THORNBERRY’s approach to quality assurance is to have the right people
apply the right processes at the right times to promote project excellence.
Through a process of structured product development, customer involvement, and
an iterative assessment of performance measures and expectations, we are able
to translate this approach into the consistent, timely delivery of high quality
products. THORNBERRY considers the
scope of quality control and assurance to begin at the onset of the project and
extend through the life cycle of all tasks, products, and deliverables.
Our QA/QC process begins
by involving qualified and experienced staff from the outset. We develop and
document a process, action plan, and a description of performance measures
relevant to the specific TO. To prevent
quality defects, the Team will gather, record and communicate product
information as it relates to processes, impacts, risks, applications, and
technology. Throughout the work product development process, an iterative
approach is used to continuously verify, validate, and improve the quality of
work and to meet customer requirements. The Team will use proven QC techniques,
such as walkthroughs, inspections, and formal reviews to identify and resolve
quality defects in a proactive manner.
The customer will have
the opportunity to review any draft deliverable; feedback will be incorporated
into the final deliverable. To manage work product integrity, the Team will
implement “best practices” change management and version control principles
that emphasize ongoing documentation and communications as the best way to
identify and correct any problems before they impact schedules, resources, or
performance.
The Team’s organizational structure provides an efficient and effective management architecture that meets or exceeds the requirements for work assignments and tasks. Our functional organizational structure reflects our collaborative PMM-based management approach, and its emphasis on ongoing communications between the customer and our project team.
Contracts such as Seaport-e depend on both Government staff
and multiple contractor teams to meet their needs. While clear lines of reporting are
established within the team, our staff is encouraged to work as partners with
all appropriate stakeholders involved in making projects a success. The THORNBERRY Team’s Program/Project
Manager will oversee all project activities, will monitor economic, finance,
regulatory, and business issues, and will be the primary point of contact for
contractual issues with the customer. Our other personnel will provide
guidance, management, and senior expertise in a matrixed
management approach across all functional areas of the project.
Risk assessments are an important QC component. Through our
risk management approach, our Team will identify and mitigate project risks
early in the development cycle, enabling us to remain on schedule and within
budget without compromising product or program quality. The THORNBERRY
Team’s integrated risk management protocol is a formal process for
anticipating, ranking, and mitigating project risks, involving six steps, as
shown below:
|
RISK PROCESS |
DESCRIPTION |
|
1.Identification |
Look at changes in resources and the internal and external
programmatic and technical environments to identify risks before they become
problems. Anticipate typical risks and build mitigation strategies into overall
operations. |
|
2. Analysis |
Technical, project, client and business risks will be
analyzed and ranked by determining the probability of a negative event as
measured against the likely severity of that event and its potential impact
on project and program operations. We will identify potential mitigation strategies
and their cost and impact. |
|
3.Prioritization |
Based on our analysis, the Team will prioritize risks and
will present the results, recommended mitigation strategies, and rationale to
AHRQ. Our presentation will include full documentation of the process. |
|
4.
Mitigation |
We will implement the mitigation strategy, following the
prioritized plan. |
|
5.Contingency
planning |
Develop contingency plans to anticipate typical risks such
as office closures, non-availability of staff due to illness, etc. These plans will be updated as project
needs, resources, or standard procedures change. |
|
6.
Monitoring |
Our documentation and reporting activities and open lines
of communication promote continuous monitoring of progress performance,
including application of risk mitigation strategies. |