'''Quality''' refers to the inherent or distinctive characteristics or properties of a person,
object, process or other thing. Such characteristics or properties may set a person or thing apart from other persons or things, or may denote some degree of achievement or excellence. When used in relation to people, the term may also signify a personal
character or
trait.
The term is sometimes contrasted with the concept of
quantity. In
science, the work of
Aristotle focused on measuring quality, whereas the work of
Galileo resulted in a shift towards the study of quantity.
In manufacturing
In
manufacturing,
quality is the concept of making products fit for a purpose and with the fewest
defects. Many different techniques and concepts have been tried to minimize defects in products, including Zero Defects,
Six Sigma, and the House of Quality.
Most of these techniques and concepts are controversial to one degree or another, since there are two opposing schools of thought with regard to quality. One school subcribes to a
statistical approach to quality, measuring defects and then taking corrective action. The other school subscribes to a more organic approach, arguing that one should "design in quality" rather than trying to "test in quality".
Historical development of the concept
The meaning for the term
quality has developed over time. Four distinctive interpretations:
# "Conformance to specifications" (Phil Crosby in the
1980s). The difficulty with this is that the specifications may not be what the
customer wants; Crosby treats this as a separate problem.
# "Fitness for use" (
Joseph M. Juran). Fitness is defined by the customer.
# A two-dimensional model of quality (Noriaki Kano and others). The quality has two dimensions: "must-be quality" and "attractive quality". The former is near to the "fitness for use" and the latter is what the customer would love, but has not yet thought about. Supporters characterise this model more succinctly as: "
Products and
services that meet or exceed customers' expectations". One writer believes (without citation) that this is today the most used interpretation for the term
quality.
# "Value to some person" (Gerald M. Weinberg)
# (
W. Edwards Deming), "Quality is pride of workmanship." See
http://www.deming.org/
In music
In
music quality refers primarily to the
timbre, but also
dynamics and musical texture, of a section or piece.
See also
Category:Production and manufacturingCategory:Product managementcategory:ManagementCategory:Services management and marketingcategory:Marketing
da:Kvalitet
de:Qualität
fa:کیفیت
fr:gestion de la qualité
it:Qualità
mk:Квалитет
nl:Kwaliteit (eigenschap)
pl:Jakość
pt:Qualidade
fi:laatu
External Links
*
treqna.com An Open Source Six Sigma Approach, making it free and usable.