Next Wave Systems, LLC Quality Assurance Plan

Next Wave Systems, LLC (NWS) has a proven ability to provide the highest quality products and services to its customers through an in-house quality program that is documented in this Quality Assurance Plan (QAP). NWS's QAP embraces the following principles:

The customer ultimately determines quality

Meeting required delivery schedules is imperative to and consistent with providing quality products and services;

Quality results from unfailingly following documented processes;

Quality requires eliminating variability;

Quality results from people working together and communicating effectively;

Quality requires continuous monitoring and improvement.

NWS’s Project Managers are held responsible for the implementation of these principles on every NWS project. Our QAP addresses three main components of quality. The first is the actual quality of the product or service provided. We fully recognize that without delivering products and services that are free from defects and are considered valuable to our customers, NWS will cease to exist. The other two elements of quality are the timeliness with which the product or service is delivered, and that all required efforts are accomplished within budget. In short, we strive to deliver products and services that meet our customers’ requirements and exceed their expectations. And we do these things consistently on time and within budget.

Continuous Process Improvement

Deliverables are subjected to a continuous review and improvement process that ultimately results in delivery of the best product possible. Once a discrete tasking is received by the Project Manager to create a product, the Project Manager and contract and/or other required administrative professional(s) meet. This initial meeting is used to coordinate and/or discuss the tasking to ensure a firm understanding of the requirement, establish a timeline for review and edit, and determine the date of delivery. At the completion of all facets of the project, the overall quality of the deliverable is examined for accuracy, completeness, functionality, and other specific criteria. Data deliverables are scrutinized by the Project Manager and staff member(s) performing the task for technical content and grammatical accuracy to ensure what is being created is fully compliant with the customer’s requirements. When appropriate, annotated outlines and drafts are provided to the customer to solicit feedback for comments, suggestions, and overall content. Periodic status meetings with the customer are held as requested by the customer to discuss requirements, technical issues, schedule, status and any other item that needs to be addressed.

Following final review by the project manager and staff member(s), the deliverable receives a "final review" with the customer to ensure it meets NWS and customer standards, and any revisions, corrections or rework are performed as soon as practical. Continuous review and improvement is paramount to a high quality deliverable. Our Chief Operating Officer is a NAVSEA-certified LEAN Manufacturing Green Belt, and he oversees overall performance is in accordance with this QAP. He shares this knowledge and his process-improvement experiences with all company personnel. For new personnel, we assign a mentor who assists an experienced staff member through the deliverable process, to ensure it is accomplished "right" the first time, every time.