Shortly after I wrote my last blog “On Statistics as a Method of Problem Solving,” I received the latest issue of Quality Progress, the official publication by the American Society for Quality. A Statistics article “Making the Cut – Critical values for Pareto comparisons remove statistical subjectivity” caught my attention because Pareto analysis is one… Continue reading The Practical Value of a Statistical Method
Tag: Deming
On Statistics as a Method of Problem Solving
If you have taken a class in statistics, whether in college or as a part of professional training, how much has it helped you solve problems? Based on my observation, the answer is mostly not much. The primary reason is that most people are never taught statistics properly. Terms like null hypothesis and p-value just… Continue reading On Statistics as a Method of Problem Solving
Understanding Process Capability
Process capability is a key concept in Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI). For people not familiar with the concept, process capability is a process’s ability to consistently produce product that meets the customer requirements. Conceptually, process capability is simple. If a process makes products that meet the customer requirements all the time (i.e. 100%), it… Continue reading Understanding Process Capability
Achieving Improvement
In my blog Setting SMART Goals, I made the point that having a measurable goal in an improvement project is not enough — we have to know how it is measured and interpreted to make it useful. What makes a goal achievable? In my work as a Continuous Improvement (CI) coach and consultant, I have… Continue reading Achieving Improvement