I think there could be many ways to overcome the bad relations that the quality department often has with other departments such as R&D. One way could be to ensure that the quality representative or team that is involved in an R&D project is included from the beginning of the project and is kept up to date with any project changes that are being made. Having quality included very early on and being up to date prevents procedures from being missed during the course of the project, which would then cause the R&D team major timeline setbacks in order to go back and fulfill these requirements. Another way is for both departments to truly act as a team, and be flexible and understanding to the needs of each department. R&D should not also be on the defense looking to cut corners to get the project done, and quality should not be trying to ensure that every last detail of a quality procedure is followed. Both departments need to work together to come to resolutions that makes sense and satisfies the necessary procedural standards. There are often other ways to satisfy quality procedures other than long term testing or other items that take a long of time. The quality department should be more open to these types of solutions and base their acceptance on risk and practicality.