Total quality management for a large software project

The 5ESS® switch project faces a challenge increasingly common to many industries — how to simultaneously improve quality, shorten the interval between product development and delivery, reduce costs, and increase revenues. Over the past several years, we have realized that we must design and manage our development process with the same rigor and effort that we currently design and manage our products. This paper summarizes the approach, current status, and some early results of our efforts to conceptualize, design, and achieve a quality management system for the international and U. S. 5ESS switch projects.