TOPIC: Need detailed Explanation of below topics

Hi,

I have watched PM Prepcast and I have gone through PMP exam preparation books also. But Still am not get clear idea about the below topics. Could someone please explain in details.

1) Could you please provide detail explanation of Perform Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis
2) Could you please provide detail explanation of each Contract types and comparation of pros & cons of each Contract types
3) Could you please provide detail explanation of When to use which quality tools

Thanks in advance & Advanced Happy new year.

Arumugam,
I will help with #3.

Okay, so want to know more about the quality tools. The can be situational, and you have the liberty to choose when and how to apply them.

It's no surprise you can find the PMBOK guide "book answer" on seven quality tools in 8.1.2.3
Cause and Effect Diagrams (use when trying to figure out if a problem is being caused by something. (Best to use this tool in a group session using a white board and fishbone)
Flowcharts (Use when you are trying to depict a process from beginning to end to see where you can improve quality)
Checksheets (something you mark off when analyzing your process to see what's missing)
Pareto Diagrams (a picture of the event that causes 80 percent of the problems you have witnessed. )
Histogram (a graph of number of events that you are studying)
Control Charts (Use when trying to determine if the process is in tolerance (i.e. manufacturing ball bearings)
Scatter Diagram (use the when trying to determine a relationship between two factors)

Quality tools have several uses and you can find different times in different combinations to use to find out where you have poor quality. I wouldn't want to confine your idea of when to use them, but the definitions provided in the PMBOK guide do a good job of providing details that can direct you to when to use them.

Hi Arumugam,
Those are three very big questions, which could take a book to explain. If you are having difficulty then I think a simplified overview would help with understanding the differences, which can be read in conjunction with the guides and the PrepCast and hopefully will help you understand.

1 Qualitative vs quantitative analysis.
I presume that you are talking about risk when referring to these types of analyses.
Note - Qualitative is always performed before quantitative.
Qualititive is used to sort the risks in order of their probability of happening. When completing a qualitative risk analysis you will look at all risks and prioritise them.
Quantitative looks at the highest rated risks that you have previously defined (as per the qualitative analysis) and allocates a value, ie quantifies the cost, schedule impact, etc of the effect of that risk if it actually occured.

2 for the contract types I refer you to the PrepCast module, which gives a great explanation.
There are three main types of contracts (there are subsets of each type, which need to be considered):
1 Fixed price contracts (FP, FFP, FPIF)
2 Cost Plus contracts (CPFF, CPPC, CPIF)
3 time and material contracts (T&M)
Each contract type has its own benefits and issues depending on whether are the contractor the recipient and also what type of project you are managing and the work to be performed.
- Generally fixed price contracts tend to benefit the project because no matter how long it takes the contractor to do the work the project will never incur more costs, unless the contract is renegotiated. These types of contracts may have an incentive fee, for finishing on time or earlier than scheduled.
- Cost Plus contracts is where the project will reimburse the contractor for all of its costs plus a bonus or other agreed payment depending on certain criteria defined in the contract.
- Time and material contracts reimburse the contractor for the costs of people and materials for completing the project. This type of contract is usually the best for the contractor, as they guarantee that they will get back all costs incurred on the project, as long as it is within the scope of the contract.

3 When to use which quality tools.
This is usually defined by what you want out of the quality analysis you are undertaking. The best way to understand what to use and when is to understand what each tool does and the output you will get from each tool.
For example if you want to find out why the quality on the project is not up to project standards then a Pareto (fishbone, cause and effect) diagram is the way to go. However, if you want to see if you are meeting quality standards then a scatter or control diagram might be more useful.
Michael's explanation covers the main tools available to you.