ASQ Future of Quality Study

I participated in this year's ASQ Future of Quality Study for the first time. So far, it has been very interesting and quite mentally challenging.

In late February, about 150 volunteer from around the world were given a list of 40 forces. Current events as well as past issues. They ranged from migrating populations, to aging workforce, to high public debt, to personalized learning, to technology changes, to market volatility, to open source, and almost everything in between. We were each asked to choose the 10 most important ones that would affect the future of quality and our profession. We were also asked to state why we picked those forces. Of course, everyone did not pick the same items.

After reading everyone's answers, we were asked to do it again, but with a smaller number. We were also asked to suggest groupings and common conditions. This is a pretty classic approach to data analysis. One more round with more comments and thought.

By the third and last round in late March, I saw a pretty clear picture emerging and wrote to the team:

The one constant force for all (but a very few) of these trends is "Accelerating Rate of Technological Change." Many who have studied this believe it to be a fundamental condition of our Universe. I am one of those. Supporting this classification would be accelerating rate of technological change, 21st century technology, technical tools, nanotechnology, bioengineering, and even aging population.

There are two major EFFECTS of this accelerating change: "Changing Role of the Profession" and "Access and Use of Information."

Because of technology, our profession and professionals are changing. Supporting this would be new dimensions of quality, integrated management, tie-in to operational management, systems thinking, and complexity.

Also because of technology, everyone on the planet has greater access to and use of information. This increase in information, information flow, and eventually knowledge causes our stakeholders to behave differently. Supporting this would be consumer awareness, globalization, shifting market focus, customization, social media, and global power shift.

There is a SUB-EFFECT of our greater access to and use of information: "A Drive Towards a Sustainable Planet." We are much more aware of the effects humans are having on the planet. Supporting this force would be natural resources, environmental concerns, climate change, protection of the environment, alternative energy, future energy, destabilization, and global responsibility.

The original 40 forces were boiled down to just 8 and Paul Borawski released them in his View from the Q blog last week. These 8 forces were more detailed than the few I mentioned above, but I think they accurately reflect the thoughts of the worldwide team of over a hundred panelists. I encourage you to review them to see how they will be affecting your individual careers.

The next step in the process is to explore the implications of these 8 forces on the very meaning of quality, on the use of the tools within our organizations, and on the profession as a whole. A much smaller group will send our thoughts into ASQ headquarters, where they will be combined and edited for a story in the magazine.

“I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive a variety of quality resources as honorarium from ASQ in exchange for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.”