ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB) Sample Questions

Sigma Six Black belts are required to possess a comprehensive comprehension of the DMAIC model’s many components as well as Six Sigma principles. In order to make the usage of particular tools easier, Black Belt Professionals must have a fundamental understanding of lean enterprise ideas in addition to the capacity to spot non-value-added components and processes.

Licensed Six Sigma Black Belt Professionals have a solid understanding of Six Sigma ideas and principles, as well as enabling frameworks and resources. The Black Belt professionals are anticipated to show team leadership, comprehend team dynamics, and delegate tasks to team members. The article provides a list of ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB) Sample Questions that cover core exam topics including –

• Organization-wide Planning and Deployment
• Organizational Process Management and Measures
• Team Management
• Define Phase
• Measure Phase
• Analyze Phase
• Improve Phase
• Control Phase
• Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Framework and Methodologies

Advanced Sample Questions

What is the primary goal of DMAIC?

• a) To reduce variability in a process
• b) To improve customer satisfaction
• c) To increase efficiency in a process
• d) To minimize waste in a process

Answer: b) To improve customer satisfaction. 

Explanation: The DMAIC methodology is used in Six Sigma to improve processes and customer satisfaction.

What is the purpose of a control plan in Six Sigma?

• a) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• b) To identify the root cause of a problem
• c) To establish the process capability
• d) To design the process

Answer: a) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control. 

Explanation: The control plan outlines how the process will be monitored and controlled to ensure it remains in control and does not drift from its desired state.

What is the purpose of the FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis)?

• a) To analyze potential failures in a process
• b) To establish the process capability
• c) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• d) To identify the root cause of a problem

Answer: a) To analyze potential failures in a process. 

Explanation: The FMEA is used to identify potential failures in a process and assess their potential impact on the process and customer.

What is the purpose of the control chart in Six Sigma?

• a) To identify the root cause of a problem
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To establish the process capability
• d) To design the process

Answer: b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control. 

Explanation: The control chart is used to monitor the process and detect any shifts in the process mean, which can indicate a problem or drift from the desired state.

What is the purpose of the histogram in Six Sigma?

• a) To establish the process capability
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To analyze the distribution of data
• d) To identify the root cause of a problem

Answer: c) To analyze the distribution of data. 

Explanation: The histogram is used to visualize the distribution of data in a process, which can help identify potential outliers and areas for improvement.

What is the purpose of the pareto chart in Six Sigma?

• a) To prioritize problems based on impact
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To analyze the distribution of data
• d) To identify the root cause of a problem

Answer: a) To prioritize problems based on impact. 

Explanation: The pareto chart is used to prioritize problems based on their impact, with the goal of focusing improvement efforts on the most impactful issues first.

What is the purpose of the SIPOC diagram in Six Sigma?

• a) To visualize the process inputs, process, outputs, and customers
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To establish the process capability
• d) To identify the root cause of a problem

Answer: a) To visualize the process inputs, process, outputs, and customers. 

Explanation: The SIPOC diagram is used to clearly visualize the inputs, process, outputs, and customers of a process, which can help identify areas for improvement and potential areas for waste reduction.

What is the purpose of the fishbone diagram (Ishikawa diagram) in Six Sigma?

• a) To identify the root cause of a problem
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To establish the process capability
• d) To prioritize problems based on impact

Answer: a) To identify the root cause of a problem. 

Explanation: The fishbone diagram is used to identify the root cause of a problem by breaking down the various factors that may contribute to the issue.

What is the purpose of the scatter diagram in Six Sigma?

• a) To identify the relationship between two variables
• b) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• c) To establish the process capability
• d) To prioritize problems based on impact

Answer: a) To identify the relationship between two variables. 

Explanation: The scatter diagram is used to identify the relationship between two variables, which can help identify correlations and potential areas for improvement.

What is the purpose of the process flow diagram in Six Sigma?

• a) To visualize the process inputs, process, outputs, and customers
• b) To identify the root cause of a problem
• c) To monitor the process and ensure it remains in control
• d) To establish the process capability

Answer: a) To visualize the process inputs, process, outputs, and customers. 

Explanation: The process flow diagram is used to visualize the process inputs, process, outputs, and customers, which can help identify areas for improvement and potential areas for waste reduction.

Basic Sample Questions

Q1)Which of these graphs best exemplifies the circumstances that would enable OCAP for the process?

• A. Xbar Chart
• B. Time Series Chart
• C. Neither
• D. Both

Correct Answer: A

Q2) Dr. Shewhart created control charts to track data over time. Which of these do the Control Charts employ to identify Special Cause variation?

• A. Data shift analysis
• B. Outlier analysis methods
• C. Center Line and Control Limits
• D. None of the above

Correct Answer: C

Q3) Which two classifications apply to Special Cause Variation?

• A. Natural & Unnatural
• B. Short Term & Long Term
• C. Assignable & Pattern
• D. Attribute & Discreet

Correct Answer: C

Q4) Which SPC chart is the best to choose if the production is for a higher volume and monitoring, the Mean and variability is to be monitored for four machines generating product, and the characteristic to be monitored is Variable Data?

• A. Xbar-R Chart
• B. Individual-MR Chart
• C. NP Chart
• D. CUSUM Chart

Correct Answer: A

Q5) When a Belt Poka-Yokes a flaw completely out of the process, she should monitor the activity using a reliable SPC system on the trait of interest in the defect as an early warning system.

• True
• False

Correct Answer: B

Q6) What kind of chart’s control limits width changes depending on the sample size?

• A. P Charts
• B. NP Charts
• C. Xbar-R Charts
• D. Time Series Charts

Correct Answer: A

Q7) Which of the following components does not appear in implementation plans?

• A. Work breakdown structure
• B. Risk management plans
• C. Cost/Benefit ratios
• D. Planned audits of work completion

Correct Answer: C

Q8) Which of these is included in the Control Plan that a Belt and the Project Team produce when a process improvement is finished and validated?

• A. Standard Operating Procedure Change Description
• B. A brief summary of the specified essential metrics for process performance measurement 
• C. A description of the monitoring system in place to ensure ongoing compliance
• D. All the aforementioned

Correct Answer: D

Q9) How many experimental runs are there in a full factorial, completely random design with four components, two corner point replicates, and no centre point? There are just two tiers of components in the experiment.

• A. 10
• B. 32
• C. 256
• D. 64

Correct Answer: B

Q10) Which assertion is false if a 2-level experimental design contains 16 experimental runs, 5 factors, and no replicates?

• A. The Experimental Design is Half-Fractional 
• B. Only Four-Way Interactions Confound the Main Effects
• C. The 2-way interactions are confounded with the 3-way interactions, but the Main Effects for the 5 components are neither aliased or confounded.

• D. There are 8 iterations of the experiment, with the first factor set to a high level.

Correct Answer: C

Q11) Which statement(s) about fractional factorial designs are false?

• A. With no repeats, replicates, or centre points, a half fractional design for five variables requires the same number of experimental runs as a full factorial design for four factors.
• B. Four-factor experiments can use quarter fractional experiments.
• C. Resolution V design is desired while keeping experimentation costs under check.
• D. Only designs with two components have half-fractional experiments.

Correct Answer: C

Q12) An experiment’s design is orthogonal if all potential variable pair sums are zero.

• A. True
• B. False

Correct Answer: A

Q13) Which Experimental Design is often most closely related to the design’s fewest input variables or factors?

• A. Fractional Factorial design
• B. Full Factorial design
• C. Simple Linear Regression
• D. Response Surface Design

Correct Answer: D

Q14) The Steepest Ascent approach leads you in the direction of a target inside the initial inference space.

• A. True
• B. False

Correct Answer: B

Q15) Which Lean tools should be taken into account in the Control Phase to reestablish and preserve the project success if a Six Sigma project was intended to lower repair station inventory but the team discovered the inventory was gradually creeping up over time?

• A. Review the Visual Factory to assure inventory in excess of desired visible
• B. Improve the lighting to assure adequate visibility
• C. Analyze data from supplier deliveries
• D. Reword the standardized work instructions to use active verbs and not passive phrases

Correct Answer: A

Q16) Which Lean tool has a Belt used when he implements an improvement that is automated and doesn’t require special knowledge to use?

• A. Mistake Proofing
• B. Kaizen Event
• C. 5S
• D. None

Correct Answer: A

Q17) The goal of Kaizen, Kaikaku, and Six Sigma projects is to make small, incremental changes to processes rather than big, revolutionary ones.

• A. True
• B. False

Correct Answer: B

Q18) Which of these items helps to create the conditions required for Kaizen events to be successful in ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB)?

• A. Analysis tools
• B. Management support
• C. Operator support
• D. All of these answers are correct

Correct Answer: D

Q19) In the event that Hypothesis Testing in the Evaluate Phase was insufficient to sufficiently narrow the factors that significantly affect the output, fractional factorial designs are used to analyse the components to model the output as a function of inputs (s) in ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB).

• A. True
• B. False

Correct Answer: A

Q20) It would take 16 runs for a Factorial Experiment based on a Level 2 Design with 6 components to properly evaluate the interactions in ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB).

• A. True
• B. False

Correct Answer: B