The Improvement Guide

Gerald J. Langley is a statistician, author, and consultant, and co-founder of?Associates in Process Improvement (API),?a consulting firm that specializes in the improvement of quality and productivity.Ronald D. Moen is a statistician, consultant, and teacher to industry, government, and education. He is co-founder of API.Kevin M. Nolan is a statistician, author, and consultant at API, where he focuses on developing methods and assisting organizations to accelerate their rate of improvement in quality and productivity.Dr. Thomas W. Nolan is a statistician, author, and consultant, and?co-founder of API.Clifford L. Norman is a consultant with API whose work has emphasized the psychology of change.Lloyd P. Provost is a statistician who advises to organizations as an API associate.

This new edition of this bestselling guide offers an integrated approach to process improvement that delivers quick and substantial results in quality and productivity in diverse settings. The authors explore their Model for Improvement that worked with international improvement efforts at multinational companies as well as in different industries such as healthcare and public agencies. This edition includes new information that shows how to accelerate improvement by spreading changes across multiple sites. The book presents a practical tool kit of ideas, examples, and applications.

Foreword.Preface.The Authors.Introduction: The Improvement Guide, Second Edition.PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO IMPROVEMENT.Chapter One: Changes That Result in Improvement.Chapter Two: Skills to Support Improvement.Chapter Three: Improvement Case Studies.PART TWO: METHODS FOR IMPROVEMENT.Chapter Four: The Science of Improvement.Chapter Five: Using the Model for Improvement.Chapter Six: Developing a Change.Chapter Seven: Testing a Change.Chapter Eight: Implementing a Change.Chapter Nine: Spreading Improvements.Chapter Ten: Integrating Methods for the Improvement of Value.Chapter Eleven: Improving Large or Complex Systems.Chapter Twelve: Case Studies of Improvement Efforts.PART THREE: IMPROVING VALUE AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY.Chapter Thirteen: Making the Improvement of Value a Business Strategy.Chapter Fourteen: Developing Improvement Capability.Sample Agendas for Getting Started, Sponsors, and Improvement Advisors.Appendixes.Appendix A: A Resource Guide to Change Concepts.Appendix B: Tools and Methods to Support Improvement.Appendix C: The Model for Improvement and Other Roadmaps.Summary.Notes.