Remember The Little Engine That Could, the children’s story about self-confidence in the face of huge challenges? In it, a train engine keeps telling itself, “I think I can” while carrying a very heavy load up a big mountain. Next thing you know, the little engine has done it, but until that moment, the outcome was uncertain.

It’s a wonderful story for teaching kids about self-confidence. From a quality and customer service viewpoint, however, it’s a horror story: If your business depends on taking the load up the hill, you want to know you can do it.

That’s where capability analysis comes in. When customers ask if you’re able to meet their requirements, process capability analysis lets you reply, “I know we can.”

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