Are you delivering a quality product, a luxury one, or the perfect one?
Irina Rokosz
ISO 9000 defines quality as “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of an object fulfills requirements.” You might want to read that again. Or better yet, let me paraphrase: Quality means meeting the specifications of your product.
The ISO-9000 group talks about a Quality Management System (QMS). To have a QMS, you need to be consistent in what you do. Therefore, quality means meeting the specifications of your product consistently.
This might sound like a silly question, but do you actually have specifications for your product? I've seen enough different flavors of software engineering; that's why I’m asking. Just to be sure 😉
If you do have your product specifications, AND you're meeting them consistently, you're already producing a quality product. So, how do you turn it up a notch and start delivering a luxury product? By exceeding the specifications. Go above and beyond what your customer expects — both in product features and in customer service — and you'll be regarded as premium.
Lastly, what is perfection? It's zero errors. And that's why it's impossible to achieve. We can all strive for perfection, but we can never avoid having errors. Only people who do nothing make no mistakes.
On a side note, I'm sure you've heard the saying, “If you're not ashamed of your product, you've shipped too late.” The definitions of quality and perfection also tell us when we need to ship: when our product meets the specifications. Not earlier, but not later either. If we're waiting for our product to be perfect, we'll never ship it.
In summary, quality has 3 levels:
- Consistency = meeting the specs
- Luxury = exceeding the specs
- Perfection = zero errors
(Inspired by Seth Godin)