Who is this programme for?
Experienced quality management representatives, quality leaders, senior process owners and people moving into strategic quality responsibilities.
Curriculum & Assessment Programme
Quality Manager – Curriculum and Assessment Programme
Treat quality as a leadership responsibility: connect objectives with business strategy, prioritise improvement and justify decisions using evidence, risks and resources.
Audience and entry requirements
What are the entry requirements?
Applied quality management knowledge and experience with processes, indicators and improvement activity. A QMB qualification or equivalent experience may be demonstrated through work examples and an entry discussion. No particular qualification brand is required.
Scope and learning format
56 teaching units of 45 minutes = 42 clock hours, including 180 minutes of final assessment. Teaching and supervised practice: 52 units. Scheduling is confirmed before booking.
Live online through alfaview or in person, with learning materials and assessment information in the Odoo portal. One teaching unit (UE) is 45 minutes; breaks are excluded. The timetable, teaching and assessment languages and any individual oral assessment slots are confirmed before the course begins.
Which competencies will you demonstrate?
- Derive quality objectives from a given business strategy.
- Develop a suitable performance evaluation framework and explain competing objectives.
- Prioritise an improvement portfolio by benefit, risk and resources.
- Design an initiative to develop quality culture with assessable objectives.
- Justify a management decision using technical and business criteria.
The curriculum
Quality strategy and business objectives
Customer and stakeholder requirements, strategic objectives, risks, competing goals and the contribution of quality management.
Scope / allocation
8 teaching units
Evidence and output
A strategic objectives cascade.
Leadership and quality culture
Roles, decision behaviour, accountability, participation and communication of quality objectives.
Scope / allocation
8 teaching units
Evidence and output
A quality culture development initiative.
Process and system performance
Suitable measures, data quality, interpretation of trends, cause-and-effect assumptions and limits of comparisons.
Scope / allocation
8 teaching units
Evidence and output
A justified performance measurement model.
Improvement portfolio
Consolidate improvement needs, assess benefit, risk and resources, and prioritise transparently.
Scope / allocation
8 teaching units
Evidence and output
A prioritised portfolio with decision logic.
Change and implementation
Engage stakeholders, address delivery risks, lead actions and sustain results.
Scope / allocation
8 teaching units
Evidence and output
An implementation and communication plan.
Management review and governance
Summarise QMS performance, prepare decision options and structure escalation and follow-up.
Scope / allocation
6 teaching units
Evidence and output
A management briefing identifying decisions required.
Integrated strategic case
Develop a management concept, challenge assumptions and practise its technical defence.
Scope / allocation
6 teaching units
Evidence and output
A coherent quality management concept.
Final assessment
Strategic case analysis, a management concept and an individual presentation with professional discussion.
Scope / allocation
4 teaching units
Evidence and output
Scored analysis, concept and defence.
How your work is assessed
Weighting: 30 %
Strategic case analysis
Analyse a case involving conflicting indicators, customer requirements and resource constraints.
60 minutes
- Clarity of problems and objectives
- Evaluation of the data basis
- Recognition of risks and competing goals
Weighting: 50 %
Management concept
Prepare an objectives cascade, a prioritised improvement portfolio and a management review briefing for the case.
90 minutes
- Coherence between strategy and action
- Link between requirements and evidence
- Justified prioritisation
- Measurable implementation and effectiveness
Weighting: 20 %
Presentation and professional discussion
A ten-minute presentation followed by twenty minutes of critical questions.
30 minutes
- Decision-focused presentation
- Comparison of alternatives
- Reflection on technical and business limitations
Pass requirements
A pass requires at least 70 of 100 weighted overall points and at least 60 of 100 points in every mandatory assessment component. In the practical component, the critical criterion “link between requirements and evidence” must achieve at least 2 of 4 rubric points. These thresholds are Academy policy; ISO/IEC 17024 does not prescribe these scores.
Practical performance is scored against each published criterion from 0 to 4: 0 = absent or unusable; 1 = substantial technical gaps; 2 = usable work with identifiable gaps; 3 = traceable and technically sound; 4 = complete, precise and critically justified. Criteria within a component are weighted equally unless a different published allocation is stated in the task. Component scores are converted to a percentage.
Link between requirements and evidence
Permitted resources and AI
Permitted aids are the standard edition named in the assessment plan, personal course notes, the supplied case materials and a basic calculator. Communication with third parties, generative AI, automated answer services and unapproved internet research are not permitted during assessed components. Word processing is permitted for case dossiers; accessibility aids are agreed beforehand.
Identity and independent work
Before assessment, identity is checked against an official photo ID. For live online assessment, access, supervision, permitted aids and technical contingency arrangements are explained beforehand. This does not automatically require retaining an ID copy or recording the assessment.
The common assessment rules also cover retakes, reasonable adjustments, appeals, confidentiality and certificate authorisation.
Assessment and Certificate RulesWhat your certificate demonstrates
Academy course certificate: Quality Manager — Strategic Quality Management with passed assessment
- Scope of the credential
- The certificate records the competencies specified in the programme and demonstrated through documented assessment, the assessment date, scope and programme version. Attendance alone is insufficient for an assessment certificate.
- How to interpret the qualification
- An Academy course certificate with assessment. It is not a PECB, TÜV, DEKRA or CQI/IRCA qualification and is not evidence of accredited personnel certification. No accreditation or full conformity of the Academy with ISO/IEC 17024 is claimed.
- Assessment date and currency
- Under Academy policy, this certificate is valid for a maximum of three years from its date of issue. It is issued only after all programme and assessment requirements have been met and the award decision has been documented. The validity period does not start on enrolment or at the beginning of the course. The actual validity period and expiry date are stated on the certificate; a shorter period applies only when expressly specified in the relevant course or assessment programme. There is no automatic extension. Renewal requires a documented review of current knowledge and application appropriate to the programme, using recent evidence and/or a suitable update or competence assessment. Repurchasing the entire course is not a blanket requirement. A renewed Academy certificate is also valid for no more than three years from its issue date. Attendance and passing an assessment remain verifiable historical facts tied to their dates; they do not provide indefinite validity as evidence of current competence.
This programme applies to deliveries whose agreed course and assessment plan explicitly references this revision. Existing bookings retain their agreed terms.
Programme questions
How does Quality Manager differ from QMB?
The QMB role coordinates QMS development and operation. Quality Manager focuses on strategy, leadership, performance evaluation and prioritising a portfolio of improvements.
Is a real workplace project required?
No. Assessment uses a structured case so confidential company information need not be disclosed. Anonymised workplace examples can be brought into teaching.
Is the course suitable for managers without quality experience?
Applied quality knowledge is expected. A foundation or QMB learning path is advisable where those foundations are missing; entry is considered against prior knowledge.
What if I fail an assessment component?
You receive feedback on the assessed competency areas. Failed components may be retaken under the common assessment rules using equivalent new tasks. Dates, any preparation required and any fees are communicated beforehand.
What does the Academy certificate demonstrate?
It records a passed course assessment with stated competencies, scope and programme version. It is not accredited personnel certification and does not replace professional experience or an assignment-specific suitability assessment.
Advice & course planning
Solo self-employed in Germany? Discuss potential KOMPASS support with an official advisory centre before booking. We can help you select a suitable programme in a consultation.
An Academy-owned assessed competence credential. The assessment programme refers to selected principles of ISO/IEC 17024:2026. This is not a claim of accreditation or fully demonstrated conformity.