Quality Progress - American Society for Quality

16531 Re: Letter: Knowing the Basics Is Just as Important as Knowing the Theory
Steven Prevette
Jul-14-03
I certainly agree that you must know both the basics and the theory. Knowing only
theory without any basics can have its shortcomings, as well as knowing the basics
without any theory. I would suggest the second case is more "dangerous" than the first.
Knowing the basics without any theory behind them generally creates a "hack" (Dr.
Deming's used this term for this situation). I can say my intent was only to provide an
introduction to the concepts in Systems Thinking, and to introdue the reading that there
are other concepts out there than just Six Sigma. I did provide some internet and book
references so that those who would like to continue onwards and learn the basics can do
so. I myself would be plenty willing to write follow-on article(s), but I don't know if I
could do justice to the great books that are already out there, especially The New
Economics and Out of the Crisis (by Dr. Deming).
Steve Prevette
one of the authors of the "multiple choice" articles.
16526 Letter: Knowing the Basics Is Just as Important as Knowing the Theory
ASQ Staff
Jul-14-03
I just finished reading "Multiple Choice" in the July 2003 edition of Quality Progress (p.
25). The statement was made in the opening comments that you were looking to meet
customer needs, one in particular being the many requests for help in "starting a quality
program." I don't believe those articles would help. In fact, I sometimes feel the quality
literature has lost its way because there is much diversity preached but not enough
foundational information. Sports and quality have one one key element in common; you
must be grounded in the fundamentals. For someone trying to establish a quality system,
they must have all of the basics covered. In sports competition, you have many teams that
all play under the same rules. It seems the perennial winners have a high level of
discipline for the fundamentals; physical training, practice over and over until you really
have it down and making the fewest errors. My title is quality "assurance" which means
I'm responsible for "assuring quality." In years past it was quality of the product thru
establishing a good quality practices. It has now expanded to quality of the systems,
including those outside of quality. To do that you must have a thorough understanding of
the various processes and systems. All the literature preaches continual improvement and
adding value. However, unless you have control of the processes and systems, you can't
improve them. It's no different than the basis of SPC; you can't determine capability if it's
not in control. All of the systems discussed, except for the ISO 9001 standard which
defines minimum requirements for a quality system, are refinements of this. They deal
with performance, optimizing processes and systems, and the theoretical. As a general
statment, most of us are in business to deliver products and services while consultants
and educators deliver theory. Theory is excellent as a catalyst for change, but you must