How a simple challenge led to an accelerated and more accurate design process.

Partnering with one of the leading global security and aerospace companies, we built a tool to design better models where fewer errors would be uncovered during late-stage testing. The idea was to prevent engineers from going down the wrong development path, but a different discovery was made. One fateful meeting would change the trajectory of QRA Corp.

“Bullshit.”

This was the response of one of the aerospace engineers when we described what our tool could do to improve modeling. We knew it could do it because it had for months with our partners on other large-scale system integrators. So, we offered to prove ourselves. If they thought our verification engine improbable, why not put it to the test. They gave us their system models and requirements, and we showed them what our tool could do. Unbeknown to us, they had intended to plant some faults in their systems design to assess the tool, but they forgot to doctor the models and so there were no faults to be found… Except, we did find faults.

Over the next hour, we had first row seats as we witnessed engineers argue about what constitutes an error and the origin of the error. We realized that to detect errors as early as possible, we should check for errors as early as possible – before any implementation was designed. We needed to develop a new tool to analyze requirements and alert authors of ambiguous, overly complex, and fundamentally malformed engineering requirements. We had our accidental discovery, and QVscribe was created. What we learned, first with these engineers, and many times since, is that at least 50% of the problems lie with the requirements, not the designs.

Where We Are Now

Since the company’s inception, QRA has received over $12 million in financing through partnerships with Dalhousie, Lockheed Martin, and Innovacorp, and funding from Atlantic Innovation Fund, Newfund Capital, Innovacorp, BDC, and the Government of Canada. We used these funds to focus on continuous technology development and the product development of QVscribe, increasing our market share and sharing our thought leadership amongst various industries. Our approach has allowed us to double our annual profits for the past three years.

As we grow, so does the adoption of QVscribe as part of product development and innovation in various industries, including:

industries

A vital aspect of QRA is our dedication to creation. This has been recognized with Jordan Kyriakidis’ nomination for the 2019 Manning Innovation Awards, as well as his invitation as a member of the Government of Canada’s New Advisory Council in Artificial Intelligence.

Looking to the future, we understand that our customers’ success depends on our ability to integrate with our clients’ daily workflows, so we developed the Champion Advantage Program. Working with each user, we discover barriers to adoption, pain points and develop custom success plans that effectively incorporate QVscribe. Sessions are built around users’ feedback, integrating tips and tricks, and providing a support network platform. Our recommendations report to each organization outlines the action plan that ultimately helps achieve organizational goals.

“We’ve experienced first-hand how the hardware-software boundary has become increasingly blurry, and the rise of machine learning and human-computer interaction is breathtaking. It is transforming the critical infrastructure in which we trust our lives. For new systems such as autonomous cars and commercial spacecraft to be deployed and accepted, we need to ensure that errors in the integrated design are caught during the earliest stages of development. These are early days, but that’s what we do. It’s why we exist.”

– Jordan Kyriakidis, Founder & CEO

Mission Statement

Values

Our core values are tenacity, agency, and openness. We treat each other with respect and with a high degree of trust. We care for the company, and we care for each other. We are solving difficult problems, and we know neither the best answers nor the best questions. We debate solutions often, but never with ego and always with receptiveness. We believe in the importance of open-mindedness, tempered by critical thinking and a first-principles approach. Words often ascribed to our team include:

Curiosity

Engagement

Impact

Ambition

Collaborative

Persistent

We lead with curiosity, collaboration, and persistence as we continuously develop QVscribe and work with our clients.

You value diversity of opinions and diversity of thought, and so do we.

Vision

Products and systems have an irreducible complexity that requires greater scrutiny and verification much earlier in the design process. QRA is building these systems today. And we start at the beginning, with the written word. Our solutions enable engineers to capture their intent and requirements with the exacting rigour they deserve and need.

“Humans will soon no longer build products but will instead build the systems that build the products. Our core infrastructure will be built, managed, and run by autonomous agents. Already today we are at a stage where product complexity exceeds human understanding. Already today we see systems and processes that are unable to cope with the rigour needed to safely and correctly build the products society needs.”

– Jordan Kyriakidis, Ph.D.

Mission

QRA’s mission is to accelerate the design process and reduce costs across industries building the most complex, mission, and safety-critical systems. We aim to improve the technical communication of cross-functional teams working on complex projects. QVScribe is QRA’s flagship solution that provides customers with highly sophisticated analysis, incorporating industry best practices such as Natural Language Processing and insight backed by decades of research.

“I believe in a future where the human spirit is freed from low-value drudgery. Where human creativity is put to work alongside synthetic autonomous agents. Where together, we discover and verify products and systems before any code is written before any metal is cut. I believe this future is necessary, achievable, and desirable. And I dedicate QRA to bringing this future to bear. We work with tenacity, agency, and openness. This is our tao; this is our way.”

– Jordan Kyriakidis, Ph.D.
VALUES

Values

Our core values are tenacity, agency, and openness. We treat each other with respect and with a high degree of trust. We care for the company, and we care for each other. We are solving difficult problems, and we know neither the best answers nor the best questions. We debate solutions often, but never with ego and always with receptiveness. We believe in the importance of open-mindedness, tempered by critical thinking and a first-principles approach. Words often ascribed to our team include:

Curiosity

Engagement

Impact

Ambition

Collaborative

Persistent

We lead with curiosity, collaboration, and persistence as we continuously develop QVscribe and work with our clients.

You value diversity of opinions and diversity of thought, and so do we.

VISION

Vision

Products and systems have an irreducible complexity that requires greater scrutiny and verification much earlier in the design process. QRA is building these systems today. And we start at the beginning, with the written word. Our solutions enable engineers to capture their intent and requirements with the exacting rigour they deserve and need.

“Humans will soon no longer build products but will instead build the systems that build the products. Our core infrastructure will be built, managed, and run by autonomous agents. Already today we are at a stage where product complexity exceeds human understanding. Already today we see systems and processes that are unable to cope with the rigour needed to safely and correctly build the products society needs.”

– Jordan Kyriakidis, Ph.D.
Mission

Mission

QRA’s mission is to accelerate the design process and reduce costs across industries building the most complex, mission, and safety-critical systems. We aim to improve the technical communication of cross-functional teams working on complex projects. QVScribe is QRA’s flagship solution that provides customers with highly sophisticated analysis, incorporating industry best practices such as Natural Language Processing and insight backed by decades of research.

“I believe in a future where the human spirit is freed from low-value drudgery. Where human creativity is put to work alongside synthetic autonomous agents. Where together, we discover and verify products and systems before any code is written before any metal is cut. I believe this future is necessary, achievable, and desirable. And I dedicate QRA to bringing this future to bear. We work with tenacity, agency, and openness. This is our tao; this is our way.”

– Jordan Kyriakidis, Ph.D.