The First Quality Books to Read

ASQ and its publishing arm, Quality Press, offer more print material on quality than anyone. If you’re just starting out,
here are the books to look at first. Click each entry to preview sample chapters, see ratings by other ASQ customers
and more.

Success Through Quality: Support Guide for the Journey to Continuous

Improvement 
by Timothy J. Clark
This is a no-nonsense, no-jargon introduction to the concept of continuous
improvement, and a comprehensive overview of the quality improvement theory,
methods and basic tools. Written for those with little or no understanding of quality,
this book provides basic guidelines that can be applied immediately to decision-
making and problem-resolution processes. Also available as a PDFfor immediate
use.

Quality Essentials: A Reference Guide from A to Z

by Jack B. ReVelle
A super-handy reference work packed with information about quality tools and
techniques, this book explains key concepts of quality and illustrates its explanations
with tools, tables, charts, maps and other illustrations that bring the key ideas to life
for those who are just beginning to learn about quality.
The Quality Improvement Handbook, Second Edition
by the ASQ Quality Management Division; John E. Bauer, Grace L. Duffy, Russell
T. Westcott, editors
This invaluable book is a step-by-step guide to preparing for the Certified Quality
Improvement Associate exam. But even those who aren’t seeking certification will
find it a terrific resource. The books provides a thorough and easy-to-follow
introduction to the central principles of quality and the history, concepts, tools and
techniques at quality’s heart. It also includes a CD-ROM that lets you take a practice
version of the CQIA exam and helps you pinpoint which information about quality
you still need to master.

The Quality Toolbox, Second Edition

by Nancy R. Tague
This comprehensive reference work explains quality tools, illustrates their proper
use and includes information to help you decide which tool is appropriate for a
particular situation or business application.

Root Cause Analysis: Simplified Tools and Techniques, Second Edition

by Bjørn Andersen and Tom Fagerhaug
“Root cause analysis” means getting to the heart of a problem or issue affecting
safety health, environmental quality, reliability or production. This book illustrates
many different tools and techniques for conducting this process, and walks the
reader through choosing the right ones and using them properly. Also includes a
CD-ROM with tools and templates.

The Quality Improvement Glossary

by Donald L. Siebels
Here’s an easy-to-navigate resource on the technical terms, people, acronyms and
concepts of quality. The book is arranged alphabetically and extensively cross-
referenced.