The Red Bead Experiment
Our last blog , A True Story about Variation , showed how leadership was blaming operators for process problems. They did not understand variation. The most powerful method I know for developing an understanding of variation is the red bead experiment. Dr. W. Edwards Deming often referred to it as a stupid experiment that you'll never forget. I had the privilege to see Dr. Deming perform this experiment in a seminar in 1984.
The red bead experiment requires a sampling bowl that contains 80% white and 20% red beads -- hence the...