Six SIGMA for Dummies

The world’s largest and most profitable companies – including the likes of GE, Bank of America, Honeywell, DuPont, Samsung, Starwood Hotels, Bechtel, and Motorola – have used Six Sigma to achieve breathtaking improvements in business performance, in everything from products to processes to complex systems and even in work environments. Over the past decade, over $100 billion in bottom-line performance has been achieved through corporate Six Sigma programs.  Yet, despite its astounding effectiveness, few outside of the community of Six Sigma practitioners know what Six Sigma is all about.

With this book, Six Sigma is revealed to everyone.  You might be in a company that’s already implemented Six Sigma, or your organization may be considering it.  You may be a student who wants to learn how it works, or you might be a seasoned business professional who needs to get up to speed. In any case, Six Sigma For Dummies is the most straightforward, non-intimidating guide on the market. This simple, friendly book makes Six Sigma make sense.

With a compelling foreword by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, the internationally recognized leadership authority and bestselling author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8^th Habit, and an afterword by Roxanne O’Brasky, President of the International Society of Six Sigma, Six Sigma For Dummies is the most complete and objective book in the market today.

Unlike most other works that are either graduate-level statistics treatises or thinly-veiled autobiographical success stories, Six Sigma For Dummies teaches the reader all the foundation principles, methods, and tools of this magnificent problem-solving system. 

Intended to help readers understand Six Sigma and how they can use it to improve their performance, this no-nonsense guide explains:

• What Six Sigma is all about and how it works
• The benefits of Six Sigma in organizations and businesses
• The powerful “DMAIC” problem-solving roadmap
• Yellow, Green and Black — how the Six Sigma "belt" system works
• How to select and utilize the right tools and technologies
• Speaking the language of Six Sigma
• Knowing the roles and responsibilities
• Mastering the statistics skills and analytical methods

Six Sigma For Dummies will become everyone’s No. 1 resource for discovering and mastering the world’s most famous and powerful improvement tool.  Stephen Covey is spot-on when he says, “Six Sigma For Dummies is a book to be read by everyone”.

Tailored to the needs of small businesses, this guide explains the principles underlying the science of Six Sigma, and describes the tools and methods for implementing Six Sigma in an organization. Adopting the define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) strategy, the authors walk through each phase of a Six Sigma project and overview the different types of statistical analysis and management tools available.
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Written specifically for Six Sigma beginners-whether they're small business owners who want to implement Six Sigma, or professionals and students who need to get up to speed fast-Six Sigma For Dummies is the most straightforward, non-intimidating guide on the market. Hundreds of thousands of professionals work in Six Sigma companies such as GE, Sony, Toshiba, Microsoft, and Nokia, but have a hard time fully understanding the methodology. This simple, friendly guide makes Six Sigma make sense.

Chances are, you’ ve heard business gurus talk about Six Sigma and thought, “ It’ s Greek to me.” Actually, the name is from Greek, but that doesn’ t mean you can’ t understand it. A revolutionary tool for improving business operations and results, Six Sigma has been implemented in almost all Fortune 1000 corporations, and in progressive large companies that want to join those elite.

Six Sigma For Dummies explains the philosophy, principles, and practices of Six Sigma in plain English. It makes the concept and its methods, tools, and technologies understandable for small and mid-size companies that want to implement it, professionals and students who need to understand it, and even individuals who want to apply it to their personal lives. With Six Sigma For Dummies, you’ ll: Understand the basics so you can define a process and collect and analyze data— even if you don’ t have an advanced degree in statistics Get a handle on the tools used in various parts of implementation Apply tricks of the trade that can shorten your learning curve Avoid pitfalls that can sabotage your efforts

Six Sigma For Dummies was written by Craig Gygi, Vice President, and Bruce Williams, Chairman and Chief Executive of Savvi Sigma, a company specializing in the delivery of management systems for improving business performance, and Neil DeCarlo, a principal of DeCarlo Communications. Williams co-founded the Six Sigma Management Institute (SSMI). Together, these knowledgeable authors show how Six Sigma: Operates on two distinct, but connected levels— the managerial and the technical Is the catalyst for systematic improvement in a prescribed, disciplined, measurable, and repeatable manner Is based on breakthrough strategy— DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) Is measured in quantifiable ways that force accountability Uses Champions within an organization and a Belt system that ensures involvement and responsibility

Ideal as a hands-on reference for leading a Six Sigma initiative, selecting and managing Six Sigma projects, and executing specific Six Sigma tools and analytical procedures,

Six Sigma For Dummies gives you what you need to become comfortable with the concepts, process, and statistical particulars of Six Sigma in the shortest possible time. Six Sigma streamlines business processes. Six Sigma For Dummies streamlines Six Sigma!

Craig Kent Gygi began studying and applying the elements of Six Sigma well before they were formalized into today’s renowned breakthrough methodology. As a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University in the early 1990s, he integrated these cutting-edge improvement techniques into his coaching of student product development teams. Upon beginning his career in 1994 at Motorola’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Lab in Florida, he was formally introduced to the maturing Six Sigma method. It resonated deeply with his previous findings. From that time, Craig has applied, taught, and led Six Sigma in all his endeavors, including management and technical capacities at Motorola, Iomega, and General Atomics.

In 1998, Craig founded and led a software company to develop computational tools for Six Sigma practitioners. For several years, he also worked as a technical colleague of Dr. Mikel J. Harry, the original consultant of Six Sigma, co-developing and teaching new advances in its theory and application. Most recently, Craig has traded his mountain home in Utah for the Sonoran desert of Arizona to co-found Savvi International and direct and manage its Six Sigma products, services, and tools.

A Master Black Belt, Craig has wielded Six Sigma techniques now for over 12 years, spanning projects from design to manufacturing to business process management. He is also an expert teacher, having instructed and mentored at all levels of Six Sigma, from executives to White Belts.

Neil John DeCarlo has been a professional communicator in the continuous improvement and Six Sigma fields for more than 15 years, beginning with his work at Florida Power & Light company when it won the coveted Deming Prize for quality. Since that time, he has authored, ghostwritten, or edited more than 150 articles and six books in association with such companies as General Electric, Dupont, Bose Corporation, McKinsey consulting, UPS, AT&T, the Six Sigma Academy, and many others.

As a prolific author and writer, Neil’s past work has covered a range of subject matter, including Six Sigma, information technology, e-learning, knowledge management, change management, business integration, TQM, ISO, lean management, and other disciplines. He has also worked with several CEOs and consultants, including Japanese quality expert Dr. Noriaki Kano, and worked extensively with original co-architect of Six Sigma, Dr. Mikel Harry.

In addition to his writing pedigree, Neil has managed communication and publishing campaigns for a variety of companies and consulting firms, most notably, the Breakthrough Management Group, a Six Sigma, lean enterprise, and performance-improvement industry leader. While not working, Neil avidly practices Bikram yoga and contributes to that community through his advocacy and writing.

Bruce David Williams has been fascinated with complex systems since the launch of Sputnik on his third birthday. With undergraduate degrees from the University of Colorado in Physics and Astrophysics, he entered a career in aerospace systems, where he first encountered Six Sigma after Motorola won the inaugural Baldridge Award in 1988. Later, with graduate degrees in technical management and computer science from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Colorado, and as a member of the Hubble Telescope development team, he was intrigued by how breakdowns in the smallest components could lead to colossal system failures. He entered the Six Sigma industry in the mid-1990s, when he founded a software company to pursue product life-cycle traceability.

Bruce has since been founder and CEO of two Six Sigma research and technology firms, and is now Chairman and CEO of Savvi International, a provider of solutions for business performance improvement using Six Sigma, lean, and business process management techniques.

Foreword.

Introduction.

Part I: Six Sigma Basics.

Chapter 1: Defining Six Sigma.

Chapter 2: Examining the Principles and Language of Six Sigma.

Chapter 3: Pinpointing the Essentials of Six Sigma.

Part II: Understanding and Enacting the Breakthrough Strategy (DMAIC).

Chapter 4: Finding the Pain — Defining Projects.

Chapter 5: Measuring the Gaps.

Chapter 6: Measuring Capability.

Chapter 7: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff.

Chapter 8: Quantifying the Critical Few.

Chapter 9: Achieving the Objective.

Chapter 10: Locking in the Gains.

Part III: The Six Sigma Tool and Technology Landscape.

Chapter 11: Identifying Six Sigma Practitioner Tools.

Chapter 12: Mastering Six Sigma Manager Tools.

Part IV: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 13: Ten Best Practices of Six Sigma.

Chapter 14: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid.

Chapter 15: Ten Places to Go for Help.

Appendix: Glossary.

Afterword.

Index.