Statistical thinking for engineers - what, why, and how?

Many leaders in the quality profession, Dr. Deming being the foremost among them, have emphasized the need for engineers to have the ability to think statistically in order to understand and solve problems occurring in populations with variability. This article explains what statistical thinking is, why it is needed, and how the ability for it can be acquired. A series of real-world case studies show how statistical thinking helps in framing a physical problem in terms of statistical models, understanding the cause and effect relationships, and then devising solutions. A sample test is presented to define the range of statistical knowledge needed to gain the ability for statistical thinking.