Tailoring Quality Assurance
Specific project characteristics and risks influence Quality Assurance needs, and every Quality Assurance plan should be tailored to its project. Characteristics that should be considered include mission criticality of the project, schedule and budget, size and complexity of the product to be produced, and size and organizational complexity of the development staff.
The relationship of criticality to QA functions is, as one would expect: the more critical the project, the more significant and formal the Quality Assurance effort must be. However, the relationship of schedule and budget is not as intuitive: the tighter the budget and schedule, the more critical it is to have a well-planned and effective Quality Assurance effort. This does not mean that projects with more resources can afford to be lax, it just means that tight resources increase risks that should be offset by a strong Quality Assurance program.
The projected size of the end product influences the level of Quality Assurance required. A large project requires explicit and detailed standards for all of the products in order to get at least a minimum standard of quality from the varied ideas and experience of many different programmers.
In addition, a large project requires significant efforts in testing and other verification activities, which must be established in the QA plan. For such a project, a significant and formal Quality Assurance program must be established or risks of poor quality products must be accepted.
On the other hand, a small project may require little formal Quality Assurance, and on a very small one, the Quality Assurance efforts may be left to the programmer involved if adequate informal planning is completed with guidance from the QA department.
Creating the Quality Assurance Plan
The purpose of creating a Quality Assurance plan is to document and specify the activities that will comprise Quality Assurance for a specific project. Using information about the project and a knowledge of the available Quality Assurance resources, the Quality Assurance project lead develops a plan tailored to the project.
An effective Quality Assurance program requires planning and follow-through. A Quality Assurance plan cannot simply evolve along with the project. Adequate Quality Assurance planning ensures that all Quality Assurance activities are focused on the unique requirements and risks associated with the project.
The QA project lead should consider the following guidelines when creating a QA Plan:
- Plan QA in conjunction with management and engineering planning, i.e., during the project concept and initiation phase.
- Phase QA activities properly. For example, design standards must be produced well before design is to be done.
- Complete tool development or procurement before the tools are needed. Especially important are the test tools and test data sources.
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