Understanding Variation
by Donald J. Wheeler · first published 1993
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Accessible introduction to statistical process control and telling real signals from noise in data. A useful starting point for working engineers and managers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I recommend "Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos" by Donald J. Wheeler, colleague of Deming. Good intro to SPC.
on “Statistical process control after W. Edwards Deming (2020)” ↗…(and software development) and how to manage it. Theory of Constraints by Goldblatt, and it's more executive-friendly companion volume called The Goal are a good place to start, but lacking on detail. Understanding Variation by Donald J. Wheeler has proven to be a very useful resource. It's About Time: The Competitive Advantage of Quick Response Manufacturing by Rajan Suri is the executive companion to the book Quick Response…
on “The most important thing to understand about queues (2016)” ↗I think the most succinct intro I have found is Donald Wheeler's Understanding Variation. I've long wanted to write an open article series for someone like you but never gotten around to it. There's so much information out there, but you sort of have to piece it together on your own, which…
on “Ask HN: Data Scientists, what libraries do you use for timeseries forecasting?” ↗…incorrect procedures. To get a sense of all the ways in which an experiment can go wrong, I'd recommend reading more traditional texts on experimental design, survey research, etc. - Donald Wheeler's Understanding Variation should be mandatory reading for almost everyone working professionally. - Deming's Some Theory of Sampling is really good and covers more ground than the title lets on. - Deming's Sample Design in Business…
on “Ask HN: Resources about math behind A/B testing” ↗I second both The Signal and the Noise as well as How to Measure Anything. I also mentioned upthread Willful Ignorance. I think perhaps the best bang for your buck could be Wheeler's Understanding Variation -- but that is based mainly on vague memory and skimming the table of contents. I plan on writing a proper review of that book in the coming year to make certain it is what I remember it to be. I think…
on “Uniqueness Bias: Why it matters, how to curb it” ↗A bit unconventional, but I think Wheeler's Understanding Variation followed by Deming's A New Economics teach people how to interpret past and future in a way that makes both exploration and exploitation more effective. I would not want to go through life not having…
on “Ask HN: Must-Read Books for Startups?” ↗…in being able to answer confidently to both questions, I recommend reading my essays to start with (there’s enough in front of the paywall to be useful) and then jump straight to Wheeler. I recommend Understanding Variation, which was originally developed as a 1993 presentation to managers at DuPont (which means it is light on statistics).
on “Goodhart’s law isn’t as useful as you might think (2023)” ↗…I’m reading Domain Driven Development and learning why so many of my projects have been tough to maintain. Oooh, thats a good one. Next read the Architects paradox, Why Greatness cannot be planned and Understanding Variation and your views of the world will be forever altered. Or pick up "Architecture Modernization" by Nick Tune if you want more tools to do stuff and if you do not want to achieve enligntenment. _____ Where…
on “Ask HN: What did you find out or explore today?” ↗…- How To Measure Anything (before you collect data the most expensive way possible -- with experimentation -- try estimation using proper techniques first; it's really cheap and surprisingly good) - Understanding Variation (a good introduction to statistical process control, which helps you interpret your operational experience) - Learning To See (value stream mapping is a way to visualise some wastes in processes) -…
on “An epic treatise on scheduling, bug tracking, and triage (2017)” ↗…didn't cover process control charts, since they are easy to make and specifically for detecting the situation where the world has changed in a meaningful way (e.g., a machine is malfunctioning). The book "Understanding Variation: The key to managing chaos" by Donald Wheeler has a cult following and exalts control charts in the business and manufacturing world. Parts of it are a little goofy but I do think it does a good job making…
on “Statistics for Engineers: Applying statistical techniques to operations (2016)” ↗…The bulk of the debate in this HN thread seems to be centred around what is or isn't a 'stable process'. I think this is partially a terminology issue, which Donald Wheeler called out in the appendix of Understanding Variation. He recommends not using words like 'stable' or 'in-control', or even 'special cause variation', as the words are confusing ... and in his experience lead people to unfruitful discussions. Instead, he…
on “Statistical Process Control: A Practitioner's Guide (2022)” ↗