shares their experiences with a view to identifying causes of problems that have occurred and to prevent known problems from recurring. Project Managers also use weekly project status reports to escalate problems to the department head.

The Project Managers shall also meet with the practice head / Delivery Head regularly. Project teams will also meet regularly at a periodicity defined in the project plan. These meetings discuss:

• Project progress
• Achievements of the project thus far
• Forthcoming project activities
• Distribution of responsibilities for forthcoming tasks

Workgroup Level: The heads of various workgroups shall schedule departmental meetings in order to

• Share information about departmental activities
• Share important and non-confidential news about happenings in the organization
• Address problems/Issues faced by the department as a whole.
• Identify and discuss relevant root causes
• Identify and follow-up appropriate corrective actions assigned

Departmental meetings shall serve as a forum for members of a department to share experiences and to discuss problems with a view to finding solutions and to prevent problems from recurring by discussions and causal analysis. One of the team members shall record significant points thrown-up during such meetings. The workgroup head shall assign responsibility for these action items and track the action items to closure.

Organizational Level: The heads of the various workgroups in the organization along-with the President, shall meet at regular intervals during SIR’s to discuss departmental issues and activities. These meetings will be held at least at monthly intervals and as required more frequently. During such meetings, the participants

• Discuss common issues and problems facing the work group.
• Share key information regarding work group activities.
• Attempt to resolve any pending inter-departmental interface problems.
• Discuss customer complaints of a critical nature affecting the entire organization.
• Share information regarding problems and preventive actions.

Minutes of the meetings shall be recorded and circulated to all participants. The workgroup head assigns responsibility for action items that are identified. The department heads, in turn, convey this information to the employees in the department during departmental meetings.

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