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Quality is in details
Kishore (June 2004) Definition of Quality is always difficult. There are many dimensions and attributes that make up quality. Whether it is quality of product, quality of service, it is difficult to quantify quality. Of late, I have been thinking that there is one attribute that makes a big difference in quality. Quality is in details. Quality becomes apparent when you take care of details. A few examples my experiences I was watching a movie (Hindi) which was supposed to make it big, but apparently failed at box office. In the first scene itself there was a glaring mistake. The scene starts with a prayer room where deities are kept. Statues of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita are to be kept in a proper order. But in this particular scene it was glaring that even this was wrongly kept. It clearly made it evident that details are not watched closely and I was not surprised that this movie failed at box office. I liked and watched movie 'Dil Chahta Hai' so many times. And in this movie even minor details were taken care of very well. For example, one of the characters in the movie who is portrayed as a serious and intelligent character is shown as solving Rubik's Cube puzzle. This is a very minor detail and some of the movie watchers might have missed noticing it. But the fact that even such minor details were taken care of reflects the quality of the movie. Of course, this was a big hit movie. In another telugu movie I watched, Chirunavvuto, it was attention to details that made me like the movie. Whenever you evaluate a successful product, movie or service, you will find that attention to minute details makes it successful. At same time a critical analysis of a failure may reveal that the big picture is there, but attention to details was missing. Paying attention to details does not come easily. It requires careful planning, execution, review and validation. Paying attention to details in every minor task we do can lead us to better quality. This will reflect professionalism. Having spent lot of time in Quality assurance, I tend to notice even minor details carefully. I do not say, I have perfected this, because even if I sometimes end up stopping going the extra mile due to lack of time or sometimes even skill to make it perfect. For example, I have not really managed to redesign this homepage to my satisfaction. Due to this, inconsistencies in format in browsing my homepage also stand out glaringly and make one feel that the quality of the website can be improved. When details are taken care of you, you experience a 'WOW' factor. You will be surprised that even such details are taken care of and you will be impressed with the same. Summary When it comes to quality doing our best is not enough. To give a perfect touch of quality, we need to go beyond the best. Take care of details before we admit that it is complete. Let others experience quality of your work. Remember that this can be achieved only by meticulous planning of minor details and execution without compromise. Quality takes time and it cannot be rushed. Are you paying attention to details in your job? Related Articles |