Content by Donald J. Wheeler
Mon, 02/06/2023 - 12:03
The shape parameters for a probability model are called skewness and kurtosis. While skewness at least sounds like something we might understand, kurtosis simply sounds like jargon. Here we’ll use some examples to visualize just what happens to a…
Mon, 01/09/2023 - 12:03
The computation for skewness does not fully describe everything that happens as a distribution becomes more skewed. Here we shall use some examples to visualize just what skewness does—and does not—involve.
The mean for a probability model…
Mon, 12/05/2022 - 12:03
There are four major questions in statistics. These can be listed under the headings of description, probability, inference, and homogeneity. An appreciation of the relationships between these four areas is essential for successful data analysis.…
Mon, 10/31/2022 - 12:03
The cumulative sum (or Cusum) technique is occasionally offered as an alternative to process behavior charts, even though they have completely different objectives. Process behavior charts characterize whether a process has been operated predictably…
Mon, 10/03/2022 - 12:03
Last month we found that capability and performance indexes have no inherent preference for one probability model over another. However, whenever we seek to convert these indexes into fractions of nonconforming product, we have to make use of some…
Tue, 09/06/2022 - 12:03
Many people have been taught that capability indexes only apply to “normally distributed data.” This article will consider the various components of this idea to shed some light on what has, all too often, been based on superstition.
Capability…
Mon, 08/01/2022 - 12:03
The analysis of residuals is commonly recommended when fitting a regression equation to a data set. It has even been recommended for the analysis of experimental data where the independent variable is categorical (i.e., treatment levels). In both of…
Mon, 07/11/2022 - 12:03
Walter Shewhart made a distinction between common causes and assignable causes based on the effects they have upon the process outcomes. While Shewhart’s distinction predated the arrival of chaos theory by 40 years, chaos theory provides a way to…
Mon, 06/06/2022 - 12:03
Many different approaches to process improvement are on offer today. An appreciation of the way each approach works is crucial to selecting an approach that will be effective. Here we look at the problem of production and consider how the different…
Mon, 05/02/2022 - 12:03
Students are told that they need to check their data for normality before doing virtually any data analysis. And today’s software encourages this by automatically providing normal probability plots and lack-of-fit statistics as part of the output.…
