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Improving Human-to-Human Communication Through AI and Chatbots

February 13, 2024
Actionable Insights, AI, AInklings, Article, Automation, Chatbots, Improvement, Innovation, Interactive books, Quality, Writing
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Improving Human-to-Human Communication Through AI and Chatbots

For God’s sake, there is truly no longer any excuse for typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors in your posts, articles, and other writings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots are transforming how we communicate. When integrated thoughtfully, this technology can optimise and enhance written communication between people. In this post, I’ll discuss some ways AI and chatbots can improve messaging, email, documentation, and other word-based interaction between humans.

Automated Proofreading and Editing

AI-powered writing tools already help by providing grammar and spelling checks. But newer capabilities can now also flag unclear phrasing, verbose language, overused words, and overly complex sentences. This aids writers in simplifying and refining their messaging before sending to a recipient. Readability statistics further help authors match their tone for the intended audience.

Summarisation and Translation Features

For long-form writing like reports or manuals, AI can generate a concise summary highlighting key facts, main takeaways, or action items. This allows collaborators or stakeholders to quickly grasp the essence before diving into the details. Meanwhile, instant translation functionality enables clear communication across language barriers.

Interactive Books

AI is also enhancing books through interactive elements powered by chatbots. Platforms like Ainklings.com allow authors to insert quizzes, discussion questions, exercises and other engaging features directly into the book text (or via sidecars). Readers can further highlight passages and interact with supplementary content related to the main narrative, enriching the reading experience.

Content Recommendations and Insights

Smart suggestions can enable more meaningful interactions through personalised recommendations. By analysing past correspondence as context, AI can prompt authors to include certain missing information, helpful examples, or reminders based on what the recipient would find useful. Language pattern analysis can also reveal insights for improving future discussions.

Automated Meeting Summaries and Notes

While AI currently struggles to match the creativity of human writing, it excels at capturing the salient points from meetings and presentations. Automated summaries of video sessions or collaborative spaces can save meeting participants time while ensuring everyone understands the key decisions or action items.

With thoughtful application, AI and chatbot tools can enhance understanding and engagement between people through better writing assistance, translation, summarisation, and recommendations. As these capabilities continue advancing, keeping the human audience at the center will be key to success.

Workshy Culture: A Top-Down Issue

November 28, 2023
Article, Needs, Organisational effectiveness, Quality, Toxic behaviours
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Workshy Culture: A Top-Down Issue

What Is Workshyness?

Workshyness is not just laziness; it’s a pattern where employees consistently do only what’s necessary to avoid dismissal. Only when we begin to understand this behaviourcan we start to address it effectively. Unlike “quiet quitting”, where employees fulfil their job requirements but don’t go beyond, workshyness involves not even meeting basic job expectations.

Example: The Workshy Employment Advisors

In an employment support office, where the staff’s mandate is to assist the unemployed in their job search, a covert workshy culture is evident through the actions of an advisor named Emily. Emily’s role involves providing personalised career advice, assisting with job applications, and conducting mock interviews. However, her engagement with these tasks is superficial.

Emily’s Covert Workshyness

Emily pretends to review CVs and cover letters, giving the impression of thoroughness while actually offering only superficial and hand-wavy feedback. Her client meetings are conducted with a professional demeanor, but her guidance is often generic, lacking in depth, and fails to address the specific needs and challenges of each individual. She fulfills her duties on the surface, but her involvement falls well short of genuinely empowering her clients in their job hunt.

Subtle Influence on Team and Management’s Lack of Insight

Other staff members, noticing Emily’s approach of maintaining appearances without delivering substantive support, begin to adopt a similar method. They keep up a façade of engagement but shy away from providing the in-depth assistance that clients truly need. This shift is not overt, making it more challenging to detect and address.

Helen, the office manager, perceives the team as functioning well, failing to recognize the lack of depth in their engagement. Without delving into the quality of service being provided, she inadvertently allows this minimalist work culture to continue.

Impact on Service Quality

This covert form of workshyness significantly undermines the quality of service. Clients receive assistance that appears adequate on the surface but lacks the tailored, proactive support essential for effective job seeking. The office, maintaining an exterior of efficiency, falls short of its fundamental mission to empower the unemployed with substantial support. This subtle workshy culture, marked by a lack of genuine engagement from both advisors and management, subtly but significantly diminishes the organisation’s impact and its ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of its clients.

How Do Managers Contribute?

Management plays a significant role in fostering a workshy culture. Many managers themselves display workshy tendencies, and thus inadvertently set a standard for their employees to follow. This trickle-down effect can create an entire organisational culture that normalises minimal effort. Moreover, as at least part of the managers’ role is to call out workshyness and work on tackling it, when they themselves are workshy their reports have free rein to persist in their avoidance of work.

What Happens When Leaders Are Workshy?

Leadership workshyness is particularly problematic. It’s not always apparent, as their positions often mask their lack of engagement. However, their minimal input and disengagement can severely impact organisational culture and performance. It creates a cycle where workshyness is both a cause and a symptom of a deeper organisational issue.

Why Address Workshyness?

Ignoring workshyness leads to a decline in overall organisational health. It affects productivity, team dynamics, and employee morale. Addressing it isn’t just about improving numbers; it’s about sustaining a healthy, thriving organisational culture.

Strategies for Change

Organisations can choose to actively combat workshyness. This involves rethinking leadership roles, ensuring managers are actively engaged and setting the right example. Companies can also choose to create environments where effort and engagement are expected and valued at all levels. It’s not enough to simply identify workshyness; organisations must actively work to build cultures where it cannot thrive.

In conclusion, workshyness is a systemic issue that often stems from the top. By acknowledging and addressing the role of management in perpetuating this culture, organisations can take significant steps towards fostering a more engaged and productive workforce.

Cracking the Quality Code: Deming and Crosby

September 1, 2023
Article, Crosby, Deming, Quality, Quintessence
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Cracking the Quality Code: Deming and Crosby

W. Edwards Deming is a name synonymous with quality management and process improvement, particularly in Japan where he helped revive post-war industries. Deming’s approach centres around Statistical Process Control (SPC) and the “Plan-Do-Study-Act” (PDSA) cycle, which emphasises iterative improvement.

His core philosophy manifests through “The 14 Points of Management,” guidelines designed to steer management’s decisions and actions towards achieving quality. Here are a few key points to consider:

  1. Create Constancy of Purpose: Long-Term Over Short-Term Deming believed in focusing on long-term goals instead of short-term profits.
  2. Adopt the New Philosophy: Innovation Over Status Quo Deming urged the adoption of new approaches to improve quality and productivity.
  3. Cease Dependence on Inspection: Build Quality In, Don’t Inspect It In For Deming, quality should be built into the process, rather than inspected into the finished product.
  4. Stop Awarding Business Based on Price: Value Over Cost Deming advised prioritising value and quality when choosing suppliers, rather than just looking at price.
  5. Improve the System: Continual Improvement Over Quick Fixes Deming emphasised the need for continual improvement in products, services, and processes.
  6. Use Training for Skills: Education Over On-the-Job Training For Deming, well-planned training programs were preferable to quick, on-the-job training.
  7. Implement Leadership: Leadership Over Mere Supervision Deming believed in guiding workers to better performance through leadership, rather than simply supervising them.
  8. Drive Out Fear: Openness Over Secrecy Deming recommended creating a work environment where employees feel secure, leading to better quality work.
  9. Break Down Barriers: Teamwork Over Individual Performance According to Deming, departments within an organisation must work together as a team for better quality.
  10. Eliminate Slogans: Reality Over Rhetoric Deming criticised empty slogans that demand performance without providing methods. “By what method?”
  11. Eradicate Numerical Quotas: Quality Over Quantity Deming advised against numerical production quotas that sacrificed quality for volume.
  12. Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship: Satisfaction Over Speed Deming believed in allowing employees to take pride in their work, rather than rushing them through tasks.
  13. Institute Education and Retraining: Learning Over Layoffs Deming advocated for continual learning and personal development of staff.
  14. Take Action: System-Wide Changes Over Piecemeal Adjustments Deming called for a comprehensive approach to organisational change, rather than making small, disconnected changes a.k.a. “tinkering”.

Deciphering Philip B. Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality

Philip B. Crosby, another heavyweight in the quality management arena, had a simpler but equally impactful approach. He believed in the concept of “Quality is Free,” which suggests that investing in quality from the get-go actually reduces costs in the long run. Crosby laid out the “Four Absolutes of Quality” as follows:

  • Quality Means Conformance, Not Goodness: Quality isn’t about being excellent; it’s about meeting specifications or requirements.
  • Quality Comes from Prevention, Not Detection: The emphasis here is on stopping mistakes before they happen rather than fixing them afterward.
  • Quality Performance Standard is Zero Defects, Not ‘That’s Close Enough’: Crosby propagated the idea that anything less than perfect is unacceptable.
  • Quality is Measured by the Price of Nonconformance, Not Indices: Crosby quantified quality as the cost involved when failing to meet the standard.

The Face-off: Deming vs. Crosby

Here’s some key distinctions between Deming’s and Crosby’s perspectives on quality:

Philosophy vs Pragmatism

  • Deming: Believed in a philosophical shift across the entire organisation, emphasising continual improvement as part of its DNA.
  • Crosby: Took a more pragmatic approach with clear, measurable standards, focusing on specific, achievable outcomes.

Definition of Quality

  • Deming: Didn’t provide a single definition for quality but suggested that it is a continuous quest for improvement.
  • Crosby: Defined quality strictly as conformance to requirements or specifications (not the written kind we think of today, but the actual needs of the customer).

Approach to Errors and Defects

  • Deming: Advocated for a constant, iterative process to reduce defects but didn’t explicitly demand a zero-defects approach.
  • Crosby: Pushed for a zero-defects standard, indicating that anything less was not acceptable.

Preventive vs Reactive Measures

  • Deming: While he supported preventive actions, his model allows for reactive measures as well, with the PDSA cycle helping to correct course.
  • Crosby: Strictly focused on prevention over detection, emphasising that errors should be eradicated before they occur.

Scope of Application

  • Deming: Offered a broad framework, the “14 Points of Management,” that touched on multiple aspects of an organisation.
  • Crosby: Provided a narrower focus through his “Four Absolutes of Quality,” zeroing in on specific key principles.

Cost Implications

  • Deming: Didn’t directly quantify the cost of poor quality, although he suggested that focusing on quality would naturally result in cost savings.
  • Crosby: Directly correlated the cost of poor quality with the price of nonconformance (PoNC), providing a numerical way to gauge it.

Flexibility vs Rigidity

  • Deming: More flexible, as his PDSA cycle allows organisations to adapt and evolve over time.
  • Crosby: More rigid due to his zero-defects policy and strict conformance to requirements.

These distinctions boil down to different focal points in the journey towards quality: Deming offers a holistic, philosophical path, while Crosby provides a more tangible, practical, metric-driven route. Both have their merits, and the choice between them often depends on an organisation’s prevailing assumptions and beliefs.

Fertile Mindsets

Now let’s directly compare the foundational beliefs and assumptions needed to implement Deming’s versus Crosby’s approaches to quality.

Philosophy of Continuous Improvement vs Zero-Defect Mentality

  • Deming: Assumes that improvement is a never-ending journey, fueled by the belief in the value of continuous, iterative processes.
  • Crosby: Operates on the belief that the goal is to reach a zero-defect standard, where each and every error is considered a failure.

Systems Thinking vs Focused Accountability

  • Deming: Necessitates a belief in systems thinking, where every part of the organisation is interconnected and contributes to quality.
  • Crosby: Focuses more on specific, measurable areas and assumes that quality can be attained by holding individuals or departments accountable for their specific roles.

Employee Involvement vs Strict Adherence

  • Deming: Assumes that employees are part of the solution and not the problem, advocating for an organisation-wide culture of quality.
  • Crosby: While not discounting the participation of employees, Crosby invited adherence to pre-defined standards, with less emphasis on employee involvement beyond meeting these standards.

Long-Term Vision vs Short-Term Metrics

  • Deming: Assumes that the organisation is committed to long-term goals and is willing to invest in long-term improvements without immediate ROI.
  • Crosby: Emphasised the achieving of short-term gains as building blocks toward overall quality. Achieving and maintaining a zero-defect status can be seen as a series of short-term objectives that eventually lead to long-term quality improvements.

Flexibility vs Rigidity in Execution

  • Deming: Beliefs must be flexible enough to adapt and change as new information and data become available through the PDSA cycle.
  • Crosby: Assumes a rigid, unyielding stance towards goals and metrics, with no room for deviation from the set standards.

Educational Investment vs Proactive Prevention

  • Deming: The organisation must believe in continuous learning and personal deveopment as fundamental aspects of quality improvement.
  • Crosby: Emphasises proactive prevention of errors, believing that the best way to maintain quality is to prevent mistakes in the first place.

Quantifying Quality

  • Deming: Quality is a more abstract concept, assumed to benefit the organisation in the long run, though not directly quantified.
  • Crosby: Operates on the assumption that quality can be precisely measured through the ‘price of nonconformance,’ making it a more tangible asset or liability.

By understanding these foundational differences, organisations can better assess which approach to quality management aligns with their existing culture, beliefs, and goals.

Final Musings

Both Deming and Crosby offer frameworks that have stood the test of time and continue to be referenced in the world of quality management. Picking one over the other isn’t a straightforward choice; it’s more about aligning their strategies with your organisation’s unique assumptions and beliefs. After all, quality isn’t a one-size-fits-all garment but a tailored fit that evolves with the organisation and its memeplex.

Embracing the Joy of Work: Unpacking Deming’s Business Management Insights

July 12, 2023
Alien tech, Article, Business, Culture change, Deming, Improvement, Leadership, Psychology, Quality
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Embracing the Joy of Work: Unpacking Deming’s Business Management Insights

In our quest for success, we often navigate an array of management myths. But how can we move beyond mere avoidance of these pitfalls? The answer lies within the profound wisdom encapsulated in the Deming management philosophy.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming was a pioneer who advocated for creating work environments centered around continuous improvement, quality, and productivity. His philosophy isn’t just about avoiding mistakes—it’s a guiding light that leads to better, more fulfilling workspaces.

Let’s delve into Deming’s key principles:

Appreciation for a System

To lead effectively, we must see our organisations as interconnected systems, not standalone silos. Grasping how efforts and teams interrelate to achieve our common goals is pivotal.

Understanding Variation

Deciphering between normal variation within a process (common cause) and external, unusual changes (special cause) helps us make informed, data-driven decisions.

Theory of Knowledge

Leaders might choose to foster an environment of intellectual curiosity, where assumptions are challenged and failures become stepping stones to improvement. Knowledge isn’t simply accumulated—it evolves over time.

Psychology

Recognising human nature and its role in work is crucial. A supportive environment, where employees feel valued and secure, nurtures creativity, productivity, and joy at work.

Summary

These principles are intertwined—understanding one demands comprehension of all. Applied well, they offer a roadmap away from management myths towards a reality where work is a source of personal fulfillment and growth.

Remember, as Deming put it, “People are entitled to joy in work”. Let’s champion this ethos and create workplaces where our teams don’t just survive but flourish.

Effective Software Development

April 21, 2023
Alien tech, Article, Business, Capability development, Culture change, Improvement, Innovation, Lamentation, Management, Productivity, Quality, Quintessence
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Effective Software Development

Everyone in the software industry (managers excepted) knows the following is true, yet nobody wants to talk about it:

Effective software development is entirely incompatible with typical (hierarchical, command-and-control) management.

After 50 years in the industry, I’d go so far as to say:

Effective software development is entirely incompatible with ANY known form of management.

Corollary

Place managers in charge of software development and it can NEVER be ANYTHING but ineffective (high costs, low quality, poor due date performance, lack of innovation, etc.).

NB Applies more broadly, beyond the domain of software development, too.

Reasons

The reasons for this incompatibility can be explained as follows:

1. Creativity and innovation: Software development is a highly creative and innovative process that often requires developers to think out of the box, experiment, and come up with novel solutions. A hierarchical management structure stifles creativity and inhibits the free flow of ideas, emphasising, as it does, strict adherence to rules and policies.

2. Responsiveness and flexibility: In the rapidly changing world of technology, software development teams need to be responsive and adaptable in order to respond quickly to changes in requirements, market conditions, approaches, and user feedback. A command-and-control management style, which relies on rigid plans and mandated approaches, tools, makes it difficult to impossible for teams to pivot and adapt as needed.

3. Collaboration and communication: Effective software development relies on close collaboration and communication among team members with diverse skills and expertise. Hierarchical management structures create barriers to communication, with information flowing primarily up and down the chain of command, rather than freely among team members.

4. Autonomy and motivation: Software developers tend to be highly skilled, motivated individuals who thrive on autonomy and the ability to make decisions about their work. Command-and-control management undermines their motivation by imposing external control and limiting their decision-making authority.

The broader point being made in the corollary statement is that traditional hierarchical management is never the best fit for software development, and that organisations might choose to consider alternative organisational styles and structures that are more conducive to the unique demands of software development.

This idea can indeed apply beyond the domain of software development, as many industries are increasingly recognising the need for more responsive, collaborative, and flexible management approaches to drive innovation and adapt to rapidly changing environments.

Who Was Peter Scholtes and What Did He Say About The System?

March 3, 2023
Article, Culture change, Deming, Organisational effectiveness, Quality, Systems thinking
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Who Was Peter Scholtes and What Did He Say About The System?

Peter Scholtes was a respected author, consultant, and expert on quality management and leadership. He was born on August 29, 1939, in Madison, Wisconsin, and passed away on February 7, 2009. He is best known for his work on quality improvement and management, particularly in the context of the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement.

One of Scholtes’ key contributions to the field of quality management was his emphasis on the importance of understanding and improving the system (the way the work works). He argued that problems are often the result of flawed systems, and that in order to truly improve quality, cost, etc., organisations must focus on improving their systems rather than blaming individuals.

Scholtes also emphasised the importance of involving all employees in the quality improvement process, not just those in leadership positions. He believed that by empowering employees to identify and solve problems within the system, organisations could achieve significant and sustainable improvements.

In his book “The Leader’s Handbook: A Guide to Inspiring Your People and Managing the Daily Workflow,” Scholtes famously stated, “95% of the performance of an organisation is attributable to the system (processes, technology, equipment, materials, and environment) and 5% is attributable to the people. The role of management is to change the system rather than badgering individuals to do better.”

Note: This is often attributed to Bill Deming as “Deming’s 95:5”.

Overall, Scholtes was a significant figure in the field of quality management, and his emphasis on understanding and improving the system continues to be influential today.

 

Discover the Shocking Truth About QA vs QC: One Is a Complete Waste of Time and Money!

January 22, 2023
Article, Quality
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Discover the Shocking Truth About QA vs QC: One Is a Complete Waste of Time and Money!

Quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are often used interchangeably, but they are in fact two distinct concepts. QC is the process of inspecting and testing a product or service to gain knowledge about conformance of outputs to established standards and specifications. This process is typically carried out at the end of the production process, and it is focused on reporting the status of the production process and its outputs.

QA, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive approach that focuses on preventing defects from occurring in the first place. This process begins at the start of the production process and is ongoing throughout the entire development and production process. Quality assurance is focused on ensuring that the processes and systems in place are capable of producing a product or service that meets the established standards and specifications.

The distinction between QC and QA is important, as they both play a critical role in ensuring the quality of a product or service. However, in the software field, the term “QA” is often misused to refer to testing or quality control. This is a misuse of the term, as QA is a much broader and more comprehensive approach that encompasses the entire development process, from design and development to testing and deployment.

The misuse of the term “QA” in the software field is a common problem, as many companies and organisations do not understand the difference between QC and QA. This can lead to confusion and a lack of focus on the key elements of quality assurance, such as process improvement and continuous monitoring. This can ultimately result in a product or service that does not meet the established standards and specifications, leading to customer dissatisfaction and potential loss of business.

To avoid this problem, it is essential for companies and organisations in the software field to clearly understand the distinction between QC and QA.

In conclusion, Quality Control and Quality Assurance are two distinct concepts . Quality Control is focused on reporting on the status of the production process and its outputs, while Quality Assurance is focused on preventing nonconforming outputs (‘defects’) from occurring in the first place. In the software field, the term “QA” is often misused to refer to testing or quality control, which can lead to confusion and a lack of focus on the key elements of quality assurance.

It is crucial for companies and organisations in the software field to clearly understand the distinction between QC and QA and to ensure that their processes and systems are capable of producing a high-quality product or service.

A Conducive System

May 31, 2022
Article, Capability development, Culture change, Ethics, Improvement, Management, Organisational effectiveness, Productivity, Quality, Quintessence, Systems thinking
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A Conducive System

[Tl;Dr: What are the system conditions that encourage ethical – and productive, effective – behaviours (Cf William Kingdon Clifford) in software delivery organisations?]

In yesterday’s blog post “The System Is Unethical” I related my experiences of how businesses – and the folks that run them and work in them – remain ignorant of just how ineffective they are at software delivery. And the consequences of that ignorance on e.g. costs, quality, customer satisfaction, etc

To recap: an unethical system perpetuates behaviours such as:

  • Failing to dig into the effectiveness of the organisation’s software delivery capabilities.
  • Indifference to the waste involved (wasted time, money, opportunities, human potential,…).
  • Ignorance of just how much more effective things could be, with e.g. a change in perspective.
  • Bravado and denial when questioned about such matters.

The Flip Side

Instead of the behaviours listed above, we might seek a system that encourages behaviours that include:

  • Continual attention to the effectiveness of the organisation’s software delivery capabilities.
  • Concern over the waste involved, and actions to reduce such waste.
  • Investigation into just how much more effective things could be.
  • Clarity and informed responses when questions about such matters.

Conducive System Conditions

So what might a system conducive to such behaviours look like?

That’s what my book “Quintessence” illustrates in detail. But in case you’re a busy person trapped in a non-conducive system, I’ve previously written about some of the key aspects of a conducive system, here:

Quintessence For Busy People

BTW I’m always happy to respond to your questions.

– Bob

 

 

 

 

An Exec’s Guide To Achieving Mission-critical Software Delivery

May 20, 2022
Article, Business, Capability development, Culture change, Leadership, Management, Organisational effectiveness, Quality, Quintessence, Software Delivery
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An Exec’s Guide To Achieving Mission-critical Software Delivery

Nowadays, every business is a software business. Your enterprise needs to prioritise software delivery, be that deploying off-the-shelf solutions, commissioning bespoke software development, or a mixture of both.

Digital transformation: The term has been bandied about since it was coined more than a decade ago. I think we can all agree, though, that the “use of technology to radically improve performance or reach of enterprises” really gained momentum when the COVID-19 pandemic set in.

As we remember all too well, the entire world went digital within a matter of weeks, and companies raced to fulfil the soaring consumer demand for digital products and services. In fact, according to McKinsey, global businesses accelerated the adoption of digital offerings by an average rate of seven years — in a matter of just seven months. Some companies describe how they had to enable tens of thousands of home workers in just a few days!

The same McKinsey report shows that most business leaders see society’s digital shift as permanent. JPMorgan Chase’s CEO certainly thinks the increased use of digital apps and services is here to stay. He recently announced a 26% increase to Chase’s technology budget, focusing the $12 billion investment on further growing Chase’s portfolio of digital apps and services.

Providing innovative technologies is just half the job, though. There’s a lurking problem for business leaders: They can’t afford to let the delivery and integration of software into their businesses suffer delays and poor quality.

Just one schedule slippage in a key system can cause a cascade of problems. And when one of these slippages delays the deployment or upgrade of a key app or service, companies risk disrupted revenue streams, disgruntled customers, interrupted supply chains, lost productivity and frustrated staff.

Maintaining flow of software into the business is imperative to business continuity, but ensuring a steady, reliable flow is difficult. As businesses digitally transform and move their key processes to the cloud, and consumers utilise more digital innovations, their software estate grows in scale, complexity and fragility.

Consequently, maintaining the necessary software quality and delivery schedules must be a primary business objective. While leaders traditionally farmed out these responsibilities solely to their IT departments, technology has become so critical to business success that quality and delivery schedules can no longer hide in the opaque IT silo. It must – and has – become a culture and leadership issue.

Here are five steps executives can take to start embracing software quality, predictable schedules and steady flow:

Elevate Quality To Priority #1

When considering an enterprise’s numerous priorities, executives should take stock of the critical importance of quality. Does the company employ a virtual or hybrid workforce? Does the company interact or transact with customers online? Is revenue generated from online transactions? The questions can continue based on your industry, but chances are that most modern enterprises would agree they rely on a suite of software apps and software-based services for desired business outcomes.

Given the critical nature of digital apps and services — and their ability to provide a seamless experience for customers — executives should consider creating a culture of quality as a key performance indicator. Practically speaking, executives can and should treat quality numbers similarly to sales figures or other revered business metrics. One senior leader should be held accountable to the quality metrics and deemed responsible for relentlessly scrutinising and reporting on these figures alongside the business’s other KPIs.

If executives really want to underscore the importance of quality, they can walk the talk for their workforces. Business leaders can make quality a compensation-affecting business objective, like profit or sales targets. And they can tie these quality metrics back to the bottom line.

Focus On The People

In the era of “every business is a software business,” enterprises can no longer tuck away tech talent out of sight, removed from customer interaction. In fact, they should do the exact opposite, moving software folks to the front line and making them part of the business’s core value proposition. Actively marketing a company’s tech and nerd credentials will drive confidence in the brand’s digital presence. And enhance employer branding at the same time.

Naturally, redeploying the software folks goes both ways. Executives must also show genuine trust and respect for these key people. Even without extensive technical knowledge, business leaders can provide the kind of environment, and culture, that makes teams’ lives easier by reducing the cognitive load imposed by traditional management approaches. And they can give them the freedom to use modern paradigms like DevOps and CI/CD pipelines. Software teams with respect, resources and support will have a foot up on delivering innovations and protecting the quality of their deliveries.

Treat Unceasing Innovation As Standard

As most executives know, today’s world of digital business demands continuous innovation as a minimum requirement for keeping pace with competitors. This unceasing innovation requires executives to drop risk-averse postures and embrace reinvention and the concomitant continuous change.

Of course, amidst digital innovation, reinvention and even failure, quality remains a top priority. Executives need a business culture that allows their organisation to experiment, and sometimes falter, with the least amount of negative impact. After all, stagnation is no longer an attractive option.

Open The Chequebook and Invest!

If an enterprise relies on various digital apps and services for business performance, executives should guarantee the entire software delivery pipeline is exemplary.

While only the lucky few have an extra $12 billion on hand to invest in software delivery and the associated spend, executives should advocate for a big piece of the pie to go toward technology investment. And technology investment shouldn’t stop at commissioning delivery projects. Forward-thinking enterprises invest in next-generation delivery methods like Quintessence, alongside talent, training and time to innovate.

Make Technical Know-how A Leadership Must-Have

Executives should ask themselves a simple question: does anyone on the most senior team have “SDLC” or software delivery experience in their past or even present core competencies? While leadership teams are usually stacked with impressive qualifications — CPAs, MBAs and JDs — few include software people with practical SDLC experience. But given the importance of technology, executives should surround themselves with true technology practitioners.

A chief digital officer (CDO) can become a business leader’s quality czar. With a depth of SDLC experience, this role can help executives understand and benchmark their companies’ digital performance and balance digital transformation efforts with operations management.

Following these steps sends a clear message both internally and externally: innovating is no longer enough — changing the culture to remove the shackles of outmoded assumptions and beliefs is also necessary. If executives want to maximize their digital investments and thrive in a digital-first world, they must embrace quality and the culture that enables it.

– Bob

Spilt Milk And Defect Prevention

April 10, 2022
Article, Quality
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Spilt Milk And Defect Prevention

“It’s no use crying over spilt milk” they say. Which to me sounds like an acceptance that things will go wrong, and there’s no point trying to prevent such things.

I beg to differ.

The Milky Porridge

Spoon – face up

Let’s take my breakfast as an example. Most days I choose a bowl of hot porridge. I like to add a little cold milk on top of the porridge, to cool it down and add a little creaminess. To keep the milk separate from the porridge I habitually pour the milk onto a spoon. And inevitably, 90% of the time the milk splashes onto the countertop.

After eons spent wiping up the splashed milk every day, finally the penny dropped and I saw this anew – as a simple defect prevention challenge. 

Once seen in this light, a simple flip of the spoon, pouring the milk onto the back of the spoon, et voila! No more splashes. No more wiping up. 

Spoon – face down

Defect prevented. W5

– Bob

Managers Are PONC

March 4, 2022
Article, Management, Quality, Quantification
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Managers Are PONC

Number 4 in Phil Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality is “The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance (PONC), NOT indices.”

By which he meant, that the price of non-conformance to requirements tells us how often and the degree to which our organisation achieves quality. 

Le’s unwrap that a bit further.

In Absolute number 1, he says “The definition of quality is conformance to requirements, NOT ‘goodness’”.

So when we’re delivering stuff to our immediate customers that fails to conform to their requirements, that is not contributing to their success, we are failing to provide quality goods or services. 

We can measure this failure in terms of the price of non-conformance. That is, the costs involved in reworking, retesting, correcting, substituting, fixing-up or otherwise remediating the things we deliver so they do conform to our customers requirements.

In short, any cost that would not have been expended if quality had been perfect contributes to the price of non-conformance.

Managers Are PONC

If we look at the typical work of managers, almost all of what they do on a daily basis is all those fire-fighting remediations mentioned above. Indeed, in most organisations, this is the raison d’être of the manager’s role (minuscule other reasons include prevention of problems, and growth of the organisation and its revenues, profits).

Therefore it’s but a small jump to see that managers are one of the major contributors to their organisation’s price of non-conformance. In other words their costs (salaries, etc). are almost entirely consequent on their fire-fighting role.If fire-fighting was unnecessary, so would be the managers, and their costs.

– Bob

Further Reading

Unknown (2013). Manager Thought: Price of Non Conformance (PONC). [online] Manager Thought. Available at: https://rkc-mgr.blogspot.com/2013/07/price-of-non-conformance-ponc.html [Accessed 4 Mar. 2022].

Merbler, K. (2021) The Entrepreneur Who Created A Business Camelot: Philip B. Crosby. Dominionhouse Publishing & Design, LLC. Kindle Edition.

Customer Success

February 6, 2022
Antimatter principle, Article, Business, Needs, Organisational Therapy, Productivity, Quality
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Customer Success

The idea of “customer success” is widely understood in the halls of business, if not widely acted upon. “Customer success” is an outcome, sought for its contribution to a business’ own success. This sought outcome carries with it the belief that if a business’ customers can be helped to greater success, greater profits, market share, margins, revenues, customer loyalty, retention, reduced churn, etc. will accrue.

Put another way, businesses focussed on “customer success” believe it’s a means, maybe even THE means, to increase their own success.

In this way, we can see that:

  • It’s a belief.
  • It’s a belief widely understood, even though not widely held or practiced.
  • It’s a means – or strategy – to an end (the end in mind being success to the business doing the helping), not an end in itself.
  • Other means a.k.a. strategies to business success may appear more compelling.
  • Given my previous post “The Fifth Absolute of Quality” which describes “customer success” as being THE purpose of quality, those businesses which reject “customer success” as the means to their own success will likely also reject quality initiatives and programmes.
  • “Customer success” is not synonymous with “customer satisfaction” (far from it).
  • What customers need for their increased success is a subset of their total needs (other needs may exist unrelated to the “success” of that customer organisation, in particular the needs of the Core Group, and other Folks That Matter™️ within those customer organisations).

To sum up, “customer success” is widely understood, although less widely practiced.

The Organisational Psychotherapy Analogue

I posit that the idea of “Attending to Folks’ Needs” – the declared purpose of Organisational Psychotherapy – is analogous to the idea of “customer success”.

Businesses embracing the idea of “Attending to folks’ needs” believe that doing so is a means to increase their own success.

The difference comes from few indeed seeing the connection between attending to folks’ needs and the success of their business.

Some observations on the idea that “Attending to folks’ needs” will enhance the success of the attending business or organisation:

  • It’s a belief.
  • It’s an uncommon belief, held by only a few.
  • The mechanisms by which attending to folks’ needs deliver business success are understood by few.
  • It’s a means – or strategy – to an end (the end in mind being business success for the business attending to folks’ needs), not an end in itself.
  • Few have encountered the idea of attending to folks’ needs, fewer have considered it as a means for the success of their business, and fewer yet have adopted it.
  • Other means a.k.a. strategies for its own success may appear more compelling for the business.

To sum up, “Attending to folks’ needs” is not widely known nor understood as an idea, so not widely seen as a viable means to business success, and so not often embraced or practiced.

– Bob

Postscript

More eagle-eyed and sharp-witted readers may have noticed that this post contains two, apparently different means to business success:

  1. Focus on the success of the business’ customers.
  2. Focus on the needs of all the Folks That Matter.

Actually, I see this a a false dichotomy; as 1) is a subset of 2):

The Fifth Absolute of Quality

February 4, 2022
Article, Culture change, Quality
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The Fifth Absolute of Quality

In the heyday of Phil Crosby and his “Camelot” (Philip Crosby Associates – PCA), there were four absolutes of quality. I’ve posted before about these, as well as reframing them in the Antimatter Principle vocabulary. 

In recent times, PCA have come up with the Fifth Absolute of Quality. Grounded in the writings of Phil Crosby, but not an absolute he himself listed, the Fifth Absolute of Quality describes the purpose of quality, and reads:

The purpose of quality is customer success, NOT customer satisfaction.

“We took a hard look at the original Absolutes because we realized that a company could live by them and still fail… Building an organization that knows how to focus on customer success and make it a repeatable, continuous process is the next decade’s primary challenge.”

~ Wayne Kost

The Antimatter Principle Frame

As with my previous post reframing Crosby’s original Four Absolutes of Quality, I’ve taken the liberty to reframe this Fifth Absolute similarly. It reads:

The purpose of quality is ensuring we meet everyone’s needs, NOT giving people what they want.

– Bob

Further Reading

http://www.qualitymag.com. (2004). Customer Success, Not Satisfaction, Is Key. [online] Available at: https://www.qualitymag.com/articles/83845-customer-success-not-satisfaction-is-key [Accessed 4 Feb. 2022].

Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality Reframed

January 2, 2022
Antimatter principle, Compassion, Culture change, Needs, Organisational effectiveness, Product development, Quality, Quintessence, Requirements, Software development
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Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality Reframed

I recently posted a quickie repeating Phil Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality.

I accept that many folks find his choice of vocabulary less than clear. So, here’s a reframing of his four absolutes, reframed in the Antimatter Principle vocabulary (a reframing which you may or may not find more helpful).

  1. The definition of quality is meeting everyone’s needs, NOT “goodness”.
  2. The behaviour that causes quality to happen is paying attention to folks’ needs, NOT inspection.
  3. The performance standard for quality is “all needs met, for all the Folks that Matter™️”, NOT “that’s good enough”.
  4. The measurement of quality is the cost of focus, NOT indices.

– Bob

Quintessence: The Foreword

December 5, 2021
Article, Culture change, Organisational effectiveness, Quality, Quintessence
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Quintessence: The Foreword

The fine foreword kindly penned by Kevin Weiss, and excerpted from my new book “Quintessence“:

Most organisations don’t understand this basic fact: our product is the result of our culture, not the other way around. We persist in hiring industry veterans, adopting common best practices, and managing by objectives, believing this is the path to create unique, innovative, and world-class products.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

This book outlines a different approach. Putting people at the center of our work not only improves today’s performance but creates the foundation for ongoing innovation and renewal. It restores communication, respect, and enthusiasm between customers, suppliers, and employees. It eliminates waste and the need for firefighting.

As you read these pages, some ideas will seem impossible. “We could never do that here”, you’ll think to yourself — and you’ll be right! Using our current thinking and beliefs, we would be unable to adopt some of these ideas. Within our currently-structured way of doing business, attempts at wholesale change would be blocked.

However, refocusing the organisation from product to culture requires wholesale changes. Those changes begin in ourselves.

So don’t dismiss the craziest ideas, as they may ultimately prove most valuable. Instead think deeply, searching through our current practices to identify how we compensate. Then consider all of the costs imposed on our people, suppliers, and customers as a result.

That is the real challenge to readers of this book — to consider these ideas as a wholly different way of working, rather than an à la carte menu of possibilities. If you can do that, you may have what it takes to be a leader in your company’s transformation.

And if you do, jump at the chance! It will likely be the most rewarding time of your career.

Kevin Weiss
Philip Crosby Associates
December 2021

– Bob

Fun Times at Familiar

November 23, 2021
Article, Community, Culture change, Familiar, Fellowship, Learning, Organisational effectiveness, Product development, Productivity, Quality, Software development, Teambuilding
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Fun Times at Familiar

I’m minded to write something positive for a change (!) so I thought I might share how much fun a quintessential development organisation can be to work with. (I say work with, because we had almost no power structures, no managers, no bosses, and everyone was a colleague, a fellow.)

Familiar was a software house and consultancy, based near Reading UK (some forty miles west of London), which I started and led circa 1996-2000.

The years at Familiar was, for many of us, enormous fun. We were doing great things for our clients, bonding as a group, and learning loads about how to become a Quintessential organisation. The social side was just as much fun as the business side. Indistinguishable, really. We placed a lot of emphasis on the social aspects of the organisation:

  • Company-funded weekends away in plush country hotels – for the folks in the company along with their significant others.
  • Regular dIning out as a group, on the company’s expenses. 
  • Collaborative sessions (sprint planning and the like) in each others’ homes.
  • Other group social events (e.g. exhibitions).
  • An office configured for socialising – and learning – as much as for work (lounge, sofas, library, books, kitchen, etc.).

This was all made possible by the success we had commercially – a virtuous circle where fun led to great work for clients led to high margins led to funds for more fun… 

It was the kind of win-win-win (clients, us, suppliers) that quintessential organisations regard as normal.

If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.

– Bob