PRACTICE

Lean Six Sigma

Black Belt Exam

Q1: Why is it important to understand the Voice of a Customer when
attempting to improve a business process ?
A Customers do not know what they want so we need to educate them
B To be sure that we understand problems with the process from our customer’s
point of view
C To ensure we can check that the process is stable
D To check that the process is stable and capable

Q2: What is the BEST type of data to collect when trying to understand the
Current State ( As-Is state ) of a Process ?
A Variable (continuous data)
B Attribute data
C Categorical data
D It does not matter – there are methods to analyse all types of data

Q3: What colour cards are used in a 5S audit for marking an item or area that is out of
compliance?

A Kanban
B Kaizen
C Blue
D Red

Q4: If a given process is stable and has a Cp= 1.0 and Cpk = 1.0;
which of the following improvement approaches is most
appropriate?
A Variation reduction
B Move the mean to the centre between the specification limits
C Centering and variation reduction
D Process stability (identify and eliminate special causes)

Q5: A process map is used to accomplish which of the following?

A Display a dynamic picture of process performance behaviour
B Focus attention on process problems in priority order
C Diagram possible problem causes in a process
D Track products, operator actions, or administrative procedures

Q6: Which type of Data Distribution is most common ifor modelling the variation of product
weights in manufacturing processes ?

A Poission Distribution
B Exponential Distribution
C Normal Distribution
D Binomial Distribution
Q7: FMEA is a Six Sigma tool which helps us to understand __________.

A How the failure effects the customer

B What could cause the failure to happen
C How might the process fail to function
D How is the failure currently controlled

Q8: What is the approximate probability that a sample Mean is within +/- 3 Standard Deviations
of the population Mean for a Normal Distribution?
A 95 %
B 97.9 %
C 68 %
D 99.7 %

Q9: Which step of 5S is concerned with moving or disposing of unnecessary items ?

A Shining
B Standardizing
C Sustaining
D Sorting

Q10: Which one of the following is the most effective means of reducing defects?
A Training
B Keep a Len Six Sigma project going on the process at all times
C Design defect prevention and mistake proofing into the product and
production process
D Have each process consist of no more than five steps

Q11: Kaoru Ishikawa worked with quality professionals such as W.E. Deming to
advance quality management. Which of the following is a key principle
promoted by Ishikawa and other quality professionals?
A Focus on Long Term quality improvement rather than short term profit targets
B Kaizen improvement strategy is enough to make any company successful
C Management should be rewarded well even if performance is poor
D Cost cutting is the most important element of any process improvement strategy

Q12: Which statement describes an undesirable situation when implementing SPC?

A The Lower Control Limit for the R chart is equal to zero
B Attempt to use SPC for tracking transaction times at a warehouse
C A process is in Statistical Control before implementation of SPC
D The Control Limits are wider than the customer specification limits

Q13: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a design technique that provides__________
:
A All of the benefits shown below (B, C and D )
B Easier production (manufacturing)
C Better mistake proofing
D Understanding the needs of the customer
Q14: Which relationships are depicted in a SIPOC diagram?
A Internal customers to external customers
B Diversion to conversion
C Suppliers through to customers
D Raw materials to finished products

Q15: If a process has subgroups and continuous data which control chart is
most preferable?
A Individual-Moving Range Chart
B Xbar-R Chart
C EWMA Chart
D P Charts

Q16: Which chart is used to visualise the trend of long term variation
of a process variable?
A Moving Average Chart
B Multi-Vari Chart
C P-Chart
D Pareto Chart

Q17: Project scope can be limited by the following factors EXCEPT:

A Geography
B Demographics
C Organizational structures
D Ten year financial projections

Q18: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in
Figure 1 (below)?
A The process is using a pull system with supermarket buffer inventories
B Daily deliveries are made by Suppliers 1 and 2
C The production control is decided locally at each process step
D Yield for this process is 93%

Figure 1:
Q19: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in
Figure 1 (above)?
A Signal Kanbans are used to re-stock 3 of the Milling Supermarkets
B One delivery per week is made by Suppliers 1 and 2
C The production control is decided locally at each process step
D Value-Added time is greater than 50%

Q20: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in
Figure 1 (above)?
A The focus for improvement should be Operation C because it has
the longest Cycle Time (C/T)
B The focus for improvement should be Operation C because it has the longest
change Over Time (C/O) and the longest Cycle Time (C/T) and lowest uptime
C The production control receives messages from customers and suppliers
by road transport
D Non-Value-Added time is less than 95%

Q21: According to the Central Limit Theorem, regardless of the population from
which data is drawn, the sampling distribution of the mean when sufficiently
large is:
A Normally distributed
B Abnormally distributed
C Skewed towards the outliers
D Skewed towards the standard deviation

Q22: At what point can the Control Plan be closed ?.

A Never
B As soon as the project is finished
C Within 30 days of the LSS project review team meeting
 D After the project has been presented at the recognition event

Q23: A Black Belt practitioner constructs a control chart to display a

process mean and its outer limits. In the chart above, what does
LCL stand for?
A Lower cycle length
B Lower control limit
C Lower cycle limit
D Lower control length

Q24: An ideal process will have a Pp value for capability_______:

A Greater than one

B Less than one
C Equal to one
D Within one standard deviation of mean

Q25: When analysing a data set, we frequently graph one metric as a

function of another. If the Correlation Coefficient is -0.95, how are the
two-metrics correlated?
A Positively
B Not
C Negatively
D None
Q26: Which of the control charts helps us to understand the amount of variation
within subgroups of continuous data?
A R-chart
B C-chart
C P-chart
D Y-chart

Q27: Which of the following is not a type of hypothesis test?

A F-test
B ANOVA
C p-test
D t-test

Q28: What does the symbol 's' stand for in regression analysis?
A Process Sigma Level
B Standard deviation of the sample
C Sum of squares
D Sum of rectangles

Q29: A Black Belt will sometimes do an experiment referred to as an OFAT,

which stands for
A Only a Few Are Tested
 B Opposite Factors Affect Technique
C One Factor at a Time
D Ordinary Fractional Approach Technique

Q30: What advantage does SMED provide in a Lean process ?

A Reduction of motion
B Poka Yoke devices
C Separation of ‘Internal and External’ activities
D All of the above

Q31: Which of the following steps is NOT a component of the decision-making

process in business or manufacturing?
A Listing alternative courses of action
B Evaluating the performance of the last project
C Listing uncertain events ( risks )
D Adopting decision criteria

Q32: Which method of communication is best used in project teams for better understanding ?
A Text messages ( SMS or Whatsapp )
B Powerpoint Presentations
C E-mail
D Face to Face Stand-up meetings.

Q33: Which one of the following is an inventive methodology for problem-solving?

A BPR
B TPM
C TRIZ
D BMP

Q34: What is the purpose of the management tool called 'Hoshin Kanri' ?

A Uses as a Design methodology similar to DFSS

B Used as a structured approach for long term Strategic Planning and Deployment
C Used a Project Management framework
D Used for reducing WIP in a process

Q35: For a normal distribution, 4.2 standard deviations on each side of

the mean would include approximately what percentage of the total
population?
A 99.99%
B 95.00%
C 99.25%
D 99.75%

Q36: Data from a process output resides within the control limits. What is the best
interpretation of this?

C The process is stable

 Q37: What conclusions can be made from the data shown in Figure 1 (below)?

A February had the highest median snowfall

B Snowfall in December and January are significantly different
C When planning a skiing vacation in Newport VT it will be best to avoid the month of May
D These graphs show us nothing which is useful

Figure 1:

Figure 2:
Q38: What conclusions can be made from the graphs shown in Figure 2 (above)?

A Electrical Sockets account for approximately 95% of electrical consumption.

B Air-conditioning ( Aircond ) accounts for approximately 80% of electrical
consumption.
C Lighting accounts for approximately 20% of electrical consumption.
D Lighting accounts for approximately 79% of electrical consumption.

Q39: What conclusions can be made from the 4 fitted-line plots shown in
Figure 3 (below)?
A The graph of y1 vs x1 shows the highest linear Correlation Coefficient of all 4 graphs B
The graph of y4 vs x4 shows that the value of y4 is 12 when x4 = 8
C The graph of y1 vs x1 shows a 'best-fit' regression line which most closely models
the actual data
D All the relationships shown would be better modelled using non-linear regregression.

Figure 3.

Q40: Which of the following is non-parametric Hypothesis test for

comparing 2 samples of data?
A Mann Whitney test
B Kruskal–Wallis
C Chi-Square test
D None
Q41: A Six Sigma graphical tool for comparing the behaviour of one input variable against

the behaviour of one output variable is called a __________________

A SIPOC Chart
B Scatter Plot
C Box Plot Chart
D Run Chart

Q42: Which metric helps a Black Belt to know how much product is being made
without rework or scrap ?
A DMAIC
B FTY
C RTY
D FMEA

Q43: In a Linear Regression analysis, the ANOVA table shows that, F =

26.1, df = 3, p < .05 What can we say ?
A Model is significant with less than 5% Alpha risk
B Model is not significant and no better at predicting than simply using
the mean scores
C Model is significant with 5% confidence and has 3 predictors
D Model is significant at 95% confidence with one predictor

Q44: What name would describe a data distribution that is not balanced, has
one mode and a long tail on one side ?
A Skewed
B Bimodal
C Gaussian
D Weibull

Q45: Chi square is a test of

A Variation in a process
B Degrees of Freedom
C Dependence or independence between categorical variables
D Symmetry in a DOE

Q46: Minimum and maximum values, female and male groups, Low and High are all
examples of what in a DOE ?
A Blocks
B Interactions
C Factors
D Levels
Q47: To draw inferences about a sample population being studied by modelling
patterns of data in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the
observations is known as
A Influential Analysis
B Inferential Statistics
C Physical Modelling
D Sequential Inference

Q48: Which of the following is an experimental design method used for optimization
and improving the robustness of a design?
A Tolerance designs
B Regression Analysis
C Response Surface method
D Systems design

Q49: You are producing a snack food that requires an adhesive label. The
adhesive strength must be between 2.25 kg and 4.5 kg. You pull a
sample of 100 labels and find a standard deviation of .44 kg. What is
the potential process capability, Cp?
A 0.193
B 0.312
C 1.420
D 0.852

Q50: What role on a Lean Six Sigma team is most likely to define the business
objectives of the project?
A Black Belt
B Green Belt
C Sponsor or Process Owner
D Customer

Q51: When two Inputs have a significant impact on the Output together
yet have little impact on their own, this is called a/an
A Interaction effect
B Mixture
C Coincidence
D Main effect

Q52: When the measurement method used creates a difference between the
measured value and the true value, the difference is known as
A residual
B precision
C accuracy
D bias
Q53: Cross-functional teams typically
A Have narrow skill sets and expertise
B Are comprised of subject matter experts and representatives from multiple
departments or areas
C Elect their own leaders
D Are comprised of natural work teams

Q54: There is both Practical and

Significance to consider during a Hypothesis Test.
A Non-practical
B Impractical
C Usable
D Statistical

Q55: Which chart would you use to measure plot values such as weight, speed or
volume?

A X bar R chart
B X bar S chart
C I chart
D Any of the above could be used depending on subgroup size

Q56: When should you use the I-chart?

A Subgroup size >= 10
B Between-group variation
C Subgroup size = 1
D Subgroup size < 10

Q57: Which of the following shapes is used to present a termination point

in a flowchart?
A Rectangle
B Diamond
C Arrow
D Oval

Q58: The technique of minimizing the sum of squared differences between

observed and predicted values derived from regression model is called:
A Method of least squares
B Linear interpolation
C Structural equation modelling
D Method of determination

Q59: Which of the following is the best definition of Quality in a process?

A Profitability: the amount of positive return on the investment of process
B How well the output meets the customer’s needs and expectations
C Efficiency: the ability to be effective at the least cost
D Adaptability: How well you can be effective and efficient in the face of change
Q60: The Central Limit Theorem helps us understand the we are taking
and is the basis for using sampling to estimate population parameters
A Analysis
B Reason
C Risk
D Route

Q61: Which type of data is binary data an example of ?

A Continuous Data
B Attribute Data
C Qualitative Data
D Variable Data

Q62: If the specification limits are wider than the control limits, then
A The process is capable
B The process capability index is greater than 1.0
C The specification limits replace the control limits on the chart
D None of the above

Q63: Hypothesis Tests help us to decide whether to reject the

____________based on the result of the P-values
A Alternative hypothesis
B Measurement error
C Alpha Risk
D Null Hypothesis

Q64: Which one of these is part of the Deming ‘PDCA’ cycle ?

A Process inputs
B Process controls
C Plan
D Process feedback

Q65: The House of Quality is a key component of which technique?

A Quality Functional Deployment
B Root Cause Analysis
C Testing
D CTQ

Q66: Dividing the standard deviation of a population by the square-root of a

sample size gives us what ?
A Standard Error of the Mean
B Mean Deviation
C Mean Spread
D Mean Error
Q67: Which of the following is not a key component of measurement system?
A Historical data
B Appraiser / Operator
C Environment
D Procedure

Q68: MSA can be used in supply chain management to assess supplier

performance by quantifying _________________
A Supplier’s quality
B Data entry accuracy
C Ease to work with
D All

.
Q69: Which of the following is used to test the significance for the analysis
of a Contingency Table?
A t Test
B F Test
C Chi Square Test
D Acid Test

Q70: Calculate the number of trials, for an experiment with six factors and
2-levels per factor if it is designed as a half-fractional factorial design.

A 64
B6
C 18
D 32

Q71: Which of the following is not true for frequency distribution of data?
A Horizontal line across the tops of all bars suggest a uniform distribution
B Isolated values at extreme ends suggest outliers
C Grouping of most values near the centre suggests a bimodal distribution
D More values at one end suggest negative or positive skewness

Q72: What is The Median?

A Arithmetic average of the data set
B Most frequently found value
C Middle value in a series of numbers arranged in order of size
D The largest value in data set

Q73: Contingency Tables are used to perform which of these functions?

A Illustrate one-tail proportions
B Analyse the "what if" scenario
C Contrast the Outliers under the tail
D Compare more than two sample proportions with each other
 PRACTICE
Lean Six Sigma
Black Belt Exam
ANSWERS
Q1: Which of the following options is the main reason that we should

ANSWER : B

Q2: What type of data is the best data to collect and analyse during DMAIC
activities?

ANSWER : D

Q3: Which card tagging system is used as a part of a 5S program to

i
ANSWER : D

Q4: If a given process is stable and has a Cp= 1.0 and Cpk = 1.0;
which of the following improvement approaches is most
appropriate?
A Variation reduction
B Move the mean to the centre between the specification limits
C Centering and variation reduction
D Process stability (identify and eliminate special causes)

ANSWER : A

Q5: A process map is used to accomplish which of the following?

A Display a dynamic picture of process performance behaviour
B Focus attention on process problems in priority order
C Diagram possible problem causes in a process
D Track products, operator actions, or administrative procedures
 ANSWER : D

Q6: Which of the following statements best describes the residual errors

ANSWER : C

Q7: Which of the following is the correct definition of a failure mode

ANSWER : B

Q8: What is the probability that a sample Mean is within +/- 1.96 Standard Deviations

ANSWER : D

Q9: What is the Lean Principle action in the 5S approach, that deals with

ANSWER : D

Q10: Which one of the following is the most effective means of reducing defects?
 ANSWER : C

Q11: Kaoru Ishikawa worked with quality professionals such as W.E. Deming to

ANSWER : A

Q12: Which statement describes an undesirable situation when implementing SPC?

ANSWER : D

Q13: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a design technique that offers all of the

ANSWER : A

Q14: Which relationships are depicted in a SIPOC diagram?

ANSWER : C

Q15: If a process has subgroups and continuous data which control chart is
 ANSWER : B

Q16: Which chart is used to visualise the trend of long term variation

ANSWER : A

Q17: Project scope can be limited by the following factors EXCEPT:

ANSWER : D

Q18: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in

ANSWER : A

Figure 1:
Q19: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in
ANSWER : A

Q20: Which statement is most correct about the Value Stream Map in

ANSWER : B

Q21: According to the Central Limit Theorem, regardless of the population from

D Skewed towards the standard deviation

ANSWER : A

Q22: A Belt concludes a Lean Six Sigma project with the creation of a Control Plan.

ANSWER : A

Q23: A Black Belt practitioner constructs a control chart to display a

ANSWER : B

Q24: Process capability (Cp) describes a process, often in a stable

manufacturing environment, that leads to the production of a
product that conforms to client and design specifications. An
 i

ANSWER : A

Q25: When analysing a data set, we frequently graph one metric as a

ANSWER : C

Q26: Which of the control charts helps us to understand the amount of variation

ANSWER : A

Q27: Which of the following is not a type of hypothesis test?

ANSWER : C

Q28: What does the symbol 's' stand for in regression analysis?
A

ANSWER : B

Q29: A Black Belt will sometimes do an experiment referred to as an OFAT,

e
 ANSWER : C

Q30: How does SMED achieve waste reduction in a Lean process ?

ANSWER : D

Q31: Which of the following steps is NOT a component of the decision-making

ANSWER : B

Q32: Which one of the following modes is ideal for informal communication?

ANSWER : A

Q33: Which one of the following is an inventive methodology for problem-solving?

ANSWER : C

Q34: The experimental response data varied from what a Black Belt had

ANSWER : B
Q35: For a normal distribution, four standard deviations on each side of

ANSWER : A

Q36: Data from a process output resides within the control limits. What is the best
interpretation of this?

ANSWER : C

Q37: What conclusions can be made from the graphs shown in Figure 2 (below)?

ANSWER : A

Figure 2:
Q38: What conclusions can be made from the graphs shown in Figure 2 (above)?
A The Residual Errors in this Regression analysis are too skewed and so the
l. ANSWER : D

Q39: What conclusions can be made from the 4 fitted-line plots shown in

ANSWER : C

Q40: Which of the following is non-parametric Hypothesis test for

ANSWER : A
Q41: A Six Sigma tool that can graph more than one input on the same chart
to look for the biggest source of variation

ANSWER : B

Q42: Which metric helps a Black Belt to know how much product is being made
"Right first time"?

ANSWER : C

Q43: In a Linear Regression analysis, the ANOVA table shows that, F =

ANSWER : A

Q44: What name would describe a data distribution that is not balanced, has

ANSWER : A

Q45: Chi square is a test of

ANSWER : C

Q46: Minimum and maximum values, female and male groups, age designated
ranges are all the above examples of what in a DOE ?
 D Levels

ANSWER : D

Q47: To draw inferences about a sample population being studied by modelling

ANSWER : B

Q48: Which of the following is an experimental design method used for optimization

ANSWER : C

Q49: You are producing a snack food that requires an adhesive label. The

ANSWER : D

Q50: What role on a Lean Six Sigma team is most likely to define the business
objectives of the project?

ANSWER : C

Q51: When two Inputs have a significant impact on the Output together
yet have little impact on their own, this is called a/an
 ANSWER : A

Q52: When the measurement method used creates a difference between the

ANSWER : D

Q53: Cross-functional teams typically

ANSWER : B

Q54: There is both Practical and

ANSWER : D

Q55: Which chart would you use to measure plot values such as weight, speed or
volume?
A

ANSWER : D

Q56: When should you use the I-chart?

ANSWER : C
Q57: Which of the following shapes is used to present a termination point

ANSWER : D

Q58: The technique of minimizing the sum of squared differences between

ANSWER : A

Q59: Which of the following is the best definition of Quality in a process?

ANSWER : B

Q60: The Central Limit Theorem helps us understand the we are taking

ANSWER : C

Q61: Which type of data is binary an example of ?

ANSWER : B

Q62: If the specification limits are wider than the control limits, then

ANSWER : D
Q63: Hypothesis Tests help us to decide whether to reject the

ANSWER : D

Q64: Which one of these is part of the Deming ‘PDCA’ cycle ?

ANSWER :

Q65: The House of Quality is a key component of which technique?

ANSWER : A

Q66: Dividing the standard deviation of a population by the square-root of a

ANSWER : A

Q67: Which of the following is not a key component of measurement system?

ANSWER : A

Q68: MSA can be used in supply chain management to assess supplier

ANSWER : B
 .
Q69: Which of the following is used to test the significance for the analysis
of a Contingency Table?

ANSWER : C

Q70: Calculate the number of trials, for an experiment with six factors and
2-levels per factor if it is designed as a half-fractional factorial design.

ANSWER : D

Q71: Which of the following is not true for frequency distribution of data?

ANSWER : C

Q72: What is The Median?

ANSWER : C

Q73: Contingency Tables are used to perform which of these functions?

ANSWER : D