Assess-IT

QA Audits – Checklists or Intuition

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:12:10 +0000

There’s an interesting thread on Linked In regarding the best techniques for conducting QA audits. The two popular methods under discussion are Checklists or Intuition. Which is “better”, use a checklist to rigidly guide your QA staff to ensure all audits are performed identically; or allow them to use their experience and intuition. The group consensus from the discussion seem to be that both are best.

Checklists are essential to provide a skeleton of repeatability to the appraisal process. They should be developed from the data collected from running projects. The checklists should be targeted toward processes that the data show the organization has trouble with (doesn’t follow, follows poorly, excessively tailors, seeks waivers, etc.). This way the checklists focus on the problematic processes without spending too much time on the processes that are OK.

On the other hand, QA should not just be a mechanical box checking exercise. While conducting a QA audit, your experienced and curious QA people will naturally go beyond the boundaries of the standard checklists. Afterall, that’s just the kind of people they typically are (we like that). Their extracurricular (outside the checklist) activities should be monitored, and if they are turning up additional areas for investigation, a process improvement request should be written against the standard checklist. This provides leverage to assist the other QA people in conducting more effective QA audits and once again reintroduces repeatability and similarity to the audit process.

Seattle was exciting, my laptop boot-looped and I had to buy another

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:19:39 +0000

Well, my old laptop finally gave up the ghost. I decided to go with the latest everything: i7 8 multi processor architecture, Windows 7, 8 Gb RAM, massive hard drive. It’s really great being in the 21st century, technology-wise. I … Continue reading →

Baseline Appraisal In Seattle

admin — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:46:13 +0000

Looking forward to working in Seattle with an aerospace client for the next two weeks.

Finishing up an appraisal in Chicago

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:40:38 +0000

Finishing up an appraisal in Chicago, then it’s home for Thanksgiving.

The SEI just accepted my first ML5 V1.3 SCAMPI Appraisal

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:21:02 +0000

This was a multi discipline appraisal including – Systems, Software, Hardware. Lots of data collection. Lots of affirmations. Lots of work. Lots of fun

Assess-IT Selected as a Strategic Partner for Process Improvement for a Large Healthcare Provider

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:39:27 +0000

Assess-IT was just selected as a strategic partner for process improvement for a large healthcare services organization.

Dodged a Hurricane in Charleston, SC

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:34:19 +0000

I’m finishing up a two week CMMI SCAMPI Appraisal in Charleston, SC. I was fortunate enough to get out on an early flight last Friday so I could go home for the weekend and miss the hurricane. Back in town … Continue reading →

Great SCAMPI Data Sufficiency Thread at Linked-IN CMMI Main Group

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:21:00 +0000

Anyone who’s looking for additional information about data sufficiency for Basic Units and Support Functions per the new MDD for SCAMPI v1.3 should take a look at the CMMI Main Group at Linked-IN for this thread.

http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=54046&type=member&item=64637798&qid=23ab8b70-dcbc-4990-ae1e-f1480f693066&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmp_54046

Finishing up a two week stint in San Diego, and heading to Puget Sound, WA next week.

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:19:22 +0000

I’ll be working in Huntsville, AL for the next two weeks preparing a client for an upcoming appraisal.

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:23:13 +0000