Content by Davis Balestracci
Four Data Processes, Eight Questions, Part 1Variations on a theme of process inputs
Thu, 10/11/2012 - 09:58
Have you ever been responsible for a data collection where any resemblance between what you designed and what you got back was purely coincidental? When that happens, yet again, I say to myself, “Well, it was perfectly clear to me what I meant.”… Wasting Time With Vague Solutions, Part 3You’ve exhausted in-house data. Now what?
Wed, 09/19/2012 - 12:35
Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on effective, focused data analysis. Part one discussed helping management deal with common cause; the first common cause strategy—stratification—was discussed in part two.
In my last column, I… Wasting Time With Vague Solutions, Part 2Some wisdom from Joseph Juran
Tue, 09/18/2012 - 14:17
As you all know, the influence of W. Edwards Deming on my career and thinking has been profound. A criticism always leveled at him was that he was short on specifics—but he would always growl at someone who alluded to this, “Examples without theory… Wasting Time With Vague Solutions, Part 1Helping management deal with common cause
Fri, 09/14/2012 - 12:05
Let’s revisit two scenarios from my July 2012 column, “The Sobering Reality of ’Beginner’s Mind.’” First, a medical center’s Harvard MBA COO insisted on nothing less than 100-percent computer uptime, no excuses. His IT department’s inability to get… No Wonder Executives Hated DemingAnd in a way, I don’t blame them
Mon, 07/30/2012 - 12:52
“If Japan Can… Why Can’t We?” was an American television episode that aired on June 24, 1980, broadcast by NBC as part of its show, NBC White Paper. That episode is often credited with beginning the quality revolution and introducing the methods of… The Sobering Reality of ‘Beginner’s Mind’‘It only has to <em>average</em> 100%’
Thu, 06/28/2012 - 10:44
I am in the midst of teaching an online MBA course in statistical thinking. This is actually my second go-round, and I've heavily revised my inherited materials, which were well-meaning but had some obvious gaps.
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I insisted on… Shocked? Not ReallyWhy we should solve the problems that matter
Fri, 05/18/2012 - 16:48
“I’m shocked... shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”
—Casablanca’s Captain Renault, as he’s closing down Rick’s Cafe... while being handed his gambling winnings
I saw an abstract of a recent talk by several “experts” who have been… Use the Charts for New ConversationsThe statistics needed for improvement are far easier than ever imagined
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 10:33
In my March 7, 2012, column, “An Elegantly Simple but Counterintuitive Approach to Analysis,” I suggested the necessity to formally assess the stability of the process producing any data—a step not usually taught in most academic statistics courses… An Elegantly Simple but Counterintuitive Approach to AnalysisWithout common theory, there will be variation in how people perceive and act on variation
Mon, 03/05/2012 - 12:39
For those of us practicing improvement in a medical culture, presenting this “funny new statistical way” of doing things to a physician audience triggers a predictable stated reason: “This isn’t in line with rigorous, double-blind clinical trial… Frustrated by Glacial Improvement Progress, Part TwoLooking at ‘improvement’ as an organizational sub-business
Thu, 02/02/2012 - 14:08
Twenty years ago at a great conference, I learned a wonderfully simple model summarizing the personal change process. It complements the “ABC” model—which stands for activating event, beliefs, and consequential behavior, leading to results (R)—that…
