Policy, Practice, Procedure and Escalation

There is an old adage that “a good process results in good products”. In ISO-9000 and other organizations with repeatable processes the core Quality Management System describes work procedures (as policies, practices, procedures and checklists) that are expected to be followed. Deviations from the standard process are flagged as defects and subject to correction. Failure to correct a defect in a timely manner results in its escalation making it visible to higher levels of management at each interval. Defects provide the opportunity to modify both the product under development and the instruments (checklists, etc) that are used to evaluate the product under development.