Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement Flashcards
7 cards from real CPI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement flashcards as text
Which quality management concept focuses on preventing defects in investigative outputs rather than detecting them after the fact?
Answer: Quality at the source
Quality at the source (also called 'doing it right the first time') focuses on building quality into each step of the investigative process rather than inspecting for errors after work is completed.
A CPI uses a 'lessons learned' database after each major investigation. This practice primarily supports which continuous improvement principle?
Answer: Organizational learning and knowledge transfer
A lessons-learned database captures institutional knowledge from completed investigations, enabling the organization to apply past experiences to improve future investigations.
When setting KPIs for an investigations unit, which characteristic is MOST important according to quality management principles?
Answer: KPIs must be measurable and aligned with organizational objectives
Effective KPIs must be measurable (quantifiable) and aligned with broader organizational goals to ensure they drive meaningful performance improvements.
In the DMAIC framework used in Six Sigma, which phase involves identifying the current baseline performance of an investigative process?
Answer: Measure
The 'Measure' phase of DMAIC involves collecting data to establish baseline performance metrics for the process being improved.
A quality audit of investigative reports reveals that 30% lack proper chain of custody documentation. Using Pareto analysis, this finding suggests:
Answer: Chain of custody is likely a vital few issue contributing disproportionately to quality failures
Pareto analysis (80/20 rule) identifies the vital few issues causing the most problems; a 30% deficiency rate in chain of custody suggests it is a major contributor to overall quality failures that should be prioritized.
Which approach BEST demonstrates a 'customer-focused' quality management philosophy in private investigations?
Answer: Regularly soliciting client feedback and incorporating it into service standards
Customer-focused quality management requires understanding and meeting client needs, which requires actively gathering and incorporating client feedback into service delivery standards.
An investigation firm implements a 'double-blind' quality review system where neither the reviewer nor the case investigator knows the other's identity. This is designed to eliminate:
Answer: Confirmation bias and reviewer favoritism
A double-blind review removes the possibility that personal relationships or preconceptions between reviewer and investigator influence the quality assessment.