DQM Core Units

Quality Audit cheat sheet

Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.

Planning a quality audit

A first-party audit is the organisation auditing itself, a second-party audit is a party with an interest in it, such as a customer, auditing it, and a third-party audit is an independent body auditing it, typically for certification.
The scope fixes which processes, sites, products or time period the audit covers, matched to the quality management system's own scope statement.
Audit criteria (the management system standard, the organisation's own policy and procedures, statutory and regulatory requirements, and customer requirements) are agreed before the audit, so a finding is a departure from a named requirement rather than an opinion.
The audit programme schedules every audit over a period, in rotation; the audit plan sets out the scope, criteria, schedule and team for one audit.
Resourcing follows from scope and criteria: the team needs collective competence in the standard, the processes and auditing, and time is the resource most often underestimated.

Key terms

First-party (internal) audit: Conducted by, or on behalf of, the organisation itself, for internal purposes.
Second-party audit: Conducted by a party with an interest in the organisation, a customer auditing its supplier.
Third-party audit: Conducted by an independent body, typically for certification against a standard.
Human resources: Competent auditors, and staff to support and be interviewed during the audit.
Financial resources: Budget covering auditor time, travel and any external certification costs.
Technology, hardware and software: Tools for planning, recording and reporting the audit.
Audit programme: The organisation's overall schedule of audits over a period, covering every process or area in rotation.
Audit plan: The detailed plan for one specific audit, its scope, criteria, schedule and team.
Lead auditor: Manages the audit team and takes overall responsibility for the audit.
Auditor: Gathers evidence and evaluates it against the audit criteria.
Auditee: The organisation, process or person being audited, expected to provide access and evidence.
Technical expert: Provides specialist knowledge the audit team itself may not hold.

The rest of the sheet covers

Conducting a quality audit
Post-audit activities
Exam technique and revision
Glossary