Posting Date: March 15, 2003

Is conformance to Requirements mediocre perfomance -- "We would be mediocre if all we do is unthinkingly conform in the same old ways to requirements that we do not challenge. We may even bring our company down if we collectively work with that attitude. We will also be mediocre if our requirements or the processes we use to meet them are mediocre."

Reader Comments...

I agree with the article.

It's a pity Webword selected an unrepresentative extract. Either of the following would have been better:
(a) "Quality is conformance to requirements – no more, no less. The intention here is to eliminate confusion and subjectivity."
(b) "We can shine gloriously in the eyes of the marketplace if we conform in the most economical and the cleverest of ways to the most correct and most attractive of requirements."

Posted by: Philip Chalmers on March 16, 2003 06:03 AM

requirements are meant to establish what the end product is. obviously you cannot define everything and people will interpret things differently.

Posted by: keith knutsson on March 16, 2003 02:15 PM

"With ISO 9000 you can still have terrible processes and products. You can certify a manufacturer that makes life jackets from concrete, as long as those jackets are made according to the documented procedures and the company provides next of kin with instructions on how to complain about defects. That's absurd."
-- Richard Buetow, corporate quality director at Motorola

Posted by: on March 16, 2003 07:32 PM

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