What does it mean to be a Quality Professional in the Department of Defense world?

Many companies that support today’s war fighter are organized by program rather than by product and we all have our roles to fill in this environment. The program managers focus on running their programs and making a profit for the company. The engineers are busy designing incredible new things while at least trying to stay within budget. Then there is “Quality”. What does Quality do but get in the way, spend program funds and slow engineering down?

The Quality team actually has a somewhat different role. We may get paid by the company, but we work for the end-user; the person whose life quite literally depends on what we deliver. We work for the flight crews, the sailors, the people in harm’s way and every person who has the courage to put on a uniform.  We are their on-site end-user advocates.

What exactly does this mean?

Well to start with, it means that we don’t win many popularity contests.

Our role, to represent the end-user is oversight and awareness. Let’s cover awareness first with two examples.

When we were working a manned space program, I created a screen saver with the crews from Challenger and Columbia with these simple words across the screen: “Not on our Watch”. Soon this picture was in a number of places throughout the team area. It was a constant reminder of what a mistake could cost. AWARENESS!

When we get into a disagreement about some product, I merely state: If I won’t trust my son’s life with this product, I will not trust someone else’s son or daughter’s life. In many cases, the disagreement ends there. As the end-used advocate, we are required to remind folks, from time to time, just who is depending on our products.

Oversight is a terribly popular subject. Who needs oversight?

Oversight covers a very broad area and a small sampling is discussed here.

When is it a bad idea to have a second set of eyes on an issue? The Quality role is to ask questions to drive the best answers the current set of facts will allow. Our burden is that we must ask the inconvenient questions in every situation we encounter throughout our daily journey. Does this action add functional risk to the end-user? If so, then the answer is no. And no is not an answer anyone wants to hear.  We are the keepers of process discipline. Does doing this or not doing this compromise process discipline and significantly increase the opportunity for a functional escape? Not particularly popular questions, but ones that need to be asked if we are to be true to our real customers.

There is an actual upside to oversight. Helping a team drive the best information and corrective action out of a test failure or getting the best criteria for a trade study can be very rewarding and occasionally appreciated.

That being said, being a Quality Professional is largely a thankless calling. Many people “say” they put quality first, but “we have a schedule to keep” or “it will cost too much”.  However, when that first new system is deployed and you know the war fighter has a better tool to accomplish their mission and return home safely, there is a personal satisfaction and contentment that proves it was worth the frequently very bumpy ride.

As was stated earlier, we all have a role to fill.

The Program Manager is under constant pressure both from the company and the customer. PMs have a really tough and draining job and excel at keeping all the programmatic balls in the air.

Design engineers excel at innovation, are hugely dedicated and at times exhibit sheer brilliance. They are the creators of all the incredible things our war fighters need.

We all have equally important roles to fulfill, the legs of a stool, if you will. And to be a successful stool, all the legs need to be equal.

 So, in the end, the Quality Professional is there not to get in the way, spend money, or slow people down, but to help protect our loved ones who have chosen, through their daily sacrifice to protect us.

Respectfully submitted,

Rob Reitemeier

End-User Advocate

April 2021