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Quality in the 21st century : perspectives from ASQ Feigenbaum Medal winners
Sampaio P., Saraiva P., Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, 2016. 118 pp. Type: Book (978-3-319213-31-6)
Date Reviewed: Aug 18 2016

As computing professionals, we are all professionally concerned with the issue of quality in our software products, embedded systems, user interfaces, and maintainability. We use products produced by others and produce products used by others. We might not be able to rigorously define quality, but we recognize when we see it and are painfully aware when we do not find it.

The opportunity to review this book came shortly after I decided to reread Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance [1], 30 years after I first read it. The key philosophical concept in Pirsig’s book is the metaphysics of quality. Pirsig describes quality as an undefinable concept, but a fundamental property that we all can recognize. In order to apprehend quality, it is necessary to view it as multifaceted with all aspects viewed or considered simultaneously, like looking at a brilliantly cut jewel.

This slim book is a collection of essays prepared by several winners of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Feigenbaum Medal. The award is named after Armand V. Feigenbaum, the originator of total quality management (TQM). Recipients must be significant contributors to the field and must be 35 years old or younger at the time of winning the award. The first award was given in 1998, and the winner, Pedro M. Saraiva, is one of the book’s editors.

The book contains two forewords from ASQ leaders, nine essays, and a short section of biographical sketches of medalists who did not contribute to the book. The essayists discuss two major issues: the quantitative measurement of quality using methods like Six Sigma and Lean, and the qualitative philosophical commitment of an organization to quality as a leadership issue. These two aspects exist at two levels in an organization. The quantitative metrics are used and applied at lower levels, where the actual work of the organization is done. The prioritization of quality as a genuine institutional value is a philosophical issue that has to flow from the executive suite. If it does not, assurance of quality at lower levels is done in spite of the system or else nothing is assured. Quality becomes a hollow slogan.

Two of the essays stand out. Barbara Santiano’s “Common Sense, Use the Right Tool for the Job” describes several case studies of the use and misuse of quality systems and metrics, and encourages readers, especially those in decision-making roles, to be mindful and think critically about how quality becomes both a philosophical value and a practical means of achieving the organization’s goals. The other essay, “The Role of Learning and Exploration in Quality Management and Continuous Improvement,” by Jamison Kovach, examines the dialectic between the organized management of quality metrics and the need for organizational nimbleness in developing new knowledge and in deepening the critical understanding of procedures and processes in place. Restrictive management can lead to institutional ossification and obsolescence, whereas excessive adventurousness can make maintaining standards an illusion.

Because these are essays by young investigators and practitioners in quality, they have the limitations of the perspective of youth born from a lack of experience. It would be interesting to see what the authors would write when they are 70.

Reviewer:  Anthony J. Duben Review #: CR144695 (1611-0770)
1) Pirsig, R. M. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. William Morrow & Co., New York, NY, 1974.
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