total-quality-management

Total Quality Management (TQM) Framework In A Nutshell

The Total Quality Management (TQM) framework is a technique based on the premise that employees continuously work on their ability to provide value to customers. Importantly, the word “total” means that all employees are involved in the process – regardless of whether they work in development, production, or fulfillment.

Understanding the TQM framework

The TQM framework was developed by management consultant William Deming who introduced it to the Japanese manufacturing industry.

Today, Toyota is perhaps the best example of the TQM framework in action. The carmaker has a “customer first” focus and a commitment to continuous improvement through “total participation”.

The focus of the TQM framework is the continual improvement of all processes with an organization, irrespective of whether they have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. 

Improvement comes from identifying and then removing or reducing errors that commonly occur in supply chain management, manufacturing, employee training, and customer experience.

The process of problem-solving and adding value to the customer experience is one where every individual takes an active role.

8 principles of Total Quality Management

While there is no universal approach to implementing a TQM framework, many businesses use the following eight principles. These are evergreen principles that can be applied to any industry and are incorporated in more modern management techniques.

1. Customer-focused

The TQM framework acknowledges that the customer is the final determiner of whether company processes are sufficiently high quality.

If the customer is not satisfied, then the company must refocus its efforts on understanding consumer needs and expectations on a deeper level.

2. Employee engagement

Engaged employees are empowered employees who are not fearful of losing their jobs. As a result, they have the confidence and experience to suggest and implement continuous improvement across many systems.

3. Process approach

Refining process is a fundamental component of the TQM framework. Here, refinement means processes are followed in a logical order to ensure consistency and increased productivity.

Flowcharts and visual action plans can be produced so that employees understand their responsibilities.

4. System integration

System integration means that every single employee in a company has a reasonable understanding of policies, standards, and objectives.

It is vital employees understand their roles and how they contribute to the greater success of the company – no matter how insignificant those contributions may seem.

5. Strategic and systematic approach

A business must develop strategies that are quality-centric.

Company mission statements and their associated goals and values should also reflect the quality-first approach to customer satisfaction.

6. Continual improvement

Continual improvement is important in developing a competitive advantage and also in meeting stakeholder expectations.

Toyota’s model for continual improvement places a high emphasis on employee participation, eliminating waste, and reducing bureaucracy.

These factors increase innovation and reduce costs, which ultimately flow to the consumer.

7. Decision-making based on facts

Informed decisions are derived from a deep understanding of a business’s market and its target audience.

Wherever possible, data should be collected to support employee experience and intuition concerning creating value for consumers.

8. Communication

Communication is an often overlooked yet vitally important part of any successful company.

It plays a key role in clarifying expectations while also increasing employee morale and motivation.

Communication also increases collaboration and innovation between previously separate departments in a single company.

How is TQM implemented?

TQM is implemented by following the PDCA cycle, a model that originated in the 1920s that is a core component of many modern quality frameworks.

Although the model was created by engineer and statistician Walter Shewhart, Deming was the one who was responsible for its wide distribution and so it is often called the Deming cycle.

With that said, below is a look at each of the four stages that comprise this cycle:

Plan (P)

The most important stage where affected stakeholders come together to determine the root cause of a problem via detailed research or analysis such as the Fishbone diagram, 5 Whys, or Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).

Do (D)

In the second stage, the stakeholders develop solutions to the problems identified in the planning stage.

Unlike Six Sigma, the PDCA cycle focuses more on whether employees deem a solution to be effective and less on measuring concrete gains.

Check (C)

Where a before-and-after check is performed to determine the effectiveness of the solution.

Any data can be compared to expected outcomes to ensure objectives are being met. Successful solutions should then be incorporated into broader processes and procedures to avoid problem recurrence. 

Act (A)

In the context of the TQM framework, the fourth and final stage encourages decision-makers to present the results of the test to relevant stakeholders to tell them what has occurred and to chart a way forward. 

TQM and the costs of quality

A fundamental component of the Total Quality Management framework is that the cost of doing something the right way is far less than doing it the wrong way and having to fix the mistake.

Nevertheless, some critics of the framework consider that the process of maintaining quality has an associated cost that cannot be recouped by the business.

To counter this view, Deming along with colleagues Joseph M. Juran and Armand V. Feigenbaum reframed the cost of quality as the cost of not producing a quality deliverable. These costs, they posited, were applicable across four categories:

  1. Prevention costs – or costs related to the creation of work areas that are safe and efficient. Prevention costs also encompass planning, training, and the conducting of regular reviews. The researchers noted that activities related to prevention were often allocated a minuscule amount of the company’s budget.
  2. External failure costs – these are costs incurred once a product has been released in the market, such as returns, repairs, recalls, or warranty claims.
  3. Internal failure costs – or the cost of any failure before the product has been released. Typical internal failures include faulty machinery, improper or poor quality raw materials, product design that requires multiple revisions, and scrapped product runs.
  4. Appraisal costs – these cover the cost of inspection and testing during the product development lifecycle, such as the evaluation of supplier materials.

Total Quality Management vs. Six Sigma

six-sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating errors or defects in a product, service, or process. Six Sigma was developed by Motorola as a management approach based on quality fundamentals in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was popularized by General Electric who estimated that the methodology saved them $12 billion in the first five years of operation.

Similar to total quality management, Six Sigma also seeks to reduce errors.

The specificity of Six Sigma is that if limits govern a process error that separates good and bad process outcomes, the Six Sigma approach has a process mean (average) that is six standard deviations from each limit.

This, Motorola found, provided enough buffer for natural variation in process outcomes to fall within the lower and upper limits.

Six Sigma usually goes through the following process:

And with the help of the following implementation roles:

Case Studies

Automotive Industry:

  • Toyota’s Lean Manufacturing: Toyota’s successful implementation of TQM principles through Lean Manufacturing has not only improved product quality but also reduced waste and increased production efficiency.
  • Ford’s Six Sigma Initiatives: Ford extensively utilizes Six Sigma methodologies to enhance product quality, eliminate defects, and optimize manufacturing processes.
  • Honda’s Quality Circles: Honda’s commitment to quality circles allows employees to actively participate in identifying and resolving quality-related issues, contributing to continuous improvement.

Hospitality Industry:

  • Marriott International’s Customer-Centric Approach: Marriott’s TQM approach revolves around ensuring exceptional customer experiences, personalized services, and high levels of customer satisfaction.
  • Ritz-Carlton’s Service Excellence: Ritz-Carlton has set industry standards for service quality by emphasizing attention to detail, employee training, and service consistency.

Aerospace Industry:

  • Boeing’s Quality Control: Boeing’s aerospace products adhere to rigorous quality control standards to ensure safety, reliability, and compliance with industry regulations.

E-commerce Industry:

  • Amazon’s Customer Service Excellence: Amazon’s relentless focus on customer service quality and satisfaction has made it a leader in the e-commerce industry.

Healthcare Industry:

  • Mayo Clinic’s Patient-Centric Care: Mayo Clinic’s TQM approach prioritizes patient safety, medical excellence, and continuous improvement in healthcare delivery.
  • Johnson & Johnson’s Product Safety: Johnson & Johnson is dedicated to ensuring the safety and quality of its healthcare products through robust quality assurance practices.

Logistics Industry:

  • FedEx’s Supply Chain Efficiency: FedEx places a strong emphasis on logistics efficiency, on-time deliveries, and error reduction to maintain its industry-leading position.

Technology Industry:

  • Microsoft’s Software Quality Assurance: Microsoft’s TQM practices include rigorous software testing, security measures, and continuous improvement to provide reliable and secure products.
  • Apple’s Product Quality: Apple maintains high product quality standards and user experience by implementing TQM principles in product design, manufacturing, and customer support.

Airline Industry:

  • Southwest Airlines’ Employee Empowerment: Southwest Airlines promotes employee engagement and empowerment, leading to exceptional customer service and operational efficiency.

Electronics Industry:

  • Samsung’s Quality Assurance: Samsung ensures the quality, performance, and reliability of its electronic products through comprehensive quality assurance processes.

Coffee Industry:

  • Starbucks’ Coffee Excellence: Starbucks maintains the quality of its coffee beans, beverage preparation, and customer experience across its global chain of coffeehouses.

Diverse Industry Applications:

  • General Electric’s Six Sigma Success: General Electric’s extensive use of Six Sigma methodologies has resulted in substantial cost savings, process improvements, and enhanced quality control across its diverse business divisions.
  • Walmart’s Supply Chain Management: Walmart leverages TQM principles in its supply chain management to reduce costs, minimize errors, and improve inventory control.

Key takeaways

  • The TQM framework is an approach to long-term success by increasing customer satisfaction through the reduction or elimination of errors.
  • At its core, the TQM framework emphasizes a total commitment to long-term change through a cohesive and collaborative approach to employee problem-solving.
  • The TQM framework utilizes eight principles with a focus on customers, communication, employees, and incremental improvements.

Key Highlights

  • TQM Overview: Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that focuses on continuous improvement and the provision of value to customers. It was developed by management consultant William Deming and introduced to the Japanese manufacturing industry.
  • Customer-Centric: TQM places the customer at the center of quality determination. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate measure of the effectiveness of company processes.
  • Employee Engagement: Engaged employees are empowered to contribute to continuous improvement, as they are not afraid of repercussions. They actively participate in identifying and implementing improvements across various systems.
  • Process Approach: TQM emphasizes refining processes to ensure consistency and increased productivity. Flowcharts and visual action plans are used to ensure logical process order.
  • System Integration: All employees in a company should understand the policies, standards, and objectives. Each employee’s role and contribution to the company’s success are significant, regardless of their function.
  • Strategic Approach: TQM encourages the development of quality-centric strategies, ensuring that company goals and values reflect a customer-first approach.
  • Continual Improvement: TQM promotes a culture of continuous improvement, aiming to gain a competitive advantage, meet stakeholder expectations, and reduce costs.
  • Data-Driven Decision-Making: Informed decisions are made by collecting data to understand the market, target audience, and customer needs, enhancing the ability to add value to the customer experience.
  • Communication: Effective communication plays a pivotal role in increasing employee morale, collaboration, and innovation. It fosters a holistic understanding of the company’s objectives.
  • Implementation Process – PDCA Cycle: TQM is implemented through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, a model introduced by Walter Shewhart and popularized by Deming.
  • Plan (P): Stakeholders collaborate to identify the root cause of a problem through analysis methods like Fishbone diagrams or 5 Whys.
  • Do (D): Solutions to identified problems are developed and implemented based on employee feedback and effectiveness.
  • Check (C): Effectiveness of solutions is assessed through before-and-after comparisons, ensuring objectives are met. Successful solutions are integrated into broader processes.
  • Act (A): Results of the test are presented to stakeholders, and a plan for moving forward is charted.
  • Costs of Quality: TQM emphasizes that the cost of ensuring quality is less than fixing mistakes. Critics’ concerns about quality costs are countered by viewing them as the cost of not producing quality deliverables.
  • Cost Categories: Costs of quality are divided into prevention costs (creating safe and efficient work areas), external failure costs (post-release issues), internal failure costs (pre-release issues), and appraisal costs (inspection and testing).
  • TQM vs. Six Sigma: TQM and Six Sigma both focus on reducing errors and continuous improvement. Six Sigma is data-driven and aims to reduce defects by setting specific process error limits (Six Sigma level).
  • Key Benefits: TQM leads to long-term success by enhancing customer satisfaction through error reduction and continuous improvement. It emphasizes a collaborative approach to employee problem-solving and a commitment to change.

Read Also: Continuous InnovationAgile MethodologyLean StartupBusiness Model InnovationProject Management.

Read Next: Agile Methodology, Lean Methodology, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma.

Connected Agile & Lean Frameworks

AIOps

aiops
AIOps is the application of artificial intelligence to IT operations. It has become particularly useful for modern IT management in hybridized, distributed, and dynamic environments. AIOps has become a key operational component of modern digital-based organizations, built around software and algorithms.

AgileSHIFT

AgileSHIFT
AgileSHIFT is a framework that prepares individuals for transformational change by creating a culture of agility.

Agile Methodology

agile-methodology
Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business.

Agile Program Management

agile-program-management
Agile Program Management is a means of managing, planning, and coordinating interrelated work in such a way that value delivery is emphasized for all key stakeholders. Agile Program Management (AgilePgM) is a disciplined yet flexible agile approach to managing transformational change within an organization.

Agile Project Management

agile-project-management
Agile project management (APM) is a strategy that breaks large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. In the APM methodology, each project is completed in small sections – often referred to as iterations. Each iteration is completed according to its project life cycle, beginning with the initial design and progressing to testing and then quality assurance.

Agile Modeling

agile-modeling
Agile Modeling (AM) is a methodology for modeling and documenting software-based systems. Agile Modeling is critical to the rapid and continuous delivery of software. It is a collection of values, principles, and practices that guide effective, lightweight software modeling.

Agile Business Analysis

agile-business-analysis
Agile Business Analysis (AgileBA) is certification in the form of guidance and training for business analysts seeking to work in agile environments. To support this shift, AgileBA also helps the business analyst relate Agile projects to a wider organizational mission or strategy. To ensure that analysts have the necessary skills and expertise, AgileBA certification was developed.

Agile Leadership

agile-leadership
Agile leadership is the embodiment of agile manifesto principles by a manager or management team. Agile leadership impacts two important levels of a business. The structural level defines the roles, responsibilities, and key performance indicators. The behavioral level describes the actions leaders exhibit to others based on agile principles. 

Andon System

andon-system
The andon system alerts managerial, maintenance, or other staff of a production process problem. The alert itself can be activated manually with a button or pull cord, but it can also be activated automatically by production equipment. Most Andon boards utilize three colored lights similar to a traffic signal: green (no errors), yellow or amber (problem identified, or quality check needed), and red (production stopped due to unidentified issue).

Bimodal Portfolio Management

bimodal-portfolio-management
Bimodal Portfolio Management (BimodalPfM) helps an organization manage both agile and traditional portfolios concurrently. Bimodal Portfolio Management – sometimes referred to as bimodal development – was coined by research and advisory company Gartner. The firm argued that many agile organizations still needed to run some aspects of their operations using traditional delivery models.

Business Innovation Matrix

business-innovation
Business innovation is about creating new opportunities for an organization to reinvent its core offerings, revenue streams, and enhance the value proposition for existing or new customers, thus renewing its whole business model. Business innovation springs by understanding the structure of the market, thus adapting or anticipating those changes.

Business Model Innovation

business-model-innovation
Business model innovation is about increasing the success of an organization with existing products and technologies by crafting a compelling value proposition able to propel a new business model to scale up customers and create a lasting competitive advantage. And it all starts by mastering the key customers.

Constructive Disruption

constructive-disruption
A consumer brand company like Procter & Gamble (P&G) defines “Constructive Disruption” as: a willingness to change, adapt, and create new trends and technologies that will shape our industry for the future. According to P&G, it moves around four pillars: lean innovation, brand building, supply chain, and digitalization & data analytics.

Continuous Innovation

continuous-innovation
That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business model. Continuous innovation is a mindset where products and services are designed and delivered to tune them around the customers’ problem and not the technical solution of its founders.

Design Sprint

design-sprint
A design sprint is a proven five-day process where critical business questions are answered through speedy design and prototyping, focusing on the end-user. A design sprint starts with a weekly challenge that should finish with a prototype, test at the end, and therefore a lesson learned to be iterated.

Design Thinking

design-thinking
Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO, defined design thinking as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Therefore, desirability, feasibility, and viability are balanced to solve critical problems.

DevOps

devops-engineering
DevOps refers to a series of practices performed to perform automated software development processes. It is a conjugation of the term “development” and “operations” to emphasize how functions integrate across IT teams. DevOps strategies promote seamless building, testing, and deployment of products. It aims to bridge a gap between development and operations teams to streamline the development altogether.

Dual Track Agile

dual-track-agile
Product discovery is a critical part of agile methodologies, as its aim is to ensure that products customers love are built. Product discovery involves learning through a raft of methods, including design thinking, lean start-up, and A/B testing to name a few. Dual Track Agile is an agile methodology containing two separate tracks: the “discovery” track and the “delivery” track.

eXtreme Programming

extreme-programming
eXtreme Programming was developed in the late 1990s by Ken Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham. During this time, the trio was working on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3) to help manage the company payroll system. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology. It is designed to improve software quality and the ability of software to adapt to changing customer needs.

Feature-Driven Development

feature-driven-development
Feature-Driven Development is a pragmatic software process that is client and architecture-centric. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an agile software development model that organizes workflow according to which features need to be developed next.

Gemba Walk

gemba-walk
A Gemba Walk is a fundamental component of lean management. It describes the personal observation of work to learn more about it. Gemba is a Japanese word that loosely translates as “the real place”, or in business, “the place where value is created”. The Gemba Walk as a concept was created by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System of lean manufacturing. Ohno wanted to encourage management executives to leave their offices and see where the real work happened. This, he hoped, would build relationships between employees with vastly different skillsets and build trust.

GIST Planning

gist-planning
GIST Planning is a relatively easy and lightweight agile approach to product planning that favors autonomous working. GIST Planning is a lean and agile methodology that was created by former Google product manager Itamar Gilad. GIST Planning seeks to address this situation by creating lightweight plans that are responsive and adaptable to change. GIST Planning also improves team velocity, autonomy, and alignment by reducing the pervasive influence of management. It consists of four blocks: goals, ideas, step-projects, and tasks.

ICE Scoring

ice-scoring-model
The ICE Scoring Model is an agile methodology that prioritizes features using data according to three components: impact, confidence, and ease of implementation. The ICE Scoring Model was initially created by author and growth expert Sean Ellis to help companies expand. Today, the model is broadly used to prioritize projects, features, initiatives, and rollouts. It is ideally suited for early-stage product development where there is a continuous flow of ideas and momentum must be maintained.

Innovation Funnel

innovation-funnel
An innovation funnel is a tool or process ensuring only the best ideas are executed. In a metaphorical sense, the funnel screens innovative ideas for viability so that only the best products, processes, or business models are launched to the market. An innovation funnel provides a framework for the screening and testing of innovative ideas for viability.

Innovation Matrix

types-of-innovation
According to how well defined is the problem and how well defined the domain, we have four main types of innovations: basic research (problem and domain or not well defined); breakthrough innovation (domain is not well defined, the problem is well defined); sustaining innovation (both problem and domain are well defined); and disruptive innovation (domain is well defined, the problem is not well defined).

Innovation Theory

innovation-theory
The innovation loop is a methodology/framework derived from the Bell Labs, which produced innovation at scale throughout the 20th century. They learned how to leverage a hybrid innovation management model based on science, invention, engineering, and manufacturing at scale. By leveraging individual genius, creativity, and small/large groups.

Lean vs. Agile

lean-methodology-vs-agile
The Agile methodology has been primarily thought of for software development (and other business disciplines have also adopted it). Lean thinking is a process improvement technique where teams prioritize the value streams to improve it continuously. Both methodologies look at the customer as the key driver to improvement and waste reduction. Both methodologies look at improvement as something continuous.

Lean Startup

startup-company
A startup company is a high-tech business that tries to build a scalable business model in tech-driven industries. A startup company usually follows a lean methodology, where continuous innovation, driven by built-in viral loops is the rule. Thus, driving growth and building network effects as a consequence of this strategy.

Minimum Viable Product

minimum-viable-product
As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology.

Leaner MVP

leaner-mvp
A leaner MVP is the evolution of the MPV approach. Where the market risk is validated before anything else

Kanban

kanban
Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy.

Jidoka

jidoka
Jidoka was first used in 1896 by Sakichi Toyoda, who invented a textile loom that would stop automatically when it encountered a defective thread. Jidoka is a Japanese term used in lean manufacturing. The term describes a scenario where machines cease operating without human intervention when a problem or defect is discovered.

PDCA Cycle

pdca-cycle
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle was first proposed by American physicist and engineer Walter A. Shewhart in the 1920s. The PDCA cycle is a continuous process and product improvement method and an essential component of the lean manufacturing philosophy.

Rational Unified Process

rational-unified-process
Rational unified process (RUP) is an agile software development methodology that breaks the project life cycle down into four distinct phases.

Rapid Application Development

rapid-application-development
RAD was first introduced by author and consultant James Martin in 1991. Martin recognized and then took advantage of the endless malleability of software in designing development models. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a methodology focusing on delivering rapidly through continuous feedback and frequent iterations.

Retrospective Analysis

retrospective-analysis
Retrospective analyses are held after a project to determine what worked well and what did not. They are also conducted at the end of an iteration in Agile project management. Agile practitioners call these meetings retrospectives or retros. They are an effective way to check the pulse of a project team, reflect on the work performed to date, and reach a consensus on how to tackle the next sprint cycle. These are the five stages of a retrospective analysis for effective Agile project management: set the stage, gather the data, generate insights, decide on the next steps, and close the retrospective.

Scaled Agile

scaled-agile-lean-development
Scaled Agile Lean Development (ScALeD) helps businesses discover a balanced approach to agile transition and scaling questions. The ScALed approach helps businesses successfully respond to change. Inspired by a combination of lean and agile values, ScALed is practitioner-based and can be completed through various agile frameworks and practices.

SMED

smed
The SMED (single minute exchange of die) method is a lean production framework to reduce waste and increase production efficiency. The SMED method is a framework for reducing the time associated with completing an equipment changeover.

Spotify Model

spotify-model
The Spotify Model is an autonomous approach to scaling agile, focusing on culture communication, accountability, and quality. The Spotify model was first recognized in 2012 after Henrik Kniberg, and Anders Ivarsson released a white paper detailing how streaming company Spotify approached agility. Therefore, the Spotify model represents an evolution of agile.

Test-Driven Development

test-driven-development
As the name suggests, TDD is a test-driven technique for delivering high-quality software rapidly and sustainably. It is an iterative approach based on the idea that a failing test should be written before any code for a feature or function is written. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an approach to software development that relies on very short development cycles.

Timeboxing

timeboxing
Timeboxing is a simple yet powerful time-management technique for improving productivity. Timeboxing describes the process of proactively scheduling a block of time to spend on a task in the future. It was first described by author James Martin in a book about agile software development.

Scrum

what-is-scrum
Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.

Scrumban

scrumban
Scrumban is a project management framework that is a hybrid of two popular agile methodologies: Scrum and Kanban. Scrumban is a popular approach to helping businesses focus on the right strategic tasks while simultaneously strengthening their processes.

Scrum Anti-Patterns

scrum-anti-patterns
Scrum anti-patterns describe any attractive, easy-to-implement solution that ultimately makes a problem worse. Therefore, these are the practice not to follow to prevent issues from emerging. Some classic examples of scrum anti-patterns comprise absent product owners, pre-assigned tickets (making individuals work in isolation), and discounting retrospectives (where review meetings are not useful to really make improvements).

Scrum At Scale

scrum-at-scale
Scrum at Scale (Scrum@Scale) is a framework that Scrum teams use to address complex problems and deliver high-value products. Scrum at Scale was created through a joint venture between the Scrum Alliance and Scrum Inc. The joint venture was overseen by Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of Scrum and one of the principal authors of the Agile Manifesto.

Six Sigma

six-sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating errors or defects in a product, service, or process. Six Sigma was developed by Motorola as a management approach based on quality fundamentals in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was popularized by General Electric who estimated that the methodology saved them $12 billion in the first five years of operation.

Stretch Objectives

stretch-objectives
Stretch objectives describe any task an agile team plans to complete without expressly committing to do so. Teams incorporate stretch objectives during a Sprint or Program Increment (PI) as part of Scaled Agile. They are used when the agile team is unsure of its capacity to attain an objective. Therefore, stretch objectives are instead outcomes that, while extremely desirable, are not the difference between the success or failure of each sprint.

Toyota Production System

toyota-production-system
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an early form of lean manufacturing created by auto-manufacturer Toyota. Created by the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1940s and 50s, the Toyota Production System seeks to manufacture vehicles ordered by customers most quickly and efficiently possible.

Total Quality Management

total-quality-management
The Total Quality Management (TQM) framework is a technique based on the premise that employees continuously work on their ability to provide value to customers. Importantly, the word “total” means that all employees are involved in the process – regardless of whether they work in development, production, or fulfillment.

Waterfall

waterfall-model
The waterfall model was first described by Herbert D. Benington in 1956 during a presentation about the software used in radar imaging during the Cold War. Since there were no knowledge-based, creative software development strategies at the time, the waterfall method became standard practice. The waterfall model is a linear and sequential project management framework. 

Read Also: Continuous InnovationAgile MethodologyLean StartupBusiness Model InnovationProject Management.

Read Next: Agile Methodology, Lean Methodology, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma.

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