An equipment supplier has delivered a production line, but the customer refuses to release the final payment. The customer says the machinery cannot consistently achieve the agreed output. The supplier says the equipment works and the problem lies in how it is being operated. Both have documents supporting their position.

Growth creates opportunity, but it also creates variation. As a company adds employees, customers, locations, products, systems, and responsibilities, work that was once simple begins to depend on more people and more decisions. The informal methods that worked when the business was small gradually become harder to control. Tasks are completed differently, information is shared unevenly, and quality starts to depend on who happens to be handling the work.