Is variability a taboo? Imagine what a chaos it would be if all of us looked exactly the same. Even two people (among billions) looking the same is a fertile theme for many stories and movies. Thank God each of us looks different. If Jaisalmer looked exactly the same as Shimla and they in turn looked exactly the same as Goa or Pondicherry, (and all of them looked exactly like your own current city), where would you like to plan your next vacation to? Or would you admire the creation for its standardization? If "No", what’s this urge for standardization in the industry?
The urge for standardization comes because of its ability to make outcomes more predictable. Businesses thrive on promising certain outcomes to clients and hence strive to increase the likelihood of those outcomes. It is exactly here that Standardization helps. Going back to the 'vacation' example, a Roller-coaster ride in a theme park is an entertainment to the customer because of its unexpected twists and turns. He gladly pays for it. But for the operator who runs the park, it has to be an extremely predictable process guaranteeing the safety of the guest 100% of the times. Any untoward outcome here is actually a disaster.
Dictionary defines “Process” as “a systematic series of actions directed to some end”. Standardization is done for operations which are critical to the Quality of the product/ service of the company. Some triggers for defining a New Process include the following
- Prime Product/ Service offering – Processes governing the production of primary product/ services of the company are essential candidates for definition. These are the ones seen in company's marketing brochures and website. As a corollary, a QMS that does not address the key products/ services as seen in a company's website needs immediate attention
- Business Pain-point – A major customer complaint or a major external event or new External constraint like a Government regulation etc. may trigger new process definition
- Adoption of Quality Models like ISO, CMMI may trigger definition of new processes to meet the requirements of the model
- Business Opportunities identified internally by leadership or employees. This may be less repeated or even 1-time operation like a merger/ takeover or expansion in a new geo which is critical to business
One of the standard approaches taken by management for getting new processes defined or existing ones revamped or revised is through initiatives
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ReplyDeleteVery well written. The series of posts written here should be must read for any Quality function professional. As written in current post, Variability is not always undesirable. In some situations, we need different inputs/outcomes, while we need standardization in others. There can't be any black and white kind of rule. Any quality professional need to understand it, so as to understand specific project's issues and contribute value.
ReplyDeleteThanks Harish. Privileged to have your time and feedback.
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