Source: Course Work Scenario
Figure 2 – Check Sheet for Wishton House
2.2. Cause and Effect Diagram
Cause and Effect Diagrams, also known as Fish Bone Diagrams are basically used to search the causes of a certain problem. In this case my partner and I had a brainstorming session where we came up with the main problem of the Software Development team, and also the probable causes of these problems.
Figure 3, shows a Cause and Effect Diagram that we generated for Wishton House.
Figure 3 – Fish Bone Diagram for Wishton House
2.3. Pareto Analysis
The Pareto Analysis in simple is a Technique which could be used to classify areas in which problems lie, giving prominence to them according to their importance, where the most import areas are given more prominence.
Following is a Pareto Chart (Figure 3) which we made using the data given in Figure 2.
Figure 3 – Pareto Chart for Wishton House
Question 3 - Quality Techniques and their Implications
Getting up to a level of quality and maintaining that level is a hard thing to do as an organization. To successfully do this there are a defined set of quality techniques which are more than useful for all the organizations around.
3.1 Total Quality Management (TQM)
The theory of achieving customer satisfaction through improving the level of quality using every single individual in an organization is known as TQM. (Refer appendix 2 for more information on TQM)
- Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)
This refers to the frequent improvement of factors related to the whole process of turning inputs into outputs. This is also known as Kaizen which is a Japanese word.
This can be related to the Wishton House because the main aim of the organization is producing software and these soft ware technologies keep on changing at a rapid pace, so continuously monitoring the new developments within the soft ware environment and making improvements accordingly will help the Wishton House in a big way to improve their quality levels.
Benchmarking is another element of TQM; this can simply be referred to as learning from the best. Organizations tend to choose the best companies of a particular field and according to those companies they change their routines in order to be successful as the other.
The Wishton House can look at a similar soft ware development organization which has gained more compared to it; SonnyView Media Corporation which is the parent company of the Wishton house has gained a lot of success and it would be of great use to the Wishton house if they were able to identify SonnyView as their benchmark. This will enable them to identify the weak areas of the company as well as the areas which can be improved.
3.2 Six sigma
This is a business process which can be used as a quality management technique at various organizations. Improving quality, reducing cost and increasing customer satisfaction are the main aims of incorporating this process. This comprise of 5 methodical steps. (Refer appendix 3 for in-depth information on six sigma)
Define – This step is all about clearly getting an overall idea of the business and its defects.
At the Wishton house there were defects visible with their software products as well as the problems with their Café. Clearly identifying all of them is very important in order to give them the necessary solutions.
Measure – Data and information about the defects which were identified in the earlier step is gathered within this step.
All the data and information about the defects at the Wishton House has to be gathered accordingly. The management at the Wishton House has to make sure that the correct data is gathered as it would ensure that the analysis would not run along a different path.
Analyze –The data that was collected in the previous step is analyzed here in order to identify the root causes for the defects as well as to identify the areas which can be improved on.
To come up with the necessary solutions for the problems, a proper analysis of the data that was gathered has to be carried out and the people who are responsible at the Wishton house has to make sure that it’s done properly.
Improve – Designing and implementing solutions for the defects is done here using the best technologies at the lowest possible cost.
The solutions have to be structured according to the results of the analysis and they have to be created in a way that they can easily be implemented into the routine of the Wishton house and its surrounding environment.
Control – This is where the focus is with keeping the process flowing in accordance with the new improvements.
To monitor the progress of the changes it would be best to keep a close check on the areas which were changed. Maintaining a data log after the changes is important as it will be useful to compare with the data which were taken before the change was made.
3.3. The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle (PDSA cycle / PDCA cycle / Deming wheel / Shewhart cycle)
This is a framework which is used for problem solving as well as improving organizational processes. (Refer appendix 4 for more information on the PDCA cycle)
Source – The Clinician's Black Bag of Quality Improvement Tools
Available at:
Figure 5 - The PDCA Cycle
Plan – This step is about studying the current process as well as the problems/defects that revolve around the organization and coming up with a plan to overcome the defects.
Special groups of people have to be assigned to each section of the Wishton house in order to identify the process and its defects as well as to plan out the necessary changes. The employees who work in each section can be assigned with this task.
Do – Implementing the plans and improvements that were brought up is mentioned here.
A proper implementation of changes has to be carried out where the cost of changing would be of minimum effect to the organization.
Study – Analyzing or keeping a close check on the new plans which were implemented earlier and verifying the successfulness of them.
There should be a separate data base maintained to study the after effects of the new changes as well as their effectiveness.
Act – This is where it is decided whether to standardize and communicate the changes or to abandon them.
The higher management should be able to identify the impact that the changes had on the organization and standardizing or abandoning them would be decided based on the successfulness of the changes.
Question 4 - Supplier Selection Process & Supplier Strategy
In any organization, effectively choosing your suppliers is vital. We recommend that the following steps be taken in the choosing of suppliers for the Café.
- Step 1: Choosing correct Supplier Sourcing Strategy
There are mainly two Sourcing Strategies, namely Single Sourcing and Multi Sourcing. Choosing the Sourcing Strategy best suited for the organization is important. Single Sourcing is to use a single supplier to supply a certain product, whereas Multi Sourcing is the opposite of it where you would use more than one supplier for a certain product.
We recommend that the Wishton House Café use Single Sourcing, considering the fact that it is a café that serves only around 150 -175 individuals. By doing so, it would be able to attain better quality in products via Supplier Quality Assurance, build stronger relationships with the supplier, and come to a greater commitment than by using Multi Sourcing.
- Step 2: Choosing best supplier
We recommend that choosing the best supplier be done under terms of which supplier that best match the Café’s. This can be done via a Scoring-Evaluation of each prospective supplier, where high weight age is given to café’s main requirement of them. We propose the following criteria and weight age for such an evaluation:
Factor Weight
- Cost - 10
- Quality Assurance - 10
- Dependability - 10
- Lead time and
Timelines of supply - 10
- Range - 8
- Flexibility - 8
- Location - 7
- Reputation - 5
- Other accounts - 5
After giving points to each prospective supplier, under the above criteria the supplier with the highest total of point would be chosen
- Step 3: Performing Supplier Audits
Frequent Audits should be performed on the suppliers to check if they remain on track with the requirements of the organization on the long run. This may be done using whole or part of the criteria used to select the supplier in Step 2.
- Step 4 (Optional): Creating Supplier Partnerships
Once a chosen supplier performs up to expectations for a reasonable period, the Café manager should go on to signing Supplier Partnerships. Thus sealing the deal on a long term relationship, which intern could result in higher quality, increased delivery speeds and reliability, lower inventory costs, lower cost, higher profits, and which basically will improve the operations quality of the Café.
Question 5 – Resource Implications of Recommendations
We have identified the following as the main resources of Wishton House that would be affected by our Recommendation for Quality Improvement:
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Man – human resource is one of the main aspects of any organization. The recommendations that we have given would impact the employees at the Wishton house where they have to be trained and well notified about the new developments. To raise the quality of an organization such as the Wishton house the management needs to search for ways to involve the employees in a regular basis towards the decision making of the Wishton house. The developers are the ones who know what the requirements are for the soft-wares so getting their ideas would help the Wishton house a lot to raise the quality of their products.
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Machine – In a software development organization such as the Wishton house machinery does a lot of work. To attain and maintain a level of quality these resources have to be upgraded accordingly. The benchmarking techniques would enable the Wishton house to get an idea about the latest technologies as well as the latest methodologies which are used and its essential to change the way they use their machinery as well as the way they use them in order to improve on the declining quality levels.
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Money – If a company is slowly but surely declining at what they do, that means that the time has come to make some changes according to the developments. To raise the quality of the products all the resources have to be upgraded in one way or the other, this means that the resource known as money would be spent on the other resources such as the employees and machinery.
References
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Anticlue, 2006. Dimensions of Product and Service Quality, [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 20th Feb 2009]
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ASQ, 2005, Six Sigma, [Online]. Available at: [Accessed on 23rd February 2009]
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Dale, V.D., 1999. Managing Quality, 3rd Edition. UK: Black Well Publishers
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LSS Academy, 2008. 8 Dimensions of Quality, [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 15th Feb 2009]
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Management Systems Inc., 2006. Ishikawa diagram. [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 20th February 2009]
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Slack, et al., 2004. Operations Management. 4th Edition. England: Prentice Hall Publishers
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Stevenson, W.J., 2006. Operations Management. 8th ed. London: McGraw-Hill Publishers
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The Clinician's Black Bag of Quality Improvement Tools, The PDCA Cycle [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 24th February 2009]
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University of Newcastle, 2008. Cause-and-Effect Diagrams [Online].Available at: [Accessed 20th February 2009]
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What is version control? Why is it important for due diligence? , 2007.[ Online]. Available at: [accessed 10 February 2009]
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Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2005, Total Quality management, [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 18th Feb 2009]
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Wikipedia online Encyclopedia, 2008. Pareto Chart [Online] Available at: [Accessed 22nd February2009]
Appendix 1 - Dimensions of product and service quality.
Dimension 1: Performance
Does the product or service do what it is supposed to do, within its defined tolerances?
Performance is often a source of contention between customers and suppliers, particularly when deliverables are not adequately defined within specifications.
The performance of a product often influences profitability or reputation of the end-user. As such, many contracts or specifications include damages related to inadequate performance.
Dimension 2: Features
Does the product or services possess all of the features specified, or required for its intended purpose?
While this dimension may seem obvious, performance specifications rarely define the features required in a product. Thus, it’s important that suppliers designing product or services from performance specifications are familiar with its intended uses, and maintain close relationships with the end-users.
Dimension 3: Reliability
Will the product consistently perform within specifications?
Reliability may be closely related to performance. For instance, a product specification may define parameters for up-time, or acceptable failure rates.
Reliability is a major contributor to brand or company image, and is considered a fundamental dimension of quality by most end-users.
Dimension 4: Conformance
Does the product or service conform to the specification?
If it’s developed based on a performance specification, does it perform as specified? If it’s developed based on a design specification, does it possess all of the features defined?
Dimension 5: Durability
How long will the product perform or last, and under what conditions?
Durability is closely related to warranty. Requirements for product durability are often included within procurement contracts and specifications.
For instance, fighter aircraft procured to operate from aircraft carriers include design criteria intended to improve their durability in the demanding naval environment.
Dimension 6: Serviceability
Is the product relatively easy to maintain and repair?
As end users become more focused on Total Cost of Ownership than simple procurement costs, serviceability (as well as reliability) is becoming an increasingly important dimension of quality and criteria for product selection.
Dimension 7: Aesthetics
The way a product looks is important to end-users. The aesthetic properties of a product contribute to a company’s or brand’s identity. Faults or defects in a product that diminish its aesthetic properties, even those that do not reduce or alter other dimensions of quality, are often cause for rejection.
Dimension 8: Perception
Perception is reality. The product or service may possess adequate or even superior dimensions of quality, but still fall victim to negative customer or public perceptions.
As an example, a high quality product may get the reputation for being low quality based on poor service by installation or field technicians. If the product is not installed or maintained properly, and fails as a result, the failure is often associated with the product’s quality rather than the quality of the service it receives
Source - http://lssacademy.com/2008/05/28/8-dimensions-of-quality/
service quality has several dimensions.
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Responsiveness - Responsiveness refers to the reaction time of the service.
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Assurance - Assurance refers to the level of certainty a customer has regarding the quality of the service provided.
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Tangibles - Tangibles refers to a service's look or feel.
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Empathy - Empathy is when a service employee shows that she understands and sympathizes with the customer's situation. The greater the level of this understanding, the better. Some situations require more empathy than others.
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Reliability - Reliability refers to the dependability of the service providers and their ability to keep their promises.
The quality of products and services can be measured by their dimensions. Evaluating all dimensions of a product or service helps to determine how well the service stacks up against meeting the customer requirements.
Source -
Appendix 2- Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total Quality Management is the organization wide management of quality. Management consists of planning, organizing, directing, control, and assurance. Total quality is called total because it consists of two qualities: quality of return to satisfy the needs of the shareholders, and quality of products.
The origin of the expression Total Quality Management is unclear.
"Total Quality Control" was the key concept of 's 1951 book, Quality Control: Principles, Practice, and Administration. In a chapter titled "Total Quality Control" Feigenbaum grabs on to an idea that sparked many scholars' interest in the following decades. The expression Total Quality Control existed together with the Japanese expression "" (CWQC) and the differences between the two expressions were unclear. Major influencers for both expressions were , , , and , known as the big four.
The expression Total Quality Management started to appear in the 1980s and there are two theories of its origin:
One theory is that Total Quality Management was created as an misinterpretation from Japanese to English since no difference exist between the words "control" and "management" in Japanese. . According to (American quality scholar and consultant, 1924-2002) was TQM first mentioned by Koji Kobayashi at (Nippon Electrical Company) in his speech when he received the Deming Prize in 1974.
The says that the term Total Quality Management was used by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command in 1984 to describe its Japanese-style management approach to quality improvement since they did not like the word control in Total Quality Control. The word management should then have been suggested by one of the employees, Nancy Warren. This is consistent with the story that the began researching the use of (SPC), the work of Juran, Crosby, and Ishikawa, and the philosophy of to make performance improvements in 1984. This approach was first tested at the .
Source -
Appendix 3 - Six sigma
Six Sigma is a fact-based, data-driven philosophy of quality improvement that values defect prevention over defect detection. It drives customer satisfaction and bottom-line results by reducing variation and waste, thereby promoting a competitive advantage. It applies anywhere variation and waste exist, and every employee should be involved.
In simple terms, Six Sigma quality performance means no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
Several different definitions have been proposed for Six Sigma, but they all share some common themes:
- Use of teams that are assigned well-defined projects that have direct impact on the organization's bottom line.
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Training in "statistical thinking" at all levels and providing key people with extensive training in advanced statistics and project management. These key people are designated (PDF, 755KB). .
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Emphasis on the (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) to problem solving.
- A management environment that supports these initiatives as a business strategy.
Six Sigma is a methodology— This view of Six Sigma recognizes the underlying and rigorous approach known as (define, measure, analyze, improve and control). DMAIC defines the steps a Six Sigma practitioner is expected to follow, starting with identifying the problem and ending with the implementation of long-lasting solutions. While DMAIC is not the only Six Sigma methodology in use, it is certainly the most widely adopted and recognized.
The DMAIC Methodology
Improvement teams use the DMAIC methodology to root out and eliminate the causes of defects:
D Define a problem or improvement opportunity.
M Measure process performance.
A Analyze the process to determine the root causes of poor performance; determine whether the process can be improved or should be redesigned.
I Improve the process by attacking root causes.
C Control the improved process to hold the gains.
Source - http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/six-sigma/overview/overview.html
Appendix 4
Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle
Also called: PDCA, plan–do–study–act (PDSA) cycle, Deming cycle, Shewhart cycle
Description
The plan–do–check–act cycle (Figure 1) is a four-step model for carrying out change. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement.
When to Use Plan-Do-Check-Act
- As a model for continuous improvement.
- When starting a new improvement project.
- When developing a new or improved design of a process, product or service.
- When defining a repetitive work process.
- When planning data collection and analysis in order to verify and prioritize problems or root causes.
- When implementing any change.
Plan-Do-Check-Act Procedure
- Plan. Recognize an opportunity and plan a change.
- Do. Test the change. Carry out a small-scale study.
- Study. Review the test, analyze the results and identify what you’ve learned.
- Act. Take action based on what you learned in the study step: If the change did not work, go through the cycle again with a different plan. If you were successful, incorporate what you learned from the test into wider changes. Use what you learned to plan new improvements, beginning the cycle again.
Source - http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/project-planning-tools/overview/pdca-cycle.html
