Our Yellow Belt course includes an assignment where students are required to write an operational definition for measuring something. An operational definition, when applied to data collection, is a clear, concise and detailed definition of a measure. The need for operational definitions is fundamental when collecting all types of data. Here is the text of […]
Tag Archives: Six Sigma
We often need to improve the performance of a complex system using Six Sigma. In this article we will discuss how to use simulation to our benefit. We first define the problem as a requirement that is not being met. We collect data about the extent of the problem and the factors that influence the […]
In our Six Sigma courses we make extensive use of Minitab statistical software. Minitab is an extremely comprehensive and powerful software package. At the same time author Milton Rosenau provided this caution when he said “(Software)…is also a trap for the unwary.” When evaluating the output of a piece of software such as Minitab, we […]
One of the first assignments in our Black Belt course deals with the origins of the continuous improvement approach that we know today as Six Sigma. Many students are surprised to learn that the body of knowledge and the tools and techniques have been evolving for well over 100 years. This article is the fourth […]
One of the first assignments in our Black Belt course deals with the origins of the continuous improvement approach that we know today as Six Sigma. Many students are surprised to learn that the body of knowledge and the tools and techniques have been evolving for well over 100 years. This article is the third […]
One of the first assignments in our Black Belt course deals with the origins of the continuous improvement approach that we know today as Six Sigma. Many students are surprised to learn that the body of knowledge and the tools and techniques have been evolving for well over 100 years. This article is the second […]
One of the first assignments in our Black Belt course deals with the origins of the continuous improvement approach that we know today as Six Sigma. Many students are surprised to learn that the body of knowledge and the tools and techniques have been evolving for well over 100 years. This article is the first […]
The Six Sigma methodology relies on decisions that are made based on facts and data. One of the challenges in the Analyze phase of Six Sigma is being able to identify what is really going on in a process based on the facts and data that were collected in the Measure phase. Another challenge is […]
One of my Black Belt students recently submitted his final project report. He used the two proportions test in Minitab to compare the proportion of on time performance for completion of employee appraisals, before and after improvement. I sent him the following feedback regarding this test. “Hi. Your null and alternate hypotheses are correctly stated. […]
Although the central limit theorem can seem abstract and devoid of any practical application, this theorem is actually quite important to the practice of statistics. As we will see, this theorem allows us to make some assumptions about a population. In order to understand the basis for the Central Limit Theorem, consider a population of […]