Dashboard

An aggregation of measures, together with their standards, that

provides a quantitative analysis of critical components of a process

From the producer's viewpoint, a defect is a product requirement

that has not been met, or a product attribute possessed by a

product or a function performed by a product that is not in the

statement of requirements that define the product. From the

customer's viewpoint, a defect is anything that causes customer

dissatisfaction, whether in the statement of requirements or not.

Any relationship between identified measures that indicates, to the

metric users, a level of quality

Designing documents that are clearly, logically, meaningfully, and

comprehensively laid out.

Testing which involves executing the system’s code.

Actively listening to what is said by asking for clarification when

needed, and providing feedback statements on what was said to reinforce understanding and acknowledge that listening is occurring.

Providing or teaching information in a manner that transfers understanding and is appropriate to the audience. The proper use and value of videos, slides, overheads, flip charts, handouts, brochures, and PC projections are examples of common tools and should be understood.

The Electronics Industry Association, which is an ANSI-accredited standards developer. The EIA is the national trade organization that represents United States electronics manufacturers.

Giving people the knowledge, skills, and authority to act within their

area of expertise to do the work and also improve the process

The process of reporting only significant variances from what was

expected.

The process of helping the progress of some event or activity. An understanding of formal facilitation includes well-defined roles, objectivity of the facilitator, a structured meeting, decision-making by consensus, and defined goals to be achieved.

An internal audit conducted by auditors who are employed by the

organization being audited, but who have no vested interest in the audit results

A diagram that shows the sequential steps of a process or of a

workflow around a product or service

A group technique used to identify both driving and restraining

forces that influence a current situation

Tests of business requirements that address the overall behavior of

the system.

Sharing in the savings from quality improvement efforts

A graphical description of individual measured values in a data set

that is organized according to the frequency or relative frequency

of occurrence. A histogram illustrates the shape of the distribution

of individual values in the data set along with information regarding

the average and variation.

The International Electrotechnical Commission.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which is the

world’s largest technical professional society with members in

almost 150 countries.

Capabilities and techniques developed to cause one person to

have a certain planned effect on another

This is a general term for the computer systems in an organization

that provides information about its business operations. It's also

used to refer to the people who manage these systems. Typically,

in a large corporation, "IS" or the "IS department" refers to a central

or centrally-coordinated system of computer expertise and

management, often including the organization's entire network of

computer resources.

Any activity (not limited to systems development) that uses

information to fulfill its mission. Also called information services,

management information services, and information systems

Products, services, or information needed from suppliers to make a

process work

Testing performed on groups of modules to ensure that data and

control are passed properly between modules

International Organization for

Standardization

(ISO)

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 156

countries, on the basis of one member per country, with a Central

Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization: its members are not, as is

the case in the United Nations system, delegations of national

governments.

The ability to work and negotiate effectively with personnel of

different professions, skill levels, organizational levels and varying

experience.

Developing and asking questions for the purpose of collecting oral

data to be used in an analysis or evaluation

A meeting where the producer and customer come together to

negotiate and agree upon requirements

The system known as “the Toyota production system” that has set

the standard for world-class manufacturing. The ultimate goal of

JIT production is to supply each process with exactly the required

items, in exactly the required quantity, at exactly the required time

Broad-based areas of performance that, when measured, give a

unit an evaluation of its critical customer-driven processes

The ability to guide or influence a group to move in some direction,

including inspiring others in a shared vision of what can be, taking

risks, serving as a role model, reinforcing and rewarding the

accomplishments of others, and helping others to act.

The average performance received by the customer per criterion

over a given period of time, which is normally 30 days

A way to collect measures, typically on a survey. A Likert Scale

contains categories such as Very Satisfied, Slightly Satisfied,

Satisfied, Slightly Dissatisfied, and Very Dissatisfied

The process of modifying errors found in a released software

product.

A team or individual that manages resources at any level of the

organization. Management obtains results through the efforts of

other people. It is everyone in the organization except those in

positions specifically designated as non-management.

The process of using qualitative and quantitative data produced

from and about work processes to make informed decisions

regarding the operation of those work processes. The two

components of this process are meeting desired results, and

managing the processes to drive the results.

The use of processes to achieve management’s desired results

A number that represents a set of numbers in any of several ways

determined by a rule involving all members of the set: AVERAGE.

A single attribute of an entity; a standard unit

The process of organizing and conducting meetings to provide

maximum productivity over the shortest time period

A means for more senior employees to pass their experience and

insights to junior employees. Mentoring can include how to deal

with organizational politics, how to prepare for job opportunities,

and how to solve job work challenges

Two or more measures combined in a relationship to each other to

produce information about an entity

A short name or expression that conveys the intent of the quality

characteristic.

A customer-oriented statement of purpose for a unit or a team

The process of working together with one or more parties to

establish goals to be reached, create options that will satisfy all

parties, and select an option that is best for all parties. May utilize

skills such as compromising and consensus building

A quantifiable means of measuring the level of service received,

such as the number of times reports were late during the month

Products, services, or information that results from a process

The act of improving the product at the same time a fix is made.

This is risky and not recommended

Major performance related categories, such as accuracy, quality, or

timeliness

Defined, measurable levels of IT service applicable to an individual

customer organization or a group of customer organizations

The point of view from which assessments or customer satisfaction

and quality can be made. Examples include the customer’s view

and the provider’s view of quality.

Managerial desires and intents concerning either processes

(intended objectives) or products (desired attributes).

Any deviation from defined standards. Same as a defect

The process of reporting outstanding problems; having them

assigned for resolution, and closing them out when the customer

has been notified that the problems have been solved.

The step-by-step method followed to ensure that standards are

met.

(1) The work effort that produces a product. This includes efforts of

people and equipment guided by policies, standards, and

procedures. (2) A statement of purpose and an essential set of

practices (activities) that address that purpose. A process or set of

processes is used by an organization or project to plan, manage,

execute, monitor, control, and improve its software related

activities.

A description of the organization's current best practice

approaches so that the process is understood, consistently

performed, and ready for improvement or redesign.

The progression of steps taken to change a process to make it

produce a given product faster, more economically, or of higher

quality. Such changes may require the product to be changed. It

involves improving process capability and reducing variation by

analyzing the process and product results, identifying root-cause

problems, and changing the process to eliminate root causes. The

defect rate must be maintained or reduced.

The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business

processes.

The output of a process: the work product. There are three useful

classes of products: Manufactured Products (standard and

custom), Administrative or Information Products (invoices, letters,

etc.), and Service Products (physical, intellectual, physiological,

and psychological). Products are defined by a statement of

requirements.

Something produced or provided to meet the customer’s

requirement.

Changing the statement of requirements that defines a product to

make the product more satisfying and attractive to the customer

(more competitive). Such changes may add to, or delete from, the

list of attributes or the list of functions defining a product. Such

changes frequently require the process to be changed. This

process could result in a totally new product

The cost of producing a product. Production costs, as currently

reported, consist of (at least) two parts; actual production or rightthe-

first time costs (RFT) plus the Cost of Quality. RFT costs

include labor, materials, and equipment needed to provide the

product RFT.

The ratio of the output of a process to the input, usually measured

in the same units. It is frequently useful to compare the value

added to a product by a process, to the value of the input

resources required (using fair market values for both input and

output).

The ratio of work product (i.e., function points) divided by work

effort (i.e., staff days).

Operationally, the word quality refers to products. A product is a

quality product if it is defect-free. To the producer, a product is a

quality product if it meets or conforms to the statement of

requirements that defines the product. This statement is usually

shortened to: quality means meets requirements. To the customer,

a product is a quality product if it meets the customer’s needs,

regardless of whether the requirements were met. This is referred

to as fit for use.

The producer’s view of quality has these four characteristics: Doing

the right thing, Doing it the right way, Doing it right the first time,

and Doing it on time without exceeding cost.

Meeting requirements is a producer’s view of quality. This is the

view of the organization responsible for the project and processes,

and the products and services acquired, developed, and

maintained by those processes.

The set of support activities (including facilitation, training,

measurement, and analysis) needed to provide adequate

confidence that processes are established and continuously

improved to produce products that meet specifications and are fit

for use.

The process by which product quality is compared with applicable

standards, and the action taken when a nonconformance is

detected. It focuses on defect detection and removal. This is a line

function - performance of these tasks is the responsibility of the

people working within the process.

A systematic matrix method used to translate customer wants or

needs into product or service characteristics that will have a

significant positive impact on meeting customer demands

The change to a production process so that the rate at which

defective products (defects) are produced is reduced. Some

process changes may require the product to be changed

Plans developed to correct identified problems.

(1) A philosophy consisting of continuous process improvement

activities involving everyone in the organization in an integrated

effort to improve performance at every level. It requires the

commitment of executive management, and an empowerment of

employees at all levels that enables them to participate in the

improvement of the processes that create products and services.

(2) Quality management integrates fundamental management

techniques, existing improvement efforts, teamwork, and technical

tools in a disciplined approach focused on continuous process

improvement. It is also called total customer focus, total quality

control, quality assurance, and a leadership program.

A quantitative assessment of the extent that a product or service

demonstrates successful performance, conforms to its requirements, or possesses a given attribute.

Any relationship between identified measures that indicates, to the

metric users, a level of quality.

The individual or group who assists IT management in improving

quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Other names used

for this, depending on specific assignments, include quality

function, quality management coordinator, quality assurance,

quality consultant, quality control, quality analyst, and QA analyst.

Rapid Application Development.

Testing after changes have been made to ensure that no unwanted

changes were introduced

A reliable measure is one that: a) if the measure were to be taken

again, the result would be the same; and b) if two or more different people developed the same measure, they would produce the same results

How often a particular report is developed and distributed to its

audience

A formal statement of: 1) an attribute to be possessed by the

product or a function to be performed by the product; 2) the

performance standard for the attribute or function; or 3) the

measuring process to be used in verifying that the standard has

been met.

A critical success factor or value that must be controlled through

measurement. Result measures directly impact the customer.

A graph of data points in chronological order used to illustrate

trends or cycles of the characteristic being measured to suggest an

assignable cause rather than random variation

Looking at a small number of work products or a section of the

work product rather than at each product.

A graph designed to show whether there is a relationship between

two changing factors.

An external audit performed on a supplier, by a customer or a contracted (consulting) organization on behalf of the customer

A published level of service that information technology will provide

customers by performance criterion.

See Product.

Individuals who have a vested interest in the success or failure of a

quality initiative.

A requirement of a product or process. For example: 100 percent

of the functionality must be tested.

The implementation of procedures to ensure that the output of a

process is maintained at a desired level

The exhaustive list of requirements that define a product. The

Statement of Requirements should document requirements

proposed and rejected (including the reason for the rejection)

during the requirement determination process.

Testing performed without executing the system’s code; can be

manual (e.g., reviews) or automated (e.g., code or writing analyzers).

The use of statistical techniques and tools to measure an ongoing

process for change or stability.

Tests that require knowledge of the internal logic of a system

A person's perception of a product or activity, including personal attitudes, feelings, and opinions, such as how user-friendly the application is. Different people may measure different values for the same item because of their subjective judgment

An individual or organization that provides the inputs needed to

generate a product, service, or information to a customer

1) A generic term that differentiates various types of higher order

testing from unit testing; 2) a predetermined combination of tests

that, when executed successfully, satisfy IT management that the

system meets requirements.

Categorization of items for understanding and use.

The process of aiding a group to define a common goal and work

together towards that goal

An external audit performed on a supplier by an external participant

other than the customer.

Testing performed on a single, stand-alone module or unit of code

The customer that actually uses the product received

Any activity that helps assure that the end product (e.g., system)

under defined operating conditions meets its currently approved

requirements and expectations

All QC activities throughout the life cycle that assure that interim

product deliverables process their inputs in accordance with

specifications and standards

A statement that describes the desired future state of a unit.

Testing based on knowledge of internal code structure and logic.