Ken Feldman

What does your process look like from 25,000 feet up in the air? Your extended process view can be described using SIPOC, or supplier, input, process, output, and customer. Let’s get in our plane and go up. 

Six Sigma has been defined in three ways: as a metric, a methodology, and a philosophy. Sigma can be defined as the standard deviation of a set of continuous data, so Six Sigma would then be six standard deviations.

When doing statistical analysis, it is impractical and often impossible to gather all the available data. That is when you would seek to sample the data to analyze it and make decisions about your process. In statistics, a sample refers to a group of individuals, objects, or events that are selected from a larger population […]

Once in a lifetime, someone comes along who has a profound and transformational impact on society. Dr. W. Edwards Deming was such a person and his System of Profound Knowledge has had a significant impact on the business world.

In 1903, famed writer H.G. Wells first described the importance of mathematical analysis. Samuel Wilks, in 1951, paraphrased Wells and developed this famous quote: “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” Let’s see why he said that.

When you speak of subgrouping, it is usually in the context of constructing a control chart. Let’s explore the topic in a little more detail. Subgrouping is a technique used in control charts to group data into smaller, more manageable sets or subgroups. The purpose of subgrouping is to increase the sensitivity of the control […]

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. You can also say a picture of your data is worth a thousand words. The stem and leaf plot is one such picture. 

The shortest distance between two places is a straight line. Unfortunately, you can’t alway do that in your work environment. Let’s see how a spaghetti diagram might help visualize how things move through your workplace. 

Residual, standardized residual, studentized residual — what do they mean, and how do I use them? 

In the spirit of continuous improvement, re-engineering is the process by which you can identify, analyze, and re-design your organization’s core business processes for the purpose of achieving improvements in critical performance measures. Reengineering, also known as business process reengineering (BPR), is a methodology that focuses on the fundamental redesign of business processes to achieve […]

Do you want to know whether your process is in control or not? Statistical Process Control, or SPC, is the tool you want to learn about, so let’s get started. 

In the Analyze phase of DMAIC, you will want to identify possible independent or predictor variables to help explain the relationship with your response or dependent variables. Correlation is a statistical tool to establish the strength of the relationship between your independent and dependent variables. Regression is used to predict your response variable as a […]

Strategic planning is a formal, organized, proactive and structured process used by an organization to define its vision, goals, and objectives. The process of strategic planning also includes planning for, and the allocation of the resources needed to reach the stated goals and objectives of the organization. It is the roadmap for achieving your organization’s […]

A saturated design, in the context of Design of Experiments, is a simplified experiment used for screening possible significant factors. It is designed to give you a high-level understanding of the main effect of factors, but not their interactions.

It is usually impractical to measure everything if you are trying to collect data. That is why you will use an appropriate sampling technique. But how big a sample should you get? Using a sample size calculator will make that task quick and easy. Let’s see how. When you are required to collect data to […]

When writing your Six Sigma project charter, it is important to clearly state the scope of the project, so the team doesn’t attempt to “boil the ocean” or “solve world hunger”. Scope puts some boundaries and constraints on the activities of the project. In the context of Six Sigma, scope refers to the boundaries and […]

If your eyeglasses have the correct prescription, you will have proper resolution and can see clearly and with detail. The same holds true for your Measurement System Analysis and Design of Experiments. Greater resolution means your data can help you see more information about your process.

The creation of a rational subgroup is the key to the proper use of control charts. Let’s try to understand what makes them rational.

Red X is an anti-hero and a former “villain identity” employed by Robin of Batman and Robin fame. No, that’s not right. Red X is really a problem-solving methodology developed by Dorian Shainin. Let’s explore this a little further.

Your design of experiments (DOE) has many variables and a tight budget. How can you balance the process information you need with the limitations of time and resources? You might try using a screening DOE.

A scorecard in sports indicates which team is winning by monitoring an important metric such as number of runs, or baskets or touchdowns. Your business scorecard can provide valuable information on how your organization is doing. In business, a scorecard is a tool used to measure and track the performance of an organization or specific […]

You want your processes to be able to still function well in the face of changes and variation. Let’s learn some more about how you can develop these robust processes. A robust process refers to a well-designed and reliable process that consistently delivers the desired outcomes, even in the face of variations, uncertainties, or challenges. […]

When you hear the term residual, think of linear regression. It is the error of your prediction equation and has implications for the quality of your regression analysis. 

When doing Design of Experiments (DOE), replicates become an important consideration for improving the accuracy of your experiment. Let’s learn a little more about replicates. In Design of Experiments (DOE), a replicate is a single repetition or run of an experiment, with all conditions and factors kept constant except for the treatment being studied. The […]