BRC’s Quality Management (QM) program is based on a “total quality management” approach and has the following features:
- The client’s perception of quality counts.
- Our project team and project management approach build quality in, rather than fixing it at the end.
- All members of our management and staff are committed to delivering quality.
- Those doing the work make constant improvements to the system.
- All of our work should continually add value to the client’s operation.
The BRC Quality Management program applies to all employees performing activities in support of the client contracts, and is relevant to all contract and subcontract efforts. This section addresses the fundamental requirements for compliance and it is not intended to limit in any way the imposition of more critical measures and controls deemed appropriate to ensure compliance. Our formal, firm wide QM program establishes project-related policies, procedures, standards, training, and guidelines to check that our services and work products meet or exceed our clients’ expectations. QC involves the application of all elements of our QA program to all project activities. The following elements of our QM program facilitate the achievement of quality in our projects:
- Continuous Technical training programs through-out the project
- Communication training programs
- A full “matrix management” concept
- Employee ownership
- High standards of hiring
- Communication within the firm
- Long-range planning
- Development of standards
- Client and employee feedback systems
- Informal project and policy audits
- Formal peer reviews
- Formal quality audit program
- Formal Preventive and Corrective Action System
Project-specific Quality Management: QM is inherent in our project management approach, described in this section. Communication between our client and BRC as a result of regular meetings and workshops is a functional and continuous part of our approach and will eliminate misconceptions. Our senior management is involved actively early in the project planning stages to help set a proper and realistic direction. BRC’s continuous quality control process is incorporated into every project we perform. Formal QM reviews are conducted both in-house and with client staff at several stages of every project. These reviews concentrate on issues of consistency, completeness, clarity, coordination, and cost-effectiveness. BRC QM Auditors include senior staff that are independent of the project and have the experience to provide a concentrated, rigorous QM review.
QM Objectives and Goals: The objective of the QM plan is to provide guidance on the processes and responsibilities for developing and fielding products (that are of high quality, technically effective, and defect free) in support of the client contract. The project products that are affected by this plan are the software source code, the software executables, the databases, the facilities, the documentation, the associated training, the ongoing planned schedules, and the associated support services.
QM Policy, Commitment and Accountability: It is the policy of BRC to provide effective and defect free products for customer clients in compliance with all regulations, codes, standards, policies, procedures, directives, and contractual obligations. Management at BRC is committed to the goals and objectives set forth for the Quality Management Program. BRC policies emphasize and foster employee involvement in all aspects of quality product development. In the event subcontractors are used on this project, all the provisions of this Quality Management plan shall flow down to those subcontractors. Failure to adhere to the policies and procedures contained in this plan will result in disciplinary actions ranging from verbal warnings to dismissal depending upon the severity of the situation.
QM Products: Quality Management requires sufficient visibility into the development process to ensure that quality is being built into the deliverable end products. In order to obtain that visibility, the Quality Management process requires a set of its own products that describe the planned and actual steps taken to ensure quality end products. The following quality management products form the basis for Quality Management on this contract: Quality Management Plan and schedule that identifies key management events, to include program specific events provided for contractual reasons to ensure the on time delivery of scheduled products, as well as events required to support the contractual events.
- Supporting documentation, to include quality management documents developed in support of contractual reviews and events, as well as quality management documents developed as end products.
- Specialized quality methodology training, as required.
- Audits, reviews and tests of the project’s products.
QM Processes: Development of quality products begins with identification and implementation of supporting processes to ensure that quality is built into the project products from the very beginning. There are four key processes required for this project:
- Quality planning process
- Defect prevention process
- Defect detection process
- Defect removal process
In addition to the key four processes, there are three supporting process activities:
- Configuration control, which prevents the use of unapproved products that might compromise quality
- Process modification, which determines the performance of the processes and modifies those to improve the overall quality
- Product maintenance, which provides enhancements and updates for products
Quality Planning: The quality planning process identifies the necessary schedule of events and deliverables for the project, based on the overall project structure and schedule. In support of this planning, the project plan is analyzed and, in combination with previous historical data, for potential quality issues associated with each component. Components that are assessed as being high risk will have additional prevention measures and reviews scheduled to ensure that the quality goals established in the quality planning process are being met.