Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Practice Test

150 questions of our own, section by section in the exam's own proportions, each with its worked reason and source.

Which function does the body of knowledge single out for supporting a project and confirming its outcome?

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Exam mode: 150 questions, 258 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with ASQ (the American Society for Quality). Bank checked October 7, 2026.

The real exam, as its owner describes it

Questions
150
Time limit
258 minutes
Fee
$585. ASQ members save $100.
Retakes
$385, a reduced fee offered for two years after an attempt
Languages
English
Format
Multiple choice and open book: each candidate brings their own reference materials.
On computer
165 questions, of which 150 are scored and 15 are not, in 4 hours 18 minutes of exam time.
On paper
150 questions in four hours; Mandarin is offered in some locations.
Scoring
A scaled score: 550 points of a possible 750 are needed.
Requirements
Two finished projects with signed affidavits, or one such project with three years' work experience in the body of knowledge.

Checked October 7, 2026 against ASQ's Six Sigma Black Belt certification page and its Exam Results FAQs. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

ASQ's Six Sigma Black Belt certification page

Next step Lean Six Sigma questions by DMAIC phaseBack to basics: Yellow Belt practice test

All 150 questions

Organization-Wide Planning and Deployment 12

  • A company changes its mission and its structure in one sudden, large move. Which category of organizational change is this? ASQ Quality Resources, "Change Management"
  • A proposed project would cut scrap on a line the company will close next quarter. Which test of project selection does it fail? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.A.2
  • An organization envisions its future and develops the strategies, goals, objectives and action plans to reach it. What is this process called? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Strategic planning"
  • Before a rollout, a Black Belt surveys how prepared each department is to adopt the new process. Which change management technique is this? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.B.3
  • How does the body of knowledge describe the relationship between Six Sigma and lean? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.A.1
  • Lean can reach beyond one factory to the whole value stream or supply chain. What is that wider form called? ASQ Quality Resources, "What is Lean?"
  • Six Sigma treats all work as processes with inputs and outputs. What follows for controlling the outputs? ASQ Quality Resources, "What is Six Sigma?"
Show all 150 questions (143 more)

Organization-Wide Planning and Deployment, continued

  • What do the letters of SWOT stand for? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.A.4
  • Which function does the body of knowledge single out for supporting a project and confirming its outcome? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.B.1
  • Which role turns the company's vision, goals and metrics into a deployment plan, picks out projects and removes roadblocks? ASQ Quality Resources, "Six Sigma Belts, Executives and Champions"
  • Which role works mostly at program level, develops key metrics and strategic direction, and serves as the internal consultant? ASQ Quality Resources, "Six Sigma Belts, Executives and Champions"
  • Which two common causes of Six Sigma failure does the body of knowledge name? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section I.B.2

Organizational Process Management and Measures 12

  • A balanced scorecard usually has four perspectives. Financial, customer and business process are three. What is the fourth? ASQ Quality Resources, "Balanced Scorecard"
  • A project has discounted benefits of $420,000 and discounted costs of $300,000. What are its discounted net benefits? U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Circular A-94 (November 2023), section 5.a
  • Against what does benchmarking measure an organization's products, services and processes? ASQ Quality Resources, "Benchmarking"
  • Customers rank a company's product against the leading competitor's on the attributes that matter most to them. Which kind of benchmarking is this? ASQ Quality Resources, "Benchmarking"
  • For each perspective, what does the balanced scorecard prompt an organization to do? ASQ Quality Resources, "Balanced Scorecard"
  • In a benefit-cost analysis, why are future benefits and costs discounted? U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Circular A-94 (November 2023), section 5.a
  • In a stakeholder analysis, who counts as a primary stakeholder? ASQ Quality Resources, "Stakeholders"
  • The paint shop receives car bodies from the weld shop in the same plant. What is the paint shop to the weld shop? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Internal customer"
  • What is a "line of sight" for a performance measure? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section II.C.1
  • What is a key performance indicator (KPI)? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Key performance indicator (KPI)"
  • What must be true of an organization's own processes before it can gain the full benefit of benchmarking? ASQ Quality Resources, "Benchmarking"
  • Which benefit counts as a hard cost measure? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section II.C.2

Team Management 15

  • A Black Belt tests trainees before a course and again after it. Which part of team training does this serve? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.D.3
  • A communication plan names the audience, the type of message and how often it goes out. Which element is still missing? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.B.3
  • In the classic stages of team development, which stage comes between storming and performing? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.B.2
  • In the nominal group technique, how is the final decision usually reached? ASQ Quality Resources, "Nominal Group Technique"
  • Members keep their doubts to themselves to avoid confrontation, and the team backs an idea it has not fully explored. What is this called? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Groupthink"
  • The members of a team decide for themselves how to handle most of its activities. Which team structure is this? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Self-directed work team (SDWT)"
  • Team members sit in three countries and cannot travel. Which team type fits that constraint? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.A.1
  • What does consensus mean in a team decision? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Consensus"
  • What is the first step the body of knowledge gives for building an effective training curriculum? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.D.1
  • Which four leadership approaches does the body of knowledge give as examples? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.B.4
  • Which of these is a team member selection factor in the body of knowledge? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.A.3
  • Which practice is among the meeting management techniques in the body of knowledge? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.C.2
  • Which set lists elements the body of knowledge calls necessary for a successful team? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.A.4
  • Which team role is a specifically trained person who acts as teacher, coach and moderator for the group? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Facilitator"
  • Which three conflict resolution techniques does the body of knowledge name for negative group dynamics? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section III.C.1

Define 20

  • A Gantt chart has interim checkpoints added to it. What is it then called? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Gantt chart"
  • A hotel guest takes clean sheets for granted and would never think to ask for them. Where does this need sit in the Kano model? ASQ Quality Resources, "Kano Model"
  • A team sets weighted criteria and then scores each option against them. Which tool is it using? ASQ Quality Resources, "Decision Matrix"
  • Against which two things does a Black Belt evaluate a project problem statement? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IV.B.2
  • As the body of knowledge spells out SMART goals, what does the A stand for? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IV.B.4
  • Besides the problem and goal statements, what does a project charter carry? ASQ Quality Resources, "The Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) Process"
  • Eight to ten customers from one market segment are invited to discuss a planned service, led by a facilitator with prepared questions. Which method is this? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Focus group"
  • In "critical-to-X", what can the X stand for? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IV.A.3
  • In a RACI model, what does the C stand for? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IV.C.4
  • In the Kano model, which needs do nothing to hurt a sale when absent but improve the likelihood of purchase when present? ASQ Quality Resources, "Kano Model"
  • The Kano model plots customer satisfaction on the vertical axis. What is on the horizontal axis? ASQ Quality Resources, "Kano Model"
  • What does an arrow diagram let a project team calculate? ASQ Quality Resources, "Arrow Diagram"
  • What happens to a "wow" feature over time in the Kano model? ASQ Quality Resources, "Kano Model"
  • What is a baseline measurement used for? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Baseline measurement"
  • Which matrix opens quality function deployment by relating customer requirements to the means of achieving them? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "House of quality"
  • Which shape of matrix diagram relates one group of items to one other group? ASQ Quality Resources, "Matrix Diagram"
  • Which source of voice of the customer data needs no question to be put to the customer? ASQ Quality Resources, "Voice of the Customer"
  • Which tool finds methodically what could go wrong in a plan still in development, so that countermeasures can be prepared? ASQ Quality Resources, "Process Decision Program Chart"
  • Which tool shows the cause-and-effect links among the factors of a complex situation, to reveal relationships that are not easily recognized? ASQ Quality Resources, "Relations Diagram"
  • Why are a project's boundaries developed and reviewed? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IV.B.3

Measure 25

  • A capability study finds strongly skewed data. What can a Box-Cox transformation do for the analysis? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.3.6, Box-Cox Normality Plot
  • A continuous line is drawn tracing the path an item takes through a process, to show redundancies in the workflow. Which tool is this? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Spaghetti diagram"
  • A dimension is checked with a go/no-go gauge. What kind of data does this give? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Attributes, method of"
  • A line has 450 minutes of production time in a shift, and the customer needs 300 units per shift. What is the takt time? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Takt time"
  • A mean of 12.1 is computed from a sample to approximate the mean of the whole lot. What is the 12.1? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.1.4, What are confidence intervals
  • A normal process is centered between its specification limits and has Cp = 1.00. About what share of output falls outside the limits? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.1.6, What is Process Capability
  • A shaft has specification limits of 9.4 mm and 10.6 mm. The process standard deviation is 0.1 mm. What is Cp? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.1.6, What is Process Capability
  • Among the three categories of sampling error, which one is a lack of precision? ASQ Quality Resources, "Sampling"
  • For a Poisson distribution, how does the variance compare with the mean? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.1, What are Control Charts
  • Four readings are 2, 4, 4 and 6. What is the sample variance, with N − 1 in the denominator? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.5.6, Measures of Scale
  • Help-desk tickets peak every December. A team collects one month of data in July. Which pitfall named in the body of knowledge has it missed? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section V.B.4
  • How can bias in a measurement process be eliminated or reduced? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 2.1.1.3, Bias and Accuracy
  • In a gauge R&R study, from what is the standard deviation for repeatability estimated? ASQ Quality Resources, "Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility"
  • In a gauge R&R study, how is the range used to estimate reproducibility found? ASQ Quality Resources, "Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility"
  • In a week, 600 units enter a process and 48 of them are scrapped or reworked. What is the first pass yield? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "First pass yield (FPY)"
  • On a box plot, what does the box itself mark out? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.3.7, Box Plot
  • On a normal probability plot, the points fall close to a straight line. What does that indicate? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.3.21, Normal Probability Plot
  • Specification limits are 38 and 50. The process mean is 47 and the standard deviation is 1. What is Cpk? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.1.6, What is Process Capability
  • What do the Cp, Cpk and Cpm statistics assume about the data? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.1.6, What is Process Capability
  • What does the central limit theorem say happens as the sample size becomes large? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.6.6.1, Normal Distribution
  • What makes a sample a random sample? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Random sampling"
  • When is the binomial distribution used? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.6.6.18, Binomial Distribution
  • Which distribution is used to model data with a constant failure rate? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.6.6.7, Exponential Distribution
  • Which operators should be enlisted for a gauge study? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 2.4.2, Design considerations
  • Which process flow term is the time a product waits in line for its next step? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Queue time"

Analyze 22

  • A failure mode on an FMEA has three different effects. Which severity rating goes on the form? ASQ Quality Resources, "Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)"
  • A fitted model has an R² of 0.97. What does that guarantee about the fit? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 4.4.4, How can I tell if a model fits my data
  • A one-way ANOVA compares 4 machines, with 6 readings from each. What are the degrees of freedom for treatment and for error? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.4.3.3, The ANOVA table and tests of hypotheses about means
  • A plant builds 500 units a week before any order for them exists. Which of the classic wastes is this? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Eight wastes"
  • A scatter diagram of all the data shows no relationship between two variables. What does the guidance say to consider next? ASQ Quality Resources, "Scatter Diagram"
  • A team studies how a step on a new assembly line could fail. Which form of FMEA is this? ASQ Quality Resources, "Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)"
  • A test is run at a significance level of α = 0.05. What does that mean? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.1.3.1, Critical values and p values
  • A3 thinking, written up on one ledger-sized sheet, is based on which cycle? ASQ Quality Resources, "A3 Report"
  • An engineer needs limits that will cover 99% of all parts produced, with stated confidence. Which kind of interval is this? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.2.6.3, Tolerance intervals for a normal distribution
  • Each of 12 parts is measured before and after heat treatment. Which form of the two-sample t-test suits these data? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.5.3, Two-Sample t-Test for Equal Means
  • In "linear least squares regression", what must be linear? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 4.1.4.1, Linear Least Squares Regression
  • In root cause analysis, what is the root cause? ASQ Quality Resources, "Root Cause Analysis"
  • Scrap rate and overtime hours rise together on a scatter diagram. What should be considered before saying one causes the other? ASQ Quality Resources, "Scatter Diagram"
  • Step D2 of the 8D model describes the problem by "5W2H". What are the two H's? ASQ Quality Resources, "Eight Disciplines (8D)"
  • Two samples have variances of 12.0 and 4.0. What is the F statistic for testing equal variances? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.5.9, F-Test for Equality of Two Variances
  • What does a confidence level of 95% mean for interval estimates? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.1.4, What are confidence intervals
  • What does a gap analysis compare? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VI.D.1
  • What does risk management consist of? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Risk management"
  • What is a p-value? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.1.3.1, Critical values and p values
  • What is the primary tool for validating a fitted process model? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 4.4.4, How can I tell if a model fits my data
  • Which test checks whether binned data came from a population with a specified distribution, and can also be applied to discrete ones such as the Poisson? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 1.3.5.15, Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test
  • With the sample unchanged, what happens to β, the risk of failing to reject a false null hypothesis, as α is made smaller? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 7.1.3, What are statistical tests

Improve 21

  • A half-fraction design for three factors is built by setting X3 = X1 × X2. What can no longer be estimated separately? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.4.3, Confounding (also called aliasing)
  • A Latin square design blocks on how many nuisance factors? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.2.1, Latin square and related designs
  • A machine has operational availability of 90%, performance efficiency of 80% and first-pass yield of 95%. What is its overall equipment effectiveness? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)"
  • An experiment must use two batches of resin, and batch may affect the result. How should batch be handled? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.2, Randomized block designs
  • Before full rollout, a team runs the new method on one line for two weeks and evaluates the results. What is this called? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VII.C
  • Four factors are each set at two levels. How many runs does one full factorial replicate need? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.3, Full factorial designs
  • How many runs are in a half fraction of a two-level design with six factors? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.4, Fractional factorial designs
  • In a completely randomized design, what is assigned at random to the experimental units? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.3.3.1, Completely randomized designs
  • In a designed experiment, what are factors? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.7, A Glossary of DOE Terminology
  • In a resolution III design, what are main effects confounded with? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.7, A Glossary of DOE Terminology
  • In single-minute exchange of dies, what does "single-minute" stand for? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Single-minute exchange of dies"
  • The next die is staged beside the press while the press is still running. What kind of setup work is this? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "External setup"
  • On what does a pull system base the replenishment of inventory? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Pull system"
  • Raising temperature improves yield at high pressure but not at low pressure. What does this show? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.7, A Glossary of DOE Terminology
  • What does replication add to a designed experiment? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.7, A Glossary of DOE Terminology
  • What does the theory of constraints stress? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Theory of constraints (TOC)"
  • What is determined in the Improve phase so that the gain can later be held? ASQ Quality Resources, "The Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) Process"
  • When an experiment is planned, which kind of output measure is preferable? ASQ Quality Resources, "Design of Experiments"
  • Which lean method levels production by averaging the volume and sequence of different models on a mixed line? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Heijunka"
  • Which three elements make up standard work? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Standard work"
  • Why are the runs of an experiment carried out in random order? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.7, A Glossary of DOE Terminology

Control 17

  • A lighted overhead display shows the status of the line and alerts the team to emerging problems. What is this visual control called? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Andon board"
  • A process is "in control" on its chart. What does that statement mean, and what does it leave open? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.1.5, What to do if "In Control" but Unacceptable
  • A project has halved process variation. Why re-study the measurement system afterwards? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VIII.C.1
  • A wafer has three flawed chips at noncritical positions and still meets its specifications. How is it classified? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.3.1, Counts Control Charts
  • An individuals chart has a mean of 40.0 and an average moving range of 2.256. What is the upper control limit? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.2.2, Individuals Control Charts
  • At the end of a project, to whom does the control plan transfer responsibility from the project team? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VIII.C.2
  • Each batch of a chemical gives one measurement. Which control chart suits a sample size of one? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.2.2, Individuals Control Charts
  • Each hour, 200 units are checked and the fraction nonconforming is plotted. Which chart is this, and which distribution underlies it? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.3.2, Proportions Control Charts
  • How are the control limits of a control chart chosen? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.1, What are Control Charts
  • Inspection units vary, so a team wants to chart the average number of nonconformities per unit. Which chart handles this? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.3, What are Attributes Control Charts
  • What does the body of knowledge say to document from all phases of a project? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VIII.D.1
  • What happens to the training plans a project develops for the revised process? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VIII.D.3
  • What is the price of applying more and more out-of-control tests to one chart? ASQ Quality Resources, "Statistical Process Control"
  • What is total productive maintenance meant to ensure? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Total productive maintenance (TPM)"
  • Which attribute chart plots the number of defects or nonconformities? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.3, What are Attributes Control Charts
  • Which documents are developed or modified so that improvements are sustained over time? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section VIII.D.2
  • X-bar and s charts are kept together. Which is read first, and why? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 6.3.2.1, Shewhart X-bar and R and S Control Charts

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) 6

  • A company must create a service that does not exist yet. Which road map fits better than DMAIC? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "DMADV"
  • A product keeps performing with little variation even though temperature and wear keep changing. What is this property of a design called? ASQ Quality Glossary, entry "Robustness"
  • As the body of knowledge spells it out, what does DMADV stand for? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IX.A
  • Design for cost, for manufacturability, for test and for maintainability are examples of what? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IX.B
  • DMADOV adds one step to DMADV. Which step? ASQ, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022), section IX.A
  • In Taguchi's parameter design, an outer array holds the variation the engineer has little or no control over. What are these factors called? NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, section 5.5.6, What are Taguchi designs

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the nine sections of the Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (2022) that ASQ publishes (https://www.asq.org/cert/resource/pdf/certification/cssbb-cert-insert.pdf, linked from https://asq.org/cert/six-sigma-black-belt). Facts were read in that outline, in the NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods (itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook), in the ASQ Quality Glossary and Quality Resources pages (asq.org/quality-resources) and in OMB Circular A-94 (November 2023), all on 2026-10-07. Each question names the section, entry or page it was written from. Licence: Own work. Every question, answer choice and explanation was written for this site from the public sources named on it. Nothing is taken from the exam, from its owner's question bank, study guide, handbook or courses, or from another practice test.

How it works

This Lean Six Sigma Black Belt practice test follows the nine sections of ASQ's published body of knowledge for the exam. The page is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by ASQ (the American Society for Quality).

Read the full guide

Nine sections, in the outline's counts

Planning and deployment 12 questions, process management and measures 12, team management 15, Define 20, Measure 25, Analyze 22, Improve 21, Control 17, Design for Six Sigma 6: the 150 the exam scores.

Worked statistics

The outline asks a Black Belt to calculate and evaluate. Cp and Cpk, an individuals chart limit, an F ratio, ANOVA degrees of freedom and overall equipment effectiveness are worked here, and each explanation shows the arithmetic.

What has no question yet

Net present value, the correlation coefficient, sigma-level conversion, rolled throughput yield and measurement scales are in the outline but not in this bank yet, so study them from your own references.

  • The outline rates more Measure and Analyze topics "evaluate" than any other level, so expect to interpret a result as well as compute it.
  • Read Cp and Cpk together: Cp measures spread against the tolerance only, while Cpk also reflects where the process is centered.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the Six Sigma Black Belt exam?

On computer there are 165: 150 that count and 15 that do not, with 4 hours 18 minutes of exam time. On paper there are 150 in four hours.

What are the requirements for the Black Belt exam?

ASQ asks for two finished projects with signed affidavits, or one such project with three years' work experience in at least one area of the body of knowledge.

What is the passing score for the Black Belt exam?

ASQ's results page says 550 points of a possible 750 are needed, on a scaled score. No count of right answers is published, so a round here ends with your number right and no verdict.

Does this practice test fit other Black Belt certifications?

Partly. Several bodies certify Black Belts, and there is no single standard body. This page follows ASQ's outline, dated 2022. The DMAIC material carries over, but another body's sections, weights and exam rules may differ.

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