#QUALITYtweet 140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
By Tanmay Vora Foreword by Dr. Pankaj Jalote
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#QUALITYtweet 140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
By Tanmay Vora Foreword by Dr. Pankaj Jalote
Copyright © 2009 by Tanmay Vora All rights reserved. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author(s) assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. First Printing: November 2009 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60773-064-4 (1-60773-064-2) Place of Publication: Silicon Valley, California USA Paperback Library of Congress Number: 2009937866 eBook ISBN: 978-1-60773-065-1 (1-60773-065-0) Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Happy About® and its imprint, THINKaha™, cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The authors and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book.
Advance Praise “‘#QUALITYtweet’ is provocative. It serves delicious, bite-sized morsels about human aspects of quality that will feed every manager’s success.” Lisa Haneberg @LisaHaneberg Business Author, Blogger, and Consultant
“‘#QUALITYtweet’ focuses on quality in bite-sized nuggets of goodness a tweet at a time. These insights will leave you wanting more.” Skip Angel @skipangel Agile Coach and Consultant
“Quality matters a LOT . . . for business, customers, and employees. Read ‘#QUALITYtweet’ to jump-start your own quality movement!” Phil Gerbyshak @philgerb Social Media Maximizer and Editor for Slacker Manager
“Not just wisdom regarding quality, but 140 opportunities for discussion, debate, and growth. May it be used in many staff meetings!” Michael Wade @execupundit Consultant, Trainer, Author, and Blogger at Execupundit.com
Dedication To my parents, my wife Pooja, and my daughter Hiya for supporting, enabling, and inspiring me.
Acknowledgments Thanks to Twitter for the 140-character constraint which elevated my ability to think at the core. Thanks to my friend and guide Rajesh Setty @UpbeatNow for writing ‘#Th!nktweet’ and inspiring me to write. Special thanks to the Gateway TechnoLabs team Indrajit Mitra and Niraj Gemawat for giving me space and freedom to write this book. Thanks to Lisa Haneberg, Skip Angel, Phil Gerbyshak, and Michael Wade for their kind words of praise. Thanks to my friend Utpal Vaishnav @utpalvaishnav for reviewing this book with a lot of love and care.
Special thanks to my publisher, Mitchell Levy @HappyAbout, for taking on my first book.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
Why Did I Write this Book? Quality is the #1 strategic differentiator. Quality is still a heavy subject with a lot of focus on models and theories. People want quick access to practical insights on how quality can be managed. I wrote ‘#QUALITYtweet’ to fulfill that need. Quality is not just “conformance to customer requirements.” Quality is happiness. Read, share, and be happy! All the best!
Tanmay Vora @tnvora
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Contents Foreword by Dr. Pankaj Jalote
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Chapter I People & Quality
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Chapter II Process & Quality
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Chapter III Management, Leadership, & Quality
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About the Author
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140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
#QUALITYtweet
Foreword by Dr. Pankaj Jalote ‘#QUALITYtweet’ is a brilliant compilation of practical ideas that ignites thought processes to improve and excel. Dr. Pankaj Jalote Director, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, India Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India Author of several books on software quality and management Past editorial board member, IEEE Transactions on Software Eng. Visit him at: http://www.cse.iitd.ernet.in/~jalote/
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140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
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Chapter I People & Quality Organizations are comprised of people. The “human factor” can become your biggest obstacle on the journey to quality if not managed carefully. The attitudes of your people and their alignment to your vision are the two most important factors for organizational success. This chapter offers practical “twinsights” on the “people aspect” and how such perceptions can impact the improvement, initiative, and overall quality of experience your organization delivers to its customers.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
1 Great quality is a by-product of good people passionately working towards an organization’s goals.
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The recipe for great quality = the right people following the right processes, employing the right tools at the right time.
3 If your internal customers (people) are not happy, how can you delight your external customers (clients)?
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
4 Mediocre people will rarely produce great quality, even with world-class processes.
5 Don’t reward heroic efforts for fixing problems that should have been avoided in the first place.
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6 The weakest link in your team will still have a strong influence on the quality of your deliverable.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
7 No certification will save the project if you staff it with poor resources.
8 In a “quality aware” team, people know that quality is everybody’s responsibility.
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If quality improvement isn’t anybody’s job, it is not surprising that it doesn’t get done.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
10 Process challenge #1: to ensure that processes are not used as excuses for not getting a job done.
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11 Top two reasons for poor quality: people don’t know how to do it, or they lack the resolve to get it done.
12 Implementing a change is far easier when people are involved in defining the change.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
13 You increase the probability of quality output by assigning the right job to the right person. Leverage the strengths of your people.
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The attitudes and behaviors of your executives play a huge role in determining the quality of your service.
15 It is easier for you to generate quality outputs consistently if you really love what you do.
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Half of your quality problems can be resolved by filling the gap between what people know and what they execute.
17 The quality of your work as a professional is also an assessment of your confidence, integrity, thinking, and self-worth.
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18 Make every review meeting a learning experience by reviewing the product and the process, not the people.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
19 Your customers will evaluate quality based on the experience of the overall purchase, not just the quality of the product.
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20 Your team is more likely to produce quality when the purpose of your product excites them.
21 People who are uncomfortable with the “status quo” are the best candidates for your process-improvement team.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
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If you only have senior members on your process-improvement team, you are missing out on the fresh insights juniors can bring.
23 If you don’t periodically review the progress of your quality initiative with your team, you are giving them a reason to slow down.
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With a “carrot and stick” approach people will comply dispassionately. For passionate involvement, they need to be self-motivated.
25 Implementing change means providing the freedom to make mistakes. Change can never happen when there is fear within.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
“TEAM INTERACTION”
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26 Q: Want to feel the pulse of any organization? A: Just observe how well its teams interact with each other.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
27 A good process delights the people who use it, enhances their ability to do more, and creates value for the organization.
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28 People who let their quality speak make a profound statement.
29 Critical question: how does this improved process improve my team’s ability to perform?
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
30 Critical question: are the results of your improvement initiative visible enough to keep everybody engaged and encouraged?
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31 Everything we do is a process that can always be improved.
32 The key to process improvement: realize that people need time and encouragement to change.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
33 To deliver quality is to SERVE (in a way your customer expects).
34 Improving the quality of communication with your teams and customers directly improves the quality of the customers’ experience.
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35 If you base rewards on meeting a schedule, people will only try to meet the schedule and compromise on quality.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
36 Two great wastes in any organization: not speaking and not listening.
37 The quality you produce is a reflection of your body of knowledge, depth of experience, and ability to execute.
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38 You can cope with a lack of ABILITY, but not with a lack of INTENT.
39 How NOT to deliver total quality: focus on quality of product without focusing on quality of relationship and communication.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
40 A sure way to kill creativity: be over-critical when people make mistakes.
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Chapter II Process & Quality
Process is the foundation upon which people work to build quality. Process is not just a collection of “work instructions,” but an enabler that gradually builds the culture of your organization. A good process can be a great tool for people to deliver quality and for an organization to measure improvement. This chapter presents ideas on how processes can be effectively managed to build a customer-oriented quality culture.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
41 “Quality product” is an assessment your customers will make. Not you.
42 The secret of generating excellent quality is to get it right the first time at every stage of the process.
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43 If you don’t treat your process as a tool to generate quality, process has a tendency to drive you.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
44 Having a process and not following it is no better than having no process at all.
45 The ultimate fantasy: expecting quality from a team without communicating your expectations on quality.
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46 Measure your process because you cannot control what you cannot measure.
47 Don’t just deploy processes; ingrain them in your culture.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
48 Critical question: does your quality system REALLY help you build quality in your products?
49 Common-sense quality metric: how many hours does your team spend correcting errors?
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Quality 101: the rate of your process innovation should always be greater than the rate of change in a client’s quality expectations.
51 Process improvement cycle: define > refine > train > implement > monitor > improve.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
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52 The first step of your process improvement journey is to know what really needs improvement.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
53 Critical question: when did you last assess how your customers, suppliers, and people perceive you?
54 Effective processes are not only about “plan and control.” It is also “culture and behavior” that helps build quality.
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The most difficult aspects of creating a process culture are: engagement, communication, collaboration, trust, teamwork, and motivation.
56 Never let your processes come in the way of solving your customer’s immediate problems.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
57 “Cure” precedes “prevention.” You can think of prevention after you have learned how to cure the immediate problems of your customers.
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58 Early wins in initial phase = great momentum for rest of your improvement journey.
59 The tools you use for automating your processes are like grease. They help a great deal in a “smooth” implementation.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
60 It is easier to spend time improving quality than justifying poor quality.
61 Process improvement = simplification + clarity.
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All improvement is incremental, never a single shot to perfection.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
63 Improvement is more about lessons applied than lessons learned.
64 Organizations have a poor memory. Lessons learned are soon forgotten if they are not formulated into a process.
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Garnish the recipe of your processes with ingredients like trust, collaboration, controls, measures, and incentives.
66 Formal inspections can be a huge waste of resources if you have not invested in getting it right the first time.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
67 EASY: to invent a work-around to the problem. DIFFICULT: to address the root cause of the problem.
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68 Want to add complexity? Get obsessed with a solution without focusing on the real problem.
69 A complex solution to a simple problem adds more complex problems as a by-product of that solution.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
70 Correction helps you SURVIVE in the short term. Prevention helps you SUSTAIN in the long term.
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71 Critical question: if you want your people to go by the books, are your books updated with credible work instructions?
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
72 You reduce waste not by improving things, but by improving the “right” things.
73 In a seemingly “messy” conflict lies an opportunity to improve something.
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A well-defined problem is already half solved.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
75 No process will deliver results if your expectations of the process are unreasonable.
76 The only problems you can SOLVE are the ones you can SPOT.
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77 The three Es of a good process: efficient, effective, and enjoyable.
78 The best practices are contextual – they worked well for someone in a given context. Are you applying them in the right context?
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
79 Critical improvement goal: reduce the time spent on re-work and inspections.
80 EASY: improving what exists. DIFFICULT: identifying what is missing.
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Chapter III Management, Leadership, & Quality No organizational or cultural improvement is possible without management commitment. Leaders play a pivotal role in “aligning” the organizational values, processes, and people to a common vision. Commitment to quality begins at the top and trickles down in an organization. This chapter addresses the “soft” aspect (but often a “hard” one) of what is required of management and leadership to drive excellence.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
81 The core of a quality system is having confident managers who realize that caring management does not mean weak management.
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82 Quality101: deliver better quality than you would expect as a customer.
83 Quality improvement is like a high-jump; after each success, the bar is raised further.
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When you use quality metrics against people, you are giving them a reason for NOT following your processes.
85 Mutual trust and commitment to improve form the soil in which the seeds of quality are sown.
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86 Quality is not “something extra” that you do. It is a MUST for long-term differentiation.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
87 The pursuit of quality is not about “meeting their needs” but about “exceeding their expectations consistently.”
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88 Culture breeds quality. The key is to create a culture of collaboration and trust to foster innovation.
89 Most principles of quality management are nothing but the application of common sense.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
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Compliance to process becomes a huge burden when you acquire certification only to increase your sales.
91 Quality is not “desirable and stated” any more. It is “essential and intended.”
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92 You can improve a lot in areas that have no tangible business impact. That’s a waste. Pick the right areas for improvement.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
93 Quality is never a short-term goal. It is a long-term differentiator.
94 Planning and building quality in your product is even more crucial when your budgets or schedules are constrained.
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95 Critical question: does your process make it easy for your customers to do business with you?
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
96 Tracking productivity without tracking the quality of output is like tracking the speed of a train without validating its direction.
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97 The quality of relationships, trust, and communication determines the quality of results!
98 Depending on luck for quality is ignorance. Quality needs planning. A lot of planning, actually.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
99 Total quality equates to operational improvements which ultimately result in cultural improvements.
100 Improve your managerial culture and you are already half way to improving your organizational culture.
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101 Middle management is the glue that joins long-term organizational goals with short-term improvement actions.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
102 Critical question: knowing that people will change only if they want to, how do you make sure that they “want” to change?
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103 A simple formula for knowing what needs improvement: observe, ask, and listen.
104 Motivating people for change requires leaders to know when to lead and when to manage.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
105 “Permission” to change (from top management) precedes your desire and ability to change.
106 You have built a right culture when people show up and say, “Here is what I can do,” rather than asking, “What can I do?”
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107 Quality culture improvement is an elephant which needs to be eaten one bite at a time.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
108 Building quality up front is a much smarter strategy than verifying quality later.
109 If successful improvement initiatives are not building a customer-oriented organization, your bus is moving too fast in the wrong lane!
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110 Your quality improvement initiative must improve (1) management behavior, (2) employee attitudes, and (3) innovation capacity.
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The ultimate goal of any quality initiative is to relentlessly build a continuously improving culture in pursuit of customer satisfaction.
112 Remember, if you perceive that you don’t need to improve, you won’t improve.
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113 If you take a 35,000-ft. view of your organization, you will ALWAYS find something that needs improvement.
114 The day you start rating yourself “excellent” in all departments is the day you stop improving as an organization.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
CAUTION: STEEP ROAD AHEAD...
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115 Caution: there is a steep road ahead for your business if you are delivering average quality at a high price.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
116 “Beauty is in eye of the beholder,” and, yes, “Quality is in the mind of the customer.”
117 Your ability to change within an ever-changing marketplace is a critical driver of your quality improvement initiative.
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118 Look for and keep excellent customers, for they will drive your process excellence.
119 You can settle for good enough OR you can strive for excellence. The choice is yours.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
120 Critical question: you have taken your customer’s feedback; have you REALLY acted upon it?
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121 The trust you build is directly proportional to the consistency of quality you deliver.
122 Did you know? Your customer can be your strongest partner in quality improvement initiative.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
“TRUST IS A CURRENCY”
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Deal with your customers with a currency called “TRUST.”
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
124 If you want the best quality, you need to give the best attention.
125 A great sales pitch won’t be able to save a mediocre product.
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126 Trying to improve culture without changing habits is like walking on a treadmill – it doesn’t take you anywhere.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
127 Small changes lead to the bigger changes. Your long-term goals must create a context for all of your shortterm improvements.
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128 Challenge #1: Focus on your leadership actions to set the right examples. Leaders model behaviors.
129 Quality enemy #1: micromanagement.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
130 Your workers watch you more than they listen to you. Action sets precedence.
131 There are no short cuts in quality, just like there are none in life!
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132 The only way to drive excellence is to attach rewards to customer-satisfaction data and not to process metrics.
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Question: How do I get the best out of my people? Answer: Be a coach and a mentor rather than a boss and a superior.
134 QUALITY = HARD + SOFT. Hard = data, statistics, and information. Soft = human attitudes, beliefs, and motivations.
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You can think of quality as an initiative or as a way of doing business.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
“REMARKABLE!”
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To become BIG, you first have to be REMARKABLE.
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People work for a leader who works for their people.
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138 Humility to accept that something is wrong is the first step to improvement.
139 A lack of empowerment, education, and empathy can be your biggest roadblock to improvement.
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
140 For a quality improvement initiative, good news and bad news are ALWAYS better than no news.
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About the Author
Tanmay Vora heads Quality Assurance & Testing at Gateway TechnoLabs, an offshore software service company based in India. Tanmay has 12 years of diverse experience in software development methodologies, quality management, and process-improvement initiatives. He specializes in building independent testing teams from scratch. Tanmay has been actively associated with professional organizations like the Project Management Institute and Computer Society of India. He has served Computer Society of India as a member of the managing committee. He speaks and consults on Software Quality Assurance and blogs at http://www.qaspire.com/blog. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tnvora. He loves writing real-life short stories, reading, music, and is a passionate explorer of management and leadership subjects. He currently lives at Ahmedabad (India).
140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project
‘#QUALITYtweet’ 140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Deliver Quality in Every Project Superior quality is one of the many ways to differentiate in a competitive marketplace. The essence of ‘#QUALITYtweet’ is to offer practical and relevant insights on a seemingly complex subject of quality. ‘#QUALITYtweet’ offers fresh perspectives on core of a quality systems, i.e., people, processes, and management culture.
The purpose of any quality improvement initiatives is twofold: (1) to generate a quality culture within the organization, and (2) to offer substantial value to customers by virtue of quality products and services. ‘#QUALITYtweet’ addresses these core areas of any improvement initiative.
Organizations can either treat quality as an “initiative” or as a “way of doing business”; their choice makes all the difference between success and failure in the long run.
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