process-capability

Process capability is a statistical measure of how well a manufacturing or business process can produce output within prescribed specification limits. It quantifies the relationship between the natural variation of a process and the tolerance envelope set by design requirements, using standardized indices such as Cp (potential capability assuming perfect centering), Cpk (actual capability accounting for mean shift from target), and Cpm (capability penalizing deviation from a nominal target). The measure is computed from process data — typically the ratio of specification width to six times the process standard deviation — and applied in quality engineering, Six Sigma, and statistical process control to determine whether a process is capable of consistent conformance. Parameters: specification upper/lower limits (USL/LSL), process mean (μ), process standard deviation (σ), and the resulting index value. Persistence: mathematical computation from sampled process measurements, recorded in quality documentation and control charts. [formal: C_p | substrate: behavior | horizon: hours | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.85]