problem solving in quality assurance

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Case studies, problem solving related topics.

What is Problem Solving?.

Quality Glossary Definition: Problem solving

Problem solving is the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution.

Problem Solving Chart

The Problem-Solving Process

In order to effectively manage and run a successful organization, leadership must guide their employees and develop problem-solving techniques. Finding a suitable solution for issues can be accomplished by following the basic four-step problem-solving process and methodology outlined below.

1. Define the problem

Diagnose the situation so that your focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. Helpful problem-solving techniques include using flowcharts to identify the expected steps of a process and cause-and-effect diagrams to define and analyze root causes .

The sections below help explain key problem-solving steps. These steps support the involvement of interested parties, the use of factual information, comparison of expectations to reality, and a focus on root causes of a problem. You should begin by:

2. Generate alternative solutions

Postpone the selection of one solution until several problem-solving alternatives have been proposed. Considering multiple alternatives can significantly enhance the value of your ideal solution. Once you have decided on the "what should be" model, this target standard becomes the basis for developing a road map for investigating alternatives. Brainstorming and team problem-solving techniques are both useful tools in this stage of problem solving.

Many alternative solutions to the problem should be generated before final evaluation. A common mistake in problem solving is that alternatives are evaluated as they are proposed, so the first acceptable solution is chosen, even if it’s not the best fit. If we focus on trying to get the results we want, we miss the potential for learning something new that will allow for real improvement in the problem-solving process.

3. Evaluate and select an alternative

Skilled problem solvers use a series of considerations when selecting the best alternative. They consider the extent to which:

4. Implement and follow up on the solution

Leaders may be called upon to direct others to implement the solution, "sell" the solution, or facilitate the implementation with the help of others. Involving others in the implementation is an effective way to gain buy-in and support and minimize resistance to subsequent changes.

Regardless of how the solution is rolled out, feedback channels should be built into the implementation. This allows for continuous monitoring and testing of actual events against expectations. Problem solving, and the techniques used to gain clarity, are most effective if the solution remains in place and is updated to respond to future changes.

You can also search articles , case studies , and publications for problem solving resources.

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Root Cause Analysis: The Core of Problem Solving and Corrective Action

One Good Idea: Some Sage Advice ( Quality Progress ) The person with the problem just wants it to go away quickly, and the problem-solvers also want to resolve it in as little time as possible because they have other responsibilities. Whatever the urgency, effective problem-solvers have the self-discipline to develop a complete description of the problem.

Diagnostic Quality Problem Solving: A Conceptual Framework And Six Strategies ( Quality Management Journal ) This paper contributes a conceptual framework for the generic process of diagnosis in quality problem solving by identifying its activities and how they are related.

Weathering The Storm ( Quality Progress ) Even in the most contentious circumstances, this approach describes how to sustain customer-supplier relationships during high-stakes problem solving situations to actually enhance customer-supplier relationships.

The Right Questions ( Quality Progress ) All problem solving begins with a problem description. Make the most of problem solving by asking effective questions.

Solving the Problem ( Quality Progress ) Brush up on your problem-solving skills and address the primary issues with these seven methods.

Refreshing Louisville Metro’s Problem-Solving System ( Journal for Quality and Participation ) Organization-wide transformation can be tricky, especially when it comes to sustaining any progress made over time. In Louisville Metro, a government organization based in Kentucky, many strategies were used to enact and sustain meaningful transformation.

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Making the Connection In this exclusive QP webcast, Jack ReVelle, ASQ Fellow and author, shares how quality tools can be combined to create a powerful problem-solving force.

Adapted from The Executive Guide to Improvement and Change , ASQ Quality Press.

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Skills You Need to Robot-Proof Your Career in Quality Assurance

Industry Advice Regulatory Affairs

If you work in quality assurance, you understand just how rapidly different emerging technologies are beginning to change the nature of your work. Blockchain, the internet of things, machine learning, and RFID tracking are just a few of the new, disruptive technologies that are almost certainly going to impact your career in one form or another—likely, in just a few years’ time.

The question is: What can you do today to proactively update your skill set in order to stay competitive? How can you make sure that your role in the quality assurance world is robot-proof?

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Technology That Will Change Quality Assurance

Regardless of the industry you work in, quality assurance is all about ensuring that the product your company produces and sells meets the quality standards required for distribution and for the market. These standards could be internal standards set by your organization, industry standards set by the broader industry, or safety standards set by local, state, national, and international regulators.

At its core, quality assurance is about preventing a bad product from being produced, and in the event that one is produced, keeping it from reaching the consumer such that it can do harm.

And while there will always be a role for human beings in the quality assurance process, new technologies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible without human intervention. Some of the most important that are likely to impact the field of quality assurance are:

Blockchain : A permanent, decentralized, and unchanging record, which can be leveraged for a variety of uses. For example, a blockchain ledger may be referenced in the event that bad or tainted product enters the supply chain, in order to more quickly and safely resolve the problem. It can also be leveraged to track product and paperwork from station to station throughout the supply chain. This has the potential to reshape record-keeping practices across industries.

The Internet of Things (IoT): This emergent trend consists of a wide variety of WiFi-enabled devices that can be leveraged throughout the manufacturing process. There is also real potential that the IoT, in the form of sensors, may prove particularly important during the distribution process, especially for goods like food and pharmaceuticals which are at risk of temperature and humidity fluctuations during transport.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning: Two technologies that may play a significant role in how data is collected, processed, and interpreted during the quality assurance process. These technologies already play an integral role in software and tech development and quality assurance, but have the potential to impact products from food to automobiles.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) : Allows for real-time tracking of product, inventory, and freight, which is of particular importance to organizations working with complicated global supply chains.

Responsibilities of Today’s Quality Assurance Professionals

The responsibilities of an organization’s quality assurance team typically include:

Traditionally, in order to fulfill these responsibilities, a quality assurance manager would need to be proficient in a number of skills including:

As new technologies emerge, promising to take on an increasing number of monitoring and tracking responsibilities, QA workers will need to be able to demonstrate that they bring higher levels of value to the organization. One way to do this is by increasing your skill set to meet the new realities of the job, as influenced by these new technologies.

Emerging Skills for Quality Assurance Professionals

1. ability to understand, interpret, and communicate with data.

All of these technologies positioned to dramatically influence quality assurance have, at their root, one thing in common: data.

Blockchain is a large, decentralized ledger of data, the IoT collects real-time data throughout product manufacturing processes, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies collect and interpret massive amounts of information, and RFID-tracking is a means to obtaining data about where inventory is located along the supply chain.

Though data and statistics have always played a role in quality assurance, incorporating one or all of these technologies into your company’s quality assurance processes has the potential to dramatically increase the amount of data collected during the production and transportation of your product.

Therefore, quality assurance workers who demonstrate an ability to understand and interpret that data have an advantage over those who do not. Those who are able to take the data, boil it down, and use it to communicate with non-data-focused individuals have the greatest advantage of all.

2. Increased project management skills

Project management skills are particularly important in the early stages of implementing quality assurance processes and protocols. But project management also impacts QA when a company makes significant changes to their processes, such as incorporating new, complex technologies.

Implementing any of the technologies poised to impact the work done by quality assurance teams will be no easy feat for the average operation. Incorporating them in the supply chain will require a holistic understanding of both the QA process as well as a solid foundation in project management.

Taking the time now to build up those skills, whether by earning a certification or simply by doing more hands-on project management in your current role, will make it easier to demonstrate later that you’re the go-to person to lead the project.

3. Domain expertise

Professionals working in quality assurance need at least a rudimentary understanding of the technical processes of their organization, to help determine whether or not a product is up to standard. In the event products are substandard, this knowledge will also allow you to pinpoint where in the process the problem originated.

As more of the job becomes automated through the use of technology like RFID trackers and IoT sensors, the best way for quality assurance workers to increase their job security is by developing specific industry expertise.

By truly understanding each step along the supply chain/manufacturing process, members of the quality assurance team will be able to identify weaknesses, proactively resolve problems, and boost the bottom line for their organization in a way that even the most advanced technology can’t yet do. It allows you to demonstrate that the value you offer the organization is not in being able to perform a set list of tasks, but in the strategic insights that you bring to the discussion.

4. Human literacy

This may seem like an odd “skill” to include in the list, but it is one of the most important for any quality assurance professional.

Being effective in any quality assurance role requires an understanding of how the product impacts the human beings who use the product. It requires a sense of exactly what is at stake if bad product leaves a facility. It requires a level of compassion for the end users.

The ability to think like a human is critical to not only understand a problem, but to instill a sense of urgency to resolve said problem. It is also something that simply cannot be replicated by technology.

Machines, robots, and Big Data are tools. They will help quality assurance processes and workers become more effective and more efficient. But on their own, they are limited. It is the human being behind the tools asking the right questions, seeing the patterns, and making connections who is and will always be crucial to effective quality assurance.

According to Darin Detwiler, assistant dean and professor of Food Regulatory Policy at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, studies of past recalls and outbreaks have shown that, in many, if not most cases, the companies involved had all the information they needed to have prevented the event from taking place. What they lacked was human action.

“The ability to transform big data into actionable information requires human intellect: Understanding the likelihood and severity of risks and understanding the true impact on consumers,” he says.

Looking Toward the Future

Emerging technologies have tremendous potential to reshape the way quality assurance work is done. In order to stay competitive in the field, today’s quality assurance professionals need to focus on improving their current skills while also developing new competencies specific to the challenges ahead. Above all, in order to truly robot-proof their careers, quality assurance workers need to embrace the human element in order to do the things that technology cannot.

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Resolve quality problems in six steps

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When you have problems, guessing the cause of the problem rarely works. A structured approach works much better. You want to not only resolve this particular problem, but you also want to understand the problem well enough to ensure that it doesn't occur again.

Quality problems can arise on any project, and can take on many forms. Many of the problems are minor irritants that keep you from implementing the most optimal solution, but nevertheless can be tolerated. Many need to be resolved before you can implement your solution. A few of them are “show-stoppers.” All of these problems can be resolved using similar techniques. Obviously the larger the problem, the more complex the solution might be. However, the same basic problem solving approach can be applied to each situation.

Use the following general process to identify and resolve quality problems.

1. Identify the problem or symptom

You shouldn’t assume that everyone knows the problem already. Take the time to document the problem in clear terms that everyone can understand. Make sure to also explain the impact of the quality problem to the project. The first rule of problem resolution is that if you can’t define the problem, you can’t resolve it.

2. Identify the root cause

Try to identify the root cause of the problem and explain how the root cause ultimately results in the problem that has arisen. If you can’t track the root cause to the perceived problem, you haven’t taken your investigation far enough. There are a number of problem-solving techniques you can utilize, including root cause analysis and Fishbone Diagrams.

3. Determine alternatives and impacts

Once the cause is identified, you should look at the alternatives and the impact of each alternative. Although it’s best to try to solve the root cause of the problem, sometimes it’s not possible and sometimes it’s not cost effective. In these instances, you might need to look at alternatives that resolve the symptoms of the problem. Sometimes there’s a very obvious solution that needs to be implemented. However, in many cases there are a number of potential alternatives. For each alternative, they should also address the impact to the project in terms of costs, benefits, and risks. It’s worthwhile to make sure you look at the solutions as holistically as possible, so that you can make select the best alternative.

4. Select the best alternative

Depending on the severity of the problem, the project team may be able to choose the best alternative to the problem. If the problem is large enough, your sponsor and management stakeholders may need to be involved as well.

A mini-plan is put into place to address the quality problem and implement the chosen alternative. These activities should be moved into the project workplan to ensure that they are performed

The resolution plan needs to be monitored to ensure that the quality has improved as expected. If the quality has improved or is moving in that direction, you may allow the plan to continue. However, if the quality is not improving as expected, further corrective action may be required.

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GxP Lifeline

Solving quality issues and problems: go beyond root cause to ‘real’ cause.

There is a tendency in the quality management field to confuse the root cause of a problem with the problem’s real cause. A root cause is objective evidence of a quality problem. The real cause of a quality problem, however, is the actual finding or nonconformance .

Uncovering real causes of quality issues and problems requires different, deeper scrutiny than identifying root causes. Mistaking one for the other can lead to the perpetuation of cycles such as this one:

If you’re a quality professional who has been with the same organization for multiple years, this recursive pattern is likely to sound familiar. When multiple change-related root causes arise, it soon becomes evident that they are symptomatic of a deeper-seated cause.

Six Real Causes of Quality Issues Problems

In his foundational book on management audits, Allan Sayle concluded that there are just six real causes of all quality problems. (1) For each of the six causes, Sayle outlined specific sub-cause indicators, the identification of which can enable an auditor to properly assign a real cause for a quality problem. Attributing a quality problem to one or more of the sub-causes listed below can help your company identify the real cause and devise a change to mitigate or eliminate it.

#1. Lack of Organization

#2. Lack of Training

#3. Lack of Discipline

#4. Lack of Resources

#5. Lack of Time

#6. Lack of Top Management Support

Now that you know what problems to look for, the next step is ensuring your personnel have the right tools and skillsets to identify and rectify them.

Quality Problem Identification Certifications

Quality practices can vary widely across different industries and countries. That being the case, there is not a blanket quality problem identification certification that applies globally to all business sectors. However, there are a variety of specialized certifications, such as those offered by the American Society for Quality ( ASQ ), that formally recognize an individual’s proficiency within, and comprehension of, specific quality knowledge.

ASQ offers professional certifications in the following areas:

For professionals seeking quality problem identification programs, ASQ offers Certified Quality Inspector (CQI) training. CQI certification ensures an inspector has learned proven techniques for inspecting products, measuring process performance, recording data, evaluating hardware documentation, performing laboratory procedures, and preparing formal reports.

Real Cause Identification Requires Tools Built for the Job

Unearthing and correcting real causes can dramatically reduce the occurrence and severity of quality problems. Determining real causes also helps diminish the dysfunctions caused by CAPA overload. But you need the right set of tools to identify real causes efficiently and effectively.

A digital, fully integrated quality management system (QMS) simplifies real cause discovery. It’s much easier to identify the real causes of problems when you can rely on a unified platform that connects quality data across your products’ life cycles and within a common architecture. A connected QMS platform gives you greater real-time visibility into quality data, which pushes real problems to the fore.

To learn how your organization can identify real causes with greater speed and accuracy, visit MasterControl’s product life cycle managementplatform page .

“ Management Audits: The Assessment of Quality Management Systems ,” Sayle, Allan J., 1988, McGraw-Hill, pp. 18.21-34.

James Jardine is the editor of the GxP Lifeline blog and the marketing content team manager at MasterControl, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based quality, manufacturing, and compliance software solutions. He has covered life sciences, technology and regulatory matters for MasterControl and various industry publications since 2007. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from the University of Utah. Prior to joining MasterControl, James held several senior communications, operations, and development positions. Working for more than a decade in the non-profit sector, he served as the Utah/Idaho director of communications for the American Cancer Society and as the Utah Food Bank’s grants and contracts manager.

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In this professionally-developed training presentation, you can teach the structured Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach to problem solving. Many world class companies such as Toyota uses the PDCA problem solving process for relentless pursuit of continuous improvement. When combined with the basic quality tools, this system identifies problems, analyzes root causes and generates solutions. Teach your staff to put these effective solutions in place to prevent similar problems from recurringin the future.

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Major challenges in QA processes and ways to overcome them

Sep 10, 2019

As the market for IT products and services is rapidly growing, Quality Analysts are facing a lot of challenges in terms of understanding the work domain, adapting to frequent changes, maintaining quality, and making self-development a priority. With Agile gaining popularity, it is becoming more and more difficult to achieve continuous delivery and to exceed expectations, especially through traditional Quality Analysis practices.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the major challenges that QA faces in an Agile development life cycle.

Not being clear on the requirements:

Although Agility brings speed and Continuous Delivery, it also brings frequent changes in requirements. Due to stringent timelines, it is most difficult to keep the requirement up-to-date, and thus the QA has to struggle with last-minute changes. Not only this but many times for smaller features, requirements are not even clear before development and QA starts. Learn about QA and Testing services

Following unrealistic timelines:

Timelines/deadlines have always been tricky in Agile. On the one hand, the requirements are never frozen, and on the other hand, the sprints are short. Usually, it so happens that a large number of user stories are pushed in one sprint, due to which, development crosses its deadline, and that in turn, affects the QA timelines. This results in poor outcomes due to lack of time for end-to-end testing and regression. Bad project planning and poor estimates play an important role in creating unrealistic timelines.

Finding defects early:

Yes, it is important to find defects early in the Sprint. But does it normally happen? Testers may be able to find blockers or critical defects early through the initial smoke testing of build, but there could be some serious logical errors in the code, or the new implementation could have created severe integration issues, which are usually found during the detailed testing. Finding defects early is a normal expectation from all testers but it is also a big challenge when they have to deal with never-ending changes in requirements, poorly followed processes, and stringent timelines.

Testing an end-to-end regression:

Regression testing can be time-consuming, complex and exhausting. Unless there is automation in place, regression testing can even make testers lose interest in their job! In big projects, regression involves integration testing also, which makes it furthermore complex and critical. There could be hundreds of test cases in a regression suite. Even if they are automated, it requires regularly updating the scripts. Manual regression testing may leave a lot of human-errors, which could be expected in automated regression testing too if the scripts are not up-to-date. Thus, end-to-end regression testing a big challenge for all testers.

Not compromising quality:

Quality is the only thing a QA is responsible for. Then why is maintaining quality, a challenge for testers? It is because even in less time it is expected that QAs do their job 100%. Usually, a sprint lasts for 2 or 3 weeks, within that time happens the - Requirements analysis/KT, test planning, test case authoring, functional testing, regression testing, along with n-number of meetings. Many times, the development team takes longer than the estimated hours. In this case, QA already has a shortage of time within which they are expected to leave no errors! It needs talented QAs to perform thorough testing in limited timelines without any complaints!

Apart from these, there are many other challenges that the QA comes across. Challenges around - test coverage, technical skills, collaboration with other teams, utilization of tools, lack of resources, etc. persist in most QA teams and hinder their progress.

Tips to overcome these challenges:

Have well-defined requirements with examples:

Even if the requirements have a lot of changes through the sprint or project span, it is always better to keep the entire project team updated at the earliest. Adding examples of new changes, layouts of screens, easy to understand flowcharts, etc. in the requirements document or user stories, also helps. All kinds of communication such as emails and project meetings should be completely informative. For enhancements or change requests in sprints, the user stories should also contain well-written Acceptance Criteria and example documents wherever necessary. This way the actual requirements can be delivered to the team and mistakes can be reduced.

Calculate the ROI & Cost to Streamline Your QA Processes: https://www.jadeglobal.com/qa-calculator

Make appropriate estimates

When estimates are made during project planning, they are usually not given a detailed thought. Estimates are important because they determine when the project can be delivered, or if it can be delivered within the stipulated timelines. Not establishing project timelines carefully could cause a huge loss of money, efforts, and trust. Every team in a project should be cautious while preparing estimates. Think about all the last-minute changes, risks and hurdles that could disturb your estimates. Some clients demand their projects to be delivered ‘ASAP’. But it is best not to set unrealistic timelines because it makes the resources over-worked; exhausted resources do not produce the best results.

Have smaller projects:

This is one of the best practices in Agile. Smaller projects give you enough time for everything. BAs would get enough time for creating detailed FRDs, developers would get enough time for implementing as well as some unit testing, and QA will get enough time for testing end-to-end functionality and also regression. This way every team can perform their best, having complete focus on every detail of the FRD and the implementation. There is even time for a sufficient number of team meetings which helps in sharing suggestions, discussing problems and clearing out doubts.

Adhere to QA processes:

The solution to most project problems is to follow standard/defined processes. Imagine a simple, yet common scenario where the tester doesn’t enter all important details in a defect. They simply add a brief description and submit. Now, how much time does it take to enter all necessary details in a defect, 2 or 3 minutes at most, after which the developer starts fixing it? But the tester didn’t spend that time. Now, think of the overall time spent when the developer breaks his head trying to understand and locate the defect, assigns it back to the tester, tester tries to enter all necessary steps, screenshots, details, etc. or even explains to the developer, and assigns it back to him, who now has enough facts to locate the defect and starts fixing it. All this time could have been saved if the QA had just followed the standard practice of entering all details in the defect!

Refer this blog to learn Best practices for Testing Web Applications

Spare some time for self-development:

Who doesn’t like to have skillful personnel in the team? When you save time from your project work, you can spare some time for your growth. Learn new technologies and help others too! Improve yours and your team’s knowledge of processes and domains. Become and create SMEs in your team. Conduct technical training. Indeed, talented software testers guarantee the best outcomes!

Please feel to reach out to me on my email [email protected] if your concerns are not discussed in this blog.

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Critical Challenges faced by Quality Departments and Recommended Actions

Each organization’s challenges may stack up differently based on considerations like industry sector, product/service type, customer base and culture..

Figure 1. An interrelationship digraph in a matrix format was created to rate the relative importance of the priority quality challenges.

Successful management and leadership of the quality department for an organization involves an integrated approach that includes a communication network that extends both horizontally and vertically within the organization as well as outward to customers and suppliers.

The top 10 challenges identified below are the primary constraints to achieving effective quality assurance. Each challenge is defined, concerns indicated and successful resolution identified. Most of these challenges are interrelated; therefore, one will often affect others.

These challenges are especially critical in a new or turnaround operation where quality has either not been established or otherwise ignored for an extended amount of time. An organization may also experience multiple challenges in the same timeframe as well as high turnover, primarily in the quality department.

An interrelationship digraph in a matrix format was created to rate the relative importance of the priority quality challenges (Figure 1). Most notable are the top three challenges (management commitment, inadequate quality and production planning and problem-solving CI teams) which share in common a high number of root causes in addition to the relationship strengths. My interpretation of this result based on these three challenges is that risk analysis is critical for an organization. The high outcome rating for “customer relationships” in the matrix is not surprising in that many internal processes ultimately affect customers.

Ratings for these challenges are based on the organizations I have worked for as well as various customer and supplier interactions. My primary experience has been in the automotive part manufacturing sector.

1. Management Commitment – All the challenges listed here connect to management commitment. Failure to communicate the appropriate details for management will almost certainly lead to a lack of support. Identifying and determining the details, cost and justification, setting a timeline and getting approval for completing all necessary activities is an essential first step in a plan to successfully address challenges and reduce risk. Providing management with updated status on these challenges is also important.

2. Inadequate Quality & Production Planning – It is critical for the sales function to have the technical and logistical capability as well as team support to produce reasonable quotes. Without a proper team feasibility review with all relevant stakeholders before committing to a price and subsequent PO, sales may underquote. This deficiency can lead to compromises in quality. The feasibility review should also include risk analysis to stay ahead of any potential technical or logistical issues. Make sure all customer requirements derived from drawings and specifications are clearly understood by all internal and external stakeholders. If the organization needs other specifications to further clarify “grey areas” or otherwise protect them, include those as well. Do not assume you cannot negotiate existing or new specifications. Negotiating specifications could increase the organization’s capability to produce the required product as well as minimize cost for the customer and organization.

3. Quality Support for Problem-Solving and Continuous Improvement Project Teams – Ongoing efforts to resolve problems and otherwise continue to make improvements based on the importance of issues is imperative to maximize the effectiveness of an organization as well as stay ahead of the competition. Failure to form and maintain these project teams as well as include the appropriate team members will lead to higher scrap rates, decreased customer satisfaction and increased risk for the organization. Team leaders that maintain priority-based action item lists with firm completion dates should drive these teams. Team leaders should keep top management in the loop to sustain their commitment to the resources needed to address the challenges.

4. Employee Communication and Engagement – Keeping all employees in the loop is essential to productivity and quality as well as the morale of the organization and can drive a positive culture. This approach is a two-way street that includes communicating with the employees as well as getting input from employees. Failure to make these connections will lead to gaps in information shared both ways that will cause a decline in quality and productivity as well as employees’ willingness to contribute. Methods to communicate to employees include monthly meetings, posting (current) results, newsletters, etc. On the other side, maximizing engagement includes involving employees in corrective actions, continuous improvement initiatives, training needs assessments, etc. Communication and engagement also involve managers visiting work areas on a regular basis to facilitate informal two-way conversations.

5. Procedures and Instructions not Written or Updated – This is one of the most common findings in ISO-9001 QMS third-party audits for organizations that certify to this standard. Some organizations rely too much on verbal communications and partially retained memories. The extent of documentation should be determined based on the complexity and interactions of the various processes as well as the scope of training for the employee. A guideline to use for developing a work instruction set is to have a basic version visible at the point of use for those who perform the task regularly. Also, have a more detailed version taken from the training documentation available at the point of use accessible by recently trained employees or employees that have not run the process for a while. There should also be a system of tracking documents to assure the most current version is available.

6. Breakdown in Customer Relationships – This is usually a result of poor or declining quality or delivery and related communications. Accompanying this is poor follow-up on issues or otherwise no substantial progress to resolve issues. It is critical to maintain ongoing communications on the status of any issues that includes an action plan with identified dates of completion. Depending on the significance of the issue, you may communicate by email or phone. Use the phone when speed and clarity are essential. Document calls by following up with emails to primary stakeholders.

7. Training and Development – This is a systemic issue for the majority of organizations at some level. There is a tendency to get new employees to the work areas as soon as possible. Managers that interact regularly with new employees in their work areas indicate that employees often express concern about training for their job. Employees are afraid to approach their supervisor for fear of criticism for not retaining all the information communicated to them during their brief training session and that it is not available at the point of use. The ideal training program should consist of an approved documented program that considers past experience and entails the level of complexity depending on the type of job. This hands-on approach should include describing the job, show them how to do the job, and then letting them do the job to validate their training. The trainee should also be comfortable asking follow-up questions, and there should be a mentor assigned to the trainee for a designated amount of time, depending on the level of complexity.

8. High Turnover and Shortage in Quality and Production Employees – High turnover rates can have a substantial effect throughout all levels of the organization. Reasons for high turnover can include inadequate pay, lack of appreciation or being mistreated by the supervisor, and insufficient training related to performance issues (employee leaves or is terminated). As the popular phrase goes, “people are your best resource.” This should always be on the minds of management. Ongoing and adequate training and development, praise for a good job done, and appropriate pay for a given job will go a long way to retain employees at all levels of seniority as well as affect the bottom line.

9. Lack of Investment in Quality Equipment or Quality-Related Production Equipment – After setting priorities for equipment repair, refurbishment or replacement through problem-solving or continuous improvement teams, management needs to plan ahead to have the financing available to address the challenges. Many companies have great expectations on the front end of problem-solving and continuous improvement initiatives but stall out due to declining or shifting priorities. Return on investment for many capital projects is typically one to three years based on quantifiable and qualifiable considerations. Management must have the strategic vision to maintain the commitment to move forward with these investments.

10. Supplier Evaluation and Development – Suppliers are an important part of the quality equation. All too often, suppliers fall off the radar until they have issues. Frequently, these issues are only taken seriously when reject supplier material reaches the organization’s customer. Suppliers providing material with critical characteristics should be high on a priority list for evaluation and development. Purchasing and quality should thoroughly assess all critical suppliers before their approval for use. In some cases, dual sourcing could also be considered as a contingency when a supplier is unable to provide an acceptable material.

Of course, each organization’s challenges may stack up differently based on considerations like industry sector, product/service type, customer base and culture.

Accurately identifying the challenges your organization faces along with getting management commitment are critical first steps in effectively working toward a successful resolution.

This approach aims to move an organization from a reactive (firefighting) position to a proactive (best in class) position. Q

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Don Goolsby has worked for over 25 years in manufacturing management, primarily in quality. His academic background includes a B.S. degree in engineering technology and manufacturing from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN, an MBA from The University of Phoenix, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification, and a Baldrige examiner. Find him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/dgoolsby .

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What are the 7 basic quality tools, and how can they change your business for the better?

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What are the 7 basic quality tools?

The ability to identify and resolve quality-related issues quickly and efficiently is essential to anyone working in quality assurance or process improvement. But statistical quality control can quickly get complex and unwieldy for the average person, making training and quality assurance more difficult to scale.

Thankfully, engineers have discovered that most quality control problems can be solved by following a few key fundamentals. These fundamentals are called the seven basic tools of quality.

With these basic quality tools in your arsenal, you can easily manage the quality of your product or process, no matter what industry you serve.

Learn about these quality management tools and find templates to start using them quickly.

Where did the quality tools originate?

Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese professor of engineering, originally developed the seven quality tools (sometimes called the 7 QC tools) in the 1950s to help workers of various technical backgrounds implement effective quality control measures.

At the time, training programs in statistical quality control were complex and intimidating to workers with non-technical backgrounds. This made it difficult to standardize effective quality control across operations. Companies found that simplifying the training to user-friendly fundamentals—or seven quality tools—ensured better performance at scale

Today, these quality management tools are still considered the gold standard for troubleshooting a variety of quality issues. They’re frequently implemented in conjunction with today’s most widely used process improvement methodologies , including various phases of Six Sigma, TQM, continuous improvement processes, and Lean management.

7 quality tools

1. stratification.

Stratification analysis is a quality assurance tool used to sort data, objects, and people into separate and distinct groups. Separating your data using stratification can help you determine its meaning, revealing patterns that might not otherwise be visible when it’s been lumped together.

Whether you’re looking at equipment, products, shifts, materials, or even days of the week, stratification analysis lets you make sense of your data before, during, and after its collection.

To get the most out of the stratification process, consider which information about your data’s sources may affect the end results of your data analysis. Make sure to set up your data collection so that that information is included.

2. Histogram

Quality professionals are often tasked with analyzing and interpreting the behavior of different groups of data in an effort to manage quality. This is where quality control tools like the histogram come into play.

The histogram represents frequency distribution of data clearly and concisely amongst different groups of a sample, allowing you to quickly and easily identify areas of improvement within your processes. With a structure similar to a bar graph, each bar within a histogram represents a group, while the height of the bar represents the frequency of data within that group.

Histograms are particularly helpful when breaking down the frequency of your data into categories such as age, days of the week, physical measurements, or any other category that can be listed in chronological or numerical order.

3. Check sheet (or tally sheet)

Check sheets can be used to collect quantitative or qualitative data. When used to collect quantitative data, they can be called a tally sheet. A check sheet collects data in the form of check or tally marks that indicate how many times a particular value has occurred, allowing you to quickly zero in on defects or errors within your process or product, defect patterns, and even causes of specific defects.

With its simple setup and easy-to-read graphics, check sheets make it easy to record preliminary frequency distribution data when measuring out processes. This particular graphic can be used as a preliminary data collection tool when creating histograms, bar graphs, and other quality tools.

4. Cause-and-effect diagram (also known as a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram)

Introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa, the fishbone diagram helps users identify the various factors (or causes) leading to an effect, usually depicted as a problem to be solved. Named for its resemblance to a fishbone, this quality management tool works by defining a quality-related problem on the right-hand side of the diagram, with individual root causes and sub-causes branching off to its left.

A fishbone diagram’s causes and subcauses are usually grouped into six main groups, including measurements, materials, personnel, environment, methods, and machines. These categories can help you identify the probable source of your problem while keeping your diagram structured and orderly.

5. Pareto chart (80-20 rule)

As a quality control tool, the Pareto chart operates according to the 80-20 rule. This rule assumes that in any process, 80% of a process’s or system’s problems are caused by 20% of major factors, often referred to as the “vital few.” The remaining 20% of problems are caused by 80% of minor factors.

A combination of a bar and line graph, the Pareto chart depicts individual values in descending order using bars, while the cumulative total is represented by the line.

The goal of the Pareto chart is to highlight the relative importance of a variety of parameters, allowing you to identify and focus your efforts on the factors with the biggest impact on a specific part of a process or system.

6. Scatter diagram

Out of the seven quality tools, the scatter diagram is most useful in depicting the relationship between two variables, which is ideal for quality assurance professionals trying to identify cause and effect relationships.

With dependent values on the diagram’s Y-axis and independent values on the X-axis, each dot represents a common intersection point. When joined, these dots can highlight the relationship between the two variables. The stronger the correlation in your diagram, the stronger the relationship between variables.

Scatter diagrams can prove useful as a quality control tool when used to define relationships between quality defects and possible causes such as environment, activity, personnel, and other variables. Once the relationship between a particular defect and its cause has been established, you can implement focused solutions with (hopefully) better outcomes.

7. Control chart (also called a Shewhart chart)

Named after Walter A. Shewhart, this quality improvement tool can help quality assurance professionals determine whether or not a process is stable and predictable, making it easy for you to identify factors that might lead to variations or defects.

Control charts use a central line to depict an average or mean, as well as an upper and lower line to depict upper and lower control limits based on historical data. By comparing historical data to data collected from your current process, you can determine whether your current process is controlled or affected by specific variations.

Using a control chart can save your organization time and money by predicting process performance, particularly in terms of what your customer or organization expects in your final product.

Bonus: Flowcharts

Some sources will swap out stratification to instead include flowcharts as one of the seven basic QC tools. Flowcharts are most commonly used to document organizational structures and process flows, making them ideal for identifying bottlenecks and unnecessary steps within your process or system.

Mapping out your current process can help you to more effectively pinpoint which activities are completed when and by whom, how processes flow from one department or task to another, and which steps can be eliminated to streamline your process.

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How to improve process visualization

Which process improvement methodology should you use?

7 QC Tools | 7 Quality Tools | Process Improvement Tools

7 QC Tools are also known as Seven Basic Quality Tools and Quality Management Tools. These graphical and statistical tools are used to analyze and solve work-related problems effectively.

The 7 Quality Tools are widely applied by many industries for product and process improvements, and to solve critical quality problems.

7QC tools are extensively used in various Problem Solving Techniques which are listed below:

Table of Contents

WHAT ARE 7 QC TOOLS?

The 7 quality tools are simple graphical and statistical tools but very powerful in solving quality problems and process improvement.

These statistical tools are very easy to understand and can be implemented without any complex analytical competence or skills.

The 7 tools of quality are generally used by quality control and quality assurance engineers to solve product or process-related quality issues on a daily/weekly/monthly basis and to reduce/eliminate non-value-added activities like product rework, repair, and rejection.

7 QC Tools List | Quality Tools

The list of 7 QC tools are:

Check Sheet

Fishbone diagram, pareto chart, control chart, scatter diagram.

Stratification Diagram (Some lists replace stratification with Process Flowchart )

Click on the above links to Explore QC tools.

7 Tools of quality | Brief Explanation

The check sheet is used for collecting, recording, and analyzing the data. Data collection is an important activity in the problem-solving process as it provides a basis for further action. Data may be numerical, observations and opinions, etc.

Fishbone diagram is also called as Cause and Effect diagram and Ishikawa diagram . It helps to Identify all possible potential causes and select the real/best potential cause which contributes to the problem/effect. The brainstorming technique is used for potential cause identification.

In a brainstorming session, all 4M or 6M factors are taken into consideration to identify the potential causes. 4M or 6M factors are – Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, and Mother nature also called Environment.

A Histogram is a pictorial representation of a set of data, and the most commonly used bar graph for showing frequency distributions of data/values. Histogram frequency distribution chart is widely used in Six Sigma problem solving process.

The Pareto chart helps to Narrow the problem area or prioritize the significant problems for corrective measures. The pareto principle is based on the 80-20 rule. It means that 80 percent of the problems/failures are caused by 20 percent of the few major causes/factors which are often referred to as Vital Few .

And the remaining 20 percent of the problems are caused by 80 percent of many minor causes which are referred to as Trivial Many . Hence, it gives us information about Vital few from Trivial many.

A control chart is also known as the SPC chart or Shewhart chart. It is a graphical representation of the collected information/data and it helps to monitor the process centering or process behavior against the specified/set control limits.

A control chart is a very powerful tool to Investigate/disclose the source of Process Variations present in the manufacturing processes. Tells when to take necessary action to eliminate the Common or Random or Chance variations and Special causes of variations.

The control chart helps to measure and analyze the process capability and performance ( Cp and Cpk and Pp and Ppk ) of the production process.

A Scatter diagram is also known as Correlation Chart, Scatter Plot, and Scatter Graph. A Scatter graph is used to find out the relationship between two variables. In other words, it shows the relationship between two sets of numerical data. Scatter graph shows a Positive or Negative correlation between two variables.

Independent variable data and dependent Variable data are customarily plotted along the horizontal X-axis and Vertical Y-axis respectively. Independent variable is also called controlled parameters.

Stratification Diagram

A technique used to analyze and divide a universe of data into homogeneous groups is called -Strata. Stratification tools are used when the data come from different sources or conditions, such as data collected from different shifts, machines, people, days, suppliers and population groups, etc.

Process Flow Chart

A Process Flow Chart (PFC) is a diagram of the separate steps of a operations/process in sequential order. PFC is also known as process flow diagram (PFD), and Process Map.

WHY DO WE NEED 7 QC TOOLS

We need Quality Tools for :

“95% of the problem is solved when clearly defined”

“95% of quality-related problems in the organization can be solved by using seven fundamental quantitative tools.”

7QC Tools benefits

The major benefits of QC tools are:

You’ll also like:

7 QC TOOLS NEW

The new seven QC Tools are used for planning, goal setting, and problem-solving. These are explained below :

Affinity Diagram – KJ Method. This tool is used for Pinpointing the Problem in a Chaotic Situation and generating solution strategies.

Gathers large amounts of verbal data such as ideas, opinions, issues, and organizes the data into groups based on natural relationships.

Tree Diagram – Also known as Systematic diagram or Dendrograms, Hierarchy diagram, Organisation chart, and Analytical Tree.

This diagram is used for systematically pursuing the best strategies for achieving an objective.

The advantages of the tree diagram are that it facilitates agreement among the team and is extremely convincing with strategies.

Relation Diagram – It is used for cause identification. For finding solutions strategies by clarifying relationships with Complex Interrelated Causes.

Allows for “Multi-directional” thinking rather than linear. Also known as Interrelationship diagrams.

Process Decisions Program Charts (PDPC) – Also called Decision Process Chart. It is used for producing the desired result from many possible outcomes.

The chart is used to plan various contingencies.

PDPC enables problems to pinpoint.

Matrix Diagram – used for Clarifying Problems. It clarifies relationships among different elements.

Matrix Data Analysis – Matrix + Num. Analysis.

This can be used when the Matrix diagram does not give sufficient information.

This is used in various fields like process analysis, new product planning, market surveys, etc.

Arrow Diagram – Gantt Chart + PERT/CPM Chart.

An arrow diagram is employed for understanding optimal schedules and controlling them effectively.

This shows relationships among tasks needed to implement a plan.

This diagram is extensively used in PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Method).

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Using the PDCA cycle

PMID: 1458234

problem solving in quality assurance

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