1. ELEC 412 PROF. SIRIPONG POTISUK DATA & DECISIONS

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. A Model for Problem Solving State the problem or question Collect and analyze data Interpret the data and make decisions Implement and verify the decisions Plan next actions

6. The Creative Process

7. From Data Tables to Probability Goal: Improving the quality of any process Solution: 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