Embracing the Spirit of Quality

Lake Hayes, by Arrowtown, New Zealand. March 2008

Arthur C. Clarke wrote that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And if you believe the dictionary, technology encompasses all of the "ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization". This means that software, hardware, social networks, organizational networks, and the many dimensions of quality systems (e.g. ISO 9000, Baldrige, TQM) are all technologies. How can we collectively advance these technologies to create immense personal, organizational, political and social value so they really feel like magic?

Snapshot of current activities:

Processing Master of Change data to uncover what characteristics of an organizational network correspond to agility. Exploring ways to measure agility (especially in software organizations). Preparing course materials for GSCI 161, Science Processes. Developing a new method to measure Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).