Selected TQM Links:
Total Quality Management
By Russ Finney
Always take solid positions on quality, and build a foundation based on these principles:
- Decide what "quality" really means both to the system builders as well as the business clients.
- Develop and maintain a customer oriented, service based approach toward the business clients.
- Continuously focus on proactive, preventative measures and error detection.
- Make quality a part of the total organizational culture.
One of Joel Barker's observations on TQM, in his book Future Vision, is that "the beauty of the Total Quality movement is that workers are now motivated by their own values to do the best that they can do. That the workers now have permission to improve the products or services allows them to really care about what they are doing. Without caring there can be no quality. And with caring, the concept of work changes fundamentally. Caring is reflected directly in your day-to-day behavior. And from that caring comes great enthusiasm and commitment, which leads in a wonderful feedback loop to even greater productivity, innovation, and self-initiation." Define, demand, and deliver quality results for each individual system building process or activity.
No-nonsense Action steps to aid in keeping TQM a reality:
- Acquire or develop results oriented, quality focused leaders.
- Develop and continuously refine the various system building techniques and methods.
- Utilize the tools and technologies which not only produce quick results, but which also produce high quality work products.
- Measure results and success with tangible metrics for future estimation and benchmarking.
- Recognize and reward quality results.
- Keep the post-implementation lines of communication open after the system is in the hands of the business clients.
Simplicity vs Complexity
Many computer professionals think that the amount of "cleverness" and the additional "bells and whistles" they build into a system are a sign of quality. This can also be a sign of unnecessary complexity. The guiding principal of a system builder should be: get the bedrock functionality built first, in as straight-forward and simple a manner as possible, then add the "nice to have" features later (if ever!).
A high quality system which is simple in its construction:
- will react to swift business changes
- will seem intuitive to the business user
- will seem easily maintainable to the support programmers
- will refect quality and durability.
Copyright © 1999, Russ Finney, All Rights Reserved
____________itmWEB Links: Total Quality Management