Book Description

An effective and engaging way employees can learn Six Sigma and put its concepts into play

Part of the popular Big Book of Games series, which capitalizes on the proven effective method for workplace training, this first book of training games for Six Sigma ensures that employees will better retain Six Sigma's complex topics.

This invaluable tool offers 50 experiential activities that teach the core improvement approach of Six Sigma, called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), as well as many of the popular statistical improvement tools, including Pareto charts and Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA). These games:

• Teach Six Sigma roles and organization
• Gear the team up for success
• Identify problems and generate solutions
• Teach project management
• Help teams understand the need for Six Sigma

Book Description

Features eight handbooks, published previously by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), that have had significant impact on the project management profession and continue to have enduring value for today’s project manager. These handbooks are collected in this one economical volume thatbelongs on every project manager’s bookshelf. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Required reading for the PMP? NOT! A must buy though ...
This book used to be on PMI's recommended reading list for PMP preparation (I am not sure if it still is). The book does not use any complicated terminology and is written using an easy to read writing style. But the concepts will be easier to understand when you become an experienced project manager. If you read it at the beginning of your career, I recommend that you keep this in mind and not be disappointed. Just hold on to the copy and you will appreciate it later when you have more overall knowledge of project management.

The book is literally a compilation of 8 of the best papers on project management ever published. Hence the papers can be read independently. If you are a student at some University, you should be able to trace the individual papers to their source in your University library and print them at a much lower cost than the price of this book. The price was the only disappointment for me and since I am not a student, I couldn't do what I suggested above.

The eight different topics addressed by these papers in the book are -

1. Conflict Management
2. Contract Administration
3. Negotiating
4. Time and Stress Management
5. Team Building
6. PM Roles and Responsibilities
7. Organizational Development Approach
8. Organizing for Project Management

Based on my own personal background, I found the first five topics noted above the most interesting and the topic on Time and Stress Management the most useful. A lot of people I have talked to have not really found the time to read this book before taking the PMP but I would recommend reading it thoroughly once you have passed the PMP. I am finding that this book provides a very useful way to consolidate one's PM knowledge. PMI publishes 'Project Management Journal' and 'PM Network' on a regular basis that are also absolutely essential for any project manager. I have actually kept these publications from years back and they are one of the most prized possessions of my PM library. Enjoy reading these papers and the above mentioned publications!

UNREADABLE
IF YOU ENJOY READING DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS THEN BUY THIS BOOK.

The book is unreadable and there is no INDEX!

If you are trying to LEARN about Project Management then avoid this book like the plague.

Getting ready for the PMP?
Excellent reference if you are getting ready for the PMP exam. Use it to study for the HR material, the Communications material and the Contract and procurement material.

I use it in my PMP classes at Oak Associates, Inc. www.oakinc.com

Excellent introduction to PMI Principles
Organized around the 9 knowledge areas of PMI (Project Management Institute), this book provides both academic and pragmatic perspectives on key concepts related to managing projects. I would not recommend it for an advanced manager, but it does provide some great information for a reader who is interested in strengthening his/her basic skills, or potentially pursuing a PMP (Project Management Professional certification). It's a great first read as one enters into project management. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a step-by-step approach to successful negotiations.Many people view negotiations as a complex, daunting process, full of surprises. Based on more than 25 years of training negotiators in the U.S. and abroad, the authors say it doesn't have to be that way. The secret is to carefully structure the entire process. Negotiation: Six Steps to Success shows how to enter a negotiation well positioned to succeed, by analyzing the situation in advance, and building a plan that reflects reality. The authors then present clear guidelines for evolving a plan during the course of negotiation, so the negotiator stays in control and can successfully achieve the desired results. Case studies are used throughout the book, which offers a unique and needed counterpoint to the mythology and folklore that all too often surround the process of negotiation.Anyone who negotiates -- in either professional or personal contexts. ... Read more

Book Description

Technology and changes in the economy continually evolve the role the Certified Quality Engineer. If you are aiming to add this certification to prove what you know, or if you already hold a CQE, this handbook can help you by covering every aspect of the CQE Body of Knowledge. Use this guide to brush up on your understanding of principles of product and service quality evaluation and control. The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook covers applied technologies including development and operation of quality control systems, application, analysis testing and inspection procedures. Not only that, but this book will give you an understanding of human factors and motivation, and the knowledge to develop and administer management information systems.Using this helpful book compiled by experts you can learn more about all aspects of the CQE Body of Knowledge. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

CQE
Excellent reference text. I used it and was successful in my CQE exam. ... Read more

Book Description

THE BRIEFCASE BOOKS SERIEs

Now translated into 11 languages!

This reader-friendly, icon-rich series is must reading for all managers at every level

All managers, whether brand new to their positions or well established in the corporate hierarchy, can use a little "brushing up" now and then. The skills-based Briefcase Books series is filled with ideas and strategies to help managers become more capable, efficient, effective, and valuable to their corporations.

DESIGN FOR SIX SIGMA

Six Sigma has revolutionized the ways in which companies meet and beat today's stringent quality expectations. But achieving Six Sigma results first requires Six Sigma building blocks. Design for Six Sigma unveils a systematic methodology for enabling the design of products, services, and processes to meet Six Sigma quality levels.

Designed to be easily read and implemented, this concise Briefcase Book shows managers at all levels how to include Six Sigma at the earliest stages of virtually any manufacturing process. Here are DFSS's techniques for:

• Optimizing the design process to achieve Six Sigma performance
• Integrating Six Sigma from the outset of new product development
• Self-examinations, explanatory sidebars, and chapter-ending checklists

Reviews (2)

Not a how-to book
Broad overview, it mentions Six Sigma tools but does not give you details or good examples. Don't waste your money if you already know anything about Six Sigma.

Design for Success
Very readable and applicable to new product introduction success. I liked the use of sidebars and icons for definitions,tools, cautions, tricks of the trade, examples and smart managing tips. Management checklists at the end of each chapter were good for summarizing and action planning. Generous use of references for more detailed information on specific tools and methods allowed focus on main topic of DFSS methodology and organization/management issues of implementation. Left me with desire to get more involved with DFSS in new product development to improve a company's growth. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good Book on Quality Assurance Fundamentals
After working in IT for over a decade, one of the most interesting things I have found is how few people know what quality assurance is. Mr. Ginac has provided us with a simple and sound book on quality assurance that can help IT professionals to overcome some of these misconceptions. Its value can be seen on several fronts. First of all, its emphasis on the customer is refreshing, and is central to the focus of quality assurance. Second, its discourse is well rounded, illustrating that quality assurance is more broad in its focus than test planning and execution. In the latter point, it illustrates how metrics fit into the picture of quality assurance, and how QA is concerned with the entire process of developing software, from problem identification to solution delivery.

Mr. Ginac also touches on SEI's CMM, ISO 9000, and other topics of interest to the would-be quality professional. The thing that I hope that this book will do is to whet the reader's apetite for more on the topics discussed. As my title suggests, this book only touches the surface of a vast and inviting ocean of knowledge in this field. As such, I recommend it for the beinning to intermediate quality professional and for anyone in the IT field who wants to know what QA is.

SQA Engineers must read this book.
I have been in the SQA business for 10+ years. I wanted to test my field knowledge by taking a certification. To my surprise, I did not pass the "Brainbench SQA Certification" (from brainbench.com) the first time I took it. Therefore, I wanted to find out what information I was missing. The test site recommended several books from Amazon.com. I choose this book because it seem to the information that I was looking for at a low cost. After reading this book, I was able to retest and pass the Brainbench SQA Certification.

What I like about this book is the basic industry information that an SQA Engineer should know. It is full of information in metrics. As a tester, I know that metrics were important but I did not know where to apply it effectively. It is also provided me some basic information in ISO 9000 and SEI CMM appraisals in customer-focused quality assurance.

I know there are many software organizations out there that have have not read this book. I highly recommend this book or similar basic book for those organizations that want to develop a quality product based on customer orientation.

Full of ideas for service delivery professionals
This information-packed book taught me more about software quality from a service delivery point of view than I thought possible. I knew before reading it that it was not a typical SQA book, thanks to the previous reviews and a colleague's recommendation, so my expectations were set accordingly.

What I liked most about the book is the consistent focus on metrics that are meaningful to business users. While I was aware of many of the quality attributes discussed, I learned a few new ones to which I can apply to measuring the quality of applications that are delivered to end users. If you are unfamiliar with the term "quality attribute" it is a term that also means "desirable characteristic", and can be expressed as a technical characteristic (function or feature) or a service-oriented characteristic (quantified reliability, mean time between failures, etc.).

Another thing that make this book valuable to me is part that focused on developing questionnaires and eliciting from end users what they deemed to be quality attributes. This goes a long way towards aligning the IT/IS service delivery function to actual business requirements (instead of what we perceive to be business requirements - too often there is a wide chasm separating the two views). Moreover, extending the author's approach by communicating these quality attributes backwards into the application delivery organization that is responsible for developing applications, the ability of IT/IS to align to business requirements is further strengthened. Bear in mind that the flow down of quality attributes does not have to go to an internal development organization. Applications delivery also encompasses software vendors and consultants doing on- or off-site programming, as well as service bureaus and ASPs (application service providers). In the case of external sources of applications, the quality attributes are invaluable--no, essential--to the RFP, negotiating and contract stages of procuring and supporting the application. The value is that quality attributes are an objective way of expressing requirements that can be measured.

This book is must-reading for anyone who provides application support, including tier-2 support, business analysts and production services management. Although it is less than 210 pages in length, it contains a wealth of information that will lead to ideas and strategies for delivering better service and for more closely aligning IT/IS to the business. The only thing I did not like about the book is the "Software Quality Assurance" part of the title. Had I not been fortunate enough to have a friend who practically insisted that I read this book I would have never considered this gem. It rates five big stars by living up to the "customer-oriented" part of the title and for opening my eyes to some important concepts.

Too basic for the SQA practitioner, but ...
I agree with the previous reviewer that this book is a basic primer on software quality assurance. From the perspective of a software quality assurance practitioner I would have rated this book at 3 stars and moved on.

However, this book has much to offer to four domains outside of SQA:

(1) Developers - most developers are woefully unaware of the basics of SQA. They have no idea of the much larger picture and how they fit into the scheme of things in a process that is designed to deliver a quality software product. In fairness to developers they have a daunting task just keeping up with the techniques and technologies that characterize their domain. What this book will do for a developer, particularly one who is working within the context of Extreme Programming (XP), is to provide a foundation for software quality. It also provides an awareness of SEI's capability maturity model (CMM), about which most developers outside of defense-related software organizations probably don't know much. It also gives a good overview of ISO 9000-3 (also known as TickIT).

(2) Testers - software testing and SQA are two vastly different functions. Testing is done to verify and validate software or to break it. In the verification and validation stage testers find the answer to: Did we build the right thing? Did we build it right? This is done in the user acceptance/product test environment. Testers try to break software in the staging/pre-production environment. In this respect testers are the natural enemy of developers. Contrast this with SQA - this function is a process and oversight function that is usually performed at the program management office (PMO) or software engineering process group level. In an ideal world SQA concerns themselves with developing and implementing processes that minimize defects and rework. They work with trends, statistics and other quantitative methods and attempt to answer questions such as: Where in the development life cycle did the defect get introduced? What can we do to the process to prevent it from happening again? This book exposes testers to a brave new world called SQA and shows how they fit into the much larger picture of delivering quality.

(3) Production Services (a.k.a, production support, application support, and a plethora of other names) - this group is on the front line and is comprised of a number of functions, all of which would benefit from this book. The help desk staff will have a clear idea of quality indicators to measure that mean something to both the business and the applications delivery team. For example, while defect density metrics may mean something to the SQA group, it is of less concern to the help desk. On the other hand, the help desk (and tier 2 application support) would find metrics such as defect removal efficiency to me a useful measure. This metric is the ratio of defects found in testing and defects discovered production. This does three things: shows how effective the testing function is, provides a baseline for developer resources needed to fix the problems, and provides an indication of the resources necessary to support an application.

(4) Project manager - here is a succinct resource that shows you where you need to focus your quality efforts during the development life cycle.

I liked the fact that the author resisted the temptation to write a ten pound tome on a subject that could have consumed thousands of pages. At 208 pages it is an easy read, provides a clear picture of SQA for the non-practitioner, and is well suited for the audience that I cited above. Because of my view of the potential audience for this book I felt that it deserved a solid five stars.

A solid, albeit basic, primer
Ginac has written a solid, clearly written introduction to a methodology for driving quality based on customer expectations. This little book explains, at a high level, how to determine customer expectations, build a set of quality attributes that support those expectations, and create metrics that measure compliance with those expectations. Ginac also outlines test methods and development processes, as well as touches on SEI CMM and ISO 9000.

Nothing in this book will shake your boots; its principles are classic. Also, you may wish for greater detail in some chapters. Ginac would have done well to include a broader bibliography of related titles. ... Read more

Book Description

Salary, bonuses, benefits and "perks" may be the most visible elements of a rewards program, but other components are just as valuable toemployees. This comprehensive book and CD-ROM package shows how nonfinancial rewards can be quantified and combined with monetary measures ina way that complements business objectives.

The authors' eye-opening research on what employees value is backed up byexamples from their own consulting experience. The book's step-by-stepprocess features more than 100 practical tools for developing an "M3" rewards system based on money, mix, and message, and provides a blueprint forcreating a custom-tailored rewards strategy to match an organization's specific goals. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A textbook on employee rewards
If you enjoy working with university textbooks, you'll appreciate this book. It feels like a college text. It looks like a college text. It's filled with graphs and charts like a college text. It's seasoned with case studies in call out boxes. There are endnotes, as well as a bibliography. The index is so full of references, a smaller type was used-perhaps to save space.

The authors' message is that the secret to developing a creative and effective rewards strategy is based on a combination of Money, Mix, and Message. The Money aspect addresses the value of the reward(s) to the employee. The design of the plan, constructed to meet employer and employee needs, is the Mix. The Message deals with what the employer wants to communicate to its employees about appropriate values and the company's expectations. The authors describe their approach as "M3," emphasizing the need for a good balance between the three factors.

Readers will explore more than a hundred practical tools for building what they call the M3 Reward System. Financial rewards are integrated with non-financial rewards. Application of the step-by-step strategy promoted by the authors is a CD-ROM that is loaded with tools, exercises, and techniques to equip readers to tailor their own strategies to be consistent with company needs.

The authors are consultants with considerable experience in serving dozens of Fortune 500 companies. The orientation of the book, understandably, is toward larger companies. Smaller firms will still get a lot out of this text, but may have to invest some serious study time to get the full benefit of the package. The stories relating the authors' experiences are illuminating and add value for the reader who wants to gain the deeper understanding of how customized corporate reward programs are put together and managed.

Hefty price, but fully loaded.

Great Resource!
This book is an excellent resource for HR professionals, compensation specialists, and line managers alike.
Well written, with great models and thought processes, yet pragmatic in its approach, this book provides a great fresh look at how to motivate employees to achieve business results.

A great tool and and resource!
This book is an absolute must-purchase!...
Compensation and HR professionals in general can derive great insight and value from this work. I recommend it strongly as a cornerstone of every business person's professional library.

Superb!...
An absolutely wonderful source of information for compensation professionals, HR professionals, and managers of all functions.
This book is a very hands-on, pragmatic handbook for building the rewards systems and structures, which will allow an organization to win the war for talent. I recommend it highly!...

Essential addition to your library!
Manas and colleague do a wonderful job giving an overview of the totality and power of the total rewards equation, and provide the reader with a tremendous wealth of knowledge, practical insight, and design- and implementation primers for successful total rewards systems.
From the basic to the more complex, this book has it all and it really is a valuable tool for today's (and tomorrow's!) business visionary. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Clear navigation through confusing standards
This book cuts through the fog and confusion surrounding the three of the four main approaches to software quality (the fourth is Software Process Capability Determination, a.k.a. SPICE).

My goals in reading this book were to find the best framework with which to apply to service delivery, and to integrate this framework into application delivery. Since these terms are ambiguous in the software industry here are my definitions: service delivery encompasses the maintenance, operation and support of applications after they have been released into production. Application delivery is the analysis, design, construction and testing of applications prior to release to production.

This book compared and contrasted each quality approach and provided some surprising facts. For example, until I carefully read this book I was under the impression that the SEI CMM was the most process-oriented approach. As it turns out ISO 9000 (specifically, ISO 9000-3, which addresses software and services) is more heavily oriented towards process. Another surprise was discovering that the SEI CMM places more emphasis on leadership than the Malcolm Baldridge approach. Each of these facts were easy to discover because the author did an excellent job of correlating criteria of each of the approaches and displaying results in graphs and charts.

Prior to reading the book I was confused and frustrated by the competing standards and frameworks. This was exacerbated by the fact that there is a large body of knowledge devoted to each and these bodies comprise thousands of pages of dry material. After reading this book I felt as though I had a grasp of the focus of each approach, and their relative strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, I was able to determine which of the three is best suited to service delivery and its integration with application delivery (the Baldridge approach appears to be the best choice).

I appreciated the author's efforts in clearly outlining the what's and why's behind each approach, and the succinct manner in which each was compared, contrasted and correlated. This is an extremely valuable book for individuals and companies trying to sort through the buzzwords and assumptions on quality frameworks to select one that is most appropriate for their goals and objectives. I strongly recommend this book for software engineering managers, including members of program management offices (PMOs) and software engineering process groups (SEPGs), as well as service delivery professionals (production services, tier 1 and 2 support, etc.).

Interesting reading
Good reading for those who are interested in the field of quality. And would like to learn more. ... Read more

Book Description

This handy guide is the perfect introduction to the core aspects of performance measurement. With clear descriptions of the various types of performance measurements, you'll be able to connect the right type of measurement to the right output-whether the purpose is to diagnose a problem or to indicate performance towards a goal.

The book contains brief examples of all the types of performance measures. It also explains how to create effective performance measures. The Basics of Performance Measurement gives you a five-step method for developing a performance measurement system that includes selecting performance measurement families and hierarchies tailored to different levels within the organization.

A special feature of this book is a section on performance measurement displays to encourage the active use of measurements. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Weak Content
Unlike other reviews, I am disappointed with this book which I bought based on the hype of other reviewers! ... And the writing style is cheesy, spouting-off some loosely defined quality terms in attempt to add some technical merit to subject matter. Having read the book (forced myself to stay the course), I can honestly say I took-away nothing of value.

Skip the book. ...

The Basics of Performance Measurement
This book serves as the perfect introduction to the core aspects of performance measurement. In clear and in simple english it describes various types of performance measurements providing you the ground floor understanding of how get from point A to point B. The book contains examples of many types of performance measurements and charts. It also explains how to create effective performance measures. The five-step method for developing a performance measurement system is very helpful as a starting point for organizations implementing new beginnings.

The data-dictionary of Performance Measurement !
This booklet is a real diamond for business-analists preparing to start up a "Balanced Scorecard"-application. It gives a clear view of the bricks that put together a 'balanced' set of performance measures. It even gives an overview of what and how performance can be measured. The cause and effect relationships between measures, the classes of measures and the hierarchies that exists between them. Then the process of collecting the measures, and the difficulties encountered with it are clearly explained.You also get a catalogue of presentations to succesfully visualise your performance indicators at the most comprehensive way. At last some useful tips to put a Balanced Scorecard system together and you are ready setting up your performance measurement system ... Read more

Book Description

Wouldn't it be great if you could design a product with the customer in mind-right from the very start? Well, now there's a way: Quality Function Development, or QFD, translates the needs of the consumer directly into the design and development of new products and services. By focusing on customer needs and incorporating them into every phase of the manufacturing process, it eliminates waste and improves customer satisfaction. And that means increased sales, greater profits and a bigger share of the market.Step-by-Step QFD is a practical, hands-on guide to implementing QFD at any organization. Written by an expert in the field, it shows how the intensive study of consumer needs can be used to help you dramatically outperform the competition. In fact, the strategies outlined in this book have already met with great success at a number of corporations both within and outside of the United States. This workbook includes a case study of QFD in action, 34 helpful workshops and an analysis of the synergy between QFD, TRIZ and Taguchi. So whether you're a QFD trainer, project manager, design engineer or manufacturer, Step- by-Step QFD will show you how to let one voice drive your entire design process- the customer's! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Badly written
This book is not very well written. It jumps from one detailed description to another, without giving enough overview or bridging material. It seems like this book evolved from presentation slides, and the author failed to include enough of the bridging, higher-level exposition that keeps people oriented from slide to slide. This is a little disappointing, and it makes it more difficult to get value from this book.

Good examples...not well written
This book provides a nice overview of QFD with more than adequate examples. One of the nicer things is that it provides Workshop forms from which you can begin putting together a training forum. However, where this book fails is in the original authorship and editing. To be honest, it must be one of the most poorly put-together books I have read. Incorrect spellings, incomplete thoughts, and figure-to-text mismatches makes this book all but un-readable. If you need a book filled with examples at a decent rate, this is the one for you. If you can, skip this train and spend your money more wisely on a book that the author and publisher obviously took more time than a weekend to put together.

Well written book about a valuable technique
I stumbled into QFD by accident: while browsing through sample drawings in Visio I spotted a "House of Quality Matrix" under Business Diagrams. The drawing looked fascinating, which led me to do a quick search on the Internet. The search yielded a large number of hits and interesting content. That, in turn, led me to this book because capturing and validating requirements is a difficult undertaking and I am always on the lookout for new techniques and tools.

The book opened a whole new world to me. The opening chapter, "The Role of the Customer in Design", starts with an example of using QFD in a project and gives compelling reasons for using this technique. Subsequent chapters walk you through the mechanics of a generic design process. This prepares you for the detailed treatment of QFD that follows.

Based on my initial research QFD looks simple and straightforward. However, this book reveals a rich process and set of procedures that show its real power (and complexity for large undertakings). For example, I discovered that the "house of quality" structure can have multiple matrices, each of which is linked. This gives both forward and backwards traceability, but requires painstaking attention to detail. This is where this book proves its value - it breaks this complexity down into manageable pieces and provides you with a thorough understanding of the process.

The section that I found most meaningful and valuable addresses customer segments. I am an IT consultant who specializes in service delivery, so my natural focus is on strengthening alignment between IT and the business processes that IT supports. Among the things I learned from this section are: how to effectively identify customer segments and classify them, what measurements are meaningful (especially important for satisfaction measurement), and ranking and prioritizing. One of the most powerful prioritization techniques that I discovered in this book is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). This technique is an excellent way to objectively quantify priorities and requirements. The steps are relatively simple: 1.Choose the requirements to be prioritized. 2.Set the requirements into the rows and columns of the n x n AHP matrix. 3.Perform a pair wise comparison of the requirements in the matrix according to a set criteria. 4.Sum the columns. 5.Normalize the sum of rows. 6.Calculate the row averages.

However, for a large number of requirements this can quickly get complicated in a hurry. The simple math for small numbers of requirements gets replaced by sophisticated (to me) matrix techniques that are outside of my skill set when the number of requirements to be prioritized grows. Also, AHP is useful for managing requirements revealed via surveys. Most of my requirements come directly from contact with end users. I have found that a facilitated meeting using paired comparison techniques to be as valuable aas AHP. This is not covered in the book, which I found to be a minor shortcoming. If you want details about paired comparisons I will be happy to share them via email.

The rest of the book addresses QFD within the context of quality planning and management, and measuring the effectiveness of quality. Interwoven into these are valuable tools and techniques, such as affinity diagrams, TRIZ and various analysis techniques. While the remainder of the book began focusing on manufacturing, which is outside of my professional specialty, I found the material interesting because some of my clients are manufacturers and it gave insights into business processes that will surely prove valuable in the future. Almost everything in this book was new to me. The author did a magnificent job of explaining how to effectively capture, prioritize and management requirements in ways that I never expected. Moreover, the methods embodied in QFD are both powerful in that you can actually capture the voice of the customer, and practical in that you can trace a final design (product or process) back to customer requirements. I also learned about some powerful techniques, such as AHP, that I would have never discovered had I not read this book. If you are involved in requirements management, product or process design or quality then this book will be a valuable addition to your professional reading.

Overall Excellent Introduction to QFD, Good First QFD Book
Great book for persons just starting QFD within their organizations. Straight forward step-by-step chapters that build upon each other to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of QFD concepts and mechanics. Team/group excercises within each chapter make this a great introductory training manual to solidify learning of material covered in each chapter.

Our Branch Office Will Get One Too
I appreciate the way the author communicates. His style is as simple as QFD, but QFD wouldn't have been simple for me without the book. ... Read more

Book Description

Take a look at the cover of this book, particularly the two images you see there. One image is of electronic components, which makes sense-quality management has been an important tool in the electronics industry for some time now. The other image however is a little more surprising. What does a short-order cook have to do with quality? The answer is simple-quality is needed everywhere, from high-tech manufacturing to pancakes. In fact, quality management is vital to the production of just about any goods, services, or information products you can imagine. This book is all about quality-how to achieve it, how to measure it, how to maintain it. In it, you'll explore all aspects of quality, from quality of goods and services to the processes that are necessary to achieve quality. Plus, this book will show you quality management in action. A series of real-life cases illustrate how theory hits the workplace, including:
* The Pancake Dilemma, in which you are asked to determine a pancake quality improvement plan
* Acme Electronics, in which you are asked to critique their new quality programs, and list some specific steps to take to improve them. ... Read more

Book Description

Organizations live or die as systems not processes. Their success or failure is a function of how well the different component processes interact with one another. Real quality improvement isn't possible without the knowledge that comes from an understanding of the theory of knowledge, knowledge of variation, an understanding of psychology, and appreciation for systems. Goldratt's Theory of Constraints addresses best-selling author Eli Goldratt's unique approach to dramatically improving corporate performance, found throughout his books, The Goal (North River, 1992) and It's Not Luck (North River, 1994). This book thoroughly explains the theory of constraints, as well as detailing for the reader exactly how to problem solve using TOC. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Tools for reaching The Goal!
Many readers are familiar with Eliyahu Goldratt's hugely successful business novels The Goal and Its Not Luck. In these two books and his non-fiction work, Goldratt presents his "Theory of Constraints" and examples of how to apply it in practice.

Until now, Goldratt fans have had limited options for putting the Theory of Constraints into practice. Developing the methodology from the limited treatments in the novels may work in simple situations, but is unlikely to achieve its full potential in all but the most straightforward applications. True believers can take several days of formal training at the Goldratt Institute and earn the "Jonah" credential, but this approach is beyond the budgets and zeal of many.

Between these extremes, the American Society for Quality has published two very useful books by H. William Dettmer: Goldratt's Theory of Constraints - A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement and Breaking the Constraints to World-Class Performance. Each is a superb tool, but they are appropriate for different audiences.

The first book, Goldratt's Theory of Constraints, is a thorough, textbook style treatment of how to develop the logic trees that underlie all Theory of Constraints analyses. It is most useful to people who will apply the Theory of Constraints in their organizations and want "how-to" training. It is also appropriate for a graduate level course in the methodology. The diagrams and graphics in the book are excellent and are critical to its usefulness.

The second book, Breaking the Constraints..., is aimed at general business readers and senior managers who want to understand the Theory of Constraints and its potential for improving an organization, but do not need the full complement of tools to become a full-fledged "Jonah". The book makes excellent use of case studies and examples. It, too, boasts diagrams and graphics that are essential to its value.

Breaking the Constraints..., will appeal to the wider audience. It is appropriate for readers who are interested in the Theory of Constraints, but want to have a deeper understanding of it before deciding to make it a core element of their approach to quality. It is also a tool to help champions of the Theory of Constraints educate both team members and bosses.

Both books will appeal to Theory of Constraints practitioners, while Breaking the Constraints... is more appropriate for the reader with an interest in the topic, but who will not be leading the team applying it.

(Robert Bradford is CEO of the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning and co-author of Simplified Strategic Planning)

AWESOME book that puts it all together
Dettmer's book is for anyone who wants to learn how to systematically use and master the Theory of Constraints. While the Goldratt books will inspire and introduce you to the techniques, Dettmer's will show you how to apply them step-by-step.

Excellent book with great examples of TOC
So you've read Goldratt's books, The Goal, Critical Chain, etc..and it all sounds great but you need a more complete understanding of TOC. A business novel this is not, a hardcore explanation of TOC it is. Current Reality Trees (CRT's), Future Reality Trees (FRT's), and all other logic and situational diagrams from TOC are explained in this book. You've really gotta want to learn TOC to get through this book, but with some determination you'll get through it and have a much more complete understanding of what you got a taste of, in Dr. Goldratt's excellent business novels.

The best book on how to implement TOC
While Goldratt's books are good, they do little to educate one on how to implement TOC. Dettmer's book shows you how. Don't bother looking for others.

Treatise on the logic necessary to apply constraint theory
I expected a book that gave manufacturing type examples of TOC application..but was sorely disappointed. It is a very thorough explaination of the 'logic' behind applying TOC and uses examples, but they are every day events, not real operational problems. If you want logic and step by step problem solving techniques, buy the book. If you want to see how real companies apply the TOC theories, don't but it. ... Read more

Book Description

The New Encyclopedia of Icebreakers -- the sequel to the best-selling  Encyclopedia of Icebreakers -- gives you 150 innovative activities to energize your training sessions. The book is filled with a variety of activities that will move participants through the stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Use this new collection to help people get acquainted, build teams, address team or group issues, develop effective working relationships, and improve learning and retention of new information. The final chapter presents specific adjourning activities to help you bring closure to your training or group work, increase skills and knowledge transfer, and transition the participants back to the workplace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Get Control!
I wish I had found this book years ago. It explains all the differnet concerns regarding theft at a bar. It is easy to go through and pull out the information that most meets the needs of the business. Way to go Plotkin! ... Read more

Book Description

STATISTICS IN PRACTICE
A practical exploration of alternative approaches to analyzing water-related environmental issues
Written by an experienced environmentalist and recognized expert in the field, this text is designed to help water resource managers and scientists to formulate, implement, and interpret more effective methods of water quality management.
After presenting the basic foundation for using statistical methods in water resource management, including the use of appropriate hypothesis test procedures and some rapid calculation procedures, the author offers a range of practical problems and solutions on environmental topics that often arise, but are not generally covered.
These include:
* Formulating water quality standards
* Determining compliance with standards
* MPNs and microbiology
* Water-related, human health risk modeling
* Trends, impacts, concordance, and detection limits
In order to promote awareness of alternative approaches to analyzing data, both frequentist and Bayesian, statistical methods are contrasted in terms of their applicability to various environmental issues. Each chapter ends with a number of set problems for which full answers are provided. The book also encourages discussion between technical staff and management before embarking on statistical studies. ... Read more

Book Description

Shows how to inrease sales by finding and marketing to your most likely consumer segments. This practical, straightforward approach directs the reader through the entire niche selling process, showing how to: develop workable sales strategies based on alliances; enhance your standing in the minds of prospects and customers using the power of personal positioning; conquer the problem of ``institutionalized insulation'' that mentally and physically removes the most salespeople from their customers. ... Read more

Book Description

Measure the processes of the most successful organziations and apply their methods. ... Read more

Book Description

Is there anything more important to the success of a project than making good decisions? This skill is certainly at or near the top of the list. Yet, few of us have had formal training in decision making. Decision analysis is the discipline that helps people choose wisely under conditions of uncertainty. This book introduces risk and decision analysis applied to project management. Probability is the language of uncertainty. Fortunately, a few basic concepts in probability and statistics go a long way toward making better decisions. The evaluation calculations are straightforward, and many everyday problems can be solved with a handheld calculator. Schuyler also explains and demystifies key concepts and techniques, including expected value, optimal decision policy, decision trees, the value of information, Monte Carlo simulation, probabilistic techniques, modeling techniques, judgments and biases, utility and multi-criteria decisions, and stochastic variance.

Some of Schuyler’s tried-and-true tips include:

-The single-point estimate is almost always wrong, so that it is always better to express judgments as ranges. A probability distribution completely expresses someone’s judgment about the likelihood of values within the range.

-We often need a single-value cost or other assessment, and the expected value (mean) of the distribution is the only unbiased predictor. Expected value is the probability-weighted average, and this statistical idea is the cornerstone of decision analysis.

-Some decisions are easy, perhaps aided by quick decision tree calculations on the back of an envelope. Decision dilemmas typically involve risky outcomes, many factors, and the best alternatives having comparable value. We only need analysis sufficient to confidently identify the best alternative. As soon as you know what to do, stop the analysis!

-Be alert to ways to beneficially change project risks. We can often eliminate, avoid, transfer, or mitigate threats in some way. Get to know the people who make their living helping managers sidestep risk. They include insurance agents, partners, turnkey contractors, accountants, trainers, and safety personnel. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

For Educated & Experienced Readers
Comprehensive and well-written treatment of a difficult subject. The book is aimed at project managers but readers who have college-level math and/or project experience in business can learn from this book. As a project manager, I learned where my skills were weak and needed strengthening, amoung other things. More importantly, I picked up techniques and methods to use on the job.
One short-coming of the book is the dearth of references. One would expect many more references for such an multidimensional subject.

boring...
It is a snooze feast. Even if you do risk management the book reads like quantum physics in that it looks good in print but how do you prove it in the real world.

A very good text book, a really bad business book. ... Read more

Book Description

All organizations spend thousands of hours collecting and reading data. However, many of these hours are nothing more than wasted time because organizations analyze the wrong metrics - which leads to inaccurate decision making.

Keeping Score ensures that you look at the right metrics. The author contends that metrics must focus on the past, present, and future and be based on the needs of customers, shareholders, and employees. Measuring everything is more damaging than measuring nothing - pinpointing the vital few key measures is the key to success.

Integrating the "balanced scorecard" concept with a Baldrige approach, Keeping Score will show you how to:

- Evaluate your current approach to measurement.
- Pinpoint incorrect performance measurements.
- Select the right financial metrics.
- Measure customer satisfaction and value.
- Measure quality of products and services before they reach the customers.
- Perform process measurement.
- Track supplier performance.
- Measure employee satisfaction.
- Redesign inadequate metrics and systems used to collect and report data.
- Improve the accuracy of your metrics by linking them to key success factors. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good stuff!
I've read all of Mark Graham Brown's books and been through a couple of his workshops. He always nails the topic and this book is no exception.

This book shows you how to pinpoint key measures, evaluate your measurement approach, and redesign inadequate metrics. I find it a very useful guide for my executive coaching and consulting practice.

Substantially Unsubstantial
Substantially Unsubstantial

Keeping Score is a good high-level review of the importance of metrics in strategy-driven organizations. Brown employs Kaplan & Norton's balanced scorecard methodology to illustrate the relationship between measurement and strategy. He doesn't really deliver much more than you would find in Kaplan & Norton's classic Balanced Scorecard book. I would like to have seen more suggested metrics around the various "themes": financial performance, customer satisfaction, product/service quality, process and operation performance, supplier performance, and employee satisfaction. I know macro- and micro-metrics are organization-specific; however, there are "generic" financial and satisfaction metrics he could offer. The Measurement System Self-Assessment 50 -item survey illustrated in the book is a great resource. It can easily be customized, automated and administered to stakeholders responsible for developing measurement systems. I applaud Brown for consistently reinforcing the formative rather than purely summative evaluation model. That is, any measurement system must contain historical (lagging), current, and forecasting (leading) measures. Those systems that are driven by summative data (i.e., historical) do not serve the real purpose of a measurement system, which is to allow stakeholders to make well-informed and better business decisions. Oftentimes, Brown downplays the complexity of developing and implementing a measurement system. He makes statements such as "Measurement is easy" and "Designing your own new and improved measurement system may not be a much work as you think..." These kinds of statements are worrisome and misleading because developing a robust measurement system aligned with organizational strategy is no simple feat. Nor, should it be. One extremely important area that is only slightly addressed is that of system maintenance and integrating the system into business processes. Once a measurement system has been established clear guidelines should be established as to how the data will be employed and used to make decisions. A truly strategic organization will incorporate the measurement system into the daily operations of the organization.

"Keeping Score" Right On Target
I ordered Mark Graham Brown's "Keeping Score" just as I got involved with a Balanced Scorecard implementation. As we worked through the process of designing our internal scorecard I found this slim volume (<200 pages) an invaluable aid. From the introduction through to the last chapter, I found this book full of practical ideas and advice. For instance, one of my personal pet peeves is the short shrift most larger companies give to the value of their people. In chapter 10: "Measuring Employee Satisfaction", Mr. Brown addresses topics such as the short-sightedness of improving profits through downsizing and how a balanced scorecard can help underline this mistake. He ends the book with a practical 10 item list "The Key To Successful Plans". After all the theory, I was glad to have a roadmap handy. I'd recommend this book to anybody who is contemplating a new scorecard, or rehabbing an existing one.

Where's the beef?
I am bought into the philosophy that the ability to effectively measure operational performance is key to achieving excellence. Unfortunately, this book provides little useful information. This is one of those 'advocacy supersedes real content' books.

A great intro for CEO's of small & medium sized business
Fed up with the passive measures of achievement we have been using (which were a whole lot better than the NONE we used to use), I bought about a dozen books on the subject. I started with this one first because it is thin, well organized, easy to read and, even though it is not sufficiently oriented to manufacturing firms to completely satisfy my interests, gives enough examples to stimulate development of measures specifically applicable to my Company. I also liked the discussion of corporate mission, corporate vision, key success factors and the development of indicators and goals which address these factors. ... Read more