Expectations of which customers should we satisfy & how much?

Let us firstly define excellence:

The Random House College Dictionary defines excellence as "superiority; eminence.” Excellence, then, is a measure or degree of quality. These definitions of quality and excellence are important because it is a starting point for any management team contemplating the implementation of a quality policy. They must agree on a definition of quality and the degree of excellence they want to achieve.

The common thread that runs through today's quality improvement efforts is the focus on the customer and, more importantly, customer satisfaction. The customer is the most important person in any process.

How many types of customers are there?

Customers may be either internal or external. The question of customer satisfaction (whether that customer is located in the next workstation, building, or country) is the essence of a quality product. Identifying customers' needs in the areas of what, when, why, and how are an essential part of process evaluation and may be accomplished only through communication.

The internal customer is the person or group that receives the results (outputs) of any individual's work. The outputs may include a product, a report, a directive, a communication, or a service. In fact, anything that is passed between people or groups. Customers include peers, subordinates, supervisors, and other units within the organization. Their expectations must also be known and exceeded to achieve quality.

External customers are those using the products or services provided by the organization. Organizations need to identify and understand their customers. The challenge is to understand and exceed their expectations.

An organization must focus on both internal and external customers and be dedicated to exceeding customer expectations.

Tags: Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Software Testing, Customer expectations, Excellence