What is the “Future of Quality” Report?
The 2015 Future of Quality report is here. It is entitled “Quality Throughout” and it is free for everyone. Download it from the ASQ website.
This year the report is a little bit different than the past ones. It is a collection of rousingly written essays from some of the leading minds in areas of import and interest to today’s — and — tomorrow’s quality practitioners. You will find essays about manufacturing, services, customer experience, quality management, education, healthcare, government, internet security, and city planning. All of these are written from the perspective of quality. The report is gathered to be read in its entirety or as a reference guide, as you pick and choose your own areas of interest.
How to Keep on Getting Better?
In the report, I think the second last chapter talking about The Future of Quality – Getting Better All the Time by Ronald Snee and Roger Hoerl is a notable reading. In the article, the authors describe how the century of quality and job creation can be achieved through addressing the role of human variation in innovation.
Quality improvement has been important to humankind since the age of primitive food gatherers, and will keep on being so, as customers increasingly demand quality products and services.
The authors ask, what is next on the horizon. Predicting future is a risky business, but we know that there are yet many unmet needs today including quality healthcare and education at a lower cost, better government services at lower costs, and improved performance of nonprofit organizations. So, there is still a lot to dig in.
Also, job creation is of big importance everywhere in the world, and quality improvement leads to more jobs. The chain reaction starts with the quality improvement innovation that produces lower costs and higher productivity. This begets an increase in market share, which in turn leads to staying in business and producing more jobs.
Quality Focus – How?
Snee and Hoerls believe that there are 5 specific advances that can help organizations improve their performance going forward:
- Apply holisitic improvement approaches that include all processes, from services, administration, and R&D to sales, marketing and manufacturing.
- Focus on identifying and solving mission-critical problems.
- Use big data to solve problems that were previously thought to be beyond solution.
- Learn how to better address human variation.
- Enhance learning regarding how to use innovation to create jobs.
To read more about these five advances and other stuff from the guys, go to page 66 in the The 2015 Future of Quality report.
Happy readings!