I am in two minds about this book. It is an important work and I would not be without it. However, I would like someone to rewrite it, or write another book that makes this one unnecessary.
On the good side, this is a very thorough introduction to the tools and techniques of Six Sigma. There is an introductory section explaining the purpose of the method, and later sections cover people issues as well as technical aspects of Six Sigma.
On the downside, the text is really rather dull. There is a tendency to state the obvious, which has the unfortunate impact on this reader of provoking skim reading - which is not what this book was designed for. A knowledgeable editor could probably cut out about a third of the text by assuming that the reader knows the basics of business processes, such as "what is a sample survey".
At times, it goes into rather more detail than this reader would like. For example, in the "Analyze Phase" chapter there are detailed examples of a huge range of analytical methods that really belong to a workbook.
The book does attempt to cover strategic aspects of Six Sigma, and the integration of this method into business strategy. However, it is probably not well suited to the needs of senior managers who want to get to grips with the method for management purposes, without actually becoming a Green/Black Belt themselves. The "high level" perspective tends to lack any new insight, and go to great lengths to say something mundane, suggesting it is more appropriate to the neophyte in business than to the experienced manager. For example, the section on "External Roadblocks" to change takes three paragraphs to say that stiff regulation, plus worries about liability, make people prone to view change as risky. There are probably more interesting things to say about external roadblocks to change, and this wastes half a page saying nothing surprising.
For the patient junior person intending to become a Green/Black Belt or equivalent, particularly if they are already familiar with university level mathematics, this will be a long and difficult read, but probably very worthwhile. The book has a very extensive discussion of mathematical methods and their application to process control, and connects this to the real world issues of business cost and quality levels. This is really what Six Sigma is all about, and for the right audience this is a valuable book.
