MEASUREMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

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MEASUREMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Alice thought she had never seen such a curious croquet-ground in her life: it was all ridges and furrows: the croquet balls were live hedgehogs, and the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches.
The chiefdifficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo: she succeeded in getting its body tucked away, comfortably enough, under her arm, with its legs hanging down, but generally, just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, it would twist itself round and look up in her face, with such a puzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing; and, when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again, it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself, and was in the act of crawling away: besides all this, there was generally a ridge or a furrow in the way whenever she wanted to send the hedgehog to, and, as the double-up soldiers were always getting up and walking off to other parts ofthe ground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll 1865)
The croquet game that Alice had to play very much depicts the ever-changing face of businesses today.
The aim of this chapter is to obtain a perspective on the multitude of measurement issues within the total quality management movement. The chapter is divided into four sections: background on the quality field, the strategic aspects of measurement in perspective, the measurement of quality management and quantitative structures for process improvement.
In the first section, an overview is given ofthe development of the total quality field, i.e. the period of inspection, then quality control, quality assurance and currently strategic quality management.
The second section consists of a comprehensive and integrated discussion on internal and external measurement aspects that relate to quality in it’s strategic importance context. Aspects that are covered are the instrumental role of measurement in the link of quality to strategic and financial management; customer measurement; performance, measurement and quality; supplier measurement; quality and measurement systems; and the role of measurement in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
The third section covers the measurement of quality management. An instrument for measuring the critical factors of quality management, developed by Saraph et al. (1989), as well as the use of this instrument to test the effect of organisational context on quality management by means of an empirical study (Benson et al. 1991 ), is described. A framework for quality management research and an associated measurement instrument (Flynn et al. 1994) are also described and compared to the work of Saraph et al. (1989).
The fourth section describes quantitative structures for process improvement currently used in industry as a vehicle to support, control and measure improvement.
The quality management maturity grid, cleanroom software engineering, software factories, quality function deployment, the seven planning tools and benchmarking are described in terms of what each constitutes and where it has been applied.
 

BACKGROUND

The development in the quality field, from the initial period of inspection to the current period of strategic quality management, is summarised. Garvin (1988) organises the discoveries in the quality field into four distinct « quality era’s »: inspection, statistical quality control, quality assurance and strategic quality management. Measurement has been, and still is, an integral part of the process of achieving quality. It is the vital link in the quality chain.
The summary is extracted from Garvin  (1988).

THE PERIOD OF INSPECTION

The evolvement of mass production and the need for interchangeable parts were the reasons that necessitated formal inspection.
The key breakthrough (quality control wise) was the development of a rational jig, fixture and gauging system in the early 1800’s. Jigs and.fixtures are devices that position tools or hold parts while  they are  being worked on,  keeping them fixed to  the  equipment so  that machining operations can be performed accurately and precisely (Garvin 1988: 4). A system of gauges (gauges, like jig and fixtures, were based on a standard model of the product to ensure uniformity) was often used for ensuring accurate inspection of products.
Frederick W. Taylor (early 1900’s) gave the activity ofinspection added legitimacy by singling it out as an assigned task for one of the eight functional bosses (foremen) required for effective shop management: The inspector is responsible for the quality of the work, and both the workmen and the speed bosses (who see that the proper cutting tools are used, that the work is properly driven, and that the cuts are started in the right part of the piece) must see that the work is.finished to suit him. This man can, of course, do his work best if he is a master of the art of. finishing work both well and quickly (Garvin 1988: 5).
In 1922, inspection activities were linked more formally with quality control with the publication ofG.S. Radford’s « The control of quality in manufacturing ». Although the primary focus was on inspection, emphasising conformance and its link with inspection, quality was, for the first time, viewed as a management responsibility and as an independent function. A number of principles that are regarded as central to modem-day quality control was also touched on: the need to get designers involved early in quality activities, the needfor close coordination among the various departments affecting quality and the association of quality improvement with increased output and lower costs.
Quality control activities, at that stage, included inspection, counting, grading and repair.
Research conducted at Bell Telephone Laboratories proved to be the instrument for change leading to the following « era »: that of statistical quality control, which will now be described.
 

STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL

In a memo dated May 1924, Walter A Shewart proposed the control chart for the analysis of inspection data. This marks the beginning of modern methods of quality and reliability.
Shewart published his « Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product » in 1931. It gave the discipline of quality a scientific foundation. Garvin ( 1988: 6) remarks: Much ofmodern-day quality control can be traced to that single volume. Shewart gave a precise and measurable definition of manufacturing control, developed powerful techniques for monitoring and evaluating day-to-day production, and suggested a variety ofways of improving quality.
Shewart was part of a research group on quality problems at Bell Telephone Laboratories. The group also included Harold Dodge, Harry Romig, G.D.Edwards and later Joseph Juran. They were largely responsible for creating the discipline of statistical quality control as it is known today.
The critical aspects of process control and sampling within quality control, as well as the impact of World War II on the discipline of quality control, are briefly described.

Process control

Shewart was the first person to recognise that variability was a fact of industrial life and that it can be explained by using the principles of probability and statistics.
The entire analysis of process control grew out of Shewart’s concept of statistical control: A phenomenon will be said to be controlled when, through the use ofpast experience, we can predict, at least within limits, how the phenomenon may be expected to vary in the future. Here it is understood that prediction means that we can state, at least approximately, the probability that the ob
The process control chart, still one of the most powerful tools for quality personnel today, was also developed by Shewart.

Sampling

The second critical element in the growth of statistical quality control, sampling, was advanced by Harold Dodge and Harry Romig. An important development was the « Average Outgoing Quality Limit ». It indicated the maximum percentage of defective units that a process would produce under two conditions: sampling inspection by lots, and the individual separation of good from bad items in all lots that had already been rejected on the basis of sampling.
Most of the original work was published in technical journals with limited circulation. The techniques were thus mainly used within the Bell companies.

Impact of World War II

The discipline of quality control grew tremendously in this time. Several aspects that indicate the growth of the discipline during this time include: the establishment of a committee in December 1940 to draft standards in the area of quality by the War Department, the publishing of these standards in 1941 and 1942 and the consequent establishment of a Quality Control section in the War Department, staffed to a great extent by statisticians from the Bell Laboratories.
Applications of the techniques were very successful. Training programs were initiated with the aim to extend the use of the techniques to other branches of industry.
Local societies for Quality Control were formed by former students of courses. The American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) was formed in 1946. The first United States journal on quality, called Industrial Quality Control, was published in 1944. This has later become Quality Progress, the official magazine of the ASQC.
By the late 1940’s, quality control was established as a recognised discipline. The methods were primarily statistical, and the impact confined to the factory floor. This only changed when several key works were published in the 1950’s and the 1960’s that led to the era of quality assurance.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

In the period of quality assurance, quality evolved from a manufacturing discipline to one with broader implication for management. The tools for the profession expanded far beyond statistics. Four separate elements were involved in the evolution process: quantifying the cost of quality, total quality control, reliability engineering and zero defects. Together, they have led to a proactive approach to quality. Each of these will be briefly described.

The cost of quality

With the growing awareness of quality, a critical question arises concerning costs: How much quality is enough?
Joseph Juran tackled the question in the first edition of his Quality Control Handbook ( 1951 ). The famous analogy of failure costs to « gold in the mine » was proposed in the initial chapter of his book. This book became the profession’s main reference at the time. Managers had a way to decide how much money to invest in quality improvement. It also underlined the importance of another principle, namely that decisions made early in the production chain had implications for the level of quality costs incurred later on.

Total quality control

Armand Feigenbaum proposed the concept of « Total Quality Control » in 1956: The underlying principle of this total quality view … is that, to provide genuine effectiveness, control must start with the design ofthe product and end only when the product has been placed in the hands ofa customer that remains satisjied … the first principle to recognize is that qua/tty is everybody’s job
(Garvin 1988: 13).

CHAPTERl INTRODUCTION
1.1 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER2 EVOLUTION OF THE QUALITY CONCEPT
2.1 APPROACHES TO QUALITY
2.2 MULTIDIMENSIONALITY
2.3 THE EVOLUTION OF THE QUALITY DIMENSIONS
2.4 MEASUREMENT AND USE OF THE QUALITY DIMENSION CONCEPT
2.5 THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE QUALITY DIMENSIONS
2.6 REDEFINING THE QUALITY DIMENSIONS FOR PROCESSES
2.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTERJ MEASUREMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
3.1 BACKGROUND
3.2 STRATEGIC MEASUREMENT ASPECTS IN PERSPECTIVE
3.3 MEASURING QUALITY MANAGEMENT
3.4 QUANTITATIVE STRUCTURES FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
3.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 SOFTWARE METRICS PROGRAMS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DEFINITIONS
4.3 IMPLEMENTATION ASPECTS OF A SOFTWARE METRICS PROGRAM
4.4 THE STATE OF METRIC PROGRAM PRACTISES GLOBALLY
4.5 EXTENDING THE METRIC APPROACH TO OTHER INDUSTRIES
4.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5 STRATEGIC MEASUREMENT ISSUES IN SOFTWARE
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 SOFTWARE RELIABILITY
5.3 SOFTWARE COST ESTIMATION
5.4 SOFTWARE COST ESTIMATION MODELS – THE NONLINEAR QUESTION REVISITED
5.5 SOFTWARE COST ESTIMATION MODELS AND PROJECT
MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES – FRIENDS OR FOES?
CHAPTER 6 QUANTIFICATION ASPECTS OF UNCERTAINTY IN ACTIVITY DURATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 DEFINITIONS
6.3 ACTIVITY DURATION ESTIMATES
6.4 A REVIEW OF ACTIVITY DURATION DISTRIBUTIONS
6.5 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ACTIVITY DURATION DISTRIBUTIONS
6.6 SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ACTIVITY DURATION DISTRIBUTIONS
6.7 A REVIEW OF ESTIMATION ISSUES RELATING TO ACTIVITY DURATIONS
6.8 CURRENT RESEARCH
6.9 CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
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TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) STRATEGIC MEASUREMENT PERSPECTIVE WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY