Quality management

Quality management is concerned with getting things right. It may be critically important to drive out all possibility of errors - or it may be acceptable to take delivery of a product or service that is 'good enough'. For example, in construction it is essential that prefabricated components will fit together exactly when a building is constructed; quality in this context is about getting things right first time. However, for the design of a new e-business service, there may be a number of prototypes that gradually improve as understanding of the customer requirement increases - this is about achieving quality that is fit for purpose where it is recognised that perfection cannot be achieved in one step. This briefing is in draft form and currently focuses on quality management systems. In the next version it will include the wider context of quality management.

There are many definitions of quality, such as "fitness for use", "fitness for purpose", "customer satisfaction", "conformance to requirements". Each of these statements represents a facet of quality and are incorporated into the international definition, given below:

"The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs." ISO8402 -1986.

A quality service, therefore, is one which is fit for its purpose and which satisfies customer requirements both stated and implied.

Stated needs are those set out in the customer's specification of requirements. For an ICT service, they should include a complete, consistent and unambiguous set of functional and non-functional requirements necessary to satisfy the customer's need. Non-functional requirements usually include service characteristics such as: availability, reliability, usability, maintainability, contingency, levels of support and constraints. All service requirements should be defined clearly in terms of observable characteristics that can be evaluated by the customer. These are usually contained within the Service Level Agreement (SLA) negotiated between the customer and the service provider.

Product quality could be defined as fitness for use, zero defects, or conformance to specifications; however, it has been demonstrated that for physical components quality is more a factor of how something is produced, than of the actual product itself. This focus on process has been adopted for services, with the notion of total quality within an organisation, i.e. one that focuses on:

• The needs of the customers

• The processes that produce the deliverables

• Continuous improvement to processes and service

W. Edwards Deming recognised that all processes are vulnerable to loss of quality through variation; therefore management need to be aware of, and manage possible levels of variation in order that they might be decreased and quality raised. He recommended a simple yet practical approach to quality control known as the management cycle of: planning, implementation, check and action.

Deming recognised also that quality is about people, not products. This belief is encapsulated in a number of management principles, including:

• The creation of consistency of purpose for continual improvement of products and services

• Building quality into the product

• Avoiding lowest tender contracts, instead aiming for meaningful measures of quality along with price

• Utilising modern methods of training for all, including management

• Instituting leadership aimed at helping people to do a better job

• Encouraging effective two-way communications

• Establishing top management's permanent commitment to improving quality

What is it?

Quality Management is a systematic way of ensuring that the activities necessary to design, develop, and deliver products and services which are more likely to be fit for intended purpose, take place as planned and are carried out efficiently and effectively.

There are three major aspects that require proactive management, namely:
· establishing what the business or ITC service should be offering or doing;
· defining how it should be done
· evaluating what can be done to improve the processes and service product offerings

The third aspect helps to address the problem of implied needs, as customers' views should be solicited; areas of complaint or disappointment will often relate to implied needs.

The way in which an organisation plans to manage its business operations so that it delivers quality products and services is specified by its Quality Management System (QMS). A QMS is a vehicle for delivering quality management; it defines the organisational structure, responsibilities, policies, procedures, processes, standards, and resources required to deliver quality products and services. However, a QMS should not be regarded as a static model, but a dynamic human activity system that will only function as intended if management and staff are committed to achieving its objectives.

A QMS has two interrelated aspects: the supplier's needs and interests, and the customer's needs and expectations. The supplier needs to reach and maintain the desired and agreed quality at an optimum cost. The customer needs to have confidence in the ability of the supplier to deliver and maintain that quality. Each of these aspects requires that objective evidence is recorded and analysed to demonstrate that the required quality is being planned for and met.

Hence the importance of achieving the right design, implementation and support of the QMS, so that it can make an important contribution to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes.

Why it is important

The principle tangible benefits of quality management can be attributed to a reduction in unnecessary costs - both for the service provider, and for the customer. The customer may also gain increased satisfaction, and this may result in greater uptake of the providers' service product offerings and repeat business.

It has been recognised that the costs to an organisation of poor quality are extremely high. Service failures lead to delays and costly maintenance, support and rework. Indeed ICT services that do not support the business or users effectively and efficiently as they could, impair the quality of the products or services of the organisation and increase their cost.

An effective QMS also gives customers and users the confidence that the service provider will be able to fulfill its commitments and consistently provide services that satisfy their requirements.

Standards such as ISO9000: 2000 series specify quality management principles that, if adopted by senior management as a framework, can guide organisations towards improved performance. The emphasis of these new standards has changed from compliance with QMS specifications in terms of audited quality records, to continual improvement. Thus, moving forward from quality assurance and control towards business excellence and performance improvement.

To facilitate a more systematic approach to management, continual improvement, and factual decision-making, there is an emerging need for quality management metrics to provide visibility and improved control of processes. A QMS is necessary to underpin improvement processes and for influencing project and individual performance in a positive way.

The QMS, once established and embedded within the organisation should be perceived as a repository for the collective wisdom of the organisation, and should be equated with a professional way of working and thereby a source of support and strength for the success of the organisation.

The drivers for change

There are a number of important organisational questions that, in answering, may lead to a strategic decision to establish or improve an organisation-wide quality initiative. The size and scope of any quality initiative will depend upon the effectiveness of the existing organisation, policies, procedures, and methods used to deliver service product offerings.

Key questions that need to be considered, include whether:

• senior management are directing the organisation to achieve both customer and regulatory requirements in a manner that satisfies all stakeholders

• senior management recognise the capabilities and resources required to achieve the organisation's objectives

• existing procedures ensure that the organisation does not enter into commitments it is unable to meet

• business processes have been designed to achieve organisational goals

• the organisation continually evaluates its business processes

• deviations from product or service requirements are promptly detected and rectified

• the organisation has an effective problem management process to assure that problems are resolved promptly and prevented from recurring

• there are adequate performance measures and are they used as a basis for management decision-taking
  customer needs and expectations are continually assessed to ensure high customer satisfaction.

Organisations aiming for greater consistency in project management may rely on the development of a QMS to underpin quality management in order to gain the following benefits:

• better project visibility

• improved definition and effectiveness of customer participation in project processes

• fewer surprises for project managers, senior management and customers.

There is a recognised need for more predictable achievement levels for programmes and projects leading to more successful delivery. Quality management can help facilitate this achievement as a consequence of improved quality controls, and improved performance against time-scale and cost objectives in particular, thus contributing to improved customer satisfaction.

Success Factors

It has been recognised that managing the 'people factor' is critical for success of quality management. Communication skills and relationship management therefore have a high degree of significance, for example, between senior management, Quality Assurance teams, and the various project teams. These skills are also important when considering how to work with partners and suppliers jointly to improve business processes.

The success of a QMS may be ascribed to:

• ensuring a participative approach for producing quality system documents, e.g. early involvement of users of the documentation

• staged implementation - from general to more specific processes, and from a small user base to an increasingly larger user base

• management commitment - not simply an initial declaration of commitment, but a real management understanding of the quality system

• Quality Management support - in guiding the evolution of the QMS, assisting in its application, and assuring compliance

• Staff perception - grass-roots support through early familiarisation, and growing realisation of the benefits

Finally, all human activity systems can be difficult to embed and institutionalise; proactive recognition and resolution of problems and issues, is also a critical success factor. Such issues needing proactive management include:

• difficulties in applying the standard, perhaps where there is a feeling it is impractical for some reason

• disregard of the quality system by some project managers in favour of their own plans, particularly when planning and risk management is performed poorly and deemed a one-off exercise

Who is involved?

A quality initiative within any organisation generally requires an Executive Sponsor who is normally part of the Senior Management team within the organisation. If the organisation aims to implement an ISO9001 conformant QMS, then the Executive Sponsor is likely to become the management representative, ensuring that the requirements of the Standard are implemented and maintained.

Fig 1: Quality Management

The Executive Sponsor is likely to establish a Quality Steering Committee to act as the management board for the introduction, development and implementation of any quality initiative. A key member of the Steering Committee is the Quality Manager, usually appointed to be the programme/project manager for QMS implementation, and is also responsible for ensuring compliance to the requirements of the QMS. Actual audits are normally undertaken by Quality Assurance personnel, who undertake quality reviews of (say) project deliverables, produced by project team members.

Project team members, process owners and people undertaking any business role are key participants in quality management; they are the principle users of the QMS in undertaking their roles and producing the required deliverables.

If the organisation seeks certification of its QMS, for example against international standards, then an external certification body may also be involved.

Principles

Quality management recognises a number of important management principles that, if adopted by senior management as a framework, can guide organisations towards improved performance. These principles cover:

• Customer focus - recognition that organisations depend on their customers and therefore it is imperative that they understand current and future customer needs.

• Leadership - establishing unity of purpose and direction of the organisation.

• Involvement of people - ensuring that there is the right environment / culture for people to become fully involved in achieving organisational objectives and that individual abilities are used and nurtured for the organisation's benefit.

• Process approach - defining the activities necessary to achieve organisational goals, and ensuring that activities and related resources are managed as a process.

• Systematic approach to management - identifying, understanding and managing processes, to make a demonstrable contribution to the organisation's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.

• Continual improvement - driven by senior management, focused on critical process areas with explicit improvement goals, to contribute to the overall performance of the business.

• Factual approach to decision making - facilitated by pertinent data and information which is sufficiently accurate, reliable, and accessible.

• Mutually beneficial supplier relationships - assuring that the interdependencies are recognised and mutually beneficial relationships are fostered to enhance the ability to create value.

Quality Management aims to provide suitable guidance and build upon Quality Assurance standards to achieve business benefits for all stakeholder groups, focusing on continual performance improvement to sustain customer satisfaction. They also endeavour to foster 'universal responsibility' so that individuals with the organisation recognise that quality is not only the responsibility of quality assurance teams and reviewers, but should be totally pervasive in all aspects of the business, with everyone seeking ways to improve the quality of their own products and services.

The QMS itself, irrespective of any standard chosen as a reference model, should embody some key principles, including:

• planning of work so as to build in quality from the outset

• personal responsibility for work products with an emphasis on 'right first time' or coming close

• exposure of work products to scrutiny so that errors can be detected and removed at the earliest possible stage

• application of standardised processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness

• timely feedback on performance at project, process and individual level

• continuous improvements so that performance improvement can be demonstrated

Processes

The application of quality management principles and the implementation of quality management systems are likely to vary from organisation to organisation. However, Quality Management share a common intent that:

• Organisations design and manage their processes effectively to achieve corporate objectives and avoid functional silos that compete for resources

• Organisations choose appropriate activities and measures based on an objective analysis of their operational and business environment

• Management create an environment in which people are motivated and initiative and creativity are not stifled.

It is essential that sufficient time and suitable resources are dedicated to testing and commissioning to assure the fundamental success of any project, including quality initiatives.

Quality Assurance standards specify the requirements that a quality system should meet, but do not dictate how they should be achieved. The key requirements are that an organisation should:

• Determine the needs and expectations of customers and other interested parties

• Establish policies, objectives and a work environment necessary to motivate the organisation to satisfy these needs

• Design, resource and manage a system of interconnected processes necessary to implement the policy and attain the objectives

• Measure and analyse the adequacy, efficiency and effectiveness of each process in fulfilling its purpose and objectives

• Pursue the continual improvement of the system from an objective evaluation of its performance

A typical process for design, planning and implementing a quality system is likely to involve:

• Planning the quality initiative and obtaining executive sponsorship

• Establishing the quality policy for the organisation

• Designing and planning the QMS, usually based on international standards

• Establishing the quality organisation, and developing the quality manual and structure of quality records

• Determining the scope of implementation

• Assuring quality plans

• Reviewing deliverables and determining any actions

• Auditing quality records

• Defining areas for process improvement

• Managing the improvement programme

The following diagram depicts how the various aspects of the QMS might be applied to a project being undertaken by an organisation.

Further information:

• See Project Management workbook for a more detailed step-by-step approach to project management

• ISO 9000: 2000 Quality management systems - Fundamentals and vocabulary

• ISO 9000: 2000 Quality management system - Requirements

• ISO 9004: 2000 Quality management system - Guidelines for performance improvements

• ISO9000 Information Forum, http://www.iso9000.co.uk/

• The W. Edwards Institute, http://www.deming.org/

• European Foundation for Quality Management, http://www.efqm.org/

• Six Sigma: The breakthrough management strategy.Mike J. Harry. 1999. Bantam Doubleday Dell Books.

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