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Statistical Analysis

Binomial Acceptance Sampling & Critical Defect Cutoff (BINOMDIST & CRITBINOM)

Calculate exact binomial defect probabilities, cumulative lot-acceptance curves, producer’s risk, and the smallest critical defect threshold (CRITBINOM) using exact factorial combinatorics.

How CRITBINOM determines incoming quality-control acceptance numbers

When inspecting a random sample of n units from a supplier lot with Acceptable Quality Limit (AQL) defect rate p, the number of defective units k follows a Binomial(n, p) distribution with exact probability P(X = k) = (n! / (k! * (n - k)!)) * p^k * (1 - p)^(n - k).

CRITBINOM(n, p, target_cdf) finds the smallest integer acceptance cutoff c such that the cumulative probability P(X <= c) is at least target_cdf (for example, 0.90 or 0.95), keeping Producer’s Risk alpha = 1 - P(X <= c) below the allowed false-rejection rate.

Defects k (n=10, p=0.10)Exact PMF P(X = k)Cumulative P(X <= k)Meets >= 0.90 Target?
00.34870.3487No
10.38740.7361No
2 (CRITBINOM cutoff)0.19370.9298Yes (Producer risk = 0.0702)
30.05740.9872Yes

Exact Binomial PMF Formula

Compute combinations n! / (k! * (n - k)!) via FACT and multiply by p^k * (1 - p)^(n - k).

=ROUND((FACT($B$2) / (FACT(D2) * FACT($B$2 - D2))) * ($B$3 ^ D2) * ((1 - $B$3) ^ ($B$2 - D2)), 4)

Critical Acceptance Cutoff (CRITBINOM) via MINIFS on Cumulative Column

Accumulate exact unrounded PMF terms in a running CDF column and extract the minimum defect count k whose cumulative probability clears target_cdf ($B$4).

=MINIFS(D2:D6, F2:F6, ">=" & B4)

Try the example

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Further reading