SeaPort-e QAP

JANUS is dedicated to providing the customer with the highest quality of products and services at reasonable cost.

Introduction

JANUS' corporate management and back office processes, including our operations, business development, engineering, human resources, accounting, and security divisions at our Evans, Georgia facility, are ISO 9001:2008 compliant and certified. Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) are important to our overall corporate philosophy at JANUS. We are dedicated to ensuring our policies are implemented, adhered to, and meet all applicable ISO 9001:2008 standards at all levels throughout the company.

Purpose

The purpose of JANUS' QA Plan (QAP) is to establish policies and procedures to ensure products and services we provide exceed customer expectations. The QA Plan produces quality deliverables through shared quality control responsibilities, strict inspections, formal and informal communications, corrective actions, and improvement initiatives.

Quality Assurance Process

JANUS' QAP requires each employee to incorporate quality processes into daily operations, while senior management is directly responsible for the operation and success of the QAP. Project members exercise QA over their work and the QA Team reviews products and services produced by each member. The ultimate responsibility for QA rests with the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and the respective Program Manager.

Assessment

Project-level assessments place an early emphasis on quality. Early risk identification and mitigation actions help ensure quality products, reduced costs, and the timely delivery of services. Features of JANUS' quality assessments approach are:

• Staff member responsibility for the quality of their own work
• Peer and management reviews occur prior to formal quality assurance review
• Feedback gathered at all review levels
• Quality integrated into service design
• Communication is promoted, fostering quality improvement with the staff
• A process improvement cycle is institutionalized and documented
• Top JANUS management is ultimately accountable for each service delivered

Formal quality reports addressing substantive issues document all reviews. These issues are tracked, resolved, briefed, and maintained in the project plan notebook.

Metrics

JANUS' Quality Assurance program is fundamentally an exercise in evaluation. We establish targets and periodically examine our processes to ensure our targets are met. In order to establish and meet target goals, we must have solid metrics to quantify our success. Most metrics we collect throughout product development are software-based and are recorded in JANUS software tools such as Bugzilla. Some examples of metrics collected are:

• Number of errors per lesson
• Number of requested enhancements
• Priority of the error or enhancement
• Repetition in error/enhancement reporting
• Time it takes to correct an error
• Rate of error discovery

Our measurements embrace objectivity in order to replicate results to ensure the validity of these results. If objective data is not obtainable, we employ the Delphi process to convert subjective judgment into objective data. Collected data is then analyzed using tools, such as control charts, and this analysis is used to minimize errors by allowing our managers and engineers to focus on the root of the problem.

Measurement

JANUS uses repetitive, informal QA measurement process on work in progress by management-level team members. This process is supplemented by regularly scheduled formal QA reviews. We use four (4) levels of quality measurement reviews, divided into two broad categories: Informal and Formal.

Review Levels

Project Team

At the first level of review, each member of the JANUS Team performing a task will thoroughly review his or her own work for compliance. The types of quality reviews performed are discussed further below. Because errors found early in the review cycle are less difficult and less expensive to correct, JANUS places a premium on a first-level, thorough review by the author of the material. Simply put, authors correct their errors before forwarding the product to the next stage of review.

Project Manager

At the second level of review, the Project Manager reviews each team members' performance and their deliverables. The Project Manager documents errors and provides team members with corrective feedback and gives suspense as to when the corrective action must be completed. The Project Manager informs team members about changes in standards, programs, assessment and evaluation tools, and provides specifics on any and all government comments. JANUS methods by which informal feedback will be provided include:

• Verbal discussions with individuals
• Memoranda between team members
• Features/bug tracking
• Staff meeting discussions
• Meeting minutes
• Customer feedback sheets (pre-printed forms which-highlight positive comments and problems identified by the customer).

Program Manager

The Program Manager conducts the third level of corporate review. The Program Manager is responsible for planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, directing all program work efforts, and quality assurance. The Program Manager's formal inspections encompass a full review of each deliverable prior to the delivery dates. The Program Manager interacts with the Project Manager weekly regarding results of the informal Quality Assurance inspections. Finally, the Program Manager will conduct informal quality spot-checks on a random basis at their discretion.

Any substantive issues discovered by the Program Manager are documented in formal quality reports. These issues are tracked, briefed to the entire project team, resolved, and then maintained in the project plan notebook. After completion of the formal corporate review, the products are finalized for delivery.

Quality Assurance Team

The fourth level of corporate review is provided by the Quality Assurance Team (QAT). The QAT is designated by the Chief Operations Officer to formally review all deliverables produced. The QAT consists of the QAT Leader, the Program Manager, Project Manager, and Management Leads from the Delivery Order supporting any subcontractors. The QAT reviews all products and services, analyzes quality issues, and provides feedback to the Project Manager. The QAT members assigned to the project use task-specific standards and are kept informed of project decisions/changes.

External Processes

External to our processes is Quality Surveillance Corporation (QSC), an Atlanta-based organization. JANUS contracts with QSC to perform continuous improvement checks, periodic quality training, quality system audits, and process audits. We believe that this adds greater value to the JANUS name by proving our commitment to providing our customers with the highest quality products and services available.

Documentation and Review

Tracking/Records Maintenance

In accordance with FAR 46.202-3, Standard Inspection Requirements, JANUS maintains and makes available to the Government Customer complete records of its inspections. These records include memoranda between project team members, Contracting Officer Representative, Contracting Technical Officer Representative, and Government meeting minutes, copies of formal quality reports, copies of written direction provided by the customer, and copies of JANUS' responses to any written customer requests. The Project Manager maintains these records in the Project Plan Notebook.

Project Plan Notebook

A critical element in the quality process is the Project Plan. Project Plans are prepared for each project by the assigned Project Manager and maintained in the Project Plan Notebook. Each Project Plan is approved by the JANUS Program Manager. Project Plans define procedures to be followed to ensure quality requirements are met for project tasks. At a minimum, the Project Plan Notebook contains the following sections:

• Project Plan
• SOWs and Modifications
• Technical Proposal
• Work breakdown schedule
• Financial plan for project management
• Project schedule/milestones
• Customer feedback notes
• Deliverable schedule and completion notes
• Quality Assurance checks and corrective actions

In addition to the Project Plan Notebook, the Quality Assurance Team maintains its own records. Much of the data generated by the Quality Assurance Team is passed on to the Program Manager through the Quality Assurance Team leader.

Corrective Actions

JANUS' QAP provides corrective actions without dependence on government direction. In both formal and informal inspections of written material by the PM, Quality Assurance Team, or COO, corrective action will be applied through a product review and submission of written comments to the team member.

JANUS' QAP structure identifies problems, applies corrective actions, and prevents recurrence. Observed deficiencies and associated corrective actions are recorded as lessons learned as they occur. Results of decisions made by the COO are provided to the PM, and written comments become part of the Project Plan Notebook. This process for taking corrective action ensures changes will be permanent. After identified problems are corrected, the PM provides the deliverable to the applicable COR. Written comments provided by the COR are incorporated into the document prior to final delivery to the customer.

JANUS follows specific processes to identify and resolve internal corrective and preventive actions. These corrective and preventive actions may be in response to customer complaints, determination of nonconforming product or procedures, or the identification of improvement opportunities.

Conclusion

JANUS has embedded Quality Assurance into all of our programs. We have well established policies and procedures that ensure products and services we provide exceed customer expectations. In addition, JANUS requires each employee to incorporate quality processes into daily operations while our senior management is directly responsible for the operation and success of the QAP. We are an American owned company that employs a very high percentage of veterans and are totally committed to ensuring our customers have the highest quality products and services in the industry.