The multiple quality models paradox: how much ‘best practice’ is just enough?

Abstract

AbstractToday, several dozen global, national, and industry‐specific standards compete for attention in the industry. Most companies have limited experience in implementing new quality models and few have experts across multiple quality model domains. For most organizations, the number of standards is excessive and unnecessary. Instead, organizations need a straightforward framework that establishes a systematic, value‐added, and effective governance structure and delivery mechanism based on industry‐accepted business process management principles. They need to do this without having to subscribe explicitly to many different models, standards, and best practices.This paper looks at several key industry standards (ISO 9001, CMMI, ITIL, ISO 27001, eSCM‐SP, Six Sigma) and uses the concept of ‘process DNA’ and ‘Quality Genes’ to analyze the key concepts contained in these standards. The Q‐Genes are then used as the basis to explore several organizational archetypes and how different types of organizations can effectively take advantage of the principles in these standards, while limiting unnecessary and redundant effort.This paper recognizes the value of having processes that are drawn from widely accepted and proven quality models. However, it also seeks to find a suitable balance between process maturity and excessive complexity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.