Quality Assurance - Tasks of the QA Manager 

What is the QA manager responsible for?
The most important areas of responsibility of the QA manager are:

  • Drawing up and updating the QA plan
  • Advising / assisting with the definition of the quality requirements made on the product
  • Supporting and advising the members of the project team in executing QA measures (e.g. reviews)
  • Checking the compliance and correct execution of measures set out in the QA plan (development method, project-specific measures)
  • Analysis of systematic errors in the project
  • Initiation and monitoring of corrective and preventive measures
  • Drawing up quality reports
  • Maintaining contacts with QA departments outside the project team (responsible QM, centralized quality management)
  • Assisting on project standards and checking their compliance.

What specific tasks does the QA manager have?
The QA manager does not need to plan and execute all the QA measures himself. He is merely responsible for the drawing up of the QA plan and quality reports. The specific implementation in the project must be set down on a project-specific basis (detailed responsibilities must be documented in the project plan).

Depending on the amount of QA measures performed by the QA manager different acts can be played. The activity of the QA manager can therefore vary between two extremes in a project:

  Advantages Disadvantages
Minimum variant: The QA manager is at the edge of or outside the actual project events and merely provides specifications and carries out controlling functions Very low effort; global project know-how may be more effective Relatively superficial; danger of being seen as a supervisor; may not understand the real problems involved in the project; is often seen only as a debit for the project account.
Maximum variant: The QA manager is fully integrated into the project process and deals with QA and development activities The QA manager knows what things are "really" about and can therefore plan and execute QA measures far more efficiently; the QA manager will be accepted more readily by the project team due to his involvement Possible conflict of goals, role conflict; the project manager has to function as both colleague and superior in development activities

The area of responsibility of the QA manager from the perspective of the development method should tend more towards the maximum variant since this yields advantages over the long term (including economic advantages).

What is the meaning of contracting?
Contracting means concrete agreements to split the responsibility and execution of quality assurance and project management tasks between the QA manager and the project manager of a project (sometimes also additionally between the project manager and his superiors in the business unit). The result of these agreements which are us ally performed in a "contracting discussion" using checklists has to be stated in the project plan ("who is responsible for what").

Contracting should increase the consciousness for the compliance of commitments of all participants (like making a contract) and thereby helps to assign balanced responsibility and duties to the role of the QA manger and the project manager. As an example the QA manger of the project is often defined as substitute of the project manager. In the view of the development method contracting is optional but may be mandatory in certain divisions.

How is the responsibility of the QA manager regulated in projects with PSE international?
The tasks of the QA manager in projects with PSE international have to be regulated  - as in any other project - project-specifically and must be documented in the project plan (define if there is an additional 'regional' QA manager and what are his tasks). This does not only apply to QA themes but also to all other tasks within a project. That means in practice: acceptance of QA responsibility by PSE international as far as it is reasonable. If a complete subproject is handled in a region it may be useful to establish a regional subproject manager and a regional QA manager.

An additional parallel QA should not be built up without good reason.
Useful hints for the cooperation with PSE regions outside Austria can be found in the best practice report Cross-Regional Cooperation in PSE Projects.


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Last modified: 07/27/04 09:20
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