If a company changes a design after a product launch-and not during the concept stage-implementing the changes will cost 1,000 times more. Six Sigma, the near-perfect rate of only 3.4 defects per million opportunities and the management strategy to which Jack Welch attributes GE's phenomenal success-is on the list of all successful organizations. Even with excellent Six Sigma implementation, most companies are able to achieve only Five Sigma, which is not enough in today's ultracompetitive marketplace. For the first time, leading quality expert and author Subir Chowdhury presents Design For Six Sigma (DFSS), a revolutionary five-step process that takes a company all the way to Six Sigma.

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The book is an easy read and provides a nice high-level overview, but those looking for details and solid examples should not consider this book.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Of no interest to Black Belts looking to implement DFSSApr 03, 2003
By S. McLeod
This book may appeal to middle management or executive level managers who are taking a first pass at DFSS and are not familiar with Six Sigma in general. Frankly, this book is a waste to time if you are looking for a meaty how-to on how to implement design for six sigma at your company. The author keeps telling the reader about the power of DFSS but lacks the substance to get you there. It is written as if it were a lengthy abstract to another textbook.

If you want to buy a gift for your boss--you're all set.

If you want a useful reference volume on DFSS look elsewhere.

Sean
ASQ Six Sigma Blackbelt

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Doesn't teach you DFSSJul 25, 2002

This is a good book if you only want to know what DFSS is about.
It describes the tools like QFD, TRIZ, FMEA and Taguchi Robust design but really doesn't teach you to apply any of these. There aren't real life examples with calculations so you can learn to apply these methods. The book spends too much on the management side and very little on applying the real DFSS tools.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

OK intro for total novices but teaches you virtually nothinJul 26, 2003
By Zbig
That book is good for a coast-to-coast flight. Has virtually no substance, can't learn anything from it. Has some value for novices. Misassigned quotes, incorrect dates, off the cuff graphs, fluffy fluff.
Borrow it from a library, do not buy for you bookshelf. If you have a backwards looking manager, buy it for him as a gift.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

A good place to start with DFSSSep 19, 2006
By Mitchel Martin
I would tend to agree with most of the reviewers on this book; it is a good primer for people that have not been exposed to DFSS, or for someone that has been away from DFSS for a spell and need a refresher. It is certainly worth the $12.

It is a good book, well structured and well-written. Chapter 4, "Identify and Define Opportunity" is well illustrated and explained - the "House of Quality" proves that this is not the "only way to achieve Six Sigma", as it is an illustration of the correlation between the who, what, where, when, how and how much of an initiative - the mantra of most process improvement methodologies.

What this book does really well, is bring home the point that you must design the end of the process - control - to make a process deliver what it should - performance & quality. Improvement for a reason.

This is a good quick read for management that wants a broad understanding of DFSS. However if you are looking for a book with substance and a lot of application info, consider "Design for Six Sigma : A Roadmap for Product Development." By Kai Yang and Basem EI-Haik.

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