• The data-driven organization is in sharp contrast to most businesses. Many business leaders don’t realize that they can have it both ways: high value data at low cost. While there may be an infinite number of ways companies fall short of being data driven, our experience is that they fall into three broad camps. I've seen these companies, and maybe you have too. . . .

  • One of the really important aspects of the Data Cost / Value Matrix is how reducing the cost of data can help you get more value from data. This came up again the other day as we were debriefing following a recent deployment for a new customer. This customer is about to undergo a major [...]

  • Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. I have four pictures - and I'll still need a few words to explain them. Hang on for the ride... In the last two posts I've been talking about why Short Run SPC (Statistical Process Control) has been on the increase, and I've described the three most [...]

  • As described in this post, Short Run SPC (Statistical Process Control) relies on clever coding techniques to deal with the expected variation in a process. Once you strip out the expected variation, any variation you have left is the true variation of the process. You can plot this on a control chart and treat it [...]

  • Lately I've been hearing more and more interest in Short Run SPC (Statistical Process Control). Maybe it's because of the economy, or maybe it's because more manufacturers are adopting lean production techniques with goals for Zero Setup Time. Whatever the cause, more manufacturers seem to be shifting to shorter and shorter production runs.Some people jump [...]

  • I've tabulated the Web 2.0 Survey results, and I'm surprised by what I learned. (Isn't that often the case when you go to the data?) I modeled this survey on one I found in blog that serves a niche in the banking industry. I figured their survey would provide a good benchmark. It did. The [...]

  • If you're on our mailing list you'll get an email from me later today that invites you take a survey about your use of social media. If you're not on our mailing list, consider this your invitation to take the survey now.  Here is what I wrote to my customers: In the last few years [...]

  • If you haven't been following it, the discussion about the data shuffle has been continuing over at LinkedIn. Laura Wright posted a comment yesterday: Is there SOME value to the 'data shuffle'? E.g., deep knowledge that can help the green or black belt discern nuances to their process analysis that otherwise wouldn't be had...and so [...]

  • Over at the LinkedIn Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma & Lean Group, I posted a discussion question that generated some great responses. Here was my original question:Lean Six Sigma practitioner's ad hoc data surveyRecently I was talking with a black belt who told me "I know exactly what you mean by the data shuffle. Three hours [...]