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Latest "Improvement Insights" Posts
Most Six Sigma statistics rely on p values. But statisticians have been raising alarm about the problems with p values. Here’s what’s going on:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“I get these emails about different courses that are being offered (I think one on Coursera) but it was one on statistics and it was “To P or Not to P That is the Question.”
“Have you been watching anything in the statistics world? Statisticians think that P values can be misleading and potentially dangerous.
Continue Reading "To P or Not to P"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
I learned how to type on a manual typewriter 50 years ago. I still type the same way. Old habits are hard to break. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“Back when I was a teenager, my mother was convinced that I needed to learn how to type and so I took a summer typing course at the high school. We had those old Remington manual typewriters, right? We had to whack the key to make it fly up there and hit that ribbon hard enough that you would make a decent impression on the paper.
Continue Reading "Old Habits are Hard to Break"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
I’ve been building software for over 50 years. There are some secrets to software quality that are often overlooked. Here’s a few:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I’ve spent almost my entire life working in software and software development, from mainframes to minicomputers to microcomputers, ultimately leading to the QI Macros. I’ll tell you what, I took a course a long time ago from T. Capers Jones where we studied what makes software maintainable and unmaintainable. It turns out how many decision points you have in a given module determines how testable and maintainable it can be.
Continue Reading "Software Code Quality"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
People keep asking me if Six Sigma applies only to manufacturing. Nope. You can even use it to improve your golf game.
(You can download my free “Six Sigma Golf” pamphlet by clicking HERE.)
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I was at the American Society for Quality’s Lean Six Sigma conference down in Phoenix a few weeks ago, and one guy said, “Aren’t you the guy that wrote Six Sigma Golf?” I said “Yeah!” I [wrote] that book a long time ago. Nobody brought it up for a long time, but I said yeah; I was reading Dave Pelz’ “Putting [Bible]” and “Short Game Bible.”
Continue Reading "Using Six Sigma to Improve Your Golf Game"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
People often ask if QI Macros is in competition with Minitab. No, I tell them. We are both in competition with a common enemy. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I was at the American Society for Quality Lean Six Sigma conference, and my booth for QI Macros was right next to Minitab. You know, people are always asking me, “Jay, do you guys compete with Minitab?” I say, “No, we compete with ignorance and apathy.”
“Number one, people don’t know how these tools could help them, whether it’s me or Minitab.
Continue Reading "Does QI Macros® Compete with Minitab?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
People often ask: “Jay, should I choose Lean or Six Sigma?” My answer is, “It depends.” Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, people ask me all the time, “Jay, what should I start with: Lean or Six Sigma?” I always say: Well, are your processes sluggish? Slow? Are you delivering on time or are you missing it all the time? Then you need Lean. If it’s taking too long, if your patients are waiting too long in the waiting room: Lean.
“However, if you have too many defects, mistakes and errors, you need Six Sigma.
Continue Reading "Lean or Six Sigma? Which one is right for you?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Almost 40 years ago, Deming said 94% of quality problems are system related. Still true. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“Again, I was re-reading Deming’s book, and in here (wherever that is), Deming talks about “Where does most of the problem come from? 94 percent belong to the system…” The system. “Six percent are special causes.”
“Now, I found this mentioned in a book on direct mail marketing of all places, but this is actually in “Out Of The Crisis,” so I found the original statement of that.
Continue Reading "Deming Says: 94% of Quality Depends on the System"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Some people use PDCA, some use PDSA, some use DMAIC. It doesn’t matter what alphabet system you use. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“When I started out (this was back in the 90s), it was Total Quality Management; the process was PDCA. Then later it was PDSA, and then it became DMAIC, and I’m sure there’s some new iteration of that that’s going to come out at some time.
“Don’t let these words freak you out: it’s just that it’s pretty much all the same process, pretty much all the same tools in the same order, right?
Continue Reading "PDCA PDSA DMAIC Whatever!"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
Deming described the conditions where a worker can benefit from training and when not. It has to do with the stability of their performance. I recently did a blog about his approach to using control charts to determine stability of worker performance.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“Again, I was re-reading Deming’s “Out Of The Crisis” and he made a very interesting statement in here about personal performance. He actually used an example of amateur golfers versus pro golfers.
“He said if your performance is out of control like an amateur golfer, training will help.
Continue Reading "Deming on When Training Will Help and When It Won’t"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
After high school and college, people seem hesitant to learn anything. That probably isn’t the best choice. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“Have you noticed after high school and college, nobody is really in a big hurry to run out and try and learn something new, right? You’re exhausted from learning something new, right? But if you want to succeed in the world, you have to start to learn stuff. I’m learning stuff all the time from customers: things that I have to research, all of those kinds of things.
Continue Reading "Are High School and College Learning Experiences Hindering You?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
