Discussion Questions Chapter 8

Discussion Questions 1-9 pg. 329-330

1. Discuss some of the examples of poor quality in information technology projects presented in the 'What Went Wrong?" section. Could most of these problems have been avoided? Why do you think there are so many examples of poor quality in information technology projects?

Many of these problems could be avoided by performing better quality management. One problem is that software and hardware is hitting the market too fast, so people selling these might be more concerned about money than safety or wellbeing of the consumers or the company in the long term.

2. What are the main processes included in project quality management?

The main processes of project quality management include 1.) Development of the project management quality plan, 2.) Quality Assurance and 3.) Quality Control.

3. How do functionality, system outputs, performance, reliability, and maintainability requirements affect quality planning?

All of these factors affect quality planning because they will drive the requirements that need to be met to ensure quality.

- Functionality is the degree to which a system performs its intended function

- Features are the system’s special characteristics that appeal to users

- System outputs are the screens and reports the system generates

- Performance addresses how well a product or service performs the customer’s intended use

4. What are benchmarks, and how can they assist in performing quality assurance? Describe typical benchmarks associated with a college or university.

Benchmarking generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization.

5. What are the three main categories of outputs for quality control?

The three main categories of outputs for quality control are 1.) Acceptance decisions, 2.) Rework, and 3.) Process adjustments.

6. Provide...