When I was consulting at an historic auction house, I held a 155ct natural sapphire in my hand. The gemstone was the size of a golf ball...and magnificent. The stone was given the highest rating of "Extra Fine" quality. The value and projected estimate for the gemstone was in the millions of dollars.

As the gemologist carefully removed the gemstone from my hand, I asked him what gave the stone the top quality rating and value estimate. His explanation went as follows:

You would think it was the size. The size is impressive but the size or carat weight is the least important characteristic. The 155ct size is only impressive because of its rarity. Yet, the size contributes only a small percentage of the value of the gemstone. Smaller stones whereby other characteristics were even higher would create a higher value to the gemstone.

The most important characteristics are: the process, and the people involved in creating this extra fine gemstone.

First, the rough stone is found. If the rough stone is of poor quality to begin with, the final product will never be able to be judged as "extra fine." Size wouldn't matter.

To become an extra fine gemstone requires a process take place which involves many people--each doing "The Best" they can.

Let me explain the process a rough stone takes to be an extra fine gemstone with a high value estimate. You will see how similar the gemstone process is to developing any product.

Someone is involved in visioning the possibilities of what the rough stone could become. Is it one gemstone or many? Will all the gemstones be of the same size or vary to take advantage of the different inner qualities of the rough stone. The goal of the visionary is to maximize the inherit beauty and potential value of the rough stone and minimize the waste. Once the visionary develops a plan, the rough stone heads to the cleaving step.

The Cleaver separates the rough into the different gemstones. The cleaving step can only be 100% successful if the visionary did the best job he/she could with planning how the rough would be cut. The Cleaver may be able to compensate a little if the visionary didn't do the best job he or she could. The room for adjustment or error is very small. One slight mistake by either the visionary or the Cleaver will devalue the final potential value of each of the gemstones. If the Cleaver does the best job possible, it will make it easier for the Cutter to do his or her job.

The process continues through the cutting, bruting, faceting and finally polishing (none capped) steps in the gemstone process. Each step may be able to make slight adjustments to compensate for the previous steps that were less than perfect but it is tough. Each step is generally dependent on the quality of the previous steps. Each step is dependent on the person doing The Best job with what is handed to him or her.

To have an extra fine quality gemstone...each step required the skills of the person responsible to do "The Best" job possible. To help catch any flaws along the way, quality evaluations are done after each step in the process.

See the correlation?

• Ideas & Requests are Diamonds in the Rough
• Scoping Requirements become the Visionary Plan
• Business Architecture is the Cleaving Steps
• Physical Design is the Cutting Steps
• Coding creates physical form during the Bruting Steps
• Testing, Assembly is the Faceting Step
• Maintenance is the Polishing Step

If the original idea for a product is not good, the final product will not be good. In fact, money and time will have been wasted on building the poor product that the user or customer doesn't value.

If the original idea is sound, clear and concise, it will be easy to define the scoping requirements, project plan, and all early documentation. With a clear understanding of the requirements and constraints, it would be easy to create a business architecture that is flexible for business growth. With a sound infrastructure, the physical design will be clearly defined for the coders. If the coders (and all the others) do the best job possible, the quality control will be easier.

Each step in the process requires that the people responsible do "The Best" job possible. True, some compensation may be possible if the previous step was not "The Best" but only a slight adjustment could be made to maintain the potential of a top quality product. It is actually better to adopt the practice of reviews to catch any flaws that can be corrected along the way than to try to compensate.

A few words about enhancements...a gemstone could be modified by the whim of the owner or because the gemstone chipped. The enhancement can only be of top quality if the original product was well conceived and developed. The enhancement could improve the quality and value of the original product. Again, that is only dependant on the original work.

Before you blame the previous step, take a look at the quality of the work you do. Are you doing "The Best"? Are you making it easy for the next person to do his or her job? Are you forcing others to try to compensate for your mistakes? Are you building something that can be easily enhanced or maintained?

If you are doing "The Best" but are not handed the best to work with, you still can be a valuable contributor. After all, what is stopping you from helping by reviewing at each step in the development process? Challenge the original project concept to make sure it is concise and clear. Make sure that all the components in the requirements specification is included. Review the test cases to ensure they cover the product.

Spending a little review time on the preceding steps will make your job easier to do when the process reaches your step. Spending a little time coaching and teaching new workers to improve their skills will make your job easier to do when the process reaches your step.

Keep in mind the goal...to create the "Extra Fine" quality product by:

1. Doing the best job on your step in the process
2. Help review for potential flaws early in the process
3. Coach others to improve their ability to produce "The Best" for their responsibility.

After all, quality is built in along the way. It is everyone's responsibility to build quality.

Contribute the best to creating top business value.

SBDi speaks both Business and IT languages. Bring SBDi in to help communication between both organizations. Let us help you find the right flexible solution that will help business increase revenue.

Pat Ferdinandi, Chief Thought Translator