Short answer
Designers and engineers involved in product development and process design should integrate digital quality management considerations early in the design process, anticipating the evolving roles of QM professionals and the impact on customer value.
- Field
- Commercial Production
- Source
- Production Planning & Control (2020)
- Method
- Multiple-case study
- Sample
- 4 organizations
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Digitalization presents both challenges and opportunities for Quality Management (QM) by altering the roles of practitioners and the nature of value creation. This commercial production research insight is drawn from a 2020 study published in Production Planning & Control. Using Multiple-case study with 4 organizations, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers and engineers involved in product development and process design should integrate digital quality management considerations early in the design process, anticipating the evolving roles of QM professionals and the impact on customer value.
Digitalization Transforms Quality Management Roles and Value Creation
Digitalization presents both challenges and opportunities for Quality Management (QM) by altering the roles of practitioners and the nature of value creation.
Production Planning & Control · 2020
Key Findings
- 01Digitalization introduces six distinct challenges for QM practitioners.
- 02QM practitioners must adapt their roles to navigate the exploration and exploitation of digitalized QM processes.
- 03Digitalization impacts value creation, both internally and through customer interactions.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers and engineers involved in product development and process design should integrate digital quality management considerations early in the design process, anticipating the evolving roles of QM professionals and the impact on customer value.
How to apply
When designing digital products or services, consider how quality will be managed throughout the lifecycle, including the roles of people and the impact on customer experience.
Project actions
- 01Consider how digital tools can be used to improve quality in your design project.
- 02Think about the potential challenges of implementing new digital quality management systems.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides empirical evidence on a topic often discussed theoretically.
- +Uses a multiple-case study approach for in-depth analysis.
Limitations
The findings are specific to the cases studied and may not apply universally to all industries or company sizes.
Reliability & validity
The multiple-case study design enhances the external validity of the findings by examining multiple contexts, while the analytical framework provides a structured approach to internal validity.
Think critically
How might the challenges identified in this study be mitigated through thoughtful design of digital quality management systems?
Design Principles
"Proactively integrate digital quality management strategies into the design and development lifecycle to align with evolving organizational needs and customer expectations."
Understanding how digitalization impacts QM is crucial for organizations aiming to maintain and enhance product or service quality in an increasingly digital landscape. This insight helps in proactively adapting QM strategies and roles to leverage digital tools effectively.
What This Means for Your Design
Going digital changes how companies manage quality. Quality managers need new skills and their jobs change to keep up with new technology and how customers get value.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the impact of technology on quality management in your design project's evaluation or justification sections.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The digitalization of business processes significantly impacts quality management, introducing new challenges and requiring a redefinition of practitioner roles and value creation strategies, as evidenced by studies of large organizations (Elg et al., 2020).
Source
Production Planning & Control
Digitalisation and quality management: problems and prospects
journal · 2020
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about digitalization transforms quality management roles and value creation?
- Designers and engineers involved in product development and process design should integrate digital quality management considerations early in the design process, anticipating the evolving roles of QM professionals and the impact on customer value. Evidence: Production Planning & Control (2020).
- Why does "Digitalization Transforms Quality Management Roles and Value Creation" matter for design?
- Understanding how digitalization impacts QM is crucial for organizations aiming to maintain and enhance product or service quality in an increasingly digital landscape. This insight helps in proactively adapting QM strategies and roles to leverage digital tools effectively.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers and engineers involved in product development and process design should integrate digital quality management considerations early in the design process, anticipating the evolving roles of QM professionals and the impact on customer value.
- What were the main findings?
- Digitalization introduces six distinct challenges for QM practitioners.. QM practitioners must adapt their roles to navigate the exploration and exploitation of digitalized QM processes.. Digitalization impacts value creation, both internally and through customer interactions.
- What research method was used?
- Multiple-case study with 4 organizations.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2020 journal from Production Planning & Control.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing digital products or services, consider how quality will be managed throughout the lifecycle, including the roles of people and the impact on customer experience.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is based on a limited number of large Swedish organizations, which may limit the generalizability of findings to other contexts or organization sizes.