Homepage
 ISO 9000 Software
 Joint Certification
 Quality for One
 Training in a QMS
 Letters
 News Digest
 Quality Mgmt.
 One Minute Mgr.
 Quality Standards
 Gage Guide
 SPC Toolkit
 Book Reviews
 Guest Editorial
 Quality Software
Picture Picture
Picture
 July 1997 Article

CQMgr Exam Comes
to Life on CD-ROM:

The Complete Guide to the CQM Interactive Study Program

Software Review by Dirk Dusharme

I'm not a big fan of reading large amounts of material on a computer screen. I'm a technology geek, but there are limits. I just can't drag my 200 MHz desktop Pentium with MegaWazzoo speakers into my porcelain-fixtured library like I do The Wall Street Journal.

So it was with trepidation that I started my review of Thomas Pyzdek's CD-ROM, The Complete Guide to the CQM Interactive Study Program. I'd been told that it contains the complete text of Pyzdek's 800-page book, The Complete Guide to the CQM (with detailed information on 100 percent of the subjects in the Certified Quality Manager body of knowledge, says Pyzdek) and the full text of the solutions manual (answers to selected questions from the main text). If Pyzdek had simply crammed the text into a CD-ROM, I'd be suggesting that you read the books and use the CD-ROM as a coaster. Fortunately, Pyzdek did the right thing and structured the CD-ROM to function as a very effective self-test tool for the CQMgr exam.

As a tool for the CQMgr examination preparation and review, the CD-ROM shows its greatest strength. The review section contains the same questions covered in the solutions text, but without the answers. This allows users to read a question and jot down their answers in essay form (the "constructed response" form favored by the CQMgr exam). Clicking on the question will take you to a sample correct response. And here's a slick addition that other CD-ROM titles would do well to emulate -- each answer allows users to click on keywords that link them to the precise page in The Complete Guide to the CQM text, where the subject is covered in-depth, complete with graphics and equations. For instance: "Pick any two of Deming's 14 points and explain their relationship to one another." One click and you see a sample answer that gives a description of how to link Deming's points No. 1 and No. 4. Another click and you're whisked away to the list of Deming's 14 points. Nice.

Pyzdek also suggests that the CD-ROM be used as a tool to search for information on a CQM topic. However, my search for key words or phrases turned out to be hit or miss. The problem seems to be a quirk with Adobe Acrobat, the interface used as the platform for the material. Key word searches did not always find all occurrences of the search phrase.

The biggest problem with the CD-ROM is the lack of documentation (none) on how to load and use it. There should at least be a one-page "getting started" document. Although I knew to print out the "readme" file on the CD-ROM -- which contains the installation instructions -- several customers I talked with did not know this. The readme got me through the installation of the Acrobat Reader and loading Pyzdek's welcome page.

Particularly confusing to those unfamiliar with Acrobat is how to move between documents. For instance, when you click on a question, Acrobat sends you to the answer, which is on another document. It took about five minutes to figure out how to switch back to the questions document. One solution: Pull down "File -- Preferences -- General" from the Acrobat menu bar. Uncheck the box "Open Cross-Document Links in Same Window." Each document then opens in its own window. To move between documents, pull down "Window" from the menu bar and choose the document you want.

Use issues aside, I and the customers I interviewed give thumbs up to the material and to the product's technical support. If you are interested in pursuing the CQMgr, you will find The Complete Guide to the CQM Interactive Study Program to be a useful tool.

The Complete Guide to the CQM Interactive Study Program by Quality Publishing contains the full text of Thomas Pyzdek's The Complete Guide to the CQM and The Complete Guide to the CQM Solutions Manual. More than just a book in electronic format, the CD-ROM is a self-test tool that helps users master the body of knowledge required to pass the ASQ's Certified Quality Manager exam.

 

System Requirements: Because the CD-ROM is based on the Adobe Acrobat Reader, it can be used on any Macintosh, Windows or UNIX machine. The determining performance factor is related more to the CD-ROM drive than the processor. The faster the CD-ROM drive, the better the performance.

 

CD-ROM price:

by itself  $99
if purchased with one book $75
if purchased with both books $50

Text price:

The Complete Guide to the CQM
$59.97

The Complete Guide to the CQM Solutions Manual
$39.95

 

Contact: Quality Publishing Inc.

2405 N. Avenida Sorgo
Tucson, AZ  85749-9305
Telephone (800) 628-0432
or (520) 798-1513
Fax (800) 848-8216 or (520) 749-8338

 

Picture
Picture
Picture

e-mail Quality Digest

Copyright 1997 QCI International. All rights reserved. Quality Digest can be reached by phone at (916) 893-4095.

Please contact our Webmaster with questions or comments.

[Homepage]

[Current Issue]

[ISO 9000 Database]

[Daily News]

[Phil's Journal]

[Past Issues]

[Quality Web]

[Information]

[Media Kit]

[Subscribe]

[Guestbook]