Technologies and techniques
Section 4 of the Body of Quality Knowledge looks at the tools and techniques that support the implementation of quality and improvement. Subjects include:
Specifying, designing and developing processes, products and services
Input requirements, for example customer, statutory, regulatory, technical, production, service or other specifications.
Transforming input requirements into specification, processes and defined systems using appropriate quality tools and methodologies.
Verification and validation of the specification, design, process and system outputs.
Process analysis & improvement
Mapping, process analysis, benchmarking and competitor analysis using the appropriate improvement tools and methodologies.
Problem diagnosis & improvement tools
Selection of appropriate tools including risk assessment, process capability, statistical process control (SPC), reliability, maintainability, life cycle, product/service failure techniques and other quality control tools.
Managing continual improvement
Recognising the evolutionary nature of continual improvement techniques.
The influence of culture.
Selection of appropriate continual improvement tools and techniques to improve the business, products and services.
Evolutionary versus breakthrough improvement. Change management.