There are always good reasons to attend the American Society for Quality’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement (WCQI). The sessions are substantive, the networking is genuine, and the exhibit hall gives you a concentrated look at where the tools and technologies of our profession are heading. After four decades covering this industry, we still come back every year. But 2026 has a different feel to it, and I’ll tell you why.

80 years of ASQ, still setting the standard

This year marks ASQ’s 80th anniversary, a genuine milestone for an organization that has defined what professional quality practice looks like during eight decades of manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, government, and more. If you’ve ever held a CQE, a CQM, or any ASQ credential, you’ve benefited from 80 years of work by people who took quality seriously before it was fashionable. Celebrating that matters.

The theme is earned this year

ASQ has framed WCQI 2026 around the theme “When Purpose and Quality Meet, Magic Happens.” I’m usually a bit cynical about conference taglines. But this one resonates right now.

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