Digitalization: Its impact on Quality Management Practices and Practitioners

Digitalization impacts industry in several ways, for example automation of manufacturing processes, digitally connected products, and big data related to customers use of products. In the area of Quality Management – centered on continuous improvements, customer focus, and teamwork – digitalization impacts aspects such as improvement methods, data access, and quality practices. This further suggests that the roles, competence, and practices of quality practitioners are influenced and will be in a process of change. Previous studies suggest that quality practitioners are challenged in the light of digitalization and that there is a need to focus on practice supporting exploitative as well as explorative processes to embrace the potentials in digitalization. This project focuses on the roles and competence of quality practitioners in the era of digitalization; focusing changes in improvement practices (e.g. auditing), improvement tools (e.g. experimentation), and needed competence development (e.g. leading and working with multi-disciplinary analytics team).