Which quality control tool should be used to monitor the current status or end result of a process?

A control chart is a graph used in statistical process control (SPC) to monitor how a process changes over time. It plots data points in sequence with a central line for the average, an upper control limit, and a lower control limit. This allows for the continuous monitoring of a process's current status and its end result (output) to determine if it is stable and within statistical control.

A. Checklist: A checklist is a simple data collection tool to ensure steps are followed or items are present; it does not monitor a process's statistical behavior.

B. Flowchart: A flowchart is a diagram that illustrates the sequence of steps in a process; it describes the process but does not measure or monitor its performance.

D. Scatter diagram: A scatter diagram investigates the relationship between two different variables, not the status of a single process over time.

1. Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2020). Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management (13th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 6, "Managing Quality," Section on "Statistical Process Control (SPC)."

2. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2016). 15.762 Supply Chain Planning, Lecture 10: Statistical Process Control. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Slide 11 describes the purpose and structure of control charts for monitoring processes.

3. Montgomery, D. C. (2013). Introduction to Statistical Quality Control (7th ed.). Wiley. Chapter 6, "Control Charts for Variables," introduces control charts as the primary tool for process monitoring.