Q U A L I T Y A S S U R A N C E E X P E R I E N C E
Sample QA Project at TBG CONSULTING (simplified process)
- Total Compensation Statements - TBG distributed annual Total Compensation Statements for key executives of Fortune 500 Corporation. These statements outlined all salary, stock option values, anticipated pension benefits, and all covered benefits (i.e., medical plans, prescription programs, life insurance, etc.) and designated beneficiaries. Data extracts were received from TBG internal data downloads combined with data submissions from company divisions and subsidiaries. Quality Assurance program was initiated for this distribution which served as the model for all future Total Compensation Statements offered to other companies. The preliminary QA program was initiated to "get the job done" since no time permitted to incorporate all the aspects of a QA program.
Phase One - Immediate Procedures Put Into Place
- Meetings were held to determine timeline, scheduling, responsibilities, and processes.
- Process ran from internal data extracts and data downloads from the client. TBG's internal department was held accountable for reviewing the initial data for accuracy.
- IT department redesigned existing process in Microsoft Access to load the data into appropriate fields, developed queries to extract data based on criteria, and perform calculations. Data was then transferred to individual word processing documents in the format of the Total Compensation Statement.
- Total Compensation Statement was reviewed for accuracy by TBG internal department and manually corrected errors (recording them for the IT team's redesign process).
- After verification, pdf files were formatted by IT team. These were checked by TBG's internal department and the statements were sent electronically to the key personnel.
Phase Two - Development of Permanent QA Process
- Meetings were held to discuss problems, recommendations for improvement, time lines, testing procedures, automation of electronic processing, etc.
- Templates were developed to ensure consistency of data flow and serve as a basis for data integrity checks on the initial data. Mapping documentation was developed to clearly define data elements, source data, and field definitions (source data and final end product).
- Access database was redesigned with a table for constant variables used in calculations, and queries to calculate all values. The user form was reconstructed so the user simply clicked on a series of button to download all the data into the appropriate format. Error checks were also included in the process to catch errors up-front in the process.
- The electronic process was automated to automatically send the final files electronically (once they had been verified by two team members for accuracy.
- The entire process, mapping documentation and instructions were documented and the end users trained on the entire process.
Benefits of QA Program
Data reviewed in the initial phase of the reporting process requiring less review time when the reports 'were going out the door.'
Less pressure on employees since quality checks were throughout the process.
Reduced overall lead-time of report production by 15%.
Assured consistency in data flows and accurate end reporting.
Eliminated the need for manual corrections on the reports.
Satisfied client who received accurate reports on time.
Note: Other QA processes developed for TBG were monthly Executive Benefits reports, Commission Tracking Reports, and monthly MBNA reports. QA programs also conducted at PNC and Thrift Drug.
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