Cost of Quality

Correct Answer: Internal Failure Costs

The best answer to the given question is 'Internal Failure Costs'. This is because bugs discovered in a software product and fixed before the release, fall under the category of Internal Failure Costs in the cost of quality. It is called 'internal' because the errors are found before the product is delivered to the customer, they are internal to the organization. External Failure Costs, on the other hand, are costs that occur when a problem is discovered after the product has been delivered to the customer. Prevention Costs are the costs of activities specifically designed to prevent poor quality, such as training, equipment calibration, or procedure development. Appraisal Costs are costs incurred to determine the degree of conformance to quality requirements.

Correct Answer: Internal failure costs

The best answer for this Project Management Professional course question would be 'Internal failure costs'. These costs are often associated with fixing a problem before a product reaches a customer. In this scenario, the project manager chose to address an issue with a key software component before the product's distribution, which is a clear example of an internal failure cost. On the other hand, 'Prevention costs' are costs associated with preventing defects from happening in the first place, 'Appraisal costs' are costs incurred to verify that the product or service meets the defined quality requirements, whilst 'External failure costs' include all costs incurred due to product failures after the product reaches the customer. Thus, these other costs do not apply to the scenario presented, as the problem was found and addressed prior to shipping the product.

Correct Answer: Appraisal costs

During a software development project, the team performs manual code reviews and automated testing. These activities are considered appraisal costs. The aim of these types of activities is to identify and fix defects within the project before they reach the customer or end user. They are part of the quality management process in project management that focuses on 'quality assurance,' ensuring that the product or service meets the required quality standards. As these tasks are completed during the project, before the product or service is delivered to the customer, they are considered an 'appraisal' rather than a type of failure cost. 'Prevention costs' is not correct as it pertains to activities aimed at preventing defects in the first place, such as training or process improvement. 'Internal failure costs' and 'External failure costs' are types of costs encountered when failures occur due to non-conformance to requirements or customer needs, either before delivery (internal) or after delivery (external). These costs are not incurred in manual code reviews and automated testing, as they are done to find issues before they become failures.