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Math Details

This page gives the exact formulas Quantum XL uses to build a Laney P' chart. It is a p chart whose standard deviation is scaled by the overdispersion factor σ_Z. Each equation lists what it computes and where it appears on the chart.

Notation

Term Description
\(n_i\) size of subgroup \(i\)
\(d_i\) number of defective items in subgroup \(i\)
\(\bar{p}\) center line (pooled proportion defective)
\(\sigma_i\) ordinary binomial standard deviation at subgroup \(i\)
\(\sigma_Z\) overdispersion factor
\(k\) sigma multiplier (number of standard deviations), default \(3\)

Center line and plotted statistic

\[ \bar{p} = \frac{\sum_i d_i}{\sum_i n_i}, \qquad p_i = \frac{d_i}{n_i} \]

The center line is the pooled proportion (or a supplied known value), and each point is the subgroup proportion, exactly as on the p Chart.

Ordinary standard deviation

\[ \sigma_i = \sqrt{\frac{\bar{p}\,(1 - \bar{p})}{n_i}} \]

the binomial standard deviation before the overdispersion correction.

Overdispersion-adjusted control limits

The binomial standard deviation is multiplied by the overdispersion factor \(\sigma_Z\), estimated from the subgroup proportions standardized by their ordinary sigma (here \(v_i = p_i\) and \(\text{CL} = \bar{p}\)):

Each subgroup is standardized by its own ordinary sigma:

\[ z_i = \frac{v_i - \text{CL}}{\sigma_i} \]

where \(v_i\) is the plotted statistic at subgroup \(i\), \(\text{CL}\) is the center line, and \(\sigma_i\) is the ordinary binomial or Poisson standard deviation. If \(\sigma_i \le 0\) the value is set to \(z_i = 0\).

The factor is the average moving range of the \(z_i\) (a window of two, so \(MR_i = \lvert z_i - z_{i-1}\rvert\)) divided by \(d_2\):

\[ \sigma_Z = \frac{\overline{MR}_z}{d_2(2)}, \qquad d_2(2) \approx 1.128379 \]

The engine uses the full-precision table value rather than a rounded one, so a hand check from the printed digits will differ in the sixth significant figure.

Any moving-range window that spans a missing subgroup is dropped rather than bridged, and \(\overline{MR}_z\) is the plain mean of the surviving ranges. When \(\sigma_Z\) cannot be computed it is taken to be \(1\) (no correction).

The adjusted limits are:

\[ \text{UCL}_i = \min\!\left(1,\ \bar{p} + k\,\sigma_i\,\sigma_Z\right), \qquad \text{LCL}_i = \max\!\left(0,\ \bar{p} - k\,\sigma_i\,\sigma_Z\right) \]

When \(\sigma_Z = 1\) this reduces to the ordinary p chart. Full details: Laney Overdispersion (Sigma Z).

Sigma zones

On the attribute charts and on Z-MR the one-sigma width is recovered from the limit spacing rather than recomputed, so the zones follow each point's limits exactly:

\[ \sigma_1 = \frac{\text{UCL} - \text{CL}}{k} \]

where \(\text{CL}\) is the center line and \(k\) the sigma multiplier. The zone boundaries are then placed at one and two of these units on each side of the center line:

Zone Region
Zone C within \(\text{CL} \pm \sigma_1\)
Zone B between \(\text{CL} \pm \sigma_1\) and \(\text{CL} \pm 2\sigma_1\)
Zone A between \(\text{CL} \pm 2\sigma_1\) and the control limit

Because \(\sigma_1\) comes from the upper half band and the lower boundaries mirror that same distance, a lower boundary can fall below a lower control limit that has been floored at \(0\), and can itself be negative. Z-MR always uses a multiplier of \(3\), so its zone lines are always at one and two standard deviations. If the center line or the upper limit is missing, or the multiplier is not positive, no zone boundaries are produced.

Full details, including the manual and disabled limit types: Control Limits and Zones.

Shared Math Details used here

This chart uses shared formulas defined once in Shared Math Details.

Shared concept Used here for Reference
Laney overdispersion (σ_Z) the standard-deviation correction Laney Overdispersion (Sigma Z)
Control limits and zones the UCL/LCL and zone construction Control Limits and Zones
Out-of-control tests flagging out-of-control points Out-of-Control tests

See Also

References

  1. Laney, D. B. (2002). Improved control charts for attributes. Quality Engineering, 14(4), 531-537.
  2. Montgomery, D. C. (2013). Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 7th ed. Wiley.