Page "W. Edwards Deming" Paragraph 11

In 1927, Deming was introduced to Walter A. Shewhart of the Bell Telephone Laboratories by C. H.

Kunsman of the United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ).

Deming found great inspiration in the work of Shewhart, the originator of the concepts of statistical control of processes and the related technical tool of the control chart, as Deming began to move toward the application of statistical methods to industrial production and management.

Shewhart's idea of common and special causes of variation led directly to Deming's theory of management.

Deming saw that these ideas could be applied not only to manufacturing processes, but also to the processes by which enterprises are led and managed.

This key insight made possible his enormous influence on the economics of the industrialized world after 1950.