8.1.3 Outputs from Quality Planning
.1 Quality management plan. The quality management plan should describe how the project management team will implement its quality policy. In ISO 9000 terminology, it should describe the project quality system: "the organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes, and resources needed to implement quality management" [5].
The quality management plan provides input to the overall project plan (described in Section 4.1, Project Plan Development) and must address quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement for the project.
The quality management plan may be formal or informal, highly detailed, or broadly framed, based on the requirements of the project.
.2 Operational definitions. An operational definition describes, in very specific terms, what something is and how it is measured by the quality control process. For example, it is not enough to say that meeting the planned schedule dates is a measure of management quality; the project management team must also indicate whether every activity must start on time, or only finish on time; whether individual activities will be measured, or only certain deliverables, and if so, which ones. Operational definitions are also called metrics in some application areas.
.3 Checklists. A checklist is a structured tool, usually item specific, used to verify that a set of required steps has been performed. Checklists may be simple or complex. They are usually phrased as imperatives ("Do this"!) or interrogatories ("Have you done this"?). Many organizations have standardized checklists available to ensure consistency in frequently performed tasks. In some application areas, checklists are also available from professional associations or commercial service providers.
.4 Inputs to other processes. The quality planning process may identify a need for further activity in another area.