The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma

Publisher The Breakthrough Management Group (BMG) says its ‘Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma’ has been “created for those who have heard of the concept but want to know more about the practicalities and benefits.” It’s presented in four sections, each avoiding jargon, theories, philosophies and “complex case studies,” which may well be a limiting factor: Part 1: ‘Understanding Lean Six Sigma’ explains how Lean and Six Sigma can work together, also explaining, for example, what constitutes waste and inefficiency, where it hides and how it can be rooted out. Part 2: ‘Defining and Measuring Performance’ covers implementation, including identifying what needs to improve and by how much. Primarily for practitioners and Lean Six Sigma leaders, it provides what amount to step-by-step details on defining projects and measuring performance. Part 3: ‘Analysing, Improving, and Controlling Processes’ looks at next phases of Lean Six Sigma projects, including how to define which methods, people, machines etc are responsible for performance or variation problems. Finally, Part 4: ‘Leading Lean Six Sigma’ is about organisational change. It suggests business metrics, who should be responsible for financial targets and how to roll out Lean Six Sigma.