When Better Is Worse (or Don't Forget Process Capability)
When evaluating countermeasures, it is common to determine which countermeasure has the best average result. A lazy analyst may then conclude that the countermeasure with the overall best average is the preferred solution. On many occasions this intellectual sloth may result in the best choice, but there are some occasions where this type of thinking could result in disaster.
The wrongheaded thinking arises from not realizing that just because the average result is better; it doesn’t mean that the overall results are better.