These rings had lost their resiliency because of the low temperature at the time of the flight. The link between O-ring damage and ambient temperature had been established prior to the flight. The engineers at Morton Thiokol, Inc had recommended that the flight be delayed, but they failed to display the link between ambient temperature and O-ring damage in a clear and unambiguous fashion to those making the final decision. The launch proceeded with disastrous consequences. A simple scatterplot showing the link between O-ring damage and ambient temperature during previous launches may have changed the decision about launching.
Data is Variable.
The Pattern of variability is called the Distribution When analyzing a set of data, view the data in a variety of ways, both graphically and numerically. Look at the general characteristics of the data, identify patterns and unusual observations. The purpose of displaying data graphically is to give a visual display of the interesting and important features of the dataset. A stemplot or a dotplot quickly shows the shape of the distribution. Constructing a stemplot or a dotplot is often the first step in analyzing a dataset, and helps to determine what additional analysis is appropriate.