Question: Considering common and special cause variation. In Exercise, you described a process that you know well. What are some sources of common cause variation in this process? What are some special causes that might, at times, drive the process out of control?

Exercise: Describing your process. Choose a process that you know well, preferably from a job you have held. If you lack experience with actual business processes, choose a personal process such as cooking scrambled eggs or brushing your teeth. Make a flowchart of the process. Make a cause-and-effect diagram that presents the factors that lead to successful completion of the process.