Reviewed by Eugene M. Barker, Boeing Technical Fellow of The Boeing Company

1. Does the content of this book exhibit the quality you have come to expect in a book appearing in the Quality Press Publication’s Catalog?

YES. The book is well written. The writing style is easy to follow. The examples are varied and contribute to the understanding of the material. The content is comprehensive. Sufficient information is provided to allow the reader to apply the material. If the reader requires additional information the references are extensive.

2. Does this book represent current technology, thought, and practice in its market?

YES. The book is up to date and reflects current thinking on the subjects covered. The topics covered span the existing body of knowledge for the quality engineer. It is the only book available with this breadth of material, and the content is of sufficient detail to allow the reader to use the material. The inclusion of Reliability Engineering information is an excellent addition. The book covers much more than just quantitative methods. This is important since the body of quality engineering includes many other areas of knowledge.

3. Is this book accurate? Please be specific.

YES. The book appears accurate. Pyzdek has done an excellent job of researching and presenting the material. He has been careful to caution the reader regarding the application of statistical methods, advising when the method is constrained.

4. Does the author achieve the objective of the book as stated in the preface or the jacket cover?

YES. The author set out to cover all of the Certified Quality Engineer body of knowledge. He has achieved that objective. More important he has compiled all of the basic information required by a quality engineer on a daily basis. I intend to place the book within easy reach and expect to refer to it frequently. I am a fan of Juran’s, Quality Control Handbook, but I expect that this book will replace much of my reliance upon Juran’s excellent handbook.

5. Does ASQ have a built-in audience for this book? If so, who are they? Do you think that this audience is growing or contracting?

ABSOLUTELY. All of our technical members should have a copy of this book. It has the fundamental information required by these professionals. For once the fundamentals of quality engineering are contained within one book.

This is the obvious book to be used when teaching preparatory courses for the CQE examination. It will become THE reference book used by those while taking the exam, as well as during the preparation.

This book should also become the textbook for many college and university classes for quality engineering techniques. For those desiring a comprehensive technical book, this is the answer.

6. What major benefits does the reader receive by purchasing this book?

The reader receives all of the basic quality of engineering body of knowledge within a single book. And it is presented in a clear well-written format with an excellent listing of references and a comprehensive set of Appendices.

7. List one or more similar current books on the same subject?

Juran’s Quality Control Handbook comes close and yet this book has a much better organization of the information and Pyzdek presents the material in a manner that allows direct application.

8. Would you recommend the purchase of this book if it appeared in the Publications Catalog?

DEFINITELY. Quality Press must offer this book. It will rapidly become THE reference book for those studying to take the CQE exam and I cannot imagine any professional quality engineer practicing their profession without having access to this excellent reference.

9. Additional comments

Tom Pyzdek has done it again. This writing will not disappoint those of us that have come to expect only the best from Tom, both in technical content and in presentation. It is an outstanding book, both in content and in style. The question is not “should Quality Press offer this book?” but rather how quickly can we make the book available and what publicity can we do to make our customers aware of this excellent offering.

10. In many cases, actual reviewer comments lend great creditability to a book. If appropriate, may we use your comments in promoting this book? If so, please sign below.

I would be pleased to recommend this book to our customers.