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Description

A quality assurance framework Helping to drive through strategic transformation in change programmes There are a number of common scenarios, such as differences in approach and maturity levels across an organisation, which stop programmes from optimising their capabilities and which increase both product and business risk - ultimately leading to increased cost as more errors need to be fixed late in the day. One way of preventing this is to implement a common quality assurance framework across the programme.

What is a quality assurance framework? A quality assurance framework assures delivery so that it is evident that the right things are being done for the right reasons in the right way - from the start. It also ensures that appropriate programme delivery disciplines and governance are implemented effectively. This includes objective, accurate and consistent reporting of progress and coverage which is expressed in terms that are understood and is appreciated by the business. This means providing appropriate, relevant and objective management information so that risks and issues are clearly highlighted until they have been mitigated. Also any significant changes to the scope, budget and timeline are monitored and formally approved. Our quality assurance framework covers three key disciplines - solutions assurance, delivery assurance and quality assurance. We always expect to integrate this with the corporate QA approach, where it exists. See figure 2.

What are the benefits of this approach? First and foremost a quality assurance framework helps to make sure the expected programme benefits are realised. It acts as a champion for the programme; endorsing its objectives and building confidence in the integrity of the approach whilst also demonstrating clear value of QA and testing to the business. It effectively manages delivery risk to enable programme completion on time and to budget and also provides an objective view of the residual product and project risk at any given point in the delivery. All through the programme, the approach ensures that robust metrics are gathered and that reliable evidence of decisions, progress and outcomes is demonstrated for audit and regulatory purposes.

Why Capita? Capita has extensive experience of implementing and operating QA frameworks. Based on our experience we are able to apply real insights, ask the right questions and articulate issues that could impact on the overall outcomes. Our systems quality assurance and software testing professionals have a pragmatic ‘hands on’ approach. We believe that a critical success factor is to be sensitive to the culture and style of the client organisation especially as this may differ across the programme. We focus not only on working with you to design the ‘end state’ objectives for the framework but simultaneously help you to implement incremental changes to the day-to-day delivery processes to ensure a faster pace of change.

Our engagement model We generally follow a phased approach to implementation – see figure 1. Figure 1 Quality assurance framework implementation Framework definition and development

Assessment and planning Initial assessment and implementation planning

Framework implementation

Tools

Hands-on support and improvement implementation

On-going monitor and improve Self-assessment and improvement identification

Improvement implementation

Review, validation and sign-off

Solution assurance Delivery assurance Quality assurance

Phase 1 – Assessment and planning In this phase we engage with your key stakeholders to gain a swift understanding of the overall programme, the organisation, the current status of each work stream and define the implementation priorities and plan for implementing the overall framework. We also gain insight into the corporate QA approach and expectations. At the end of this phase, we work with you to deliver a plan, supported by a terms of reference which will be used to govern the engagement. Phase 2 - Implementation This phase has two streams of activity, the first is to define and implement the quality assurance framework, including any tools to be used in its implementation. The second stream is the ‘hands-on’ support and change implementation being undertaken by Capita specialists working with your team.

Phase 3 – On-going monitor and improve This phase ensures that the framework is optimised and is delivering against the key business outcomes and integrates with other current improvement programs which might be in operation.

Figure 2

Quality assurance framework Solution assurance Requirements articulation and capture

Requirements decomposition

Requirements quality reviews

Requirements risk analysis

Requirements traceability

Requirements proving (testing)

Quality gates / check points

Metrics

Tools

Delivery assurance Delivery assurance reviews

Quality assurance Quality plan

Quality standards and checklists

Quality assurance reviews

Quality records

Product definition and breakdown structure

Asset structure and relationships

In order to fully benefit from the revised approaches, improved controls and more structured assets outlined below we believe that some form of repository will be required including integration with existing test management tools. We work with you to maintain documentation that will meet audit or review requirements and ensure that they are in a format that can be readily retrievable.

Solutions assurance This helps the programme to deliver what the business really needs. The processes, techniques and disciplines we use here will manage and control ‘what’ is delivered. . Since everything is driven by the requirements, both functional and non-functional, it is critical that these are clearly articulated; are not ambiguous; are complete; have appropriate reference to other groups or systems and are comprehensively reviewed and agreed by all stakeholders. Requirements need to be assessed against a set of rules that follow best-practice and that are also specific to your organisation. This is a discipline that is sometime known as static testing.

There needs to be an assessment of risk against requirements so that through prioritisation, appropriate levels of focus can be placed on areas of the programme that could be potentially harmful if they are not implemented correctly. A requirements traceability matrix helps us to ensure that downstream processes work successfully and that the delivered solution is correct. This ensures that deliverables meet the requirements and that none are missed or conversely ensures that features are not introduced that have no real value to the stakeholders. Finally, we undertake testing which is where requirements are individually and jointly proven. The purpose of testing is to demonstrate that the stakeholders’ original requirements have been successfully interpreted into a solution that they can use to deliver the business benefits that were expected. We work with you to ensure that a structured model is developed. Driven by a strategic approach to testing we ensure that this gets turned into an actionable plan that gets delivered.

Delivery assurance The processes, techniques and disciplines we implement in delivery assurance will manage and control ‘how’ the programme is to be delivered. We do this through quality gates, metrics and delivery assurance reviews. Quality gates are defined points in the delivery where we conduct a formal review of the programme phase or deliverable against pre-defined criteria. This is to provide management with information on whether to proceed to the next phase, wait or to proceed at risk. This is fundamental to the programme’s ability to monitor progress and act as an early warning mechanism so that there is a real chance of rectifying any issues before they have a significant impact on the delivery. Metrics provide management with objective, quantitative information on which to base their decisions rather than subjective opinion. We believe in embedding metrication into day to day processes and across programme phases to ensure that progress, quality and the probability of success can be measured. The use of metrics can also help to drive the behaviours that our clients want in their programme teams. Delivery assurance reviews assess ongoing programme activities against best practice which is also specific to your organisation. We believe in taking a proactive rather than a reactive approach so, based on what is happening, we may recommend introducing revised standards or help you to articulate and reinforce the end-to-end solution approach.

Quality assurance Quality assurance provides control over and assessment of the quality of tangible deliverables or outputs such as documentation or software. The process is designed to assess residual risk within the programme at any given time. If necessary we check that there are pre-defined standards to guide project delivery and that these have been followed. We also check that deliverables meet these standards and keep auditable records to support proof of process. A quality plan is a formal document that defines how quality will be assured throughout the life of the programme. The plan takes into account the needs of customers, other work streams and third parties. It works to strategic quality goals and high level policies to be followed as well as indicating which roles have specific responsibilities for quality.

A programme document structure and relationship framework maps out the full list of programme document deliverables and highlights the flow from one to another and the nature of the interdependencies between them. It provides a vehicle to track the current status of each and enables attention to be focussed on assets that impact critical areas. It also allows the programme to be assured that the right people at the right level are engaged in the review and sign off of these key assets.

Capita is the UK’s leading business process outsourcing and professional services company. Our systems assurance and testing arm operates across both the public and private sectors with around half of our revenue coming from the financial services sector. We have four service lines which provide a range of systems quality assurance and testing solutions:

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Transformational managed testing services on and offshore Assurance and testing consultancy solutions Novus test analysts Contract and permanent test recruitment

For further information about our services please contact: Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 8456 077466 www.capita.co.uk/assuranceandtesting Further information on Capita plc can be found at:

www.capita.co.uk...