Built-In Quality

The process of verifying that a product or service meets the established standards of quality.

Relevant metrics: Code coverage and Code complexity

In this article

What is Built-In Quality

Built-in quality is the level of quality that is inherent in a product or service from the moment it is created. It is the result of the design, engineering, and manufacturing processes that are used to create the product or service.

Built-in quality is a critical concept to consider as the right level might ensure that the product or service meets the customer’s expectations and is reliable and durable. It also helps to reduce the cost of bug fixing, catching-up, repairs, or replacements, as well as the cost of customer service.

Where did Built-In Quality come from?

Built-in quality is a term that originated in the manufacturing industry. It refers to the quality of a product that is built into the design and production process. This means that the quality of the product is determined by the design and production process, rather than by the end user.

The quality of the product is determined by the design and production process, rather than by the end user.

Built-in quality is a key concept in quality assurance and is used to ensure that products meet the highest standards of quality. It is also used to ensure that products are safe and reliable. Built-in quality is an important part of the product development process and is essential for producing high-quality products.

Optimizing for great product performance

The goal of built-in quality in software development is to produce high-quality products and services that meet customer requirements and expectations, as well as internal standards and specifications, from the beginning of the development process. Built-in quality aims to reduce the need for costly and time-consuming bug fixing and rework later in the development cycle. The ultimate goal of built-in quality is to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by delivering high-quality, reliable, and usable products and services.

Proactive approach over a reactive approach

Built-in quality is a proactive approach to quality assurance, as opposed to a reactive approach. By taking a proactive approach, companies can identify and address potential issues before they become a problem, resulting in a higher quality product or service. This approach also allows for the identification of potential issues that may not have been identified through traditional quality assurance methods.

How to measure Built-In Quality

Measuring built-in quality is an essential step in ensuring that you are achieving your goals. There are many metrics that you can use to measure quality, including code coverage, code complexity, and performance metrics. Additionally, you can use customer feedback, bug reports, and other customer data to gauge the success of your efforts to implement built-in quality.

So how do you go about implementing built-in quality measures in software development? Here are some key steps to take:

Start with a focus on quality. This might seem obvious, but starting with a focus on quality is essential. It is important to establish a culture within your organization that values quality, and to make sure that everyone on your team understands the importance of built-in quality.
Define quality goals and metrics. Defining quality goals and metrics is essential to measuring your progress and ensuring that you are on track. This will help you determine what you need to do to achieve your goals and measure your progress over time.
Use automated tools. Automated tools can be incredibly helpful in ensuring built-in quality. Tools like code analysis, testing frameworks, and bug tracking systems can help you quickly identify and resolve issues before they become major problems.
Invest in training and development. Investing in training and development is essential to ensuring that your team is equipped to implement built-in quality measures. This can include training on specific tools and technologies, as well as training on best practices and methodologies.
Encourage collaboration. Encouraging collaboration among team members is essential to ensuring that everyone is working together towards the same goals. This can involve regular team meetings, sharing of information and insights, and working together on common goals.
Practice Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD). CI/CD is an approach to software development that focuses on delivering high-quality software quickly and efficiently. The process involves automatically building, testing, and deploying code changes as they are made, allowing developers to catch issues early in the development process. By implementing CI/CD, you can ensure that code changes are continuously tested and integrated, reducing the risk of bugs and defects in the final product.
Conduct Regular Code Reviews. Code reviews are an essential part of the software development process, providing an opportunity for developers to review and critique each other’s code. This helps identify potential issues, improves code quality, and helps ensure that the software meets the quality requirements defined in the project. By conducting regular code reviews, you can reduce the risk of bugs and defects and improve the overall quality of the software.
Use Industry Best Practices and Standards. There are a number of best practices and standards that software developers can follow to help ensure built-in quality in their projects. This includes following established coding standards, using design patterns, and following security best practices. By following these best practices and standards, you can reduce the risk of bugs and defects and ensure that the software is built to meet the highest quality standards.
Measure Quality Metrics. Measuring quality metrics is an important part of ensuring built-in quality in software development. This involves using tools and techniques to measure and track the quality of the software throughout the development process. Some common quality metrics include code coverage, defect density, and reliability. By measuring these metrics, you can identify areas where the software needs improvement and make changes to improve the overall quality of the software.

Benefits of Built-In Quality

The benefits of built-in quality are numerous and far-reaching. Firstly, it can help ensure customer satisfaction, as customers will appreciate a product that is reliable, secure, and performs well. Secondly, it can save time and resources in the long run, as it is much easier to find and fix issues early in the development process than it is later on. Thirdly, built-in quality can help reduce the risk of customer complaints, which can negatively impact a company’s reputation.

Increased Efficiency. Built-in quality helps to reduce the amount of time and resources needed to complete a task, as it eliminates the need for additional quality assurance processes.
Improved Quality. Built-in quality ensures that products and services are of the highest quality, as it is designed to detect and prevent errors before they occur.
Reduced Costs. By eliminating the need for additional quality assurance processes, built-in quality can help to reduce costs associated with quality assurance.
Increased Customer Satisfaction. By providing products and services of the highest quality, built-in quality can help to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Improved Productivity. Built-in quality can help to improve productivity, as it eliminates the need for additional quality assurance processes and allows for faster completion of tasks.

Challenges of Implementing Built-In Quality

“Inspection does not improve the quality, nor guarantee quality. Inspection is too late. The quality, good or bad, is already in the product. Quality cannot be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it.” — W. Edwards Deming

While the benefits of built-in quality are significant, there are also challenges to achieving it. One of the biggest challenges is that software development is a complex and dynamic process, and it can be difficult to keep track of all the quality metrics and ensure that they are met throughout the entire process. Additionally, ensuring built-in quality often requires significant resources and investments in tools, processes, and staff.

Ensuring that the quality of the product is consistent. Implementing built-in quality requires a high level of consistency in the quality of the product. This can be difficult to achieve, as it requires a thorough understanding of the product and its components, as well as the ability to identify and address any potential issues.
Maintaining the quality of the product over time. Built-in quality must be maintained over time, as the product is used and exposed to different conditions. This requires regular testing and monitoring of the product to ensure that it is still meeting the required standards.
Keeping up with changing standards. As standards and regulations change, it is important to ensure that the product is still meeting the required standards. This can be a challenge, as it requires staying up to date with the latest regulations and standards.
Ensuring that the product is cost-effective. Implementing built-in quality can be expensive, as it requires additional resources and time. It is important to ensure that the cost of implementing built-in quality is balanced with the cost of not doing so.

Built-In Quality in the context of SAFe

In the context of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), built-in quality refers to the practice of incorporating quality into every aspect of the software development process, from requirements and design to testing and deployment. The goal of built-in quality is to ensure that the end product meets the needs of the customer and is free from defects. This is achieved through a focus on continuous improvement, collaboration, and the integration of quality practices into every step of the development process.

SAFe emphasizes the importance of built-in quality by advocating for practices such as continuous integration and continuous testing, as well as incorporating quality gates into the development process to ensure that only high-quality code is released to production.

Built-in quality is an important aspect of the SAFe framework. Its role is to help ensure that software products are developed with a focus on quality and customer satisfaction, which ultimately leads to a more successful outcome for the development team and the business as a whole.

SAFe’s five key dimensions of built-in quality

The Agile Framework for Scaled Development (SAFe) outlines five key dimensions of built-in quality: flow, architecture and design quality, code quality, system quality, and release quality. Let’s examine how they are interrelated, and how they can contribute to the overall built-in quality your product.

Flow

Flow refers to the smooth and efficient movement of work through the entire software development process, from idea to delivery. It includes the speed and efficiency with which work is performed, as well as the reduction of waste and the elimination of bottlenecks. A good flow of work helps to ensure that the software system is delivered on time and within budget, and that it meets the needs of the end-users.

Architecture and Design Quality

Architecture and design quality refers to the overall structure and design of the software system. This includes the organization of the code, the choice of algorithms, and the selection of appropriate technologies. Good architecture and design ensure that the software system is easy to understand, maintain, and extend, and that it meets the needs of the end-users.

Code Quality

Code quality refers to the quality of the code itself. This includes its readability, maintainability, and scalability. Good code quality helps to ensure that the software system is reliable, efficient, and easy to understand, and that it meets the needs of the end-users.

System Quality

System quality refers to the overall performance and reliability of the software system. This includes the stability, scalability, and efficiency of the system, as well as its ability to handle unexpected situations. Good system quality helps to ensure that the software system meets the needs of the end-users, and that it is reliable and efficient.

Release Quality

Release quality refers to the quality of the software system as it is delivered to the end-users. This includes the stability, reliability, and overall performance of the system, as well as the level of customer satisfaction. Good release quality helps to ensure that the software system meets the needs of the end-users, and that it is delivered on time and within budget.

Examples

Toyota

Toyota is a prime example of a company that has implemented builtin quality into its production process. The company has developed a system of checks and balances that are designed to ensure that each vehicle is built to the highest standards. This includes a series of inspections and tests that are conducted throughout the production process to ensure that each vehicle meets the company’s quality standards.

Relevant questions to ask

What is the purpose of the built-in quality?
Hint The purpose of the built-in quality is to ensure that products and services meet the required standards of quality.
What are the expected benefits of the builtin quality?
Hint The expected benefits of the built-in quality include improved customer satisfaction, increased efficiency, and reduced costs.
What are the potential risks associated with the builtin quality?
Hint Potential risks associated with the built-in quality include increased costs, decreased customer satisfaction, and potential legal liabilities.
How will the builtin quality be implemented?
Hint The built-in quality will be implemented through the use of quality control processes, such as inspections, testing, and audits.
What are the costs associated with the builtin quality?
Hint The costs associated with the built-in quality will depend on the complexity of the quality control processes and the resources required to implement them.
How will the builtin quality be monitored and maintained?
Hint The built-in quality will be monitored and maintained through regular reviews and assessments of the quality control processes.
What are the potential impacts of the builtin quality on other systems or processes?
Hint The potential impacts of the built-in quality on other systems or processes include increased costs, decreased efficiency, and potential legal liabilities.
How will the builtin quality be documented and communicated?
Hint The built-in quality will be documented and communicated through the use of quality control documents, such as quality manuals, procedures, and standards.

People who talk about the topic of Built-In Quality on Twitter

John Maeda @johnmaeda
David Pogue @Pogue
Brad Frost @brad_frost

Relevant books on the topic of Built-In Quality

Out of the Crisis by W. Edwards Deming (1986)
Quality Is Free by Philip B. Crosby (1979)
Juran on Quality by Design by Joseph M. Juran (1992)
What Is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way by Kaoru Ishikawa (1985)
Managing Quality by David A. Garvin (1988)

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