Last week I attended the American Society for Quality’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement in Nashville, TN. The ASQ conference is a great opportunity to see how quality professionals are tackling problems in every industry, from beverage distribution to banking services.

Given my statistical bent, I like to see how companies apply tools like ANOVA, regression, and especially designed experiments—particularly if they happen to be using the statistical software I like best.

One of the most popular sessions at the conference involved a company whose products are instantly recognizable to almost everyone who’s ever had (or been) a child: Crayola.

There’s something about using crayons that brings out the imaginative kid in all of us, and as this session started I saw lots of smiles and even overheard some wistful recollections about “new crayon smell” from the row behind me.

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