Ex Nihilo utilizes its Quality Management Process to monitor and maximize quality in the performance of task orders under the Seaport-e Contract. It involves all of the processes required to ensure that a contract or task order will meet the needs for which it was undertaken. The primary objective of this process is to reduce variation in the level of quality of the finished product either through process adherence or product inspection/testing.  

The Ex Nihilo Program Manager (PM) identifies the standards that are relevant to each task order and determines how to satisfy them.  The Ex Nihilo PM workS with the task order team during its early planning stages to establish quality plans, standards, and procedures that will add value to the project. The Ex Nihilo PM ensures that these items are compliant with program constraints and organizational policies. An output from this process is a Quality Management Plan (QMP) that the team will implement. 

The Ex Nihilo PM focuses on process adherence by evaluating its overall performance on a regular basis. This evaluation provides visibility as to whether or not a project satisfies its relevant quality standards as outlined in the QMP to ensure plans, standards, and procedures are followed. The output from this process is internal process review results and/or milestone implementation lessons learned communicated to stakeholders. These outputs are used to recommend quality improvements to increase project effectiveness and efficiency. 

Quality control is implemented through focused inspections, walkthroughs or peer reviews of the project deliverables as identified in the QMP. The Quality Assurance Process provides independent verification that project development activities are being performed "in an approved manner". The output of this process is to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards identified. 

“In an approved manner” means that the activities and resulting products are in compliance or accord with applicable policies, processes, procedures, plans, and standards. The Ex Nihilo PMO conducts periodic project/process quality reviews. The purpose of these reviews is to verify that project activities are being performed in an approved manner and ensure that process and product deficiencies are brought to management’s attention and resolved satisfactorily. The Ex Nihilo PMO also conducts/facilitates milestone post implementation reviews as requested or required.  The results of these quality and post implementation reviews are communicated to stakeholders and used to recommend improvements for increased project effectiveness and efficiency. 

Project Status Reviews are held on a monthly basis to review and discuss the following topics: program overview; problems and action items for resolution; status of subcontractor efforts; software engineering and integration activities; quality assurance; test and evaluation; resource expenditures; and clearances.