SC QUALITY GUILDCertified Six Sigma Yellow Belt (CSSYB)
The entry point, and the shortest route in. Forty-two topics, each covered at the level it is tested.
The paper carries 90 questions in total: 80 that are scored and 10 unscored pretest items that do not count toward your result.
Forty-two topics covered at the level each is tested — recognition where the exam asks for recognition, worked calculation where it asks you to apply. Five section sets of twenty-five questions and two full eighty-question examinations, with a rationale for every one.
Thirteen original figures, all computed from the case study data rather than borrowed. A formula reference, sigma conversion table, standard normal table and control chart constants, all computed from first principles. A tool selector that takes you from a problem to the right technique in one page.
The exam is open book, and the rules bar any reference containing collections of questions and answers. Volume 1 contains no practice questions at all, which is why it is a clean, permanently bound reference you can tab and take in.
The Six Sigma Yellow Belt Primer is published, in two volumes. Volume 1 works the CSSYB Body of Knowledge section by section. Volume 2 is practice and worked solutions.
What the CSSYB examination covers
The Body of Knowledge divides into 5 sections. The question count is what each section is worth on the paper, which is not the same as how long it takes to learn.
| Section | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| I | Six Sigma Fundamentals The purpose of Six Sigma and DMAIC. Lean foundations: just-in-time, poka-yoke, kanban and value stream mapping. Roles, team basics and the quality tools and metrics: DPU, DPMO, RTY and COPQ. | 20 |
| II | Define Phase Voice of the customer and CTQ, project selection, stakeholder analysis and SIPOC. Project charters, communication plans, WBS and Gantt charts, and phase reviews. | 14 |
| III | Measure Phase Measures of central tendency and dispersion. Data collection plans, qualitative and quantitative data. Measurement system terms and gauge R&R. | 15 |
| IV | Analyze Phase 5S, value analysis and FMEA. Root cause analysis, corrective and preventive action. Distributions, common and special cause, correlation, regression and hypothesis terms. | 17 |
| V | Improve and Control Phases Kaizen, PDCA and cost-benefit analysis. Control plans, X-bar and R charts, document control and work instructions. | 14 |
Section by section
I — Six Sigma Fundamentals 20 QUESTIONS
Variation as the problem, the sigma scale, DMAIC and the lean foundations. Tampering is named early — adjusting a stable process in response to common cause increases total variation rather than reducing it.
II — Define Phase 14 QUESTIONS
Define at recognition and application level: voice of the customer, CTQ translation, project selection, SIPOC and flowcharts. Inputs are taught as variables that can be measured and changed, not as categories.
III — Measure Phase 15 QUESTIONS
Data types, sampling, data collection planning and descriptive statistics. Stratified sampling is taught for what it preserves — the ability to analyze by the stratifying factor afterwards.
IV — Analyze Phase 17 QUESTIONS
Cause and effect analysis, the five whys, root cause against symptom, correlation and basic FMEA. The primer names the standard failure of five whys: stopping at a person rather than continuing to a system cause.
V — Improve and Control Phases 14 QUESTIONS
Improve and Control together. Error proofing at the point of occurrence, control plans with reaction plans, and why gains erode when the process owner never took ownership of the chart.
Questions from the free practice test
Every item carries the reasoning, not just the answer, and none of them appears in any book. The CSSYB self-assessment covers every requirement in the Body of Knowledge: choose a 20-question random sample, a quick check at half the exam's length, a full exam at its real length and section mix, or work on your weak spots.
The primary aim of Six Sigma is to reduce:
- Headcount
- Variation
- Cost
- Inspection
Six Sigma attacks variation, which is output differing from itself. Cost reduction and reduced inspection are consequences of a more consistent process rather than the target, and treating cost as the aim produces cuts that increase variation.
Voice of the customer is best gathered by:
- Asking what specification they want
- Asking about the problem the product solves for them
- Reviewing past complaints only
- Benchmarking competitors
Customers describe solutions more readily than needs, so a request for a specification returns their guess at an answer. Asking about the problem produces the need, which may have a cheaper or better solution than the one they proposed.
A gauge R&R study assesses:
- The tolerance
- How much observed variation comes from the measurement system
- Whether the gauge is calibrated
- The process capability
Calibration establishes that a gauge reads correctly against a standard; it says nothing about whether two operators get the same answer. A fully calibrated gauge can contribute half the observed variation.
The practice test is free and needs no account. The CSSYB test is a full self-assessment covering all 42 requirements in the current Body of Knowledge, with the reasoning on every answer, a score for every requirement and your progress over time. Or work through the primer week by week in the free six-week self study, with a check after every reading.