Jo Dowdall - Lean Six SIGMA for Dummies

Lean Six Sigma For Dummies, 4th Edition

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Copyright 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021946527

ISBN 978-1-119-79671-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-79672-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-79673-2 (ebk)

1. Chapter 4
2. Chapter 10
3. Chapter 13
4. Chapter 15

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19

Lean Six Sigma provides a rigorous and structured approach to help manage and improve quality and performance, and to solve potentially complex problems. It helps you use the right tools, in the right place and in the right way, not just in process improvement projects but also in your day-to-day work. Lean Six Sigma really is about getting key principles and concepts into the DNA and lifeblood of your organization so that it becomes a natural part of how you do things.

This book is for practitioners using Lean Six Sigma as well as those who are seeking to lead and live Lean Six Sigma in their organizations.

We began to blend Lean and Six Sigma together more than 20 years ago, welcoming a pragmatic rather than purist approach. We discovered how essential it has been to consider people and Change Management when improving processes too leading to higher levels of acceptance and more effective change.

In this 4th Edition of Lean Six Sigma For Dummies, we have added a few more ingredients into the cocktail. You can find out how Agile approaches (and an Agile mindset) can accelerate results. We also discuss how Design Thinking approaches, tools, and techniques for creativity can encourage different thinking about the way the work gets done. This stuff really works.

This book makes Lean Six Sigma easy to understand and apply. We wrote it because we know that Lean Six Sigma can help organizations of all shapes and sizes, both private and public, improve their performance in meeting their customers requirements. We know this because we have seen it!

We also wanted to demonstrate a pragmatic approach and the genuine synergy achieved through the combination of Lean and Six Sigma. For some reason unknown to us, a few people still feel they can use only Lean or Six Sigma, but not both. How wrong they are! In this book, you can discover how to create genuine synergy by applying the principles of Lean and Six Sigma together in your day-to-day operations and activities. And not just that: Change Management, Agile, Design Thinking and Design for Six Sigma are included too. In the true spirit of Continuous Improvement, we are always looking to enhance the approach, adapt the toolkit, and learn as we go.

In Lean Six Sigma, avoiding the tendency to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about things is crucial. Lean Six Sigma really is about managing by fact. Despite that, weve made some assumptions about why you may have bought this book:

• Youre contemplating applying Lean Six Sigma in your business or organization, and you need to understand what youre getting yourself into.
• Your business is implementing Lean Six Sigma and you need to get up to speed. Perhaps youve been lined up to participate in the program in some way.
• Your business has already implemented either Lean or Six Sigma and youre intrigued by what you might be missing.
• Youre considering a career or job change and feel that your CV or resume will look much better if you can somehow incorporate Lean or Six Sigma into it.
• Youre looking to boost the results and progress of your Lean Six Sigma program and are considering how approaches like Change Management, Agile, and Design Thinking can help.