Abstract

The QA (quality assurance) professional should be integrated early into the new product development process. By doing so, the QA professional is able to enhance the process by contributing knowledge about the product, process performance, manufacturing, technical matters, customer satisfiers, and critical characteristics. Process prerequisites for QA integration include: customer focus; documentation; communication throughout the organization; values alignment; well defined roles; cross-functional teamwork; and an environment of continuous improvement. Throughout the new product development process, the QA professional should be involved in critical activities such as: supplier assessment and selection; preliminary model development; designed experiments; tooling capability trials; launch planning and support; and ongoing audits and preventive maintenance. The RASI (Responsible-Approval-Support-Inform) model is a tool for clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the QA professional and other team members. Application of these roles to QA activities is facilitated by considering the QA professional as an internal consultant who has skills in: building strategic business relationships with team members; learning about business metrics; and developing leadership for change management. This paper provides tabular descriptions of QA functions in each phase of new product development and RASI roles for members of the new product development team.