W. Edwards Deming is often referred to as the “grandfather of quality”, and this new well-researched book about him and his philosophy gives us many new and useful insights.
The book’s author, John Willis, is one of the people who created DevOps, and he says that to understand the roots of DevOps you need to read Deming’s 14 Points for Management [1]. In this book, John Willis describes how Deming’s ideas developed and how they provide the lens that helps so many successful businesses today.
Deming’s environment helped to shape his philosophy. Deming was an intern at Bell Telephone’s Hawthorne Works during the ‘Hawthorne experiments’. This ultimately led to one of the four elements of his System of Profound Knowledge: psychology [2]. Walter Shewhart also worked at Hawthorne Works but Deming only got to know him well when their paths crossed later. Shewhart gave us Statistical Process Control to improve the manufacturing process. He also gave us, what is often known as, the Deming Cycle. This cycle provides managers with a ‘tool to help them track bad quality, make a change and see if it improves product quality’[3]. Deming wrote in 1984 that it may take us another fifty years to appreciate what Shewhart gifted us[4].
When Deming helped to rebuild the Japanese economy after World War Two “he found a culture of intrinsically motivated employees. This culture was something he’d vaguely glimpsed at Hawthorne Works”[5]. The book contains fascinating insights into how Japan developed some of the key ideas and practices that became “lean manufacturing”. The Toyota Way inspired “lean manufacturing”, which is a product of Deming’s ideas and Japanese business culture practices[5].
‘Demingmania’ occurred after Clare Crawford-Mason made the documentary ‘If Japan Can…Why Can’t We?’ in 1980[6]. Deming went on to help the Ford Motor Company become the most profitable car maker in America[7].
The book contains many examples of the use of Deming’s philosophy, which include:
- Deming helped John Waraniak, who used the Theory of Knowledge to create Deming Cycles, at General Motors’ Motorsports division to win IndyCar and NASCAR[8]. Waraniak went on to use systems thinking when developing a prototype self-driving car[9] and is now working with NATO to transfer car racing technology to military vehicles to support Ukraine[10].
- Josh Corman uses Deming’s philosophy to improve cyber security, including in the process of creating and distributing COVID-19 vaccines [11].
- Dr Doris Quinn used Deming’s philosophy to improve the quality of healthcare [12].
- The chapter “Out of the Cyber Crisis” contains valuable examples of the use of each of Deming’s 14 Points for Management.
“We live in the age of the digital Cambrian explosion. Thanks, in no small part, to William Edwards Deming” [13]. We are working as testing professionals in the middle of this explosion. I recommend reading this book to understand Deming’s philosophy, how it contributed to this digital explosion, and examples of how to use the philosophy today.
References
[1] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p163)
[2] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p15)
[3] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p43)
[4] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p193)
[5] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p115)
[6] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p129)
[7] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p133)
[8] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p136)
[9] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p137)
[10] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p138)
[11] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p187)
[12] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p139)
[12] Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge by John Willis with Derek Lewis (2023, p153)
Additional links:
- DemingNext – eLearning from the Deming Institute with a two-week free trial
- The Devil Wears Prada and the Textile Clothing Division – an article by John Willis about Lola Deming
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