How do you specify product quality standards?

1 Identify the product requirements

The first step is to identify the product requirements from the perspective of the customers, the stakeholders, and the market. You need to understand what problem your product is solving, who are the target users, what are their needs and expectations, and what are the competitive advantages and disadvantages of your product. You can use various methods to gather and analyze the product requirements, such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, user personas, user stories, and market research.

2 Define the product specifications

The next step is to define the product specifications, which are the measurable and testable characteristics of the product that describe how it should meet the product requirements. You need to specify the functional and non-functional aspects of the product, such as the features, the performance, the compatibility, the security, the accessibility, the usability, and the design. You can use various tools to document and communicate the product specifications, such as user flows, wireframes, prototypes, mockups, and technical specifications.

3 Establish the quality criteria

The third step is to establish the quality criteria, which are the standards that determine whether the product specifications are met or not. You need to define the quality attributes, the quality metrics, the quality targets, and the quality methods for each product specification. You also need to consider the quality trade-offs, the quality risks, and the quality assumptions that may affect the product quality. You can use various frameworks to define and prioritize the quality criteria, such as ISO 25010, FURPS+, and MoSCoW.

4 Implement the quality control

The fourth step is to implement the quality control, which is the process of checking and verifying that the product meets the quality criteria throughout the product development cycle. You need to plan and execute the quality activities, such as testing, inspection, review, audit, and validation, for each product specification. You also need to monitor and measure the quality results, such as defects, errors, failures, and feedback, and take corrective actions if needed. You can use various techniques to perform and improve the quality control, such as quality assurance, quality management, quality improvement, and quality engineering.

5 Evaluate the quality outcomes

The final step is to evaluate the quality outcomes, which are the effects and impacts of the product quality on the customers, the stakeholders, and the business. You need to assess and report the quality performance, such as the quality level, the quality gap, the quality cost, and the quality value, for each product specification. You also need to collect and analyze the quality feedback, such as the customer satisfaction, the customer loyalty, the customer retention, and the customer advocacy, and use it to inform future product decisions. You can use various methods to measure and enhance the quality outcomes, such as quality indicators, quality metrics, quality surveys, and quality reviews.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?