Definition:
Built-in quality is one of the SAFe Core Values, it is a core principle of the Lean-Agile Mindset.
Edwards Deming states “Inspection does not improve the quality, nor guarantee quality. Inspection is too late. The quality, good or bad, is already in the product. Quality cannot be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it.”
Lean manufacturing companies have quality build in their process, preventing unnecessary rework and waste generation. In essence, this practice is the pillar of controlling variables within a process, securing quality not passing on poor quality and checking every piece. Software, hardware also ensures that each solution, at every increment, meets appropriate quality standards throughout the development. One of the Agile Principles says on quality “Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility” which ensures that the solutions built are high in quality, can rapidly adapt to change and are architected for testing, deployment and recovery.
Product qualities such as expandability, flexibility, integrity, interoperability, maintainability, portability, reusability, resilience and usability in general cannot be inspected or tested. They must be “designed in” brought in early phases of development during requirement capture, analysis, architecting and design. This induce “Built-in Quality” during design process weighed against user’s needs in a iterative feedback loop.
Further Reading:
Book: Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain by Philip B. Crosby
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/built-in-quality/
http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
http://www.qsm.com/quality1.pdf