Lean Six Sigma For Dummies

by John A. Morgan

With the growing business industry there is a large demand for greater speed and quality, for projects of all natures in both small and large businesses. Lean Six Sigma is the result of the combination of the two best-known improvement Six Sigma (making work better, of higher quality) and Lean (making work faster, more efficient).

Lean Six Sigma For Dummies outlines they key concepts in plain English, and shows you how to use the right tools, in the right place, and in the right way, not just in improvement and design projects, but also in your day-to-day activities. It shows you how to ensure the key principles and concepts of Lean Six Sigma become a natural part of how you do things so you can get the best out of your business and accomplish your goals better, faster and cheaper.

About the author

John Morgan has been a Director of Catalyst Consulting, Europe's leading provider of lean Six Sigma solutions for 10 years.

Martin Brenig-Jones is also a Director at Catalyst Consulting. He is an expert in Quality and Change Management and has worked in the field for 16 years.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management

236 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2010

About the author

John Morgan has been a Director of Catalyst Consulting, Europe's leading provider of lean Six Sigma solutions for 10 years.

Reviews

[Robert Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched 'Guardians of the Galaxy' last night. It entertained me.

I finished this book last night. It... erm... didn't.

I do like knowledge for the sake of knowledge - even if there is no conceivable way I can put it to good use in my current role. It feels to me like buying a heater on a sunny day - I know that the seasons roll around and the days will get colder.

But still...

In 'Guardians of the Galaxy' there is this one character who lives in a futuristic universe (futuristic for us that is) and yet he carries around a mix tape that him mom made for him that features music from the 1970s.

In this book, there is an author who writes about things that seem more relevant to the 1950s than to this (futuristic) age of computers and information.

The effect is not as beguiling.

I do wish sometimes that business improvement concepts were not based on acronyms and simulacra.

I so wish that transforming a business was as exciting as a Hollywood movie set amongst the stars.

Maybe my enthusiasm is buried under layers of jaded cynicism, but then again, if I can enjoy the blend of sarcasm, irony and big guns that make up a Hollywood blockbuster, maybe books should move with the times too.

Imagine a book on Lean Six Sigma directed by... I don't know... Michael Bay!

Now that'd be worth the price of admission.

Oh - and this book isn't as tongue-in-the-cheek funny as the usual 'Dummies' books.

I miss that too.

[Earl Grey Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am taking some courses on Operational Excellence at work as part of my development and this includes learning about Lean Six Sigma. I picked up this book to reinforce what I learned in the classes and hopefully help increase my retention.

As you can see it took about two months for me to finish this book even though it is not particularly long (especially compared to a presidential biography or a high fantasy novel).

The first major reason is that the material is dry. When you can find something at work to apply different concepts or tools found in these pages, it become interesting. However, learning an idea of the sake for learning an idea does not result in constant page turning. Many of these tools are visually displayed in an analytical grid format which can become convoluted as the amount of information processed is increased. A Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) could be much more easily built out and understood using color coded post-it notes and a graph with the variables of 'probability' and 'severity'.

Additionally, I have found it frustrating getting the chance to apply this knowledge to my project work. First off, the work that our department does is very subjective compared to the processes oriented manufacturing that Lean Six Sigma was developed from. Our department could definitely benefit it from this type of work but there is a lot of resistance to overcome in a culture where words likes standardization and processes evoke fear and uncertainty. Secondly, the initial project that I was working on was cancelled after my first tollgate with leadership. Their original back of the envelope estimated of Full-time Equivalency (FTE) for certain project work was much greater than what my more detailed measurements uncovered. After that, I spent over a month in limbo trying to find more opportunities to apply this knowledge.

Lean Six Sigma has many valuable analytical tools. Applying it to my department feels like misshaped pegs and holes. This frustration along with the overall dry delivery of the material leads me to not recommend this book to others. It has value but I feel that there are better introductory books to Lean Six Sigma out there.

[Ricardo Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction to Lean Six Sigma. Good introductory concepts.

Introdução interessante sobre Lean Six Sigma. Muito bons conceitos.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skimmed most of this and it seemed like a good introduction. The examples were focused on more tangible, step-by-step processes (though that could be how it was simplified for presentation here) rather than the more complex service workflows I was dealing with most recently. But for the most part I could see how you could adapt in a services environment where the product isn't a physical thing, and the process has many points where it can branch in several different ways.

[Valiant Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you kidding me, 3.66 stars? I took the class and this was far superior to the assigned text book we had. In fact, this was a page turner for me and was put together perfectly, in my opinion. I look forward to comparing the newer editions with this, because this pretty much has everything and I found everything to be well-placed and explained perfectly, in an order that made perfect sense. Bravo to the team that put this together!!!

[Steffen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the book, but dislike the method. Threw it in the trash after reading, which is a really rare thing for me to do. Nothing fundamentally wrong with the way its written / the authors or the way things are presented, maybe its because of how I have seen it fail in practice that it just makes me nauseous.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've taken a few courses on LSS in the past and my lack of statistics background meant the Measure and Analyze content went straight over my head.

I must be in the target demographic ("dummies").

This book was so approachable and I feel like I now understand the why of these statistical tools and the common-sense questions they are attempting to answer.

Great intro.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book with more details than you would think in a Dummies book. I like the short stories and how they relate to Six Sigma. Many ideas I had heard in past but book adds more detail and insight.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seemingly solid introduction to Lean Six Sigma.

[Ahmad Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books improving efficiency and process enhancement and cost reduction. makes you look at things differently. I highly recommend.

[Ana Teixeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good book for beginners. Gives a really well structured insight about project management and tools that can be applied on the workplace.

[Helena Handbasket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful enough as a quick review study guide.

[Stephen Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent into to Lean Six Sigma. A bit dry.
You want to supplement what lean six sigma is about by listening to lectures/presentation/discussion.

[Neil Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid basic introduction to LSS.