Quality deployment in R&D organizations

A survey by the Industrial Research Institute Quality Directors' Network of member R&D organizations indicates that most of the organizations that initiated quality processes during the past several years still have those processes in place. However, only a portion of the organizations claim wide-scale implementation of quality practices; an equal number report stagnant or languishing activities. A key feature of the more successful approaches to quality deployment is that quality is viewed as a process that is highly structured and systematic and, at the same time, woven seamlessly into the organization to the point of being indistinguishable from standard business practices. The survey results suggest that quality processes, in order to be pervasive throughout an R&D organization, must be continually committed to, and aligned with, personal and organizational objectives, and adjusted or adapted to the specific environment-all to beneficially impact business success.