Write the standard. Plan the checks. Check the inputs. Check as the work happens. Inspect the finished result. Record pass or fail. Fix the cause of any failure so it does not repeat. Seven steps. Most teams do three to five, inspecting things, and skip one and seven, which is why they inspect the same defect every month.
The seven steps
1. Write the standard. What good looks like, specifically enough that two people would agree. For office work, this is the brief.
2. Plan the checks. Which points get checked, how, by whom. Three to six checks per piece of work is normal.
3. Check the inputs. Are the materials, data and instructions right before work starts? Bad inputs make good work impossible.
4. Check as you go. A mid-point look for long work, so a wrong turn is caught at hour two, not hour twenty.
5. Inspect the result. The finished work against the standard. Pass or fail, with a reason.
6. Record it. Which checks passed, which failed, how often. Without records, every month is the first month.
7. Fix the cause. The defect that keeps appearing has a reason. Find it, change the process, and watch the record.
Why one and seven matter most
Step one gives every other step something to compare with. Step seven is the difference between quality control and endless inspection. A team that only inspects finds the same problem forever. A team that fixes causes finds fewer problems each month.
Where M-Tracker fits
M-Tracker covers steps one, five, six and seven for knowledge work. The brief is the standard. When the work is sent, M-Tracker compares it with the brief and writes a plain review, which is the inspection, and the person sees it first. Reviews are saved with dates, which is the record. A team lead can see which must-haves get missed most, which points at the cause.
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Questions people ask
Is this the same as the PDCA cycle?
Related. Plan-do-check-act is the improvement loop; these seven are the control steps inside it.
How many checks per piece of work?
Three to six. More and nobody runs them.
Who should fix the cause?
The person closest to the work, with the manager's support to change the process.
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