Statistics to Facilitate Innovation*: A Panel Discussion

ABSTRACT

Innovation is defined as the process of moving an initial invention or creative idea through research and development to the eventual market introduction. It is an important consideration for organizations to stay competitive and to continue to evolve in today's fast-paced environment. Statistics can play a large role in encouraging and facilitating innovation, through idea evaluation, collection of customer feedback, assessment of prototypes, and evaluation of the quality of products and processes. We define innovation and consider questions connecting innovation and statistics. The answers by a panel of industry leaders include discussion of the relationships between innovation, statistical thinking, and statistical engineering.

KEYWORDS:

• design of experiments
• Six Sigma
• statistical engineering
• statistical thinking

Notes

*Edited by Willis Jensen.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Willis Jensen

Willis A. Jensen is an Associate in the Medical Products Division at W.L. Gore & Associates, where he provides statistical support and training across the division. He holds a BS and MS in Statistics from Brigham Young University and a PhD in Statistics from Virginia Tech. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Quality Engineering and Quality and Reliability Engineering International. His research interests include all aspects of industrial statistics, including statistical process control and profile monitoring.

Christine Anderson-Cook

Christine Anderson-Cook is a research scientist in the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Before joining the group in 2004, she was a faculty member at Virginia Tech. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and a senior member of ASQ. She is currently serving as chair of the ASQ Statistics Division. Her research interests include design of experiments, response surface methodology, reliability, and statistical engineering.

Julia A. Costello

Julia A. Costello works for 3M's Lean Six Sigma Operations department supporting commercialization efforts corporate-wide. She has 25 years of experience designing coursework, teaching, and practicing industrial applications of statistics. Julia was a lead developer of 3M's approach to Design for Six Sigma emphasizing the joint efforts of the marketing and technical communities. Much of her current work focuses on new product introduction teams and tools to improve their effectiveness.

Necip Doganaksoy

Necip Doganaksoy is a principal technologist–statistician at GE Global Research and an adjunct professor at Union Graduate College's School of Management in Schenectady, New York. He has worked extensively on statistical applications in quality, reliability, and productivity improvement in business and industrial settings. He is a Fellow of the ASA and ASQ and is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.

Roger W. Hoerl

Roger W. Hoerl is manager of GE Global Research's applied statistics lab. He has a doctorate in applied statistics from the University of Delaware in Newark. He is an ASQ Fellow, a recipient of the ASQ Shewhart Medal and Brumbaugh Award, and an academician in the International Academy for Quality. He is also an ASA Fellow and recipient of the ASA Founders Award and ASA Deming Lecturer Award.

Stu Janis

Stu Janis is a Coach in 3M's Lean Six Sigma Operations department where he facilitates workshops on business problem solving and generating breakthrough product and technology concepts. He has 30 years of experience in industrial applications of statistics. He is a coauthor of the Statistics Division book Improving Performance through Statistical Thinking and a past editor of Statistics Division Special Publications.

Julia O'Neill

Julia O'Neill is a principal engineer in viral vaccine technology and engineering at Merck & Co., Inc. She earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Maine and an M.S. in statistics from the University of Wisconsin. Previous jobs include adjunct professor at Drexel University, research manager for a powder coatings business, plant quality control lab manager, quality consultant at a corporate headquarters, research statistician in a central technical center, and paper mill process engineer. She is an inventor of four patents. She is a member of the ASA and the ASQ, a past chair of the ASQ Chemical and Process Industries Division, and a member of the editorial board of Quality Engineering.

Bill Rodebaugh

Bill Rodebaugh is the site manager of the Honeywell Chemical Plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering and an MBA from Drexel University. Previous jobs include Director of Six Sigma for W. R. Grace & Company and Head of the System Analytics (IT) group at GlaxoSmithKline. He has also been a Six Sigma consultant with Sigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc. and adjunct professor at Arcadia University. He is the current treasurer of the Statistics Division of ASQ. He has also received the Irvin S. Hoffer award for Leadership in Statistical Thinking, which was presented by the Philadelphia section of ASQ.

Ronald D. Snee

Ronald D. Snee is president of Snee Associates LLC in Newark, Delaware. He has a doctorate in applied and mathematical statistics from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He has received the ASQ Shewhart and Grant medals and is an ASQ Fellow and an academician in the International Academy for Quality. He is also an ASA Fellow and a recipient of the ASA Deming Lecturer Award.