How to Reduce Defects and Improve Quality With a Mistake Proofing and Agile QA Process

It makes sense that when businesses implement new systems, they want them up and running ASAP. But, in this race to bring a new system to production, quality is often sacrificed for speed. This can lead to ongoing mistakes, defects, and added costs for the business. 

A better way to approach implementing new systems is through a mistake proof and agile QA process. When done correctly, agility and quality are balanced, which creates success with a new system. You are able to find and correct mistakes before they even occur, saving you time and embarrassment in the event of system defects.

Not only does system quality increase when design teams work through a mistake proofing process, but so does their ongoing performance. When processes become documented in a predictable and repeatable way, teams are much less likely to make the same mistakes in the future.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the common defects businesses run into when quality isn’t a priority and how a Mistake Proofing and Agile QA process reduces or eliminates these defects.

Common Defects Businesses Face

There are a number of possible defects that occur when a business doesn’t work through a Mistake Proofing process before and during the implementation of new systems. And letting a defect slip through all the way to production is an expensive way to learn a mistake. 

Engineering Defects

Many engineering defects are caused by not performing quality tests or proper reviews of code. Defects also become more difficult to track when the engineering processes aren’t appropriately documented. A code review is necessary to ensure efficiency and functionality of the code across a system. 

Types of testing can include:

• Unit testing
• System Integrated testing (point to point)
• End to end testing

When a defect is discovered, it’s important to look at both the symptom and cause of the defect in order to address it properly.

Requirement Defects

These defects involve geographic and localization issues. In many cases, businesses format their system for one geographic region but forget to ensure functionality across many regions.

These can manifest in a number of ways, including:

• Violating compliance and privacy laws in different countries
• Incorrect times and dates on a platform
• Incorrect languages on invoices

Functionality and UX Defects

Functionality and UX defects occur when users aren’t able to use a system as efficiently as they want to. Anything that negatively affects the end user falls under this category.

These could include:

• Slow and unresponsive systems
• Systems that don’t execute the appropriate tasks
• Difficulty navigating the system

Mistake Proofing Reduces Defects and Improves Quality

In order to design systems in which defects are caught and addressed up front, a Mistake Proofing process is essential. For any Mistake Proofing efforts to be successful, however, the goal of quality must start with support from management. If leadership and management teams don’t concern themselves with quality, that attitude will trickle down to the engineers, leaving quality as an afterthought. When functionality is the only concern, long term success with a system is very unlikely.

Once quality becomes an agreed upon goal, businesses can begin to document their processes in a way that’s easily understood. When you’re working with integrated teams, the only way to improve performance and quality is to have predictable processes which can be fine tuned for specific outcomes.

The Mistake Proofing process can be applied to specific functions, individual features, and system design as whole. By following a routine checklist, design teams can ensure the proper review process is being followed and make sure no necessary steps are missed. It’s also helpful for teams to work through a post build discussion session in order to review what worked and what didn’t on a certain build to avoid any mistakes in the future.

If defects are detected, design teams should avoid blaming those responsible. Accountability is always useful, but playing the blame game helps no one. It’s best to focus on what needs to be fixed and document it so the same defect doesn’t happen again in the future.

Balancing Quality with Agility

With the right approach to Mistake Proofing and QA, speed and quality can go hand in hand. What many businesses fail to realize is that fixing the defects that arise from rushing through a project takes much more time and money than building a mistake proof system the first time. 

The best method for balancing quality and agility in system design is through the continual incremental delivery of system features and functions. When each phase in the design process is reviewed and completed before moving on to the next one, defects can be caught right away instead of finding them further down the line. 

A Mistake Proof Future Awaits

There is no longer a reason to risk facing system defects while trying to implement systems as fast as possible. Agility is obviously important, but it can and must be balanced with quality. By working through a Mistake Proofing and Agile QA process, you can ensure that defects are found before they become real issues and improve the quality of your end product. 

With all this in mind, what’s stopping you from making quality a priority and reducing defects in your systems?

If it’s due to a lack of time or gap in knowledge, the team at TruVs can guide you and your team through this process.

Reach out today to discuss your upcoming project and how we can support your journey with Mistake Proofing and Agile QA.