Process Behavior Charts help leaders distinguish real signals from routine noise in performance data. Instead of reacting to every up or down, these charts—rooted in the work of Shewhart and Deming—show when a system has truly changed and when variation is simply part of normal performance.
These posts explore Process Behavior Charts in practical, leadership-focused ways: avoiding overreaction to red metrics, improving decision-making, building trust in data, and shifting conversations from blame to system improvement. Examples span healthcare, manufacturing, sports, and executive dashboards—where misunderstanding variation often leads to wasted effort and worse outcomes.
Many of the ideas in this archive align with the themes of my book Measures of Success: reacting less to routine variation, leading better through better questions, and improving more by focusing on system change instead of noise.
Thanks to Mark Gandy for inviting me to be on his podcast, “CFO Bookshelf.” You can listen using the streaming player, above, or you can read notes and more here: Measures of Success with Mark Graban Thanks so much to…
It’s been a while since I’ve done a “Throwback Thursday” post, but I saw some news stories late last year that reminded me of something I blogged about originally back in 2006. Back in 2006, the NBA tried switching from…
tl;dr Many data statements are factually true but practically meaningless. Two-point comparisons and color-coded dashboards hide whether anything has really changed. To know if performance is improving–or just fluctuating–you need to plot the dots and use Process Behavior Charts to…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #425 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Katie Anderson, who is joining us for the seventh time as a guest. Katie is, of course, the author of…
tl;dr: Bryce Harper’s so-called “bust” seasons weren’t busts at all–they were normal variation. When you plot his monthly OPS on a Process Behavior Chart, the data show consistent performance with a few true signals, not a decline. The problem isn’t…
Scroll down for video, how to subscribe, video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #413 of the Lean Blog Interviews podcast is Samantha Riley, the Deputy Director of Intensive Support for NHS England and Improvement. Sam is the author…
tl;dr: Red/green metrics encourage snap judgments and overreaction. Process Behavior Charts provide context, separate signal from noise, and help leaders make better decisions that reduce wasted effort and drive real improvement. Thanks again to Prof. Eric Olsen for inviting me…
tl;dr: Oscars ratings keep hitting “all-time lows,” but those single-year drops don’t mean much without context. A Process Behavior Chart shows the real story: a long-term downward shift in viewership, with recent years signaling another significant change. The useful question…
My guest for Episode #403 is Arnout Orelio, author of the book Lean Thinking for Emerging Healthcare Leaders: How to Develop Yourself and Implement Process Improvements. Arnout is from the Netherlands, but we have crossed paths a number of times…
tl;dr: A closer look at NHS patient dignity data shows that small year-to-year changes don’t automatically mean improvement. By plotting the data over time and using Process Behavior Charts, we can see when a real system change occurred–and avoid misleading…
tl;dr: RAG and bowling charts trigger overreaction and hide real system behavior. Process Behavior Charts reveal whether performance is truly changing, helping leaders focus on causes instead of colors and make better improvement decisions. In my book Measures of Success:…
The average NFL score is around 44-46 total points per game — but that number hasn’t always been stable. Has scoring truly surged, or are fans reacting to short-term noise? TL;DR: NFL scoring trends reveal a real system shift–not just…
