Cecelia S. Kilian served as W. Edwards Deming's personal assistant for 39 years, making her one of the people who knew his work and life most intimately. She is the author of the-world-of-w-edwards-deming, the only authorized biography of Deming, which includes a comprehensive bibliography of his publications, details of his degrees and academic appointments, and a chronology of his professional activities.
Kilian's biography is an essential reference for the Deming KB — it provides the most complete accounting of his publication history, speaking engagements, consulting relationships, and personal chronology. Her long tenure as his assistant gave her unique access to the details of his working methods and the evolution of his thinking across decades. The biography documents the full arc from his early statistical work through the japan-and-the-quality-revolution-1947-1960s to the american-revival-and-legacy-1980-1993.