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How to Add an "Update Data from My Database" Button to a Minitab Menu or Toolbar
Many of us have data stored in a database or file that we need to analyze on a regular basis. If you're in that situation and you're using Minitab Statistical Software, here's how you can save some...
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What Is Acceptance Sampling?
If you're just getting started in the world of quality improvement, or if you find yourself in a position where you suddenly need to evaluate the quality of incoming or outgoing products from your...
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How to Perform Acceptance Sampling by Variables, part 1
Earlier, I shared an overview of acceptance sampling and presented an example of acceptance sampling by attributes. Now we'll look at how to do acceptance sampling by variables, facilitated by the...
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How to Perform Acceptance Sampling by Variables, Part 2
In my last post, I showed how to use Minitab Statistical Software to create an acceptance sampling plan by variables, using the scenario of a an electronics company that receives monthly shipments of...
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How to Perform Acceptance Sampling by Variables, part 3
Now that we've seen how easy it is to create plans for acceptance sampling by variables, and to compare different sampling plans, it's time to see how to actually analyze the data you collect when you...
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How to Perform Acceptance Sampling by Attributes
In an earlier post, I shared an overview of acceptance sampling, a method that lets you evaluate a sample of items from a larger batch of products (for instance, electronics components you've sourced...
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Imprisoned by Statistics: How Poor Data Collection and Analysis Sent an...
If you want to convince someone that at least a basic understanding of statistics is an essential life skill, bring up the case of Lucia de Berk. Hers is a story that's too awful to be true—except that...
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A Surgeon's View of Data-Driven Quality Improvement
There has been plenty of noisy disagreement about the state of health care in the past several years, but when you get beyond the controversies surrounding various programs and changes, a great deal of...
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A Six Sigma Healthcare Project, part 1: Examining Factors with a Pareto Chart
Over the past year I've been able to work with and learn from practitioners and experts who are using data analysis and Six Sigma to improve the quality of healthcare, both in terms of operational...
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A Six Sigma Healthcare Project, part 2: Visualizing the Impact of Individual...
My previous post covered the initial phases of a project to attract and retain more patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program, as described in a 2011 Quality Engineering article. A Pareto chart of...
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A Six Sigma Healthcare Project, part 3: Creating a Binary Logistic Regression...
In part 2 of this series, we used graphs and tables to see how individual factors affected rates of patient participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program. This initial look at the data indicated...
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A Six Sigma Healthcare Project, part 4: Predicting Patient Participation with...
By looking at the data we have about 500 cardiac patients, we've learned that easy access to the hospital and good transportation are key factors influencing participation in a rehabilitation...
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Those 10 Simple Rules for Using Statistics? They're Not Just for Research
Earlier this month, PLOS.org published an article titled "Ten Simple Rules for Effective Statistical Practice." The 10 rules are good reading for anyone who draws conclusions and makes decisions based...
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Applying DOE for Great Grilling, part 1
Design of Experiments (DOE) has a reputation for difficulty, and to an extent, this statistical method deserves that reputation. While it's easy to grasp the basic idea—acquire the maximum amount of...
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Applying DOE for Great Grilling, part 2
Design of Experiments is an extremely powerful statistical method, and we added a DOE tool to the Assistant in Minitab 17 to make it more accessible to more people.Since it's summer grilling season,...
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Can Regression and Statistical Software Help You Find a Great Deal on a Used...
You need to consider many factors when you’re buying a used car. Once you narrow your choice down to a particular car model, you can get a wealth of information about individual cars on the market...
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When Should You Mistrust Statistics?
Figures lie, so they say, and liars figure. A recent post at Ben Orlin's always-amusing mathwithbaddrawings.com blog nicely encapsulates why so many people feel wary about anything related to...
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Data Not Normal? Try Letting It Be, with a Nonparametric Hypothesis Test
So the data you nurtured, that you worked so hard to format and make useful, failed the normality test.Time to face the truth: despite your best efforts, that data set is never going to measure up to...
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Control Chart Tutorials and Examples
The other day I was talking with a friend about control charts, and I wanted to share an example one of my colleagues wrote on the Minitab Blog. Looking back through the index for "control charts"...
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When to Use a Pareto Chart
I confess: I'm not a natural-born decision-maker. Some people—my wife, for example—can assess even very complex situations, consider the options, and confidently choose a way forward. Me? I get anxious...
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