Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos (Hardcover)

by Donald J. Wheeler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
We live in the Information Age, and much of that information comes to us in the form of numbers. But before numerical information can be useful it must be analyzed, interpreted, and assimilated. Unfortunately, teaching the techniques for making sense of data has been neglected at all levels of our educational system. As a result, through our culture there is little appreciation of how to effectively use the volumes of data generated by both business and government. This book can remedy that situation. Readers report that this book as changed both the way they look a data and the very form their monthly reports. It has turned arguments about the numbers into a common understanding of what needs to be done about them. These techniques and benefits have been thoroughly proven in a wide variety of settings. Read this book and use the techniques to gain the benefits for your company. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author
Dr. Donald J. Wheeler has been actively planting the seeds of transformation in companies and organizations around the world for over 25 years. His classes have been credited with being the essential element in turning companies around and taking them from red ink to black. In less spectacular ways his seminars have been the foundation for establishing learning cultures within many organizations in various industries. Unlike so many classes where the emphasis is upon techniques, Dr. Wheeler's classes go far beyond mere techniques to teaching the way of thinking needed to use those techniques effectively. He has worked with over 250 companies in chemical processing, health care, medical equipment, information technology, steel and aluminum production, agribusiness, food production and processing, electronics, pulp and paper processing, automotive suppliers, government agencies, and banking. Dr. Wheeler has taught over 1000 seminars in the USA, Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, South Africa, Brazil and Malaysia. Over 60,000 students from the US and 32 countries on five continents have attended his seminars, which are held in Knoxville, Tennessee. Marketing research shows that word of mouth advertising brings in the majority of these students. We love it when our clients and students tell their friends and colleagues how good Dr. Wheeler's classes are! Along with his acclaimed seminars, Dr. Wheeler has also authored or coauthored twenty books which collectively form the definitive library for Discovery through Data Analysis. His books are being used throughout the US and in over 41 countries around the world. Dr. Wheeler has M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Statistics from Southern Methodist University. He taught at the University of Tennessee for 12 years where he was an Associate Professor of Statistics. He is a Fellow both the American Statistical Association and the American Society for Quality, and he was an associate of Dr. W. Edwards Deming until his death in 1993. In short, Dr. Wheeler is the internationally recognized expert on Data Analysis and SPC. He has the knowledge, the experience, and the ability to communicate that knowledge and experience to others. For more information on Dr. Wheeler's books and seminars, contact SPC Press at 800-545-8602. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Spc Pr (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945320353
• ISBN-13: 978-0945320357
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #129,025 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once you read this, you'll never view the world the same way, October 14, 1999

By A Customer

The major theme of this book is Variation. Wheeler does an excellent job at explaining this important idea. Although these ideas have been around for over 70 years I have found no other book that even comes close to presenting this topic in such an accessible manner. Wheeler provides managers a rational way to look at daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly figures and tell whether the actions they take have resulted in improvement. This is the greatest value of this book - with an understanding of variation it is possible to define what improvement looks like when presented with numbers. This is sure to become a classic. Every person, Managers in particular, looking to improve any operation will be served well by reading this book. How many times has someone declared that an improvement has taken place only to find out later it was all smoke and mirrors? This book will provide the concepts and tools to be able to see through the smoke and mirrors. No more opinions, no more tap dancing, "show me the data" and we'll see if there is improvement.

Read it - you will see figures in a new light.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deming for Dummies, August 21, 2002

By	J. B. Potter (Clio, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos (Hardcover)

Wheeler serves up the best concise easily understood description I have ever seen for both statistical process control and the Deming management philosophy. No executive or manager responsible for imporving an organization can afford ignorance of the information in this compact volume. A leader blessed with competent statisticians may find that Wheeler's book suffices without other material covering the matter in greater depth. Leaders lacking support from statistically sophisticated staff may feel a need to stiffen their understanding with Deming's _Out of the Crisis_ and _The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education_. Even without a thorough understanding of continuous improvement philosophy, Wheeler's book, properly applied to your business, should easily offer an RoI well over 1,000,000%.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, January 15, 2003

By	Ben Ovshinsky (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos (Hardcover)

I am a non-technical, non-mathematician, steeped in Deming-oriented Continuous Improvement, which I teach at university-level. This is simply the best (and easiest to read) book on the subject of 'control-chart' based SPC. It's in a class all by itself. It's an enlightening book about Life. It will change the way you look at and understand phenomenon. I wish Wheeler would write a series of such books, treating the rest of mathematics in as enlightening and cogent a fashion.