1. A method for controlling a welding process, the control method including: measuring a snip of current and voltage samples over a measured portion of the welding process; computing based on the snip a true heat produced during the measured portion of the welding process; extrapolating the true heat produced during the measured portion over an unmeasured portion of the welding process to produce a true heat value; and adjusting a welding process parameter based on the true heat value.