TABLE OF CONTENTS Project quality is a result of many things working together to produce a satisfied customer. Things that work together constitute a system. To manage project quality, project managers must, in Dr. Deming's words, gain an appreciation for systems. They must understand the elements of the system within which they work and how the elements interact with and influence each other. This is no easy task. System performance can be obscured by arrogance, ignorance, or bias. To overcome these hurdles, Dr. Deming developed a demonstration using red and white beads.
Dr. Deming explained the red bead experiment in his book Out of the Crisis. He also credited William A. Boller of the Hewlett-Packard Company with introducing the demonstration at a company seminar. The experiment includes the following:
People Six workers, consistently referred to as "willing workers"; two inspectors and one chief inspector; and one recorder.
Materials Red and white spherical beads (commercially available demonstration kits generally provide 4000 beads: 3200 white, 800 red), a container to hold the beads, and a paddle with fifty indentations that will hold one bead each.
Processes Willing workers dip the paddle into the bead container until it is completely covered, then carefully withdraw it. Gently shaking the paddle and allowing excess beads to roll off results in a paddle with a bead in each of the fifty...
