Quality and Innovation

What? A book on continuous improvement that would make executives and other managers happy?

Yes, Arun Hariharan has made this happen in Continuous Permanent Improvement, published by the ASQ Quality Press in May 2014. Although there are many references that describe the mindset and philosophy of quality and continuous improvement efforts, it is rare to see one that could meet the needs (and satisfy the interests) of executives as well as operations managers. This book, which reflects on his experiences working with organizations of all sizes over the past three decades, provides a refreshing perspective, aiming to “give you a holistic and strategic approach to quality, rather than the limited view that restricts the benefits to only certain operational or tactical aspects.” These well-written and engaging 236 pages easily meets this primary goal. As part of an interview with Arun on the ASQ blog, Julia McIntosh calls this “a strategic distillation of experiences, anecdotes, stories, case studies, and lessons learned from successes and mistakes in nearly three decades of experience.”

There are several highlights that will also help readers bridge the strategic and operational levels.  For example, in Chapter 4, the author differentiates between SIPOC (Suppliers – Inputs – Processes – Outputs – Customers) and the “outside-in” COPIS (Customers – Outputs – Processes – Inputs – Suppliers) approach to understanding a process first from the customer’s perspective. He adds that COPIS can be used strategically as well as operationally, and provides a comprehensive case study of how strategic COPIS was applied at one organization. Chapter 5 presents the rationale for standardized processes in the context of an expanding bakery, a story that provides an excellent backdrop for explaining the relationship between standards and innovation. In Chapter 8, the author demonstrates a very straightforward method for value stream mapping, by simply identifying which stages of a process can be considered types of waste. Chapter 9 provides the most comprehensive explanation of “First Time Right” that I have seen in print.

This book is not a manual or reference guide that covers specific techniques for improvement and how to implement them. More significantly, it uses stories to illustrate how the many dimensions of quality and business excellence can be effectively integrated in practice. By taking this approach, the author has provided an excellent resource for practitioners who are looking for new insights, as well as academics who are seeking a more nuanced understanding of how continuous improvement is organized and managed in practice. It would also make an excellent textbook for an advanced undergraduate or graduate course in practical process improvement.

This is draft material for a review that will be published in the October 2014 issue of Quality Management Journal.