Median.

The median is the value that has approximately 50 percent of the values
above it and 50 percent below. To find the median, first sort the data in ascending
order. If there is an odd number of values, the median is the middle value of
the sorted list. If there is an even number of values, the median is the mean of the
two middle values. The common symbol for median is x~, pronounced “x wiggle.”
Example: The list in the previous example is first sorted into ascending
order: 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 6 7 7 8 9
Since there are 13 values, the median is the seventh value in the sorted list, in this
case
x~ = 4
Example: Find the median of the six-element set 12.7 12.9 13.5 15.0 15.0 17.2

The values that represent the center of a data set are called, rather awkwardly,
measures
of central tendency. There are three commonly used measures of central
tendency: mean, median, and mode.
Mean. Mean is statistical jargon for the more common word “average.” It is calculated
by finding the total of the values in the data set and dividing by the number
of values. The symbol used for “total” is the Greek capital sigma, . The values of
the data set are symbolized by x’s and the number of values is usually referred
to as n. The symbol for mean is an x with a bar above it (x–). This symbol is pronounced
“x bar.” The formula for mean is
x
x
n

The Binomial Distribution. The prefix “bi-” implies the number two, as in bicycle
(two wheels) and bipartisan (two political parties). The binomial distribution is
used when every object fits in one of two categories. The most frequent application
in the quality field is when every part is classified as either good or defective,
such as in valve leak tests or circuit continuity tests. In these cases there are two
possibilities: the valve either leaks or it doesn’t; the circuit either passes current or
it doesn’t. If data on the amount of leakage or the amount of resistance were collected,
the binomial distribution would not be appropriate. The word defective is
often used in binomial distribution applications. A typical example might consider
the number of defectives in a random sample of size 10. Notice that the number
of defectives is not a continuous variable because, for instance, between two
defectives and three defectives there are not an infinite number of other values,
that is, there can’t be 2.3 defectives. That is why this distribution is called discre

Control Charts
One of the disadvantages of many of the tools discussed up to this point is that
they have no time reference. The chart may clearly demonstrate that a process had
a problem but gives no clue as to when the problem occurred. This section will
illustrate a number of time-related techniques. The discussion will culminate with
control charts.
The Run Chart. If a specific measurement is collected on a regular basis, say every
15 minutes, and plotted on a time scale, the resultant diagram is called a run chart.
An example of a run chart is shown in Figure 1.13.
One of the problems of the run chart is that the natural variation in the process
and in the measurement system tends to cause the graph to go up and down
when no real change is occurring. One way to smooth out some of this “noise” in
the process is to take readings from several consecutive parts and plot the average
of the readings. The result is called an averages chart. An example is shown in
Figure 1.14.
One of the dangers of the averages chart is that it can make the process look
better than it really is. For example, note that the average of the five 3:00 p.m. readings
is .790, which is well within the tolerance of .780–.795, even though every
one of the five readings is outside the tolerance. Therefore, tolerance limits should
never be drawn on an averages chart. To help alert the chart user that the readings
are widely dispersed, the averages chart usually has a range chart included
A Pareto chart of this data would list the causes on the horizontal axis and the percent
of occurrences on the vertical axis. The causes are listed in order of decreasing
number of occurrences. The Pareto chart is shown in Figure 1.11.
The Pareto chart shows that the people working to reduce the number of
occurrences should put their main efforts into preventing outages caused by animals.
If they expended a lot of resources preventing transformer leakage and were
able to eliminate it completely as a cause of power outage, it would still solve only
about six percent of the occurrences.
A Pareto chart often shows one source as the overwhelming cause of defects.
However, in some cases it may be necessary to do some creative grouping to obtain
a single cause that accounts for the bulk of the problem. Suppose a team is seeking
to reduce the number of defective valve stems from a multi-stage machine operation.
They gather the following data on the types of defects observed:

A team may use a cause-and-effect diagram to generate a number of potential

causes in each category by going around the room and asking each person
to suggest one cause and its associated category. As each cause is selected, it is
shown as a subtopic of the main category by attaching a smaller line to the main
“bone” for that category. This activity continues until the group is satisfied that all
possible causes have been listed. Individual team members can then be assigned
to collect data on various branches or sub-branches for presentation at a future
meeting. Ideally the data collection process should consist of changing the nature
of the cause being investigated and observing the result. For example, if voltage
variation is a suspected cause, put in a voltage regulator and see if the number of
defects changes. One advantage of this approach is that it forces the team to work
on the causes and not symptoms, personal feelings, history, and various other
baggage. An alternative to the meeting format is to have an online fishbone to
which team members may post possible causes over a set period of time.

conflicts (see Figure 4.9). In the end, however, all parties must
consent to the WBS before building a schedule - a task that
can also try anyone's patience.
Building a WBS also threatens people (see Figure 4.10).
They do not want to list the work that they will perform. They
may fear being held accountable or constantly being tracked.
In other words, they feel that they may lose their autonomy.
Many team members, especially those who are prima donnas,
feel that way. The client often wants a good WBS so it can
track progress, that is, as long as it is not being tracked. Senior
management will express an interest in a WBS but only at a
high level. The project manager prefers a WBS to generate