TQM in Software Development
July 15th, 2008 | by emontero |The following is an English translation of a brief paper I wrote about TQM and software development for an undergrad class in Dominican Republic. I felt like sharing this with the many IT peers that read my blog. I hope you guys enjoy it.
NOTE: The paper’s tone was rather informal (i.e. not academic) because the professor encouraged “open” and “brutally honest” communication in class. He wanted our work to be clear, concise and to the point. He was not fond of bombastic verbosity or the “stiffness” of scholastic vocabulary.
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We are usually accustomed to hear and read about TQM (Total Quality Management) in other areas but software development (SD). We normally run into the concept in one of our business courses or when somebody blurts it out during a meeting at work. However, TQM’s notions can be easily applied to SD management in order to increase productivity and reduce the amount of bugs introduced in the final product.
Let us succinctly review TQM’s main aspects (i.e. customer focus, attention to process, continuous improvement, measurement and analysis of data, human factors, management and leadership) and how they relate to software development.
CUSTOMER FOCUS
One interesting characteristic of every modern quality theory is the preponderant role the customer plays in the definition of quality. Simply put, the customer determines what quality is. TQM is no exception to this principle. [Carroll, 1995] Similarly, software developers are also on the lookout for better and more efficient ways to achieve maximum customer satisfaction.
Personally, I have noticed most software engineers (at least the vast majority of the ones I’ve met) concern themselves with what customers, both internal and external, have to say about the product. Do they like our software? How do we know? Conversely, do they detest our product? If so, why? How can we improve our software? Feedback, whether rants or positive comments, largely determines what goes in or out of the next release.
Naturally, internal communication becomes another important aspect. The ability to keep everyone in the team on the same page will go a long way towards higher levels of customer satisfaction:
TQM requires cross-functional teams to encourage communication and business understanding; working with staff from outside the IS function means that system developers gain a greater understanding of the business problems which need to be solved by information systems (Mathieson and Wharton, 1993; Tobin, 1990). [Carroll, 1995]
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
A salient theme discussed in every other managerial meeting, and one that has also found its way into the software development realm, is the concept of continuous improvement. TQM’s definition of continuous improvement is remarkably concise (dare I ask, recursive?):
Continuous improvement (or kaizen) is a continuous process of making improvements, typically by small steps. In Japanese, kai means to alter and zen means to make better. [Brandon, 2006]
Despite its seemingly easy definition, continuous improvement is one of those gray, murky areas in software development. How do you know you are effectively improving your build and deployment processes if you tweak them a little? What metrics are in place to feasibly estimate improvements over a long, or short, period of time? It all boils down to a simple, yet crucial, statement:
Quality planning and delivery is an iterative process. [Phillips, Joseph & Luckey, Teresa, 2006]
So, when in comes to process improvements (both in TQM and SD), the approach yielding the most results is encapsulated by the following remarks: measure, measure, measure, iterate, iterate, iterate, ad infinitum!
HUMAN FACTORS, MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
The value of a good manager is immeasurable regardless of the discipline we are talking about. SD is not an exception to this conspicuous canon:
Management must lead, not punish. It is manager’s job to help MIS staff do a better job and create a better system. Project managers must be trained in basic interpersonal and analytical skills. They must have a solid understanding of statistical process control. They should know that in any software development team whose performance is in statistical control, half of them would always be below average. They should focus on those members whose performance is out of statistical control. [Chen, 2000]
Just as TQM’s concepts undeniably portray, the role of upper management in achieving higher quality standards lies within a single concept: leadership. Software engineers, just as everyone else doing any kind of creative job, need to be particularly motivated in order to achieve their utmost potential. When the leader, instead of just “the boss”, fully understands the technical minutia of SD, cares about the well being of his/her engineers and proactively fosters an environment conducive to innovative work, there is greater room for involvement and collaboration among team members (necessary traits of every team in today’s fast-paced IT industry).
A BIGGER PICTURE
Overall, TQM’s concepts and principles are certainly applicable to software development. Nevertheless, because it was initially conceived to appeal to a broad range of industries, other theories were created after TQM to specifically support software development and maintenance. Refer to the following picture for a few examples of new quality theories and their relevance in SD/IT:
Source: Project Management for Modern Information Systems, 2006
What has your company done to accomplish higher levels of quality in your software development processes? Has TQM meant anything to you and your organization? If not, has any other quality policy been used to help you cope with bugs and maintenance costs?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brandon, Dan. Project Management for Modern Information Systems. IGI Publishing, 2006.
Carroll, Jennie. The application of total quality management to software development. Information Technology & People. Vol. 8, No. 4. Department of Information Systems, Monash University. Australia, 1995.
Chen, Houn-Gee et al. Total Quality Management in Software Development Process. The Journal of Quality Assurance Institute, Vol. 14, No. 1, January 2000, pp. 4-6 & 35-41.
Phillips, Joseph & Luckey, Teresa. Software Project Management for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
