Quality Management Software Key Terms

Buzz words that can help you find the best quality management software

By Geraldine McGowan

Quality management software is based on quality management principles, which concern management theory and how to continually improve your products and services. Quality management software key terms will give you the vocabulary you need to choose the right program for your business by helping you identify the type you want. This software should give you the tools you need to manage your business. It should help you process documents, increase efficiency and cut costs.

Principles of quality management systems, or QMS

The underlying principles to QMS are quality management theories as recognized by International Organization of Standardization (ISO), an international standard-setting body.
Try: The ISO outlines the major principles of QMS.

Customer focus

If good outcomes are determined by customer retention, quality management software must focus on helping you provide your customers with a quality product.
Try: Best Practices, a benchmarking consultancy, discusses customer focus in relation to quality software.

Regulatory compliance and risk management

Regulatory compliance concerns how different kinds of information must be used and stored. For instance, the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 protects patients' rights to privacy. This law requires software that prevents anyone from gaining access to patient records. Risk management helps companies assess strategies and procedures to manage risk.
Try: The Fast Guide to Regulatory Compliance from TechTarget discusses the software needs for the different regulations organizations must be in compliance with. Lombard Risk shows how software can be applied to risk management.

Process approach

Process approach is a management term that refers to how processes play out within an organization. The process approach means looking at an organization's processes together, rather than isolating any given one.
Try: Praxiom defines process approach and suggests how software can be used to manage quality management

Streamlining processes

Streamlining a process can mean removing extra steps by combining functions and also improving productivity by implementing more efficient applications.
Try: Efficient QMS outlines why a business needs quality management software and discusses applications for streamlining processes and improving productivity.

Continuous improvement, or the continual improvement process

Continuous improvement is the theory that improvement happens in incremental steps or as the result of one big breakthrough; but in any case, that the service or product should always be improving.
Try: ASQ offers a more distinguished definition continual improvement. Promodel is an example of continuous improvement software.