The bridge metaphor is how we define the role of the variance management system.

The bridge metaphor is relevant at three levels:

1. The variance management system provides the infrastructure for connecting the two other systems.
2. Variance data is the traffic flow over the bridge from the pathway to the improvement process.
3. Improvements efforts flow back across the bridge as the variance system is used to evaluate improvements.

This bridging is a key aspect of the Next Generation Quality Model. Turning this into an operational reality is our next topic.