Quality Systems and Tools

TMGT 361

Assignment II Instructions

Lecture/Essay

Remember that there is a lot more to every text book unit than is covered by the assignment instructions. Remember that there is a lot more to the body of knowledge (BOK) than what can be covered by any book. The book and the assignment are but samples from the BOK. As part of scholarly follow-up, you can and should also discuss other content in the text book unit and the larger BOK that are not covered in the initial post content. See the general assignment instructions for information about the quality and quantity expectations and evaluation criteria. This paragraph pertains to all assignments.

Quality Planning

Essentially, quality planning is like any other type of planning. There are numerous schemes, mnemonics, and checklists to make sure you have covered all the planning basics. Different professions and disciplines have their favored methods. Within the quality profession and this course, you need to follow the order and terminology presented in the text book. By one name or another, most plans have the following elements.

• Identification of a problem to be solved, question to be answered, task to be achieved, and/or requirement (goal, etc.) to be met.
• Justification or rationale that this (or any alternate) plan should be enacted, e.g., the goal is important enough that time, money, and other resources should be expended.
  • Needs assessments are common. Return on investment (ROI) calculations are common. SWOT analyses are common. Risk analysis and cost-benefit analyses are common. Emotions, exhortations, and whims are usually plan killers.
• The steps of the plan.All of the following are common elements: task duration and dates when the task must be completed, the flow or mapping of tasks, all needed resources for each task (e.g., $, personnel, equipment, and infrastructure), who is responsible for each task, how will each task be evaluated.
• The overall plan/project budget.
• The person responsible for the overall plan/project, the overall management structure and the communications channels and protocols.
• How the overall plan/project will be evaluated.
• Follow-up to maintain or enact any changes that need to be. Disseminating and archiving the results as appropriate.

In general, plans should be as simple, specific, realistic, and complete as possible. You should note that the above elements may not be developed or written in the order of the bullets.You should note that a plan or project can also be stated per the classic problem solving steps or any derivatives of class problem solving, e.g., DMAIC, PDSA, etc.