Ken Feldman

The term levels is used in the context of Design of Experiments (DOE) and refers to the different settings you can use for running your experiments. Let’s look at this in a little more detail. The purpose of doing a Design of Experiments (DOE) is to identify what variables or factors have a causal effect […]

It is often not possible or practical to collect all the data from your process. It can be too costly or take too much time. It may not be possible to access all the data. If this situation exists in your process, then you will need to sample your data. Overview: What is sampling?  There […]

Many statistical tools have an assumption of normality. Is there an option if my data is not normal? Transforming your data might help. Some statistical methods, such as hypothesis testing, have an underlying assumption of normality of your data before they can be used. Although control charts are generally robust to normality issues, sometimes the […]

When an organization attempts to implement a Six Sigma deployment, somebody needs to be selected to lead and manage it. Champions are upper-level managers who lead the execution of the Six Sigma deployment plans for the organization. That makes it one of the most critical roles in the eventual success of your Lean Six Sigma […]

A binomial distribution can be described as the probability of a binary outcome in an activity that is repeated multiple times. It is a distribution of discrete data rather than continuous data. For example, a coin toss has only two possible discrete outcomes: heads or tails. Inspecting and testing a manufactured part can have two […]

In the context of Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement, a root cause is defined as an issue or factor that causes a nonconformance or defect which, if eliminated, will improve the process. The root cause is the base issue which sets a cause-and-effect reaction in motion eventually resulting in a problem. Overview: What is root […]

There are two broad categories of data in statistics: quantitative data and categorical data. Quantitative data is something you measure or count while categorical data presents data in categories or groups rather than the actual values themselves.  Overview: What is quantitative data?  Quantitative data describe values and numbers which are measured or counted and can […]

ISO 9000 is a series of standards, developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It defines, establishes, and maintains an effective quality management system for manufacturing and service industries. Overview: What is the ISO 9000 series?  ISO 9000 is a series of individual standards. The core standards contained within the series are: […]

The strategy of continuously improving your organizational processes by setting your goals, identifying deviations from those goals, and then taking appropriate actions to adjust your processes to close the gaps.

Tests that do not require a specific distribution to be valid.

The difference between the first and third quartiles.

A frequency plot is a graphical representation of the distribution of continuous data based on how often a particular value occurs.

A term used to describe CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, and other senior executives within an organization.

A statistical tool for describing a causal relationship between variables using controlled experiments.

Quantitative data represents values and numbers which can be measured or counted and used in mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

The 5Z process uses the Genba (Gemba) Kanri principles to maintain, evaluate, promote, and improve control of your process.

This major beverage manufacturer was spending millions of dollars per year to replace recyclable plastic shells to transport 2-liter bottles from the plant to their customers. Where did all the plastic shells go? Let’s find out. The process of retrieving delivered plastic shells from the customer should have been easy, but apparently it wasn’t. The […]

Process management is a structured process for assuring that all your processes are aligned to ensure you can attain the organization’s strategic goals.

As a recently promoted Vice President, Chuck needed to quickly understand what all his people were doing. Chuck, a longtime employee of a major utility company, had been recently promoted to Vice President to take over the leadership of a wide range of different functions than what he had been managing. As a result of […]

Have you ever been on an improvement team that just doesn’t work as well as you expected? Was it because people weren’t trying or was the mix of personalities and perspectives not conducive to working together for a solution? Let’s see how one company handled this problem. Using the Six Thinking Hats helped this company […]

Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.

DPMO, Sigma Level and Cpk are three metrics you can use to measure how well your process is performing.

Mura is a Japanese word meaning unevenness, non-uniformity, and irregularity.

An alias indicates that you’ve changed two or more things at the same time in the same way. Aliasing is a synonym for confounding.