Should Agile be Part of Your Quality Management System?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of Agile in Quality Management Systems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides a brief history of Agile and compares it to the management theory of W. Edwards Deming. The authors then examine the strengths and weaknesses of Lean, Agile, and Six Sigma in relationship to the four components of Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge in order to clarify Agile’s role in contemporary Quality Management Systems. In addition to the existing literature, the authors draw extensively on their experiences and observations from more than 50 years of experience in IT and quality (both as practitioners and academics) to substantiate the opinions expressed in the paper. Findings: This paper acknowledges that while Deming’s management theory could be accurately described as “agile,” Agile is not comprehensive enough to be considered an effective stand-alone Quality Management System. However, our analysis suggests that Agile can be an important part of a contingency or umbrella approach to Quality Management. Limitations: This is a very theoretical paper based on the authors’ experiences and the existing literature. The next stage of this research is to conduct empirical studies in existing organizations to quantify the advantages and roadblocks of incorporating Agile methodologies in Quality Management Systems. Originality/value: This paper helps to fill a void in the academic literature concerning the relationships between Agile and Deming’s management theory. Moreover, using the System of Profound Knowledge to understand the role of Lean, Six Sigma and Agile in a Quality Management System is a novel approach

Using Eight Agile Practices in an Online Course to Improve Student Learning and Team Project Quality

As online learning continues to increase, instructors need different teaching methods and technologies for teaching online. This study explores how Agile practices are integrated into an online IT course. We focus on incorporating eight Agile practices (team charters, daily stand-ups, Kanban boards, story cards, MoSCoW, timeboxing, showcases, and retrospectives). Students were surveyed at the end of the course and the results indicate Agile enhanced students’ learning and increased the quality of their final project

Design And Application Of Individuals And Moving Range Control Charts

We evaluate the design of individuals and moving range charts through extensive simulations. Via a SAS program using 8000 replications, average run length is assessed for several shifts in process mean and variation. From these computations recommendations are made concerning when to use the individuals chart only, when to use a combined individuals and moving range chart, and the optimal design parameters when the combined approach is used. The paper includes discussion, recommendations, and examples concerning the monitoring of accounting data

Process Monitoring In Accounting: Implementing Pre-Control Charts

This research paper has two primary goals. The first is to briefly discuss how control charts and pre-control charts can be applied to non-manufacturing processes, including how companies can use control charts and pre-control charts to improve business processes, financial reporting processes, auditing methods, and tax accounting processes. The second goal is to illustrate how pre-control can be applied to an accounting process. An example is used to demonstrate implementation of Six Sigma techniques for monitoring company expense budget variances

Fast Initial Response Control Charts For Accounting Activities

Although Six Sigma was developed to improve processes in a manufacturing environment, its use has expanded to many other areas including accounting and finance.  We propose that control charts, originally used as tools for monitoring short-run manufacturing processes, can be effectively used in the Control Stage of Six Sigma projects designed to improve accounting processes with sparse data.  We describe four of these control charts: (1) pre-control charts; (2) Shewhart control charts with dramatically reduced average run lengths (ARLs); (3) Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control charts with fast initial response (FIR) enhancements; and (4) Exponentially Weighted Moving Averages (EWMA) control charts with FIR enhancements.  We provide examples of FIR enhancements to CUSUM and EWMA control charts that can result in quicker detection of small shifts in the mean of accounting data

Business statistics : A first course

xx, 731 p. : il.; 26 cm

Business Statistics Concepts And Applications

851 hal.;xx.;25c