Cost of Quality programs are perceived to fail when they don’t adequately deliver the target benefits that were assigned to them. This typically isn’t because the targeted impacts of those projects aren’t achieved. Most sound Cost of Quality programs do a reasonable job of impacting the environment as anticipated. It’s the benefits management was looking for that sometimes, or usually, fail to materialize. Unfortunately, it’s the Cost of Quality team that often takes the blame for such perceived failures.

Discuss some of the reasons why the positive impact of a Cost of Quality program might not transfer completely into intended or targeted benefits. What can an improvement team do to avoid ending up in trouble for benefits not being achieved?