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 8th 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".

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.