RE: Shining example.

[Steven_S_Prevette@rl.gov]

>Why was Dr. Deming so adamant about "No example ever proves a theory"?
I've seen him on several occasions shun questions about examples of good
practice.  What was going through his mind I wonder?

If I could offer a stab at this, based upon Dr. Deming's writings:

He often lamented that you must have a theory.  And he believed that
American managers wanted "instant pudding" and to simply copy another's
success.  To point out a "shining example" would only lead a person to copy
without understanding the theory.  And copying leads to failure.

I believe also there was aversion to the questions that often followed -
"Well that worked at X, but it won't work here (which is Y), can't you give
me an example of Y?  Does it work for Y?".  Discussion earlier pointed out
the Dr. Deming would state "You are lucky, no one in business Y has done it
before".

My opinion is that you must come to believe that I should follow the theory
because the theory is fundamentally sound.  Examples are dangerous - there
are plenty of "I told you so's" out there, when people attempted to
implement the theory but failed, or "successfully" implemented it, but then
lost focus and went another direction (such as Florida Power and Light).

Steve Prevette
Site Technical Authority for Statistical Trending
Environment, Safety and Health
Fluor Hanford, A Fluor Global Services Company
ASQ Certified Quality Engineer
steven_s_prevette@rl.gov
509-373-9371