The value of QA in CMM class system

The value of QA in CMM class system

What exactly is QA? What does it do? What's the benefit? It is believed that those who have contacted the CMM should not be unfamiliar with the core role, and may also know more or less about some of its working contents. However, many people on the role of the value and necessity may not really understand, the author combined with years of quality management experience summed up the top ten of the value of QA, hope to help you to further understand the QA.

1. Safeguard System System

Whether it is Cmm/cmmi or ISO9000 and other management ideas, it is to emphasize the rule of law rather than rule by man, the implementation of CMM is also hope that through it will be some excellent software engineering development experience with a reasonable, standardized system precipitation solidification, so that the success of the project is no longer an accident. This embodies the idea of a separation of powers: SEPG (software Engineering process Group) is equivalent to the legislature, responsible for the establishment, maintenance and improvement of the enterprise development process system; SEG (software engineering Group) is an executing agency to carry out the development process and implement the project according to the idea of software engineering. And QA is the oversight body that supervises the implementation of these norms.

As a country, the need and importance of oversight bodies need not be said much. Similarly, as an enterprise, the supervisory authority is also very necessary. Imagine, if the enterprise spent a lot of manpower and resources to establish a set of standardized development system, each project started with a variety of careful planning, but lack of appropriate agencies to carry out the supervision, then the project in the implementation process is very easy for one reason or another to deviate from the established track, resulting in the project difficult to be effectively controlled. But the enterprise system, the project plan also becomes fictitious. Enterprise's system is actually equivalent to the law of the enterprise, if there is no law, law enforcement is not strict, illegal, the passage of time this system is just scrap, wasting a lot of manpower and resources to build but useless. So it is very necessary to exist QA such an organization to maintain the authority of the enterprise development system, and to urge the project plan to be effectively implemented.

2. Promote Process Improvement

SEPG established a set of normative process, does not mean that the process is not the same, the norms themselves must be constantly improved to ensure its correctness and effectiveness. Although process specifications must be reviewed before they are released, it does not mean that all problems can be identified by review and must be tested in practice. The so-called no best only better, so the process of improvement is never-ending. Its change often comes from two aspects, on the one hand may be this process itself existence flaw and the mistake exposes, impels the SEPG to be able to improve the sexual improvement; On the other hand, it may be that the situation on which process development depends has changed and the existing process has not adapted to the needs of current project implementation, It has even hindered the development of the project, which will also encourage SEPG to adapt.

But where do the sources of improvement come from? On the surface, it seems as if the project team could SEPG to the SEPG, and he could find it himself. However, the actual situation is often on the one hand, project team members, especially the lower maturity level of the project team members lack of quality awareness, only concerned with their own development work, the process of improving the lack of awareness of the work, to raise no problem or have problems are not willing to put forward. On the other hand, SEPG often suffer from the lack of understanding of the project situation and find the key problem.

The existence of QA can solve this contradiction, because QA often participate in process improvement work, and often participate in the activities of the project, both familiar with the process system and familiar with the project situation, just play the role of SEPG and the bridge between the project team.

QA will often find many problems during the implementation of the project, some problems are due to the fact that the project team itself is not well executed, while others are caused by some defects in the process itself, such as the lack of operability or inconsistencies, so that the project team can not be implemented. So QA in the work, will record these questions and reflect to SEPG, to promote process improvement. In addition, some experience in the process of project implementation QA is also reflected to SEPG, so that SEPG can be popularized in the enterprise scope. If the process is perfect, it will also better promote the project work, which is a virtuous circle.

3, to guide the implementation of the project

QA has a role to play in the project, but it is not enough to supervise, and the project team should be given guidance on the implementation of the process. Although you will receive training prior to the implementation of the project process, however, the smooth development of the work is not only a few theoretical lessons can solve the problem, many specific practices need to be in practice to truly understand the application, and each team members received different degrees of training, the process of understanding may have some deviations. Therefore, the QA staff will be required to answer and guide the implementation of the project, and to implement these specifications in a real way.

QA for the project team is like a double-edged sword, both the supervision side and the guidance side. Not only can help the project to carry out the work smoothly, but also can make the nonstandard unqualified project suspend or even close. The project manager's guiding ideology is very important, and if the project manager is determined to implement the project in a positive and cooperative manner, then QA will be the most powerful helper and supporter. If the project manager with negative confrontation attitude, put the enterprise management system disregard, Masinier own set of words, then QA is their biggest obstacle and stumbling block.

4. Increase transparency

Software development activities exist in the human brain, unlike industrial production in the assembly line on the work of a glance. It is precisely because of this feature that makes software projects difficult to control. The presence of QA can improve this transparency and increase the visibility of the project. Let senior managers and related staff from outside the project team to obtain an independent perspective and channels, from a variety of objective understanding of the project process, products, services and so on, in order to make the right judgments, timely detection of problems timely corrective, so that the project as far as possible in the direction of benign development.

5. Review project activities

Reviewing project activities is one of the core tasks of QA and an important means for QA to implement quality assurance, the objective of which is to check whether the activities of the project conform to the established plan of the enterprise, identify the possible problems and inform the relevant personnel to correct them in time.

Although the ultimate goal of quality assurance is to ensure quality, but quality is the process, people, technology, the function of the three, in addition to the process, but also with personnel, technology-related, and personnel quality and technical level of improvement is not dependent on QA can be guaranteed, so QA, although known as quality assurance, In fact it is directly guaranteed to determine the quality of an important factor-the process.

Process not only refers to activities, it also includes products, products are a series of activities after the product, so the process to ensure that the first start from the activity, because the earlier the control, found the problem earlier, the cost of the smaller, when the product came out after the control is already late. Although a good process does not necessarily produce good quality, it must also rely on people and technology of these two factors, but a bad process is certainly difficult to produce good quality, because the process, personnel, technology, the quality of the iron triangle indispensable. So QA needs to review the activities of the project, from the assurance activities to ensure that the process to ensure the final quality.

QA Review project activities should be independent, objective and impartial, the timing and frequency of the review can be checked according to the predetermined checkpoint.

One point to note is that the QA Review project activities and peer review are different, peer review refers to peer review staff from the technical perspective of the product review, and the QA Review project activities from the normative perspective of the activities of the review, the two have essential differences.