For startups, I believe in the following quality principle: If we do not know who the customer is, we do not know what quality is.

Modern production processes rely on high quality as a way to boost efficiency. They operate using W. Edwards Deming’s famous dictum that the customer is the most important part of the production process. This means that we must focus our energies exclusively on producing outcomes that the customer perceives as valuable.

Allowing sloppy work into our process inevitably leads to excessive variation. Variation in process yields products of varying quality in the eyes of the customer that at best require rework and at worst lead to a lost customer. Most modern business and engineering philosophies focus on producing high-quality experiences for customers as a primary principle; it is the foundation of Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, design thinking, extreme programming, and the software craftsmanship movement.

Thus, for startups, I believe in the following quality principle: If we do not know who the customer is, we do not know what quality is.

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries