Many prominent figures have emerged within the quality field, but some have stood out as key

figures of
quality. Most have passed away, but their memory still lives on in the ideas, concepts, and methods that
permeate our quality thinking today. In no particular order, they are:

• Dr. Walter Shewhart developed the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle (known as “Plan-Do-Study-
Act” in some circles, as well as theories of process control and the Shewart transformation process.

• Dr. W. Edwards Deming developed his complete philosophy of management, which he

encapsulated into his “fourteen points” and the “seven deadly diseases of management”. He
advanced the state of quality, originally based on work done by Shewhart with his explanations of
variation, use of control charts, and his theories on knowledge, psychology and variation. Deming
greatly helped to focus the responsibility of quality on management and popularized the PDCA cycle,
which led to it being referred to as the “Deming Cycle”.

• Dr. Joseph M. Juran developed the quality trilogy - quality planning, quality improvement, and
quality control. Quality management plans quality improvements that raise the level of
performance, which then must be controlled or sustained at that level in order to start the cycle
again.

• Armand V. Feigenbaum developed the idea of total quality control based on three steps to quality
consisting of quality leadership, modern quality technology, and an organizational commitment to
quality.

• Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa developed the Ishikawa diagram and was known for popularizing the seven
basic tools of quality and the philosophy of total quality.

• Dr. Genichi Taguchi developed the “Taguchi methodology” of robust design, also known as
“designing in quality”, which focused on making the design less sensitive to variation in the
manufacturing process instead of trying tocontrol manufacturing variation.

• Shigeo Shingo developed lean concepts such as Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) or reduced
set-up times instead of increased batch sizes as well as Poka-Yoke (mistake proofing) to eliminate
obvious opportunities for mistakes. He also worked with Taiichi Ohno to refine Just-In-Time (JIT)
manufacturing into an integrated manufacturing strategy, which is widely used to define the lean
manufacturing used in the Toyota production system (TPS).

• Philip B. Crosby developed the idea of “quality is free” which asserts that implementing quality
improvement pays for itself through the savings from the improvement, increased revenue from
greater customer satisfaction, and the improved competitive advantage that results. His popularized
“zero defects” to define the goal of a quality program as the elimination of all defects and not the
reduction of defects to an acceptable quality level.

• Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt developed the Theory of Constraints which focuses on a single element in
a process chain as having the greatest leverage for improvement (i.e., “1% can have a 99%
impact”). This compares to thePareto principle which states that 20% of the factors have an 80%
effect on the process.

• Taiichi Ohno developed the seven wastes (muda), which are used in lean to describe non-value-
added activity. He developed various manufacturing improvements with Shigeo Shingo that
evolved into the Toyota Production System.

Top Ten Quality Gurus

1. Dr. Walter Shewhart

2. Dr. W. Edwards Deming
3. Dr. Joseph M. Juran
4. Armand V. Feigenbaum
 5. Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa
6. Dr. Genichi Taguchi
7. Shigeo Shingo
8. Philip B. Crosby
9. Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt
10. Taiichi Ohno

There are seven common Quality Tools you can use to understand and improve processes during a process
improvement event. Each tool helps you identify sources of variation and aids in the analysis,
documentation, and organization of the information, which leads to process improvement.

1. Flowcharts, or Process Maps, visually represent relationships among the activities and tasks that
make up a process. They are typically used at the beginning of aprocess improvement event; you
describe process events, timing, and frequencies at the highest level and work downward. At high levels,
process maps help you understand process complexity. At lower levels, they help you analyze and
improve the process.

2. Ishikawa, Fishbone, or Cause & Effect Diagrams visually represent the causes of a problem - or
effect - and help you determine the ultimate source of the problem — the root cause. (This tool is called a
“fishbone” diagram because of its appearance; Ishikawa was its inventor.) The cause-and-effect diagram
is used at the beginning ofroot cause analysis, to organize the causes of a problem (people, methods,
equipment, materials, measurement, and environment) and prioritize them.

3. Data Checklists, check sheets, or recording tables are matrices designed to assist in the tallying,
recording, and analysis of test results or event occurrences. They are utilized in production to count
defects and collect process data, which you analyze to identify opportunities for improvement.

4. The Pareto chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, who came up with the Pareto Principle (or the
“80/20 rule”), which says that 20% of the factors account for 80% of potential problems. The Pareto chart
ranks defects, causes, or data from the most significant to the least significant, in descending order.
Pareto charts help you separate the “vital few” from the “trivial many”. They are typically used during
process improvement analysis, to understand where to focus improvement for the greatest impact.

5. Histograms consist of vertical bars, side-by-side, that depict frequency distributions within tables of
numbers and can help you understand data relationships over time (e.g., the familiar “bell curve”).
Histograms are generally used during process improvement analysis.

6. Scatter charts display relationships between dependent (predicted) and independent (prediction)
variables. They are used during hypothesis testing, to determine if there is a correlation between two
variables and how strong the correlation is. Less scattering indicates stronger correlation.

7. The control chart is a type of statistical process control tool. Process performance is plotted over
time against upper and lower control limits; this helps you readily identify process variations and enables
determination of special cause and common cause variation. Control charts are used during production, or
after process improvement implementations, to ensure that processes are within control limits, or “in
control”.

To achieve the best results, start by (1) drawing up a process map, so you understand the process flow.
Next, (2) analyze the process flows for the primary causes of problems and develop your cause-effect
diagram. Then, (3) collect data using check sheets and (4) plot your data using a Pareto chart and/or
(5) a histogram. Next, (6) determine the relationship of various variables in your cause-effect chain using
a scatter chart. Once you have solved your problem, (7) use a control chart to ensure that the process is
staying within process control limits — demonstrate process control.

The Seven Quality Tools

To summarize, using these seven quality tools:

1. Flowcharts or Process Maps;

2. Ishikawa, Fishbone, or Cause & Effect Diagrams;

3. Data Checklists, check sheets, or recording tables;

4. Pareto Charts;

5. Histograms;

6. Scatter plots; and

7. Control Charts (SPC)…

…especially in combination, will help you improve your processes and achieve your objectives.