Your TQS Application Writing Strategy

As most of the readers of this blog know, I spend quite a bit of my time looking at TQS applications before they are sent off to the appropriate certification body.

One of the problems I see again and again in applications is the inconsistency between what has been written in A0 and what is written in A5. To state this a little more directly, what is in A0.3 doesn’t seem to be picked up in A5.0 – or anywhere else in A5 for that matter.

The advice I always give is that:

• The person writing A0 should write A5, too.
• The person writing A0 should write A5 as soon as he or she has finished A0.
• The person writing A0 and A5 should put the two aspects of the application alongside each other to make sure that there is some relationship between what is said in A0 and A5.

Saying something is one thing. Getting people to follow the advice is more difficult.

I find that what people really like is the diagram below.

1. In summary, think about your strategy first.
2. Think about the results you achieve next.
3. Then consider the approaches you use to implement your strategy.

Easy . . . or not?