Administration and Executive AssistantTier 625 minintermediate

Measuring Consistency with STDEV.S

Measure how consistent a production process really is, rather than reading too much into its two most extreme results.

What you will learn

• Calculate a sample standard deviation with STDEV.S
• Explain why STDEV.S uses every reading, while max-minus-min only uses the two most extreme ones
• Recognise that standard deviation and range measure different things and are not interchangeable

Excel skills

STDEV.S · Descriptive Statistics

The task

Eight batches came off the production line, each weighed in grams. Report how consistent the process is - a single figure in Summary!B3 that reflects how far every batch's weight sits from the average, not just how far apart the two most extreme batches happen to be.

You work in a real spreadsheet in your browser, and your answer is checked against hidden traps the moment you submit.

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