A Caution for Engineers and Other Technical Personnel

Prior to one of my quality presentations, an engineer of one of my clients defined quality this way Quality means delivering what the client expects. No more, no less. His is clearly a well-intentioned client, owner, and customer-focused definition of quality. But is that enough I don t think so. We need to be more specific, particularly with respect to meeting all requirements. 

However, in the world of practice and business, going well beyond what is needed tends to increase labor and other costs and cause delays, both of which are ultimately disruptive to budgets and profits and to relationships with clients, owners, and customers. Weigh your personal desire to produce a superior or even opulent product or service against the best interests of your employer and those individuals or organizations your employer serves. 

But you may be thinking, I want to delight my clients-owners-customers-stakeholders by exceeding their expectations, that is, by giving them more than they expected. That s fine, subject to these three conditions  

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A Caution for Engineers and Other Technical Personnel 235 Quality... 

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