How to convince_japanese_manufacturer

How to Convince Japanese manufacturerwith your software quality

11/4/2016 Copyright 2016 Moriwaki Yuichi 1

So many oversea software companies have been unsuccessful in convincing Japanese manufacturers with their software quality presentation

Why they fail?

Most of them simply recognize to show their quality is to show the result.

This is partially “Right”, but No sufficient.

Here is the hint how you need to consider when presenting your quality to Japanese manufacturer.


We can make smartphones.Look! Here is the sample!

This is the concrete evidence!

Do you believe in it?

We are confident to deliver high quality products

This is the typical bad example of showing your quality level.


The sample may be the one among 100 manufactured items.

We finally could make one golden sample while disposing 100 manufactured items.

Fact may be like this…


This is the reason why only showing a result is bad.

- It is actually bad way to present your quality level, as people who know about quality don’t do like this.

- Then how are those experienced people present their quality?

To show their precise production system.

The answer is


“Production system” doesn’t only mean “production line”.

The production system implies;

1. Manufacturing process management2. Machine & manufacturing equipment management3. Molds & Jigs management4. Tool management5. Environment (Temperature, humidity and dust density) management6. Material & ingredient management7. Measurement equipment calibration management8. Test & Inspection management9. Procurement management10. Stock/Inventory management11. Packing management12. Shipment inspection management13. Training & education management

To see all of those details, you need to spend almost whole one day.

This is what manufacturer think of quality presentation.


Same as the example, To show software quality means to show the “production system”.

- What is the software production system?

Requirement analysis

SpecificationDefinition

SystemDesign

SoftwareDesign

Coding & Testing

Integrated Testing

- This shows the production system, but what we need to indicate is not like this when you need to convince customer about the software quality.

- As indicated in the previous slide, you at least need to show how you manage software quality.


Design Review

ISSUE

Does this indicate how you manage your software quality?How can we convince customer by only showing the above picture?Do you explain like “the issue will be decreased as we do review”? The customer will start asking “Why the review can decrease…, why…, why…” as the customer doesn’t know about your review density, coverage, strength and sufficiency and also how you manage those density to ensure software quality.

Comparing with the production system in manufacturers, it seems difficult to show software production system, but it is possible.

How about this?

Feedback& Request for enhancement

Next Step


Precisely explain the process and show the mechanism of defect avoidance.

- Show your ingenious ideas to avoid errors and defects- Explain how a lot of twists of thoughts and artifices are applied on each process and procedure- Describe about issue occurrence prevention and defect outflow prevention- Present how to implement new procedure- Explain how those new processes and procedures are evaluated and enhanced

Medium and Large size manufacturers have production engineering (PE) division to pursue the quality of product and productivity within a manufacturing process.

- They uses their past experience, knowledge, ingenuity and artifices.- They define a process and a procedure and make them in a production manual and train people.- To scale the efficiency they collect data to evaluate the new process and procedure and continue

pursuing better process to achieve zero defects and higher productivity.

This approach is know as KAIZEN and very common among Japanese manufacturer. Therefore if you have to explain your processes like this, then they can be easily convinced.

☑ ☑ ☑ ☑Productivity

Quality ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑

Software Quality


As you found the dots are caused by a crow, you put a scarecrow or a roof to prevent from a crow.

You probably got the points. - First you have to find the cause of dots.

- You need enough analysis and investigation to conclude the cause. If the analysis is insufficient the conclusion becomes wrong.

- The cause may not be a single matter, it may be a result of complexity within the process.

- Then you have to define the countermeasure idea.- You need a clear idea of dots prevention process or plan.- The idea should be verified with the conclusion of cause

analysis. (If the countermeasure perfectly removes the cause?)

- You need to investigate the way to keep the the prevention idea effective (it should last long and keep being maintained)

- Those ideas should be broken down to handbooks, manuals and discipline to train people and to establish management system.

As above by explaining the process and the management ideas, you can indicate your product quality and customer will understand your quality is properly managed.After indicating those all information, your result report of dot free paper delivery will be the evidence of the process. Without showing those all process and management, if you only present the result of record, it won’t work properly to customer.

Analogy of quality improvement process

Paper is the deliverable.Dots on paper are bugs.Those dots should be removed before the delivery .

You have been trying to remove those dots. Many people will take this approach.

Even you have tried various kinds of tools or methodology, but dots won’t decrease. Increasing rather than decreasing

Before rushing into bug removal, you must find out the source of dots.What creates the dots.

You find that a crow has been making the dots.


CONCLUSION

1. Give your low quality record in the past.2. Give your cause analysis of those bad quality.3. Give the precise logics how and what caused the quality.4. Give the clear countermeasure on each cause.5. Give how those countermeasure is managed and updated.6. Give the actual result of improvement by applying those countermeasures.

All of those above 6 are mandatory. Nothing can be missed.

- Japanese manufacturer evaluates;1. How you are open. 2. If you have enough brave to face the fact even if those are very severe and critical for

themselves.3. If you are capable enough to analyze and find the cause with the correct way.4. If your countermeasure is feasible.5. If you consider “higher productivity” can be realized by applying quality improvement activities.6. If you recognize software quality can be improved by better managed process rather than

1000’s of testing.7. If you are capable to execute those series of quality improvement activities.

- And they also watch;1. If the presentation slides are well arranged and considered.

(if the use of fonts, colors, charts, figures, etc. are simple. The context is clear.)2. The time management of presentation.

(If you are punctual and well disciplined)3. If you are always considering about customer’s mind.

(if your voice is loud and clear, words are proper, if you are paying sufficient attention on customers response)


END OF SLIDE

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