IMPLEMENTING QUALITY INITIATIVES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

James A. Ward, PMP

         Information Systems organizations face unique problems in implementing quality improvement initiatives.  Even in corporations that have made great strides in implementing quality improvement, Information Systems has not always kept pace.  We will discuss how the principles of quality improvement can be modified and applied to Information Systems.

 

MAJOR PROBLEMS FACED BY INFORMATION SYSTEMS ORGANIZATIONS

 

         Meeting the customer's requirements is at the core of all quality improvement efforts.  In information systems, discovering the true customer requirements is often the most difficult part of the job.  We will see how quality improvement can offer specific techniques to make this job easier.

         Continuous improvement of processes is essential to achieving quality.  Most Information Systems organizations do not even have defined processes.  A minimum set of stable and repeatable processes must be defined, implemented, standardized, measured and controlled for quality improvement to be sustainable.

 

THE CORE MESSAGES OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

 

         First, let's summarize what the quality movement means.  We can define the four basic concepts and then illustrate how they can be applied to Information Systems to solve the problems we have cited.

 

         1. Intense Focus on Customers and Their Satisfaction

 

         You must identify, measure and "design in" the product/service attributes that the customer cares about.  Customer satisfaction must be continuously monitored and measured.  The organization must make sure that everybody knows their customers, both external and internal.  Make sure everybody can "see" the ultimate customer using your products and services.

 

         2. Use Problem Solving Methods and Measures to Achieve Continuous Improvement

 

         Define your processes.  Systematically apply analysis and problem solving to improve processes.  Never be satisfied with the process.  "If it ain't broke, FIX IT."  Continuously apply and repeat these steps.

 

         3. Use Teams and Teamwork, Encourage Employee Involvement

 

         Use teams to maximize problem solving power, support and commitment/buy in.  Form teams around your work processes:  Functional teams - to address everything the department does.  Cross-functional teams - to break down barriers between department.  System teams - spanning vendors, company personnel and customers.

 

         4. Manage a Process That Encourages the Core Messages

 

         Management must lead the quality process, creating a climate that allows ideas and information to flow freely and without fear.  Manage using participative methods to maximize input, ideas and commitment/buy in.  Management should expect that everyone understands quality and has a personal responsibility for quality.  Management must recognize and reward quality work.

 

USING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TO ADDRESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROBLEMS

 

         The key concepts of quality improvement can provide significant assistance in addressing and solving the problems we all face in Information Systems.

 

Meeting Customer Requirements

 

         It is essential that we address those things which the customer cares about.  We must define and measure the real products and services that we provide.  Our products are essentially "information."  They are not technology, lines of code, function points, software or even systems.  Measure what the customer cares about.

         Make sure we know who the true customer is.  Don't confuse "customer" or “client” with "user."  Often both we and the user are working for the customer or client.  We satisfy our customer by maximizing the benefits of information systems to the whole organization.

         I recently read an article by officers of a "Big 5" consulting firm discussing how to "manage" customer expectations.  In "manage" you can read "limit" or "control."  This to me is exactly the wrong approach.  To be ultimately successful, we must continuously exceed customer expectations while at the same time continuously raising those expectations.

         Why do we have such problems in meeting customer requirements and how can quality improvement help us?  We have problems because of the nature of the working relationships with our customers.  The customer (or user) does not always have the ability to envision a new information system until it can be seen, felt, touched and  used.  On the other hand, system developers often lack sufficient knowledge of the business to understand the context in which the system must be used and how it will work in the business environment.  Consequently, there is a real communications problem in requirements definition.

         I once had a programmer tell me that you never learn the requirements until you're into testing, so the thing to do is code something and see what happens.  Most of us have heard the admonition that we can never give the users what they need until after we have given them what they want.

         In actual practice, what happens in organizations with advanced quality improvement programs, is that they move beyond reliance on the customer's perceived requirements to identifying products and services which the customer truly wants and needs.  They are not dependent on asking the customer.

 

Continuous Improvement of Processes

 

         Before we can implement continuous process improvement, we must establish some basic processes for doing information systems work.  Quality guru Philip Crosby said that quality improvement is a system of prevention.  We must do the job right the first time and every time.  The way we accomplish this is to focus on continuous improvement of processes through simplification and reduction of variability.  Processes must be stable, repeatable, visible and measurable.  We cannot control what we can't measure.  We must set a standard of zero defects.

         However, most Information Systems organizations lack even a minimum set of processes.  Motorola, one of the first organizations to embark on the quality journey, found that the system development process must be nudged from an individual art form to a measurable process before it can be rigorously controlled.  While it is true, unlike most manufacturing operations, that we never develop exactly the same system twice, we can and should utilize the same set of processes to develop all our systems. The absolute minimum set of processes that must be defined and implemented in an information systems organization are:

 

         A System Development Life Cycle Methodology

 

         A Project Management Methodology

 

         A Quality Assurance and Testing Methodology to include a system of Walkthroughs, Inspections and Technical Reviews

 

Without these processes there is no basis for continuous improvement.

 

IMPLEMENTING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

 

         The concepts and methods of quality improvement have been part of the conventional business wisdom in America since at least the mid 1980s.  Until recently, there has been an insufficient body of knowledge and experience to understand the unique application of these disciplines to Information Systems.

 

The Five Stages of Quality

 

         In his book, Quality Is Free, Philip Crosby defined something he called the "Quality Maturity Grid."  He classified management attitudes about quality into five categories and suggested that improvement happens as management "matures" from one category to another.  These categories are Uncertainty, Awakening, Enlightenment, Wisdom and Certainty.

         Watts Humphrey of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) applied this same thinking to the types of processes one finds in an Information Systems organization.  He defined five categories of processes which conform to Crosby's and codified these in the SEI’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM).  These are Initial, Repeatable, Defined, Managed and Optimized.

         Subsequently, Gerald M. Weinberg has taken this work and related it to the cultural patterns that one finds in these organizations.  He called the five stages Variable, Routine, Steering, Anticipating and Congruent.

         This work is important as it gives us a basis for identifying organizational processes and formulating plans to increase quality.  Our goal is to identify the level of management attitudes, types of processes and cultural patterns within our organization and formulate a plan for moving to the next higher level.

 

Level 1 - Variable, Uncertainty, Initial

 

         Most information systems organizations, Humphrey and Weinberg estimate about 80 per cent, operate at this level.  Quality depends solely on the individual.  There is no dependability or predictability of schedules across projects because individual differences are so great.  Management has no knowledge of quality as a management tool.  Further, there is no knowledge of management as a systems development tool.  The environment is ad hoc and often chaotic.

         A typical attitude about quality is that there is no idea as to why there are quality problems.  The only measurements of quality are whether or not the system works and the personal working relationships between developers and users.  Some work may be excellent, some may be bizarre.  It is totally dependent on the individual.

         What we find in organizations like this is the impossibility of attempting projects of any appreciable size.  A one to two man project of duration of less than one year is about the largest that can be attempted in this environment with any reasonable hope of success.  The organization lacks the ability to coordinate the efforts that cannot be easily handled by one or two individuals.

 

Level 2 - Awakening, Repeatable, Routine

 

         At this level it becomes understood by management that projects require coordination.  Some procedures are instituted, often informal.  One of the first things that is instituted is time reporting.  An attempt is made to provide schedules.  These things are done by management fiat.  However, there is little understanding of the dynamics of the process and no visibility or feedback mechanisms for measurement and control.  The organization often loses control when projects don't follow the proscribed routine.  The process is still dependent on the individuals actually performing or managing the work.  It is estimated that about 15 per cent of Information Systems organizations operate at this level.

         A typical attitude about quality in these organizations is to ignore problems and hope they will go away.  If management doesn't recognize quality problems they won't have to deal with them.

         Personnel only go through the motions of following procedures, with no real understanding of them.  Procedures are quickly abandoned when things go wrong and the organization reverts to Level 1 performance.  Schedules are regarded as mere "Wish Lists" with no bearing on reality.

 

Level 3 - Enlightenment, Defined, Steering

 

         This is the minimum level required for sustained quality improvement.  It is also the minimum level at which productivity improvement tools and methodologies can be effectively used.  Procedures are defined and followed, even in a crisis.  Management understands the process.  There is feedback, early and often.  The process is stable and controlled.  Larger projects, requiring coordination of several individuals, can now be undertaken with some assurance of success.  Maybe five per cent of all information systems organizations consistently operate at this level or higher.

         The organization believes that through commitment to quality improvement, problems are being identified and solved.  Initial attempts at measurement are made by querying customer response, but this is not generally done systematically.  The organization enjoys consistent success in meeting commitments.  The focus is on controlling the product, at key steps within the process.

 

Level 4 - Wisdom, Managed, Anticipating

 

         There is an increased understanding of procedures, which are followed uniformly.  Comprehensive process measurements and analysis of processes has been implemented.  This level is where significant quality improvement really begins.  Few organizations have achieved consistent operation at this level.

         Defect prevention - doing it right the first time - is now a routine part of the operation.  The organization achieves consistent success, even on the most ambitious projects.  They are constantly improving the quality of all products by improving the quality of the processes used in creating those products.  There is a high visibility of the processes.  This is the major difference between levels 3 and 4.  Level 3 attempts to control the quality of the product.  Level 4 attempts to control the quality of all products by controlling the quality of the processes.

 

Level 5 - Certainty, Optimized, Congruent

 

         All personnel understand and follow procedures, which everyone is involved in improving at all times.  Sophisticated and automated measurement of quality is done on a continuous basis.  At this time, this level is basically theoretical for information systems organizations, although a few organizations have achieved CMM level 5 process maturity.

         These organizations do not have quality problems and they know why they don't.  Quality is measured by mean time to customer failure, usually many years.  Customers can bet their life on quality.  The environment is totally responsive to the customer.

 

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

 

         In implementing quality improvement in Information Systems, regardless of the current quality maturity level of the organization, there are certain specific steps which must be taken.

 

Define Processes

 

         The first thing that must be done is to establish a minimum set of defined, repeatable, measurable and controllable processes.  These processes must include a formal System Development Life Cycle Methodology and a formal Project Management Methodology.

Establish Standards

 

         The organization must establish standards of performance for every task contained in the System Development Life Cycle and the Project Management Methodology.

 

Implement Quality Assurance

 

         The organization must implement a formal System Quality Assurance and Testing Life Cycle and integrate it with the System Development Life Cycle.  A system of Walkthroughs, Inspections and Technical Reviews must be implemented based on established standards.

 

Implement Techniques and Methodologies

 

         It makes little difference what specific tools and techniques are used, quality improvement benefits can be realized with any of these.  The organization may wish to use such things as Structured Techniques, Rapid Analysis, Joint Application Development, Prototyping, Object Oriented Techniques, etc.  Some of these techniques may be implemented at the time standards are established if the organization chooses to standardize around a particular approach to system development.

 

Automate the Processes

 

         At some point in the process, automation will be required to achieve truly significant improvements.  Automation will further standardize the process, reduce variability, enable sophisticated measurement and control.

         CASE tools, Object Oriented Development and automated project planning and accounting tools can enable tremendous quality and productivity improvements, but only after the groundwork has been laid.  Automation will not achieve positive results until stable processes are defined.

 

Measure Processes

 

         Sophisticated and automated measurement of product and process quality is necessary to achieve the highest levels of quality improvement.  You can't control what you can't measure, and the better you are able to measure what you do the better you are able to control it.  Again, it must be remembered that you should measure the things that the customer cares about.  A sophisticated measurement system that measures the wrong things will have a negative effect on quality.  what you measure is what you get.

 

PROBLEMS THAT WILL BE ENCOUNTERED

 

         How can we anticipate and overcome the problems of implementing quality improvement in Information Systems.

 

Dealing With the Impetus For Change

         All organizations are resistant to change.  An organization will only undertake change when it can no longer meet the demands placed on it in the current mode of operation. Demands will come from customers or potential customers, the problems that the organization is attempting to solve and by the threat of competition.  In the short run it is possible to resist change by trading one set of demands for another, but only in the short run.

 

Difficulties Encountered

 

         Management may be satisfied with the current mode of operation, including quality and productivity.

         Management may fear losing the current level of quality and productivity in an attempt to do better.

         Management lacks understanding of other ways of managing the information systems function.  Nobody will adopt a technique they don't know about.

         Management must always deal with the invisibility of their own culture.

 

Errors

 

         There are only two reasons for errors that result in poor quality:  lack of knowledge, and lack of attention.  Lack of proper tools is a lack of knowledge or attention on someone's part.  Failure to provide adequate training and direction is one the most common signs of lack of management commitment to "Total Quality."

 

The Major Impediment

 

         The single greatest impediment to quality is the top Information Systems executive.  There is simply a lack of understanding and commitment at this level.  Information Systems executives must change their attitudes about standards.  However, when the Information Systems executive converts, they become the greatest force behind quality.  Quality is, after all, a management problem.

         Note that fully two thirds of all quality improvement efforts fail to realize significant results.  The reason is always the same - lack of management understanding, commitment and involvement.  The process is never self-sustaining.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

James A. Ward is an independent management consultant specializing in System Development Project Management and implementation of Quality and Process Improvement Initiatives in Information Systems.  Mr. Ward has over thirty years of experience in information systems management and consulting.  He holds an MBA in Finance and Business Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Minnesota. He holds a PMP certification from PMI.

 

Mr. Ward resides in Jacksonville, Florida.  He can be contacted at (904) 273-8777 or via e-mail at soozward@earthlink.net. Visit his web site at http://www.JamesAWard.com.