Six Sigma has taken the corporate world by storm and represents the thrust of numerous efforts in manufacturing and service organizations to improve products, services, and processes. Although Six Sigma brings a new direction to quality and productivity improvement, its underlying tools and philosophy are grounded in the fundamental principles of total quality and continuous improvement that have been used for many decades. Nevertheless, Six Sigma has brought a renewed interest in quality and improvement that few can argue with, and has kept alive the principles of total quality developed in the latter part of the 20th Century.

Six Sigma has arisen in the last two decades as a breakthrough Quality Management Methodology. With Six Sigma, we are solving problems and improving processes using as a basis one of the most powerful tools of human development: the scientific method. For the analysis of data, Six Sigma requires the use of statistical software, being R an Open Source option that fulfills this requirement. R is a software system that includes a programming language widely used in academic and research departments. Nowadays, it is becoming a real alternative within corporate environments. The aim of this book is to show how R can be used as the software tool in the development of Six Sigma projects. The book includes a gentle introduction to Six Sigma and a variety of examples showing how to use R within real situations. It has been conceived as a self contained piece. Therefore, it is addressed not only to Six Sigma practitioners, but also to professionals trying to initiate themselves in this management methodology. The book may be used as a text book as well.

The purpose of this book is to provide the practitioner with the necessary tools and techniques with which to implement a systematic approach to process improvement initiatives using the Six Sigma methodology.

Thousands of companies have discovered the value of Six Sigma in streamlining operations, cutting costs, improving quality, and increasing profitability. A Guide to Lean Six Sigma and Process Improvement for Practitioners and Students, Second Edition gives green belts, black belts, champions, and students a complete executive framework for understanding quality and implementing Lean Six Sigma. Building on the widely praised first edition, top Six Sigma experts Howard Gitlow and Richard Melnyck add today's most recent and important lean and process control system applications. Step by step, they systematically walk you through the five-step DMAIC implementation process, with detailed examples and many real-world case studies. You'll find practical coverage of Six Sigma statistics and management techniques, and realistic solutions for many common implementation obstacles. Coverage includes: A realistic overview of Six Sigma Management Six Sigma roles, responsibilities, and terminology Managing Six Sigma with Dashboards and Control Charts Mastering each DMAIC phase: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control Understanding foundational Six Sigma statistics: probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, and interval estimation Testing hypotheses and designing experiments Pursuing Six Sigma Champion or Green Belt Certification, and more

Today, technology has become too much a part of overall corporate success for its effectiveness to be left to chance. The stakes are too high. Fortunately, the idea of 'quality management' is being reinvigorated. In the last decade process programs have become more and more prevalent. And, out of all the available options, three have moved to the top of the chain. These three are: The 9001:2000 Quality Management Standard from the International Standards Organization; The Capability Maturity Model Integration from the Software Engineering Institute; and Six Sigma, a methodology for improvement shaped by companies such as Motorola, Honeywell, and General Electric. These recognized and proven quality programs are rising in popularity as more technology managers are looking for ways to help remove degrees of risk and uncertainty from their business equations, and to introduce methods of predictability that better ensure success. Process Improvement Essentials combines the foundation needed to understand process improvement theory with the best practices to help individuals implement process improvement initiatives in their organization. The three leading programs: ISO 9001:2000, CMMI, and Six Sigma--amidst the buzz and hype--tend to get lumped together under a common label. This book delivers a combined guide to all three programs, compares their applicability, and then sets the foundation for further exploration. It's a one-stop-shop designed to give you a working orientation to what the field is all about.

In the new millennium the increasing expectation of customers and products complexity has forced companies to find new solutions and better alternatives to improve the quality of their products. Lean and Six Sigma methodology provides the best solutions to many problems and can be used as an accelerator in industry, business and even health care sectors. Due to its flexible nature, the Lean and Six Sigma methodology was rapidly adopted by many top and even small companies. This book provides the necessary guidance for selecting, performing and evaluating various procedures of Lean and Six Sigma. In the book you will find personal experiences in the field of Lean and Six Sigma projects in business, industry and health sectors.

Nearly half of the top one hundred Fortune 500 companies use Six Sigma methodology in some part of their business. These companies have been among the top one hundred for five or more years and consistently report higher revenue and significantly higher profits than competitors. This underscores the impact on the cost side. Now the focus moves to revenue growth. Six Sigma consultant Clyde M. Creveling’s Design for Six Sigma in Technology and Product Development is the standard guide for product commercialization and manufacturing support engineers who want to apply Six Sigma methodology to technology development and product commercialization. Now, in Six Sigma for Marketing Processes, Creveling joins with Lynne Hambleton and Burke McCarthy to show the ways marketing professionals can adapt and apply those same Six Sigma concepts to create a lean marketing workflow built for growth. This book provides an overview of the way marketing professionals can utilize the value offered by Six Sigma tools, methods, and best practices, within their existing phase-gate processes, as well as the traditional Six Sigma problem-solving approach: define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC). It provides unique methods for employing Six Sigma to enhance the three marketing processes for enabling a business to attain growth: strategic, tactical, and operational. It goes further to demonstrate the way Six Sigma for marketing and Six Sigma for design can be combined into a unified Six Sigma for growth. In this book, you’ll learn how to apply Six Sigma methodology to Develop a lean, efficient marketing workflow designed for growth Enhance the three marketing arenas for growth: strategic, tactical, and operational Identify leading indicators of growth and become proactive about performance improvement Strengthen links between customers, products, and profitability Redesign marketing work to streamline workflow and reduce variability Assess and mitigate cycle-time risk in any marketing initiative or project Leverage DMAIC to solve specific problems and improve existing processes Use lean techniques to streamline repeatable processes, such as collateral development and trade-show participation Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii About the Authors xxv Chapter 1: Introduction to Six Sigma for Marketing Processes 1 Chapter 2: Measuring Marketing Performance and Risk Accrual Using Scorecards 25 Chapter 3: Six Sigma-Enabled Project Management in Marketing Processes 45 Chapter 4: Six Sigma in the Strategic Marketing Process 63 Chapter 5: Six Sigma in the Tactical Marketing Process 117 Chapter 6: Six Sigma in the Operational Marketing Process 173 Chapter 7: Quick Review of Traditional DMAIC 209 Chapter 8: Future Trends in Six Sigma and Marketing Processes 229 Glossary 235 Index 261