Walter McIntyre

Not all variation is created equal. Planned variation, like that in an experiment, is a process improvement strategy. Unplanned variation, however, is nearly always bad. Two types of variation concern a Six Sigma team: Common cause variation – All processes have common cause variation. This variation, also known as noise, is a normal part of […]

Recently I visited several contract manufacturers (CM) to evaluate their ability to produce an electronic device that my company is developing for the automotive industry. I asked the project manager at each CM to provide me with an estimate of the typical rolled throughput yield (RTY) on their production lines. Only one of the project […]

Collecting data – be it voice of the customer or otherwise – requires a plan. Details of the plan should include what data to collect, how to get the information, where the information will come from and so on. Before any of these details are defined, however, the first step is to identify what a […]

Hypothesis testing is a powerful way to analyze data. But to make the most progress, a Six Sigma team must not only be able to perform a hypothesis test, it must also be aware of the test’s limits of practical significance. Two groups of stakeholders are involved with the results of statistical analysis. The team’s need […]

If a coach were assembling a basketball team, what criteria would be used to select the players? If an academic team were being selected, what would the criteria be? If the selection of a process improvement team were the objective, what criteria would be used? It seems simple, but it is easy to make simple […]

If you were selecting a basketball team, what criteria would you use to select the players? What about if you were selecting an academic team? If the selection of a process improvement team were the objective, what criteria would you use? The answers to these questions may seem simple, but Belts can sometimes make things […]