250 word response to; Variation is the extent to which a process deviates from the norm, similar to standard deviation in statistics. For example, the process to draw blood for a lab technician may on average take 10 minutes, but when looking at data there is a variance where one process takes 5 minutes while the other takes 15 minutes. As healthcare leaders, analyzing these variances and determining if they are warranted or unwarranted is crucial for maintaining high quality care. The two broad categories of variation as described by Dr. Deming are special and common cause variation. Special cause variation arises from a set of causes that can be identified and then addressed. Common cause variation is a variance in the process that is caused by how the process is performed. Variation in medicine is inevitable. All humans are different in some type of way and there will be a variance in the processes they perform. One contributing factor is how individuals are trained and learned their process. While there will be variance in healthcare, it is important to determine how much variance is acceptable and unacceptable. Acceptable variation is based on differences in patient preferences, disease prevalence and