Run Charts vs Control Charts
Run charts used to be a bridge to control charts. You no longer need to build a bridge. Just start with Control Charts.
Improvement Insights Blog
Posts tagged "Control Charts"
9/13/18 QI Macros Webinar
Almost 100 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating some of the more useful features of QI Macros.
Some of the attendees were familiar with the software and already use it, some had not yet begun to use it; all were interested in learning new ways that QI Macros can help them with their Agile Lean Six Sigma and Quality Improvement efforts. (You can hear him answering questions typed in by webinar attendees.)
If you saw a feature demonstrated in the webinar that might have been added to QI Macros after the version you’re using (for instance, the automated Value Stream Map), you may need to purchase an upgrade to bring your QI Macros to the current version.
8/14/18 QI Macros Webinar
Another great webinar where Jay Arthur shows some of the capabilities of QI Macros to a group of folks who signed up and attended.
Some were familiar with the software and already use it, and some had not yet begun to use it; all were interested in learning new ways that QI Macros can help them with their Quality Improvement efforts. (You can hear him answering questions typed in by webinar attendees.)
If you saw a feature demonstrated in the webinar that might have been added to QI Macros after the version you’re using (for instance, the automated Value Stream Map), you may need to purchase an upgrade to bring your QI Macros to the current version.
Quality Improvement Movement
The editor of Harvard Business Review says that “corporate survival today requires the capacity for rapid change.” Isn’t it time to embrace an Agile approach to Lean Six Sigma to “speed its evolution and better serve customers’ needs?”
Join the Agile Quality Improvement Movement!
Nobody Wants to Read Your Spreadsheet!
Nobody wants to read your spreadsheet! No matter how hard you try to make it pretty, create great labels or whatever, the only person who can read your spreadsheet is a CFO or Excel spreadsheet geek. And the Excel geek is going to tell you 10 ways to make it prettier.
The purpose of data is to provide insights for action, not just report past performance.
How Do I Know That Most Excel Users Try to Make Their Spreadsheets Readable By People?
According to Renu Davi, Sr. Program Manager for Excel, Microsoft tracks how people use Excel. The vast majority of the 650 million users use it for lists and reports.
Data Visualizations that Really Work
The June, 2016 HRB article by Scott Berinato examines how to use charts and diagrams to express ideas and statistics. I agree with Anmol Garg, Tesla data scientist quoted in the article, “You can’t find anything looking at spreadsheets and querying databases. It has to be visual.”
Bernato says: “Convenient is a tempting replacement for good, but it will lead to charts that are merely adequate or, worse, ineffective.” He separates visualizations into four components: idea generation, idea illustration, visual discovery and everyday dataviz. Simple line, bar and pie charts are great for idea generation and illustration, but terrible for visual discovery and dataviz.
Binomial, Poisson, Attribute, Continuous Data Control Chart Confusion
A customer called today confused about her data. She wanted to draw a control chart and thought the data might have a binomial or poisson distribution. She thought it was attribute data. She’d used the QI Macros Control Chart Wizard to create a control chart of her data and it chose an XmR chart. She wasn’t sure that was right. When I asked her what kind of data she had, she said, “write-offs”.
Write-offs are money, plain and simple. Money is variable (a.k.a. continuous or measured) data.
I explained that to her and suggested she stop worrying about what kind of distribution she has and just look at her data.
Continue Reading "Binomial, Poisson, Attribute, Continuous Data Control Chart Confusion"
IHI 2015 Poster Use of Quality Tools
In his speech Sunday at IHI, Don Berwick called for everyone to “recommit to improvement science” (step 5 in ERA 3 of healthcare transformation).
He sounded annoyed with the lack of use of Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies.
I understand his frustration. I was there in 2006 when he asked everyone to “pledge allegiance to science and evidence.”
Over the years, I’ve done a stroke tally of the quality tools used in IHI poster presentations.
I gave each poster one checkmark for each type of tool used.
Sadly, even with all of the emphasis on control charts, Pareto charts and other tools of quality, they are used rarely in poster presentations.
Use Control Charts to Determine Process Stability
Control Charts show your data as a line graph with average and sigma lines to determine stability. The average and sigma lines are calculated from your data. It’s easy to create a control chart in excel using the QI Macros. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TVKz4OQTp0
Continue Reading "Use Control Charts to Determine Process Stability"
