Our last blog - Are My Data Normally Distributed? - involved using a normal probability plot to answer that question. Essentially, if the data fell along a straight line, we would conclude that the data came from a normal distribution. If it did not fall along a straight line, we would conclude that the data did not come from a normal distribution.

If you and I look at a normal probability plot, we might not agree if something “falls along a straight line or not.” For this reason, it is much easier if we have a statistic to...

Measurements tell us many things. They tell us if a product is within specification, if we met our goal, if we are staying the same, if we are improving, if we are getting worse, etc. What makes a good measurement process? This is essentially asking the following question:

What does it take for us to trust our measurement process?

Think about trust. Why do we trust some people? One reason is that they are consistent – we know what to expect from them because they are consistent. The same is true of our measurement processes. We begin...

A cause and effect diagram is a tool that shows the relationship between a quality characteristic (effect) and possible sources of variation (causes). As shown below, the effect could be a problem that needs to be solved or the goal of the process. The effect would then be listed on the cause and effect diagram. The causes involve everything that might trigger the problem. Cause and effect diagrams are also called fishbone diagrams (because of their shape) and Ishikawa diagrams (because of their developer).

The cause and effect diagram is one of...

A scatter diagram shows the relationship between two variables. For example, you might want to compare the speed you drive with the time it takes you to get to work, or to compare the heights and weights of children, or to compare the steam usage in a plant to the outside temperature. This is what scatter diagrams do.

Suppose you are a warehouse manager. Overtime is a concern to you since it is something your boss watches closely. There is overtime every day. You have a theory that the overtime is simply caused by the work level – the number of lines that are picked each day in the...