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Red Bead Experiment with Dr. W. Edwards Deming

The Deming Institute · demo · Watch on YouTube

Management, leadership & organizationsData science & statistics

What it is

Excerpts from W. Edwards Deming's Red Bead Experiment, where workers draw beads from a bowl and are judged on red ones that are largely down to chance. It shows how system variation, not individual effort, drives results.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN cites it as a classic illustration of dysfunctional management, gamed targets, and blaming workers for systemic outcomes.

  • 1 people recommended it
  • 1 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2016, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “It is a fascinating insight into how dysfunctional management systems operate and perpetuate.”

    Deming's Red Bead Experiment shows how dysfunctional management systems operate

    jdietrich, 2016-01 · Recommendation · in “Why Is Your Team Falling Behind? Ask ‘The Penny Game’”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: deming, red bead experiment, quality management, metrics, variation

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