Essentially a simple metaphor stretched to publishable length, this book of business strategy by automotive industry consultant Chowdhury follows the author's bestselling The Power of Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that strives to eliminate errors. But while Six Sigma "focuses on improving existing designs," the concept of Design for Six Sigma "concentrates its efforts on creating new and better ones." This slim book uses a dialogue between two colleagues, Joe and Larry, to dissect Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) into tasks that are easily digestible and endlessly acronymizable. These tasks include IDDOV ("Identify and Define the opportunity, Develop the concept, and Optimize the design and Verify it"), although "in some programs it's called DMADV or DMEDI... but it really doesn't matter. It's all DFSS, and it all revolves around a five-step program," Chowdhury asserts. The author's idea of designing a process right the first time (instead of going back to revamp it) is indeed appealing, and Joe and Larry's easygoing dialogue—they speak in sports metaphors and use common clichés—should please readers seeking straightforward, no-nonsense advice. That is, of course, if they can get past the seemingly never-ending acronyms. (Nov.)
Forecast: A $100,000 marketing campaign, ads in trade publications and an author tour will give this diminutive sequel high visibility.
