QDDPodcastCover2024 (1)

Quality During Design Podcast Blog

Listen, access bonuses, and find inspiration.

Understanding the Purposes behind Kaizen

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

Fishbone Diagram: A Supertool to Understand Problems, Potential Solutions, and Goals

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

A Fishbone Diagram is named for its looks because it resembles the bones of a fish drawn on paper. Its less creative names are Cause-and-Effect Diagram and Ishikawa Diagram. It’s popularly known to help with root cause analysis. But, we can also use it to help with goals and to evaluate a potential solution. Why…

What is ‘Production Equivalent’ and Why Does it Matter?

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

We’re in the middle of our design process and we’re getting some of the first parts in hand, from prototyping or benchtops or our manufacturing cell. Let’s test them and finish our verification testing! Maybe we shouldn’t. We talk about the concept of production equivalent: what it means and when it’s important to consider. Transcript Expand…

About Visual Quality Standards

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

Are test engineers or operators marking verification tests as ‘failed’ but your engineering judgement thinks it’s acceptable? This can happen with qualitative-type tests, like visual inspections. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an old saying, and it holds true! Visual standards, visual aids, and quality standards are a great tool, especially in design…

Using the Pareto Principle and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

The Who’s Who of your Quality Team

Headphones illustrations by Storyset

I’m a fan of cross-functional teams. My main reason is that the different perspectives that each person brings from their respective areas of the business helps create a more complete vision of product and performance risk. Part of quality (and design!) means assessing and managing risk, and I’ve seen time and again the power of bringing people together: better understanding,…