Quality Policy

August 22, 2019

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Each and everything possess quality. Quality aspect is the utmost priority of all industries, producing and delivering tangible or intangible products and services, such as manufacturing, servicing, software engineering, etc, as it directly impacts the needs and expectations of their end-users/customers.

Similarly, the organizations involved in the software development and testing, constantly work towards achieving and maintaining the quality in their product. However, an organization needs to define & maintain some objectives and goals, in the form of quality policies to reflect their commitment towards the quality achievement.

What is Quality Policy?

In IT Industry, Quality policies are the statements made by the organizations, to impart their long term strategic objectives, goals, vision, toward producing & delivering the quality product. These policies states the underlying and core principles of an organization, which helps them to follow established procedures, for developing and testing a product and constantly strives for the improvement in both product and process.

Quality policies reflects the core values of an organization, which helps in understanding their thinking about the quality attribute, what quality means for them, approaches, key areas of consideration and priorities, in delivering quality to their customers. It is a mandatory requirement for an organization, to have well defined quality policy, as per the ISO 9001 standards.

Who writes the quality policies?

Generally, the top level management personnel, such as CEO, along with the quality experts such as Quality Manager, are engaged in writing the quality policies. Once written, it may be circulated to all other employees of the organization, to have its understanding and simultaneously, providing their feedback and reviews over it.

What should be there in the quality policy?

Generally, the quality policy is specifically written, in the direction of meeting the customer's needs and expectation. It should be written in such a manner that it encompasses the overall objectives and goal of the organization, as well as should be in context with the customer's need and expectation. However, the key areas which are emphasized, while writing the policy are as follows:

• Customer attention: Customer's needs and expectations is the foremost key criteria, which helps in achieving the quality prospects in a product. Therefore, the focus should be made on briefing the present and future demands of the customer, along with their fulfilment.
• Leadership: Should able to simulate and create motivational and enthusiastic environment, to bring best out of each individual, towards the quality achievement.
• Constant and continual improvement: It should strives for the continuous improvement in the procedure and approach, so as to improve the quality.
• Process: Should reflect the adherence and following of all standard practices and process, which contributes towards the quality.
• Relationship: It should focus on strengthening the relationship with the client/customer.
• Creating and spreading Awareness: Making people, both inside(staff) & outside(targeted customers) the organization, aware of the standards, principles and practices followed by the organization.

Further, it should provide the solid foundation for achieving the quality objectives, and should be reviewed and updated, on periodical basis, to continuously meet the present demands and expectations.

In brief, it may be stated that the quality policy, defined by the organizations, acts as a mirror and reflects their virtual image to the real world, based on which the external entities are able to perceive and understand their core principles and commitments towards the quality contribution.