Quality and manufacturing practitioners are most familiar with the effect of variation on product quality, and this is still the focus of the quality management and Six Sigma bodies of knowledge. Other forms of variation are, however, equally important—in terms of their ability to cause what...
The ultimate purpose for collecting data is to take action. In some cases the action taken will depend upon a description of what is at hand. In others the action taken will depend upon a prediction of what will be. The use of data in support of these two types of action will require different...
A few months back, I was reading a really good article from The Wall Street Journal, titled “Stop Using Excel, Finance Chiefs Tell Staffs.” Even though it was geared toward accounting and corporate operations, the message of the article struck home: Excel shouldn’t be used as an enterprisewide...
The phrase, “Are we there yet?” has long been associated with boring summer road trips. However, a new study shatters that myth, as it shows that 69 percent of people say traveling to their destination is often as fun as the actual vacation destination. The Summer Drive Study by the NACS, a trade...
