Method for operating an internal combustion engine

A method for operating an internal combustion engine having at least three cylinders, the method comprising:

• acquiring, by a sensor, a cylinder-specific signal (pmax, E) from each of the at least three cylinders,
• generating, by a processor, a reference value (pmedian, Emedian) from the cylinder-specific signals (pmax, E) acquired from the at least three cylinders, and
• controlling, by a controller, at least one combustion parameter (Q, Z) of one of the at least three cylinders as a function of a deviation of the cylinder-specific signal of the one of the at least three cylinders (pmax, E) from the reference value (pmedian, Emedian),
• whereupon the cylinder-specific signal of the one of the at least three cylinders (pmax, E) follows the reference value (pmedian, Emedian), wherein a median of the cylinder-specific signals (pmax, E) is generated by the processor as the reference value (pmedian, Emedian).