TOPIC: Grade & quality

just re-posting my query as I feel my earlier it was not answered

A certain project deliverable doesn't have any defects & has been accepted.This deliverable has 'only' those features which were signed off in charter. This deliverable does not provide/has any 'additional features.'

Would this deliverable be called - High quality-high grade OR High quality-Low grade ?

I also want to understand - what is difference between 'high Grade' and 'gold plating' ?

Thanks

Hi Sachin -

Let's break down you questions and I will provide specific answers for each of them:

A deliverable has zero defects and only has those features that have been signed off by the customer.

This deliverable is considered "High Quality" because it has zero defects and complies with the customer requirements.

There is no way of determining if the grade of the deliverable is High Grade or Low Grade. For example, if the deliverable is a pair of Tin Snips (used for cutting sheets of tin or aluminum), and they cut tin and aluminum according to the requirements of the customer, then they are considered High Quality. There may be a difference in Grade, for example if they were composed of Steel or Titanium. If they were composed of steel, they would still cut according to specifications but they might tend to rust over time, as compared to if they were Titanium (which is more expensive but will not rust over time).

In terms of Gold Plating, if the customer asked for Steel and the project team member takes it upon themselves to use Titanium instead, this is considered Gold Plating because the customer requested an inferior grade (Steel) but was delivered a superior grade (Platinum). In this scenario, the customer should not be expected to pay for the additional cost of creating the Tin Snips using Platinum because they asked for Steel as part of the requirements.

I hope this clarifies that question and correct answer to your satisfaction, and thank you for your input.

Kevin

Kevin W. Reilly, PMP
Customer Support
OSP International LLC
Facebook PrepCast: www.facebook.com/PrepCast

Thanks Kevin for detailed response.

So from exam perspective - we should assume a deliverable in question as of 'High grade' unless specified otherwise. Am I correct ?

Hi Sachin -

You're welcome! And I would caution you on always assuming that a deliverable is of "High Grade" across the board for the exam. The best advice I can give you is what I give my Live PMP Exam Prep course students:

RTFQ - Read the "Full" Question
RTFA - Read the "Full" Answers

Only by fully understanding what the question is asking and fully understand what the answers are telling you will you arrive at the correct choice.

Thanks

Kevin