Selection of Data-Collection Systems and Computer Software. The past few
years have produced an explosion of quality control software and electronic data-collection
devices. Some SPC consultants recommended against using the computer, noting that it is
unnecessary, since most applications of SPC in Japan emphasized the manual use of control
charts. If the Japanese were successful in the 1960s and 1970s using manual control charting
methods, then does the computer truly have a useful role in SPC?