What data are the best to gather? What processes should you be tracking? What are your metrics telling you?

In observing various organizations’ attempts to fulfill ISO 9001 requirements around subclause 8.4—“Analysis of data,”–I’ve noticed a recurring problem. Companies allow the requirements of the standard—ISO 9001 or any comparable quality management system (QMS) model—to drive the activity. They put together what appears to be a reasonable list of what to monitor and then proceed to amass enormous amounts of data.

There are some perennial heavy hitters, such as on-time delivery, customer returns, and scrap. There’s no denying that in the typical organization these are always fairly good indicators. Are they the best indicators for your organization?

Gathering data you don’t care about expends precious resources, clogs the information network, and diffuses focus from important issues. In short, it’s a waste of time. Looking at the wrong data also risks ignoring real issues that are at the root of serious problems, while you fiddle and diddle with pretty charts you think will make an auditor happy. Over the long haul, it can erode commitment to consistent use of monitoring and analytical methodologies that really can benefit your organization.

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