Question: Identify quality requirements for the PickPOCIT project. Define metric

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Question:
Identify quality requirements for the PickPOCIT project. Define metrics that you would use to measure the achievement of these quality requirements. Describe the management processes you would put in place to assure that the quality requirements are achieved.



CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENT Inventory Specialists Inc. (ISI) has recently been awarded a $9M contract by OK.COM to design, produce, and demonstrate a prototype automated inventory picker and mailer for their company. OK.COM is attempting to rival Amazon in its ability to quickly get orders in the hands of their customers as quickly as possible. The system architecture is based on inventory management hardware and software (IMS) developed by ISI and must take inputs from the Automated Order Taking (AOT) software developed for OK.COM by SAP Software and Solutions. AOT can take orders from both customers on-line as well as from company customer service personnel. If the merchandise is in stock, AOT then generates an order output that the PickPOCIT system must be able to process. PickPOCIT will then automatically locate the product in the warehouse; select the product off the warehouse shelve; box it if necessary, and, depending on the customer selected shipping method (2-day or standard delivery), generate and paste a UPS or USPS mailing label on the box before delivering it to the shipping department. If the shipment is less than 5 lbs, and it is being delivered to an address within 15 miles of the shipping facility, the package will be prepared for delivery to the customer using a drone that ISI will purchase from Drone Delivery Systems, Inc. If the package is to be delivered by the drone, it must be delivered within 30 minutes of the customer’s order. OK.COM will provide the AOT software as “customer furnished equipment (CFE) at no cost to ISI. ISI proposed the PickPOCIT System concept based on the adaptation of its well-proven and low cost IMS hardware and software, and a well-planned OK.COM system integration and performance demonstration program. Previous versions of IMS have been able to: Take in and process 200 orders a minute Utilizing “First-In/First-Out” logic, process, locate, package, and prepare for Shipping an order within three minutes Mean Time Between Repairs – 2500 hours of continuous operation Software will run on existing OK.COM computer hardware These performance specifications are not to be compromised as a result of this application for the PickPOCIT Project. In short, ISI proposed a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS), Best Commercial Practices, Event Driven approach to the development, production, and demonstration of the prototype system. OK.COM stipulated in their Request for Proposal (RFP) that industry specifications and standards be used and that the prototype system must accept input form the AOT software provided as CFE from OK.COM. ISI is formally certified ISO9000 compliant. ISI proposed a project of twelve (12) months duration and was the lowest price bid. The contract is fixed price ($9M) with a potential additional award fee of 3%, split 60/40 on schedule and performance. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES OK.COM seeks to acquire, install, and test an automated stock picker and mailer capability to get orders to their customers via a drone, UPS, or USPS depending on the size of the package and/or the 2 delivery time the customer selects. The system must be installed, tested, and operational by next spring in its Baltimore, Maryland warehouse in time for an operational test already coordinated and scheduled for month 11 providing validation two months in advance of “Black Friday” 2017. . If this prototype capability works, OK.COM will purchase 50 PickPOCIT systems for each warehouse, of which there are 50 warehouses around the United States and Canada, in time for the “Black Friday” sales rush in 2018. PROJECT PLAN SUMMARY ISI will develop, install, train operators and administrators, and support the demonstration test of the PickPOCIT system. The PickPOCIT project will consist of: 1. Software refinement in order to implement the SAP AOT software. 2. PickPOCIT installation and test at the OK.COM warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland. 3. System Administrator Training. 4. Providing technical and training support during of an operational test during month 11. Major Milestone Events for the PickPOCIT project are: Event Date Contract Award August 31, 2016 Project Baseline 1 month after award SEMP (System Engineering Master Plan) 2 months after award TEMP (Test & Evaluation Master Plan) 3 months after award PDR (Preliminary Design Review) 4 months after award CDR (Critical Design Review) 6 months after award System Integration Tests 7 months after award Full System Demonstration Tests 8 months after award System Installation 9 months after award Operator and System Administrator Training 10 months after award Support Operational Test 11 months after award Contract Test Report and all Final Documentation 12 months after award (31 Jul 2017)

Explanation / Answer

The question can be broken in different parts.

1. We have to identify the quality requirement for PickPOCIT project.

Ans. Quality is always defined by the customer. Whatever we do, the end result of quality improvement project should be enhanced customer's satisfaction. In the current PickPOCIT project, OK.com is eyeing the Black Friday sales rush and wish to create better customer satisfaction to gain a competitive advantage over it's rival Amazon. Therefore, the quality requirement can be derived from the historical data and forecasts of Black Friday sales rush. We can estimate, based on historical data or forecasts, how many orders per minute the PickPOCIT should be able to process. This data can be one quality requirement. Other can be the customer's feedback about the delay/on-time delivery during the Black Friday sales rush. For example, quality requirement can be, 'the PickPOCIT system should be able to process 200 orders per minute with 80% on-time customer deliveries'

2. Define metrics that you would use to measure the achievement of these quality requirements.

Ans. Customer's satisfaction matrix can be developed. For example, customers can be asked to fill a short feedback survey. The survey should include questions like - 1. are you satisfied by the purchase experience. 2. Was the delivery on time 3. Did you received your order in correct specification and working condition 4. Was the delivery process smooth.

3. Describe the management processes you would put in place to assure that the quality requirements are achieved.

Ans. Since the quality is being defined by the customer's experience, a good quality management approach would be to include customers satisfaction variable in different stages of project development. For example, to pass the full system demonstration test after 8 months of project execution, the system should demonstrate better customer satisfaction in the test. Customer's satisfaction variables can also be introduced in the initial phases of the project.

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