Effective Statistics

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Effective Statistics

• One perspective from
• a high tech business

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Effective Statistics

• An effective system requiresthe ability to
  ensure
• Application objectives are clear
• Data sources are understood appropriate

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• Appropriate methods are applied their
  limitations are known
• Results are actionable
• Actions are taken (and count)
• Lessons are learned and results improved

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Effective Statistics

• People in business are finding
• that while they have more
• numbers than ever
• before, they still
• do not understand
• what they mean.
• From Understanding
• Variation
• by Donald Wheeler
• SPC Press

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Effective Statistics-one perspective

• Statistics are effective, to the
• extent they support achieving
• business objectives more
• economically.

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What Characteristics Make Statistics Effective?

• The application objective is clear
• The data source is understood
  appropriate

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• The appropriate methods are applied their
  limitations are known
• The results are actionable
• Actions make a difference

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Effective Statistics
Perform Analysis

• Result from an effective system

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Some Important Skills
Understand the Objective
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Understand the Objective

• Ability to understandthe true problem
• People skills to co-discover it
• Technical skills to diagnose it

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Understand the Objective

• Often the consultants most valuable
  contribution to a client is the redefinition of
  the problem. The presenting problem and the real
  (or underlying) problem are usually
  different From Flawless Consulting by Peter
  Block University Associates, Inc. 1981

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Some Important Skills
Collect Data
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Collect Data

• Ability to assess the data source integrity and
  limitations
• What answers can be determined
• What answers cannot

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Collect Data

• The Government are (sic) extremely fond of
  amassing great quantities of statistics. These
  are raised to the nth degree, the cube roots are
  extracted and the results are aggregated into
  elaborate and impressive displays.

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Collect Data

• What must be kept in mind, however, is that in
  every case, the figures are first put down by a
  village watchman, and he puts down anything he
  damn well pleases. Sir Joseph Stamp Her
  Majestys Collector of Inland Revenue

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Some Important Skills
Understand the Objective
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Perform Analysis

• Ability to apply the right techniques
• Set an appropriate approach
• Perform the analysis correctly

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Some Important Skills
Understand the Objective
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Report Results

• Present an effective conclusion
• Readily grasped
• Complete
• what results mean
• what they dont
• Actionable

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Report Results

• Our life is frittered away by detail
• Simplify, simplify.
• Henry David Thoreau

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Effective Statistics
Understand the Objective
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Take Action

• The fundamental reason we measure anything in
  an organization is to change behavior.

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• If there are any measures currently in your
  organization that can vary dramatically without
  causing anyone to change their behavior, the
  measure is a waste and should be
  eliminated FromFast Cycle Time By
  Cristopher Meyer The Free Press, 1993

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Effective Statistics
Understand the Objective
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Learn from Results

• The biggest obstacle to learn anything is
  believing you already know it. From The Only
  Things that Matters By Karl Albrecht Harper
  Collins Publishing, 1992

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Effective Statistics - a system
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Some Applications at HP

• Obtaining useful customer information
• Optimizing distribution channels
• Forecasting
• Inventories

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• New product research
• Evaluating new products
• Manufacturing process control
• Solving problems
• Managing processes

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