Statistical Concepts - Mean, Median, Mode, Trend and Standare Deviation

From <<Metrics Based Process Improvement>>, Gerard R. Dache, Larry Bramble

Mean

"Mean is the average in a data set."

To get the mean, you add up all the numbers and devide by however many of data points there were.

 

Median

"Median is the data point in the middle of the data set with an equal number of data points above and below it."

To get the median, you generally just count off the highest and lowest numbers.

 

Mode

"Mode is the number that appears the most frequently in the data."

To get the mode, you find the nuber in the data set that appears most often.

 

Trend

Most statistical information is presented on line graphs or scatter plots. Most will demonstrate some kind of pattern.

Liner, Exponential, Logistical trends are the major types of trends.

Liner Trends: Y = aX + b

Exponential Trends: Y = n^xb + c

Logistical Trends: Y = Ln(x)b + c

 

Standard Deviation

"The standard deviation of a data set is a way of measuring the degree of uncertainty in a graph."

To find the standard deviation,

(1) Find the mean of the numbers

(2) Subtract eash number from the average

(3) Square each result of step(2)

(4) Find the average result of step(3)

(5) Find the square root of step(4).

Standard Deviation is used to set control limits on a control chart