Fresh Thinking on Innovation and Quality

Summary: This paper examines the relationships between quality and innovation. It begins by defining what ASQ means by innovation, and it looks at contemporary thinking on innovation and on the scope of quality today. Examining recent cases where quality methodologies have been applied in innovation-intensive environments such as commercial research and development, it gathers insights from approaches of companies that are acknowledged leaders in both innovation and quality. The paper concludes by distilling some of this knowledge into tips and recommendations for ways that organizations can strike a productive balance between creativity and innovation on the one hand, and quality, efficiency, and control on the other.