After speaking with HR, Finance and Services about Kanban method advantages for BIT, Paul was expecting to be called by Emma, the General Manager of BIT. The call arrived but he was surprised by the Outlook invitation content: I wish you explain to me how the current ISO 9001 system is helping (if any) BIT Digital Transformation”. You have one hour.

P: That’s a great question. To provide a meaningful response, let’s take a trip back to 1988 when your father made the decision to implement ISO 9001:1987. At that point, BIT had already been operating for 5 years and had experienced steady growth, expanding from its initial 3-person team to 15 employees.
During this time, the company had a clear mission: to facilitate digitization in the field of accountancy, specifically targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The aim was to help these organizations streamline their financial and, if applicable, manufacturing processes, while also enhancing their data management capabilities.

E: OK. So why introduce an ISO QMS to support the digitization process of BIT?

P: Your father had a remarkable understanding of the significance of technology watch in shaping the future of a company like BIT. He devoted considerable attention to this aspect and recognized the immense potential in emerging technologies. One such foresight was his anticipation of the recently announced of the AS 400, which brought with it advanced administrative software like BPCS and seamless integration with cutting-edge technologies such as Novell NetWare 2.0 LAN.

He understood that these advancements were designed to foster open communication across all areas of the company, emphasizing a shift towards enhanced interconnectivity and integration with PC-based systems. This strategic move allowed for the seamless digitization of accounting and office functions, ultimately resulting in a comprehensive digital platform tailored for SMB customers.

E: I still don’t see the reason to introduce a QMS.

P: Just bear with me for a moment, Emma. I’m getting closer to addressing your question.

During that period, a new generation, of which I was a part, was entering the business world. These individuals were accustomed to writing their own theses using WordPerfect and effortlessly obtaining data from their university’s centralized IT system, often a mainframe, in a format known as CSV. They would then organize this data using dBase III and analyze it using Lotus 1-2-3.

Your father foresaw the rise of what it was later referred to as the “Personal Era,” characterized by a combination of technology and a new mindset. He believed that this era wouldn’t pose an immediate threat to BIT’s traditional digitization model.
However, he recognized its potential to bring digital tools and practices to the forefront of customers’ businesses, extending beyond administrative processes alone.

At that time, the exact mechanism through which this transformation would occur was unknown. Nevertheless, your father understood that the adoption of this new digital model would accelerate, accompanied by an increase in the complexity of the changes it brought. He recognized the need for a governance model that could effectively support BIT and its customers in navigating this digital revolution.

E: Why to invest in a QMS as the main governace model?

P.: A very good friend of your father, in the 80′ still working in IBM quality department, invited your father for a week at his home, in Rochester, in occasion of the lunch of the AS 400. He also invited your father to join the “”International Conference on Quality Control” organized not so far from Rochester.

In the conference your father discovered the 14 points of Deming and his approach to TQM. He came home enthusiastic and put on his office door the model of Fig 1.

E: I don’t remember that picture.

P: Of course you don’t. You were too young. Furthermore, your father eventually replaced that picture with Fig 2.
He had a penchant for utilizing visual models in his storytelling and he believed that Fig 2 was closer to the reality of BIT to visual
explain a QMS. You should recognize that; it is still there, on his door; ops, I mean, your door now.

E: I still don’t see the link with the ISO 9001.

P: Your father returned from the States with a well-defined vision of the importance of principles to manage changes in BIT,
He recognized the importance of translating these principles into practical implementation, bridging the gap between strategy and day-to-day operations.

Coincidentally, he stumbled upon an ISO standard published in Europe that perfectly aligned with the principles he had recently learned in the States. This ISO standard offered a practical framework to translate the models depicted in Figures 1 and 2 into tangible practices. This discovery provided the ideal tool to effectively operationalize the principles and guide BIT’s journey towards digital transformation.

E: OK. I got it.
My father was convinced that the ISO 9001 standard offered the right discipline to implement fundamental principles to be ready for future changes, despite what was and what will be the digitalization strategy of BIT. Right?

P: Right.
It proved successful throughout the late 1980s and subsequent decades. If you invite me for a pizza, I’d be more than happy to elaborate on the specifics of how it worked.

E: I will and I would like to understand in particular how a “Norm” like ISO 9001 can exhibit such flexibility to accommodate the big changes of BIT over such an extended period of time.

TO KNOW MORE:
How BIT Used ITIL Best Practices to Implement ISO 9001