Statistics to Facilitate Innovation*: A Panel Discussion

ABSTRACT Innovation is defined as the process of moving an initial invention or creative idea through research and development to the eventual market introduction. It is an important consideration for organizations to stay competitive and to continue to evolve in today's fast-paced environment. Statistics can play a large role in encouraging and facilitating innovation, through idea evaluation, collection of customer feedback, assessment of prototypes, and evaluation of the quality of products and processes. We define innovation and consider questions connecting innovation and statistics. The answers by a panel of industry leaders include discussion of the relationships between innovation, statistical thinking, and statistical engineering.