Product Description

The long awaited 2nd edition of this bestselling pocket guide on Six Sigma contains a range of new tools and techniques including new Lean material and Improve tools. In addition it has been updated for Minitab 15 (whilst still compatible with versions 13 and 14). Cutting through Six Sigma s strange terminology and consultancy speak, this guide delivers Six Sigma in a down to earth, logical and user friendly format. Minitab: For each tool, this guide details how to enter the data into Minitab, interpret the results and avoid the common pitfalls. Interactive: All the data files and templates are available online. Routemaps: A logical flow is provided through each DMAIC phase. Who should use this book? Six Sigma Trainees: Both during and after training, this guide provides an invaluable reference text to those who are actually implementing Lean Six Sigma improvement projects. Six Sigma Project Sponsors and Managers: For those who are accountable for deploying Six Sigma or sponsoring Six Sigma projects, and who might not have been fully Six Sigma trained, this guide will provide an overview of the tools and techniques that your project teams are trained in.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31994 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-23
• Released on: 2006-10-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 240 pages

Review
It's refreshing to see a book aimed for those actually using the tools and techniques of Six Sigma. -- Six Sigma Today Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 3, 2004

Not only useful for SS practitioners but also for anyone involved in quality management, as well as for academic students. -- The TQM Magazine, Volume 17 Issue 1, 2005

From the Publisher
A long awaited pocket guide to Six Sigma that provides practical advice on the Six Sigma tools alongside detailed instructions for the MINITAB software where applicable.

From the Author
The Toolbox guide is targeted at the clear need that existed for a down to earth 'pocket sized' guide to Six Sigma and Minitab. It's aimed at anyone involved in Six Sigma from beginners through to Master Black Belts and also provides an introduction to anyone new to Six Sigma.

Customer Reviews

Finally! A text that connects the dots!
I purchased this book hoping it would help me quickly patch some gaps in my understanding of statistics and Minitab v14. And it will. Most importantly, they get that we don't want to take a course, we just want to know enough to get the work done. --- So the book has enough of an explanation to help the reader figure out whatever their working on. Perfect!

As background, I had quite a bit of training in statistics a few years ago. My job did not require that I use most of it. Now, I'm in a job that does, and I need to get up to speed quickly. I found this book to be a good refresher and reference.

Having been exposed to the different tools, I understand them in general but which do I use? The book has decision grids.

When it comes to using Minitab's menus to apply the theory, what goes where when I'm filling in the blanks - How is the theory applied? Added to that, I used some features of Minitab v13 - but v14 seems to be a whole lot different. The book shows screen shots from Minitab v14 with callouts explaining the fields.

And, how do I interpret the results? The book shows an example with callouts explaining the results. There is also an appendix with detailed (but brief) explanations of interpretations in an easy to read table.

The book is better than Shaums outline on statistics. More relevant than textbooks. More concise than my Six Sigma training binders. Even more applied than Cartoon Guide to Statistics. And, really helps with providing details from the formula used to calculate Sample Size to the number of groups that should be in a histogram and Hypothesis Testing.

Just one thing to note: The book is basically the Six Sigma framework with the references to Minitab & statistical tools as relevant. So, don't be surprised that in the first portion, Minitab examples are few and far in between. Rest assured - they are in there.

So, I'm ditching my thick binders, books of theory, and heavy textbooks and keeping this one close by.

The New "Pocket Guide" for Six-Sigma Black Belts.
This is a much more powerful resource for making good use of Minitab and Six-Sigma than many people may realize. However, a highly experienced statistician or someone with extensive experience in a Six-Sigma culture may find this book to be fairly basic. This is likely the case in a technical or manufacturing environment. In contrast, a new Six Sigma practitioner or someone working in a service environment in which process analysis might not be as sophisticated will consider this book an absolute gem!

The value is not just in its clear and concise explanation of how to use Minitab "in" Six-Sigma. The real value lies in the easy to understand application of the Six-Sigma DMAIC methodology with practical and understandable examples of statistical analysis while using Minitab.

I have Black Belts who are not completely trained yet using this book. They're rapidly finding new and creative ways to apply statistical analyses to our business processes and data. The Six-Sigma and statistics connections they're making via this book are dramatic! Oh...and they're also learning how to use the software. I wish we'd had something like this a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned this is the new "pocket guide" for Six-Sigma for all my Black Belts.

Very practical guide to Six Sigma
I am a Six Sigma Black Belt in the healthcare industry. I have reviewed many different books and reference guides on Six Sigma, but I have found this one to be the most straightforward and practical one of all. I only keep a couple reference books in my brief case, and this is one of them. Minitab users will appreciate the examples and screenshots. The example data files are also available for download. I highly recommend this guide to any Green Belt or Black Belt involved in Six Sigma.