Speaker: Peter Merrill, Quest Management
Topic: "Quality for Tomorrow – The Synergy of Innovation Management with Quality Management"
Abstract: Innovation has gained increasing attention as a result of the rapid change the world has been experiencing. We innovate to respond to change and address new circumstances of risk and opportunity. Innovation Management is a natural evolution from Quality Management. Quality Management focuses on the needs of today’s customers. Innovation Management addresses unmet needs of tomorrow’s customer.
Innovation as a practice is not new and was first recorded in the work of Machiavelli in 1532. It is the results of innovation that are new. Many people think innovation is synonymous with new technology - and technology has frequently provided solutions to innovation challenges, but technology is only part of the story. Innovation has a major human component.
Generating new ideas, transforming them into new value, and creating new benefits for people is exciting and fulfilling and there is a natural human desire to create. However, innovation is no accident and successful innovation is the result of a clear process and strategy. Defining and understanding innovation is a foundation for efficient and effective innovating.
The early days of quality saw alternative definitions of quality such as ‘fitness for purpose’ and ‘conformance to requirements’. They ultimately meant keeping our promise to the customer. Innovation focuses on tomorrow’s customer and can be thought of as ‘Quality for Tomorrow’. The successful innovator identifies an unmet need, which creates an opportunity, and then uses new information and knowledge to find creative solutions.