1. Quality without Heroics
Jason Yip, jcyip@thoughtworks.com
Kristan Vingrys, kvingrys@thoughtworks.com
© ThoughtWorks 2008

2. Questions
•! Is it so uncommon for things to work that when they
finally do, you break out in celebration?
•! Do you frequently burn the midnight oil and rely on
heroic efforts to get a system into production?
•! If we had a distribution of your customer experiences,
where would zero raised defects lie? A worthy goal? Or
is it even within the realm of possibility?
© ThoughtWorks 2008

3. Why should I care?
•! Quality can reduce costs.
–! “When people and organizations focus primarily on quality, defined
by the following ratio
quality tends to increase and costs fall over time.” W. Edwards
Deming’s philosophy
•! Your customers are publicly praising the quality of
your product or service. Complete fantasy?
•! What can you do right now to apply these concepts to
the software development context that don't require
any more resources then you currently have.
© ThoughtWorks 2008

4. What is Quality?
© ThoughtWorks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb35/349762358/ 2008

5. “Quality is a customer determination, not an
engineer's determination, not a marketing
determination, or a general management
determination. It is based upon the customer's actual
experience with the product or service, measured
against his/her requirements - stated or unstated,
conscious or merely sensed - and always represents
a moving target.”
-- Armand V. Feigenbaum

6. Where are you on the Quality curve?
© ThoughtWorks 2008

7. Haven’t I heard all this before?
© ThoughtWorks 2008

8. In 1912, Frederick Winslow Taylor is
brought before a House of
Representatives Special Committee to
discuss the moral implications of his
new task management system.
© ThoughtWorks 2008

9. The 4 main principles of the Taylor system
1.! Scientific task design
–! ‘develop a science for each element of a man's work, which replaces the old rule
of thumb method‘
2.! Scientific selection
•!
'scientifically select and then train, teach and develop the workman, whereas in
the past he chose his own work and trained himself as best he could'.
3.! Management-worker co-operation
•!
‘heartily co-operate with the men so as to insure all of the work being done in
accordance with the principles of the science which has been developed'.
4.! Equal division of work
–! 'There is a an almost equal division of the work and the responsibility between
the management and the workmen. The management take over all the work for
which they are better fitted than the workmen, while in the past almost all of the
work and the greater part of the responsibility were thrown upon the men.'
© ThoughtWorks 2008

10. “The new way is to teach and
help your men as you would
a brother; try to teach him
the best way and show him
the easiest way to do his
work.”
-- Frederick Winslow Taylor

11. “I can say, without the
slightest hesitation, that the
science of handling pig-iron
is so great that the man who
is ... physically able to
handle pig-iron and is
sufficiently phlegmatic and
stupid to choose this for his
occupation is rarely able to
comprehend the science of
handling pig-iron.”
-- Frederick Winslow Taylor

12. “We will win, and you will lose. You cannot do anything
because your failure is an internal disease. Your
companies are based on Taylor’s principles. Worse, your
heads are Taylorized, too. You firmly believe that sound
management means executives on the one side and
workers on the other, on the one side men who think and
on the other side men who only work.”
-- Konusuke Matsushita

13. In 1950, the Union
of Japanese
Scientists and
Engineers invites
Dr. William
Edwards Deming
to lecture in
Japan.
© ThoughtWorks 2008

14. Quality =
Results of work
Total costs
© ThoughtWorks 2008

15. Quality =
Results of work
Total costs
Focus on
Taking staff for granted
Not minimising waste
Ignoring unnecessary rework
Costs
Quality
Not rapidly resolving disputes
Not noticing lack of improvement
© ThoughtWorks 2008

16. Quality =
Results of work
Focus on
Total costs
Engage Staff
Minimise waste
Amplify Learning
Costs
Quality
Effective conflict resolution
Continuous improvement
© ThoughtWorks 2008

17. Plan Do Check Act
© ThoughtWorks 2008

18. Dr. Kaoru
Ishikawa was
active in the
integration
and expansion
of these
concepts into
actual practice
© ThoughtWorks 2008

19. Quality is too important to leave in the
hands of specialists
© ThoughtWorks 2008

20. How do we encourage an
atmosphere of problem-solving?
© ThoughtWorks 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sloth_rider/392367929/

21. The Ishikawa or Fishbone diagram
© ThoughtWorks 2008

22. Quality Circles
© ThoughtWorks 2008

23. Quality Circles are about developing a
problem-solving culture, not just the
specific results
© ThoughtWorks 2008

24. Shigeo Shingo
was most well
known for his
writings about
the Toyota
Production
System

25. Statistical methods detect errors too late
in the process
© ThoughtWorks 2008

26. Instead, identify underlying causes to
produce preventative measures
© ThoughtWorks 2008

27. Mistake-proofing or poka yoke
© ThoughtWorks 2008

28. Jidoka – Automation with a human touch
© ThoughtWorks 2008

29. Summary of things that work
1.! Quality is a customer determination
2.! Problem solving should be systematic and iterative ->
continuous improvement
3.! Quality is too important to leave in the hands of
specialists – quality experts on one side and workers on
the other side doesn’t work
4.! Mistake-proof with good engineering and process
improvement
5.! Stop-the-line when problems are detected rather than
wait for end of line inspection
© ThoughtWorks 2008

30. Quality Lesson
Applied Today
•! Quality is a customer
determination
•! Contextual Inquiry
•! Onsite Customer
•! Acceptance Driven
Development
•! Frequent and regular
showcases
•! Iterative user testing
© ThoughtWorks 2008

31. Quality Lesson
Applied Today
•! Problem solving should
be systematic and
iterative -> continuous
improvement
•! Daily Stand Up
•! Retrospectives
© ThoughtWorks 2008

32. Quality Lesson
Applied Today
•! Mistake proof with good
engineering and process
improvement
•! Develop deep technical
expertise
•! Go beyond “How can this
be tested?” to “How can I
design this such that this
type of problem can’t
occur?”
© ThoughtWorks 2008

33. Quality Lesson
Applied Today
•! Quality is too important to
leave in the hands of
specialists - quality
experts on one side and
workers on the other side
doesn’t work
•! Enable all team members
to test
•! Requirements as tests
© ThoughtWorks 2008

34. Quality Lesson
Applied Today
•! Stop-the-line when
problems are detected
rather than wait for end
of line inspection
•! Continuous integration
and testing
•! Build pipelines
© ThoughtWorks 2008

35. Summary
•! There is no silver bullet.
•! Some practices are ways to help achieve a concept, but
they are not the only way.
•! Just implementing the practice without embracing the
concept will not improve quality.
© ThoughtWorks 2008

36. © ThoughtWorks 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daquellamanera/68812531/

37. “There is no substitute for knowledge.”
– W. Edwards Deming
© ThoughtWorks 2008