Better web statistics analysis using Statistical Process Control (SPC) – Part 2 a methodology

In Part 1 I give an overview of SPC. Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a way of accurately predicting what an entire data group will look like based on small samples.  This is important as everything varies over time and, if the data group happens to be web statistics, it may be vital to know whether a rise or fall in, for instance the number of vistors your web site or intranet has had in a week, may just be a part of the normal variation or is due to some significant change.

In this post I’ll show you how you can define the ‘normal’ variation for any web statistic. I’ll also give examples and show you how easy SPC is to use  and how powerful a tool it can be in aiding analysis of your web data.

Better web statistics analysis using Statistical Process Control (SPC) – Part 1 An Overview

I’ll bet that the mention of statistics in the title has already got some of you reaching for the ‘back’ button but please stick with it. Although the detailed theory behind how Statistical Process Control (SPC) works might be somewhat complex using it as an analytical  tool is really easy and, in over thirty years in the automotive industry, it has proved itself over and over again as one of the most effective tools I have ever used. These posts are about how you can apply this approach to improve the analysis of your web statistics.