Promoting the Benefits of Quality Management through the Y2K Crisis

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have heard of the Millennium Bug's potential impact on information technology (IT). The Y2K crisis has the attention of senior management and offers Quality Managers a unique opportunity to promote quality practices for IT projects. The tangible benefits of an effective Quality Management System are best described through the four distinguishing characteristics of a Y2K project.

Magnitude
Y2K is often the largest project an Information Systems (IS) department has undertaken. The sheer size of it brings control issues into focus, particularly concerning scope, scheduling and costs. Effective control and measurement mechanisms must be supported by the Quality Management System. Periodic assessments or audits of the control processes in practice should also be conducted. Y2K has raised awareness of IT's vulnerability and how a simple oversight can cripple an organization's operations. Presented properly, senior management should see quality control as a defense against this vulnerability and not just layers of administration.

Interdependence
The Y2K crisis has spotlighted the high level of integration between business operations and IT. It also exposed the interdependence between organizations. If you are Y2K ready but all of your suppliers crash on January 1, 2000 you are still in deep trouble. Overseeing the complex web of internal and external dependencies requires Risk Management. The Risk Management function of a Quality Management System illustrates to senior management there is always the possibility of something going and mitigating actions can avert potential disaster.

Urgency
Add to the complex dependencies the limited amount of time left and the risk of Y2K failures is very real. Some organizations will need to choose which functions will continue and which will cease because there is not enough time. To hasten the process, a Quality Management System for Y2K should include criteria for making these choices and how they are approved.
A Quality Management System should define how quality factors will be measured. The quality metrics should be part of an early warning system for trouble spots. Assembling standard project performance data, such as earned value may be too slow. Specific trouble spots may also be lost with macro level measurements. Quality assessments can pinpoint potential schedule problems.
Senior management should also realize quality also examines positive aspects. Assessments can collect time saving practices to be shared with other team members to increase efficiency. The Quality Management System can act as the conduit for getting Lessons Learned out to the team, improving performance and increasing the overall chance of success.

Liability
Despite all best efforts something may still go wrong and your organization may suffer a Y2K related operations failure. Law firms are gearing up for the deluge of lawsuits resulting from Y2K failures. The Quality Management System can be part of a legal defense. Senior management should know that a Quality Management System with evidence it has been practiced, may contribute to proof of due diligence in a court of law.
Most documentation for IT projects remains within the IS Department. Y2K projects represent a distinct possibility that others, particularly non-IT professionals, may be reading it. Consistent documentation content, accessibility, evidence of decision-making and proof of approvals, as outlined in the Quality Management System will ease any possible dissection.

Through a comprehensive communication plan, Quality Managers can use the Y2K crisis to demonstrate in tangible terms to senior management the value of a Quality Management System for IT projects.

This article was published in Quality Management Forum (Summer 1999). The Quality Management Forum is the official newsletter of the Quality Management Division of the American Society for Quality.