October PDM – The M&M Candy Game: Process Behavior at Work

When factories produce items such as vitamins, medicine, building supplies, electronics and even candy, the output is expected to be consistent. For instance, a 100-count package of nails is expected to contain exactly 100 nails. However, it is not surprising that some variation can, and will, occur. For example, a 100-count package of nails might actually contain 101 nails or the dosage in a single aspirin tablet could be 499mg rather than the advertised 500mg. Process Behavior Analysis is an analytic tool that can be used to determine and quantify expected variation and to identify when and what kinds of action to take in order to limit variation to acceptable levels.

Steve Mazzuca is a retired IBM Principal Data Scientist and Executive Project Manager with 36 years of experience implementing organizational transformation. He has a technical background that combines hands-on expertise in data analysis, quality management, process improvement and Lean Six Sigma which he uses to drive continual improvement in targeted business operations. He has worked in manufacturing, hardware development, software development, IT services outsourcing  and most recently was responsible for performing rigorous risk analysis of multi-million-dollar contractual agreements. Steve has worked with teams around the world to help them implement sustainable continual improvement of their business processes. Steve hold seven patents and has degrees in Physics, Italian and Electrical Engineering.