Executing

Quality Audit

A quality audit is a technique that employs a structured, independent review to project and/or product ele- ments. Any aspect of the project or product can be audited. Common areas for audit include:

Project processes
Project documents
Product requirements
Product documentation
Defect or deficiency repair
Compliance with organizational policies and procedures
Compliance with the quality management plan
Good practices from similar projects
Areas for improvement
Description of deficiencies or defects

Defects or deficiencies should include action items, a responsible party, and be assigned a due date for compliance.

A quality audit is a technique from process 8.2 Manage Quality in the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition.

Audits should be tailored to best meet the needs of the project.

Tailoring Tips

Consider the following tips to help tailor the quality audit to meet your needs:

Quality audits can also include information that will be shared with other projects.
Some projects use audits to track the implementation of approved changes and corrective or preventive actions.

Alignment

The quality audit should be aligned and consistent with the following documents:

Quality management plan

Document Element	Description
Area audited	Check the box for the area or areas audited.
Good practices from similar projects	Describe any good or best practices that can be shared from similar projects.
Areas for improvement	Describe any areas that need improvement and the specific improvements or measurements that need to be achieved.
Deficiencies or defects	ID	Enter a unique defect identifier
	Defect	Describe the deficiency or defect.
	Action	Describe the corrective actions needed to fix the defect.
	Responsible party	Identify the person assigned to correct the deficiency or defect.
	Due date	Document the due date.
Comments	Provide any additional useful comments about the audit.