ELEC 412

PROF. SIRIPONG POTISUK

DATA & DECISIONS

The Need for Statistical Methods

“Quality is job one”“…..The basic concept of using statistical signals to

improve performance can be applied to any area where output exhibits variation, such as component dimensions, bookkeeping error rates, performance characteristics of a computer information system, or transit times for incoming materials…..”

Continuous Process Control Manual

Ford Motor Company

The Need for Statistical Methods

“…..As world competition intensifies, understanding and applying statistical concepts and tools is becoming a requirement for all employees. Those individuals who get these skills in school will have a real advantage when they apply for their first job.”

Paul H. O’Neill

CEO, Aluminum company of America

The Need for Statistical Methods

“ The competitive position of industry in the US demands that we greatly increase the knowledge of statistics among our engineering graduates…….. The economic survival in today’s world cannot be ensured without access to modern productivity tools, notably applications of statistical methods.”

Arno Penzias

VP at AT&T Bell laboratories

A Model for Problem Solving

State the problem or questionCollect and analyze dataInterpret the data and make

decisionsImplement and verify the

decisionsPlan next actions

The Creative Process

From Data Tables to Probability

Goal: Improving the quality of any processSolution: Using tools of statistics to make

decisions from data in an organized way.

How do we obtain good data on which to base these decisions?

Most good plans for collecting data make use of randomization which is tied to probability