This month, ASQ CEO Paul Borawski encourages us to share stories about “quality solutions in unexpected places.” This is such a fun question, because now I’ll be noticing these unexpected gems all month – and probably beyond! 

Today’s gem comes from my former student Andy, who has heard me get excited about quality tools and continuous improvement – and the R statistical software – a LOT over the past few years! Even though he graduated in the spring of 2012, he’s still applying quality solutions to his own life – and this was a very unexpected place for me to find such a thing! I can’t hold back my own personal excitement for improvement and the pursuit of excellence, even as my standards for excellence evolve, and it’s so heartwarming to see how this has influenced Andy’s life.

A couple months ago, Andy posted about how he used a Pareto chart to explore his own monthly expenses, and brainstorm ways to improve his financial situation as a recent college graduate. Want to explore your own finances? Andy’s post can help you… and can also help you use R to produce nice charts and graphs to tell your story. Check it out!!