Organizational Stress Test: A New and Complementary Vision for the Auditing of Quality Management Systems (QMSs)
Authors: Bacoup Pascal , Michel Cedric 
Published: December 2024

Purpose: This article introduces the innovative concept of the “organizational stress test” (OST), a methodology designed to address the limitations of traditional audit processes by integrating the key principles of stress testing models in order to generate an original questionnaire through an algorithm that enables a diagnosis closer to the concrete situations experienced by companies in the workplace. Actually, the problem is that classical audits face significant limitations, including predictability and procedure‐oriented checks that overlook real effectiveness, which leads audits to prioritize certification over genuine improvement, sometimes making them costly and inefficient for achieving meaningful organizational progress. The goal of our proposal is to find a new way of continuous improvement. Unlike a classic audit, which primarily focuses on procedural compliance and documentation, the OST delves deeper into the resilience and robustness of an organization’s quality management systems (QMSs), under extreme and realistic scenarios. This method not only assesses the company’s ability to meet standard requirements but also evaluates how well it can withstand and recover from unforeseen challenges, thereby providing actionable insights for continuous improvement. By doing so, the OST offers a significant enhancement over conventional audits, providing a more dynamic, real‐world assessment that can reveal organizational vulnerabilities that a traditional audit might overlook. This article aims to equip manufacturing and service companies with a robust alternative to conventional auditing that promotes genuine organizational improvement beyond mere certification.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Our methodology is based on a review of the original spirit of the ISO standards and on our analysis of financial stress tests to generate scenarios adapted to the specific QMS of a particular company thanks to a narrow AI. After a brief presentation of “lean standardization” and the weaknesses of conventional auditing, we present our scenario generation process using a multicriteria decision analysis algorithm. In order to illustrate the proposed method, some examples of implementation will be presented.

Findings: To show the feasibility of the methodology, this article concludes with a summary of the results achieved in a single firm and draws some interesting conclusions.

Results: The OST provides an emerging perspective on the auditing process by uncovering organizational deviations that traditional audits typically fail to detect. For instance, as will be illustrated in the practical application section, the OST was able to identify critical gaps in crisis management protocols and inefficiencies in communication within several companies, areas often overlooked in conventional audits, which tend to focus primarily on compliance with procedures. By thoroughly examining operational realities, the OST offers a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the organization’s resilience and effectiveness. In the following sections, we will explore specific cases where the OST’s findings led to significant enhancements in organizational robustness, demonstrating the added value of this approach compared to conventional auditing methods.

Research Limitations/Implications: The effectiveness of OST largely depends on the careful customization of scenarios to match each organization’s unique needs. This process can be challenging, particularly for smaller firms or those with limited resources. In addition, the scenario‐based approach introduces variability, making it difficult to standardize across different industries.