Force field analysis of lockdown effectiveness

Blogger and engineer Ivor Cummins has recently examined the evidence for and against the hypothesis that lockdowns are effective against the spread and virulence of COVID-19. I thought that his evidence would be easier to examine using the Six Sigma tool of force field analysis. Here’s what it looks like. Although in Six Sigma the FFA is usually used to examine the forces that maintain the status quo so Six Sigma teams can plan a strategy for moving things forward, they are in essence tools that can be adapted for many purposes. In this case the adaptation is used to make a decision: should we continue lockdowns or open back up? To answer the question Ivor created a “for/against” table and summarized evidence supporting the lockdowns and not supporting the lockdowns. The FFA, like many Six Sigma tools, converts the text table to a graphic.

Click here to download the PowerPoint slide.

Click here to download an image file.