Welcome to the Project Management Failure Olympics Ah, project management failure, the unsung art form of modern enterprise! Anyone can deliver a project successfully—boring. But to craft a truly magnificent fiasco? That takes vision, overconfidence, and a Gantt chart that looks like spaghetti. The goal isn’t to finish the project. No, it’s to appear incredibly busy while chaos spreads […]

What PPAP Is Trying To Achieve (And Often Does) At its best, PPAP in manufacturing is a structured way to prove that a supplier’s process can repeatedly produce parts that meet all customer and regulatory requirements. The AIAG PPAP intent aligns with Ioan Feloniuk’s framing: demonstrate that design intent, process capability, and evidence are in place […]

APQP Testing Limitations in Automotive and Manufacturing Quality Advanced Product Quality Planning promises robust launches, but APQP testing limitations often emerge when teams equate “meets spec” with “fit for use.” APQP testing limitations become most evident when products pass all defined tests yet still fail in customer applications, field use, or long-term durability. The root cause […]

The ROI Trap in Equipment Maintenance Decisions It is cool when I hear engineers early in their career chat with me about their engineering, both design and manufacturing. about, well, I want to say face-palm moments.  One such example is when executives often ask for ROI on equipment maintenance numbers, even though the line has long […]

The Growing Myth of OTA Quick Fixes The automotive industry loves the promise of OTA software updates. The idea that misbehavior in the field can be “fixed remotely” has become part of both product strategy and marketing. Industry voices often proclaim, “If something goes wrong, we’ll just push an update.” Yet, rising software-related recalls and increasing regulatory scrutiny tell a […]

What Is IATF 16949 Standard? The IATF 16949 standard is the global benchmark for automotive quality management systems, built on ISO 9001 and tailored to the automotive supply chain. It defines how organizations design, develop, produce, install, and service automotive products while continually improving, preventing defects, and reducing variation and waste.  Standards often get a […]

When the Schedule Is “Managed” but Still Sinking Not everything can be turned into a process—especially in product development, where discovery and uncertainty are unavoidable. But there is a dangerous gap between acknowledging uncertainty and pretending it is under control. The image illustrates a familiar scenario: a project manager confidently “monitoring and controlling” while the […]

When the Margin Is Unknown, Control Becomes Reaction Not everything can be turned into a process. This is especially true in early product development, where learning, discovery, and iteration dominate. However, when ambiguity persists beyond its appropriate stage—especially around dimensions, tolerances, and margins—organizations unintentionally transfer risk downstream. The image illustrates a simple truth: when the […]

By: Jon M Quigley When Process Helps—and When It Can’t We are a big fan of Aircraft Disasters on the Smithsonian Channel  (at least that is where we watch it).  This often appears in our written materials, including the occasional blog post.  This post origins from the season 4 episode 7, “Catastrophe at O’Hare” as well […]

Problems Are Symptoms of Unmanaged Risk  by Jon M Quigley This post is in response to an article on LinkedIn from Habib ur Rehman on blaming operator mistake as the root cause, and operator training as corrective action. This article is very timely, as I have been involved in consulting work where this situation was […]