How can you make your quality assurance program transparent and accessible to all stakeholders?

1 Define your QA goals and metrics

The first step to making your QA program transparent and accessible is to define your QA goals and metrics clearly and explicitly. What are you trying to achieve with your QA activities? How will you measure your progress and performance? What are the standards and criteria that you will use to evaluate your quality outcomes? These questions should be answered in a way that aligns with your business objectives, customer needs, and stakeholder expectations. You should also document your QA goals and metrics in a simple and concise format that can be easily shared and understood by everyone involved.

2 Communicate your QA plan and process

The next step is to communicate your QA plan and process to all the stakeholders who have a role or interest in your quality assurance program. This includes your internal team members, external collaborators, suppliers, contractors, regulators, auditors, and of course, your customers. You should explain how your QA plan and process work, what are the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder, what are the deliverables and deadlines, and how you will handle any issues or risks that may arise. You should also provide regular updates and reports on your QA activities and results, and solicit feedback and suggestions from your stakeholders.

3 Use tools and platforms that support transparency and accessibility

Another way to make your quality assurance program transparent and accessible is to use tools and platforms that support transparency and accessibility. These are software applications or online services that allow you to manage, monitor, and share your QA data, documents, and dashboards in a centralized and secure way. Some examples of such tools and platforms are quality management systems (QMS), project management software, cloud storage services, collaboration tools, and customer feedback platforms. By using these tools and platforms, you can streamline your QA workflow, improve your data quality and accuracy, and enhance your stakeholder engagement and satisfaction.

4 Involve your stakeholders in your QA activities

A final step to making your quality assurance program transparent and accessible is to involve your stakeholders in your QA activities. This means inviting them to participate in your QA planning, testing, reviewing, and improving processes. For example, you can ask your customers to provide input on your quality requirements, test your products or services, rate your quality performance, and suggest improvements. You can also ask your suppliers, contractors, and collaborators to follow your quality standards, report any quality issues, and collaborate on quality solutions. By involving your stakeholders in your QA activities, you can build trust, loyalty, and collaboration, and create a culture of quality in your organization.

5 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?