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).

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
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

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).


Siemens AG Österreich, Program and Systems Engineering PSE
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Last modified: 08/27/98 15:42
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