Quality management practices, including quality control and quality assurance, are essential aspects of the solution-delivery process to ensure that the solution being developed is in line with the expectations of the customer. Dr. W. Edwards Deming was one of the pioneers of the quality revolution, first in Japan, then in the United States, and then the rest of the world. Dr. Deming's teachings and philosophies originated in manufacturing, but have been extended to several disciplines over time, and his works have been produced and reproduced via a number of books and articles. Dr. Deming emphasized how quality and efficiency can improve simultaneously, by creating "a consistency of purpose designed to drive the organization towards product and service improvement and continually and permanently improving the system."

In the Sure Step methodology, quality control and assurance are manifested in many areas, including in the activities...