Six Sigma Black Belt
TestPrep Academy
Exam: SSBB
Question: 1 / 55
90:00
You are conducting a study on pain reliever dosage and pain levels in patients with chronic back strain. You take a sample of 20 patients and find a resulting p-value of 0.01.
What does this test result imply about statistical and practical significance?
A. Your results have a potential for increasing patient pain; if α is 0.001, your results are not statistically significant so you fail to reject the null hypothesis
B. Your sample size is appropriate as the practical significance of even a small difference is great
C. Your sample size is too small as the practical significance of even a small difference is great
D. Your results have a low risk for increasing patient pain; if α is 0.001, your results are statistically significant so you reject the null hypothesis
E. Your results and the practical significance of them must be considered before changing patient dosage
In a plant, display boards are placed next to machines, and the current setup times are graphed. Each time a set-up is performed, the new set-up time is marked. As operators learn to avoid past errors and improve methods, eventually the desired time for set-up is reached.
What is the basic goal of this element of visual controls?
A. To help employees stay in direct contact with the workplace
B. To make problems visible
C. To clarify targets for improvement
D. To decrease costs
An improvement team regularly misses its project milestones and meetings often run over time. Executive management has been a little reluctant to thoroughly train all the team members in Six Sigma tools and techniques, and some of the executives are too busy to make it to meetings. Because of the lack of training, senior members tend to discount junior members' ideas, and dominate the team into decisions based on their previous experiences.
Which critical success factors need improvement in this team scenario?
A. Following ground rules
B. Decision-making procedures
C. Clarity of goals
D. Mutual trust, respect, and support on the team
E. Management support
A Six Sigma team at an Internet radio company is working to identify future opportunities for improvement and has decided to perform a scenario planning activity to identify possible futures. The team working on the scenario planning activity has established and agreed on the present environment the company faces.
Traditional forecasting indicates that Internet radio usage will continue to grow. Using a PEST analysis, the team explored uncertain variables and, among other variables, found that looming regulation may jeopardize its very existence. Using this analysis, the team groups similar factors.
Based on best practice, what other activities should the team do to complete its scenario planning?
A. Develop detailed scenarios of what could happen if usage does grow and regulation limits operations, and prepare to face the future by creating strategies to deal with each scenario
B. Establish early warning signs to monitor for indicators that usage is increasing
C. Create scenarios to improve organizational weaknesses to better manage risk
D. Develop scenarios to explore the future, based on the information obtained from forecasting activities
E. Using a matrix, explore how regulation and growth in usage will impact the company
F. Group growth in usage and regulation as the most crucial variables
Identify the quality considerations and characteristics that are unique to service organizations.
A. Six Sigma is often used in service organizations to improve processes
B. Recovery from a service defect is difficult
C. Service defects are very costly
D. It's difficult to define discrete services, when customer satisfaction generally results from a bundle of services
E. Service organizations are suited to Lean improvements
F. Services are difficult to measure
Which statement reflects the best strategy for ongoing evaluation?
A. Use a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify what could go wrong with the process
B. Balance your measurements with interviews of salespeople to learn their perspectives on evolving customer and market needs
C. Use a combination of audit results and results of SWOT analyses to explore process problems
D. Use a balance of measurements – performance measures and opportunities analysis – to obtain a broad perspective on the performance of the improved processes
Select the statement that best summarizes the benefit of a postmortem in a Six Sigma project.
A. To ensure that project managers perform adequate risk analysis so that history doesn't repeat itself
B. To enable project personnel to avoid making new mistakes by sharing their experiences from completed projects
C. To enable organizations to improve by building on – rather than relearning – lessons from completed projects
D. To assist organizations in building on lessons of the past by performing sufficient research and development in good project management practices
Which four statements describe how leading and lagging indicators are connected to organizational goals and strategies?
A. A cause and effect chain exists between leading and lagging indicators in tracking business goals
B. Lagging indicators with leading indicators don't indicate how outcomes are achieved
C. Leading indicators with lagging Indicators do not result in a measurable performance
D. Lagging indicators can be used to measure performance outcomes based on data collected over a specified period
E. A balanced combination of leading and lagging indicators should be used for enhanced business performance overall
F. Leading indicators are predictive in nature and forecast possible market trends
A Six Sigma team wants to improve the durability of lenses for a manufacturer of sunglasses. Investigation has indicated that two factors – the thickness of scratch-resistant coating and the type of lens – have the greatest impact on lens durability. The team decides to test each factor at two levels. A randomized experiment with four runs involving all possible combinations of factors and levels has been planned.
Will this meet the team's resolution needs, and why or why not?
A. Yes, the team has planned a fractional factorial experiment, which meets its resolution needs
B. Yes, the team has planned a full factorial experiment, which meets its resolution needs
C. No, the team has not included enough runs for a full factorial experiment
D. No, the team has planned a fractional factorial experiment and it won't meet resolution needs
What are the main goals of strategic planning in Lean Six Sigma?
A. To use SWOT and PEST analyses to understand where the organization is and how that affects Lean Six Sigma goals
B. To identify and decide what the organization wants to achieve from the Lean Six Sigma deployment
C. To encourage equal focus on all projects and initiatives
D. To ensure senior staff are exclusively involved in setting organizational goals
As part of the Six Sigma team at a government agency, you are examining the PCE of the grant application process. The sum of work that a customer would recognize as necessary to process the application is 12 minutes. On average, the overall time it takes to complete the process is 120 minutes. What is the PCE in this case?
Express your answer as a percentage.
A. 10 percent
B. 10%
C. 10
What statements correctly describe goals and features of total productive maintenance (TPM) as implemented in an organization?
A. All employees are involved, from leaders to operators
B. One goal is losses of less than ten minutes from setup and adjustment
C. The goal of TPM is to increase production while decreasing the number of employees needed
D. One goal is for total machine effectiveness
E. One goal is to reduce losses from process defects, equipment failure, and idling and minor stoppages, and to reduce speed to under ten minutes
Which conditions would suggest the use of a randomized block design?
A. Blocked will be more homogeneous than random unblocked groups of runs
B. Experimenters can't decide which noise factors to block
C. Variation from one or more noise factors is likely to impact results
D. Multiple factors are being studied
E. One primary factor is being studied
The various modes of training should cater to learning styles of the audience and specific requirements of the organization.
Which mode is best used for a team of highly motivated graphic designers who work remotely and require a model that is cost efficient and allows rapid changes to the content?
A. Blended approach
B. Traditional learning
C. Technology-driven learning
D. On-the-job-training (OJT)
Identify elements that enhance communication in your training session.
A. Optimum lighting
B. Stories from your experience as a Black Belt
C. Appropriate humor
D. Controversial viewpoints
E. Enthusiasm
F. Varied presentation styles, modes, and media
G. Relevant examples
Which are characteristics of a control plan?
A. Each department's control plan is stored in the same place
B. A control plan may address a product or one or more related processes
C. A control plan includes procedures for detecting the root causes of variation in a process
D. A control plan includes information on frequency and method of measurement, as well as miscellaneous information such as notes and meeting minutes
E. A control plan is an accessible, single document summary
F. Checking, monitoring, and response activities are included in the control plan
Which statements are true about setting and using target cost when designing for cost?
A. The target cost should be found by subtracting the target margin from the projected price
B. The target cost should be used to determine if the project is worth the investment
C. The target cost is used primarily to undercut the competition
D. The target cost should be used to guide the project design team
E. The target cost plus commission establishes the target price
F. As a rule of thumb, find the target margin by taking 5% of the gross profit margin and adding it to the gross profit margin
How do you set and use target cost when designing for cost?
A. Use the target cost to guide the project design team
B. Use the target cost to help prioritize customer requirements
C. Use the target cost to determine if the project is worth the investment
D. Find the target margin by taking 5% of the gross profit margin and adding it to the total gross profit margin
E. Double the target cost to determine the target price
F. Find the target cost by subtracting the target margin from the projected price
A team is working to improve consistency in the size of faucet holes in sinks. The two factors being testing are drill speed and production run. Each is tested at two levels. The specified hole diameter is 4.5 mm.
Review the matrix and calculate an estimate for the effect "drill speed." If the result is negative, you must precede the value with a "-" sign. Round your answer to two decimal places, if necessary.
A. -0.17
B. -.17
A quality improvement team wants to improve the strength of the plastic resin produced at its facility.
Which statements accurately describe the experiment?
A. The runs are randomized
B. There are two factors
C. The response is measured at 338.03 for the twelfth run conducted
D. There are four replicates
E. The response variable is material strength
A team of surveyors is doing initial surveys to determine the location of proposed cell phone towers. After comparing some of the day's measurements to those calculated using a transit level, the team finds that the new mapping procedure is giving inaccurate results. Pressed for time, and in light of the recent actions by managers to sanction workers who say they need to retake measurements, the surveyors decide to let it slide, thinking they will get it right next time.
Of the six categories of error, which are represented in this scenario?
A. Machine
B. Man
C. Methods
D. Management
E. Materials
F. Mother Nature
Which statements correctly reflect the goals and features of total productive maintenance (TPM) when implemented in an organization?
A. Employees at all levels are involved, and small group activities for autonomous maintenance are performed
B. One goal is losses of less than 15 minutes from setup and adjustment
C. One goal is zero losses from process defects, idling and minor stoppages, equipment failure, and reduced speed
D. Only shop-floor employees are involved, since they're the ones performing autonomous maintenance
E. One goal is for total efficiency and effectiveness
Choose the statement that reflects the best strategy for ongoing evaluation.
A. Decide what to measure based on a detailed analysis of your customer requirements
B. Use a balance of measurements – performance measures and audit results – to obtain a holistic perspective on the future performance of your improved processes
C. Use tools such as the 5 Whys that enable you to determine problems in your process and how to resolve them in future product releases
D. Use customer requirements to determine critical-to-quality areas for process improvement goals
Which of these options are considerations associated with collecting customer data?
A. Primary data sources are also known as indirect sources
B. Primary and secondary data sources are the two main sources for gathering information
C. Data can be obtained from different levels within an organization
D. Business level customers include those who purchase a product or service
E. Valuable data can be gathered from both external customers and internal customers
You are carrying out a study on local residents to find out how well the neighborhood mall is serving their needs. You take a sample of 500 people and find a p-value of 0.05.
What does this test result imply about statistical and practical significance?
A. An α value of 0.09 implies that the results are practically significant and you fail to reject the null hypothesis
B. A small sample size of 500 implies that there's a good chance of finding a small difference and deeming it practically significant
C. A large sample size of 500 implies that small differences may be detected as statistically significant, even if not practically significant
D. An α value of 0.09 implies that the results would be considered statistically significant and you would reject the null hypothesis
E. All results must be considered for practical significance before instituting any changes
An organization is considering using kaizen to improve an administration process. What are the conditions under which a kaizen event would be a good idea?
A. A Lean initiative is beginning soon in the organization, and it would benefit from a kick-start
B. The team wants to use the event to learn about Lean principles, tradeoffs, and design methodology
C. The organization needs an immediate improvement
D. The implementation risk involved is moderate
E. There is an identified need for the elimination of several subprocesses within the process
Identify statements that describe how the balanced scorecard approach helps align projects with organizational goals.
A. It reduces the need for data analysis
B. It provides detailed performance data
C. It gives insight into how processes affect one another
D. It compares current performance with projected performance
E. It identifies areas where problems occur and offers solutions to them
A roofing company has to build trusses with a 33.00 degree angle at the peak. An angle with a known accuracy of 33.000 degrees has been created as the standard. To test the accuracy of the measuring device, the standard angle is measured 12 times. The resolution of the device is 0.075 degrees. And the tolerance set for the process is +/- 0.010, giving a tolerance range of 0.02.
Which statement offers the correct values and interpretation of bias in this scenario? Round the value of bias to three decimal places.
A. The bias value of 0.019 indicates that the device is overestimating the true value and bias expressed as a percentage of tolerance is 95%
B. The bias value of -0.019 indicates that the device is underestimating the true value and bias expressed as a percentage of tolerance is 95%
C. The bias value of 6.57 indicates that the device is overestimating measurements, and this bias greatly exceeds the tolerance
D. The bias value of -0.019 indicates that the device, on average, is returning measurements that are larger than the reference value and bias expressed as a percentage of tolerance is 95%
What is the purpose of gap analysis in Six Sigma?
A. Gap analysis is used to measure key performance metrics, thereby helping to understand how a current process must be changed in order to achieve improvement
B. Gap analysis is used to identify the difference between an organization's current performance and the potential performance in order to develop strategies to bring actual performance in line with desired performance
C. Gap analysis is used to define opportunities for improvement by showing how current processes are falling short of customer requirements
A Six Sigma team is exploring the possibility of using a kaizen event to improve a manufacturing process. Identify the conditions under which a kaizen event is a good idea.
A. Significant savings can be quickly realized by implementing the event
B. A measurable increase in production can be supported with data
C. Producing results immediately is not important
D. Implementation risk is minimal
E. Day-to-day tasks cannot be stopped during implementation
Frank, a team leader, and his team are having a good problem-solving meeting. They've had a very productive brainstorming session that has produced a detailed breakdown of the different aspects of the complex problem they're looking at. The next step is to determine if there are causal links between the components of the problem, and if so, to rank them in order of importance.
Which tool should Frank and his team use to accomplish this?
A. Activity network diagram
B. Tree diagram
C. Affinity diagram
D. Prioritization matrix
What are goals of robust design?
A. To determine which factors can be controlled and which factors cannot be controlled
B. To use tools such as orthogonal arrays to determine the optimum combination of factors and parameter levels in a design
C. To determine the best cost and time options to produce the product or process within parameters
D. To use orthogonal arrays to confirm the performance of the product after launch
E. To determine parameters for manufacturing the product at the lowest possible cost
Kevin, Suzy, and Nathan are stakeholders in a Six Sigma project in their organization. Kevin provides the team with expert advice in statistical measurement tools. Suzy, who has been coached by Kevin, is the lead project manager on a full-time basis. Nathan is responsible for confirming that any changes made by the project are beneficial.
Which statement most accurately describes each member's Six Sigma role?
A. Kevin is a Master Black Belt, Suzy is a Black Belt, and Nathan is a process owner
B. Suzy is a project champion, Nathan is a Black Belt, and Kevin is a Green Belt
C. Nathan is a Green Belt, Suzy is a Black Belt, and Kevin is a process owner
You're leading a Six Sigma team in an examination of a clothing manufacturer's production line. Management at the company wants to improve the process and increase output to a desired level. An early experiment determined four factors to be significant: employee experience, pattern cutting precision, sewing machine uptime, and fabric density.
Now you've completed another experiment, and concluded that sewing machine uptime and fabric density should be set at 97% and 1.82 respectively to achieve the desired response of 620 units per day.
Identify the objective of the latest experiment.
A. The goal of this experiment is robustness testing
B. The goal of this experiment is screening
C. The goal of this experiment is optimization
Ben is a Six Sigma Black Belt leading a stakeholder analysis in a project that is designed to improve the order fulfillment process at his services company.
Identify the steps in the scenario.
A. He waits until a deployment strategy has been formulated before engaging with leadership
B. He identifies only stakeholders who are internal to the process
C. He creates and implements a plan to manage the stakeholders in the improvement project
D. He creates a stakeholder analysis table to identify stakeholders, their roles, influence, and action plan for the order fulfillment process
E. He conducts interviews with key stakeholders, including the sales manager, team members, and customers
Select the four characteristics of CTx requirements.
A. CTx requirements are equal in importance to other requirements
B. CTx requirements are identifiable at different levels of operation
C. A change in CTx requirements can impact the system
D. In a CTx requirement, CT represents "closest to"
E. CTx requirements are measurable
F. CTx requirements relate to business or customer requirements
A Six Sigma Black Belt works for a university. Her current project involves improving services for students who need to learn English as a second language. What are good recommendations for this team's selection?
A. The team should include some faculty members
B. All department heads and their support staff should be part of the team
C. The team can use a personality inventory tool to facilitate teamwork by learning about potential members' aptitudes and decision-making styles
D. The team should have a range of personality types and skills
E. The team should have a total of no more than 20 members
F. When adding a new team member, the team should be involved in the selection process
Process capability is calculated with the help of specification limits and process spread.
In which two ways can you use these elements to measure process capability?
A. Check that the process spread is within the specification limits
B. Use the process limits to determine the specification limits and make sure they match
C. Determine if a process is conforming by comparing the actual process spread to the allowed process spread
D. Use the process spread to calculate the specification limits
What are the considerations associated with collecting customer data?
A. Internal customers can be just as valuable as external customers
B. There are three organizational levels you can obtain data from
C. Data collection methods focus primarily on internal customers
D. The process level includes customers who have major influence at their companies
E. You can use two main types of data sources to gather information
Which are steps in creating and using a spaghetti diagram?
A. Use different colors each time a movement is made
B. Identify ways to move process steps closer to each other to eliminate the excess movement
C. Record the layout of the area or use an existing floor plan
D. Decide on the subject, or subjects, to follow
E. Brainstorm ways to eliminate the excessive movement
F. Record the subjects who have the least movement
G. Record the movements of all of the subjects on the diagram, using color to differentiate between them
The functional limits of an electric mixer motor are plus or minus 10% of the response rpm. The adjustments made before a motor can leave the warehouse cost $4.00, and the cost associated with a defective motor after it has been sold is on average $100.
The economical safety factor equals the square root of the loss when exceeding the functional limit divided by the loss when exceeding the tolerance specs. What should the tolerance specifications be for a 200 rpm motor? Answers have been rounded to two decimal places.
A. 199.98 to 200.02 rpm
B. 195.00 to 205.00 rpm
C. 196.00 to 204.00 rpm
In a Six Sigma team, members have great respect for each other and are always available to help one another with problems. But lately there have been some arguments about the next step in the project, and there have been a number of internal disagreements. This confusion is exacerbated by a few members with poor speaking skills, since it can take lengthy questioning to discover what they mean.
Which critical success factors need improvement in this team scenario?
A. Following ground rules
B. Communication
C. Clarity of goals
D. Mutual trust, respect, and support
You're working with a technical support helpline to help improve the process and increase customer satisfaction rates. You've identified technical support representative experience at the level of five years and customer contact mode being instant messaging as the two optimal settings for desired customer satisfaction levels of 95%.
You experiment to find out whether small variations in these levels will have a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
What is the objective of this experiment?
A. The experimental goal is robustness testing
B. The experimental goal is optimization
C. The experimental goal is screening
Management at an international banking company is implementing Six Sigma. In order to determine what potential roadblocks may arise, the enterprise leadership team is conducting a roadblock analysis.
Access the International Banking Company Roadblock Analysis for the results of the analysis, then identify statements that accurately classify the potential roadblocks identified.
A. Assigning five part-time Black Belts results in an inefficient organizational structure roadblock
B. Executives demanding quick results is a roadblock indicating inadequate support from management
C. The fact that the Six Sigma effort's projects are scoped along department lines is an inefficient organizational structure roadblock
D. The fact that team leaders avoid calling out specific problems for fear of being fired is an inadequate support from management roadblock
E. Assigning only employees who can be spared to Black Belt positions and making those positions part time represents inadequate resource commitment
Monty works for a large software publishing company on the East Coast. Recently, the company merged with a small reference book company in California, whose employees will work on converting the books to a compatible electronic format and then will continue to do what they do so well, which is to acquire and publish new reference books. Monty is in charge of integrating the new company and its products into the existing library, which will take input from Programming, Research and Development, Quality Assurance, and HR.
What is the best team model for Monty's situation?
A. A virtual cross-functional team
B. A self-directed Six Sigma team
C. A self-directed project team
Which statements correctly describe benchmarking?
A. Benchmarking is a structured process of adopting or adapting the best features of successful processes
B. Benchmarking is an easy way to gain competitive advantage
C. Benchmarking is strictly a form of competitive analysis
D. Benchmarking applies objective measurement and a scientific method of analysis to enhance value
E. Benchmarking enables teams to set realistic targets and find ways to achieve them
You're conducting a study on a new dairy cow diet to increase milk production.
Identify the statements that correctly interpret the elements of the dairy study.
A. This is a two-tailed test with a 95% chance that the population mean will fall within the confidence interval and a strong power of 0.99
B. There's a 5% risk of rejecting the null hypothesis when it's true and a 1% risk of failing to reject the null hypothesis when it's false
C. This is a one-tailed test to the right with a 90% chance that the population mean will fall within the confidence interval and a weak power of 0.9
D. There's a 5% risk of rejecting the null hypothesis when it's true and a 10% risk of rejecting the null hypothesis when it's false
A retail bank wants to determine the joint probability for two key continuous process variables in auto loan application processing – the experience of the processing agent, and the loan amount. Both variables are continuous, and a correlation study reveals that they are poorly correlated. Which distribution is the best for this data?
A. Bivariate normal
B. Lognormal
C. Exponential
D. Weibull
Which circumstances should be present in order for a fractional factorial design to be used?
A. Good estimates of main effects and lower-order interaction effects can be obtained without testing all combinations
B. There are too many factors and levels to test manageably with a full factorial design
C. There are fewer than eight factors to estimate main and interaction effects for
D. There are too many factors to allow for the efficient use of time, resources, and effort using a full factorial design
E. There is confounding in the full factorial experiment too
Which are examples of variables that are well suited for SPC?
A. The Six Sigma team at an auto manufacturer determines that assembly time directly affects the cost of cars
B. The HR Department determines that employees learn just as well when the training program doesn't adhere to standards
C. A team determines that the moisture content impacts the durability of the product significantly
D. The Six Sigma team at a healthcare facility notices that a certain X-ray machine has a high defective rate
E. A software developer creates a series of programs that don't have any significant variation
F. A large number of a soda manufacturer's customers have requested that the beverages have a higher level of carbonation
Which statements accurately describe long-term capability?
A. As a result of this a Six Sigma process actually corresponds to 4.5σ
B. It is the only way to achieve Six Sigma capability, as this is this requires a lot of time
C. It usually uses Pp and Ppk to evaluate the total long-term capability with a long-term standard deviation estimate
D. It usually uses Cp and Cpk to evaluate the potential long-term capability with a long-term standard deviation estimate
A bearing manufacturer wishes to determine the linearity of the screw gauge used to measure bearing diameter. Based on its work, the Six Sigma team knows the linear equation is y = -0.2400 + 0.0127x and the process variation is 0.025.
Which statements accurately interpret this linearity plot?
A. Bias is consistent across the operating range of the gauge
B. The linearity value is not equal to zero, which may indicate that the gauge should be checked and calibrated
C. Bias is inconsistent across the operating range of the gauge
D. The system shows perfect linearity
E. Linearity is 0.03175
The Six Sigma team at a soil packaging plant wants to determine the linearity of an automatic weighing machine. Team members want to know if the weighing machine is accurate over its operating range. Based on its work, the team knows the linear equation is y = -0.02300 + 0x and the process variation is 0.05.
Which statements are true based on the information conveyed by the linearity plot?
A. Linearity is optimal
B. There is bias in the measurements
C. The linearity may indicate error in the value of x at the maximum or minimum range
D. Linearity is 0.00115
What conditions should exist in order to recommend the use of a randomized block design?
A. Blocks are more homogeneous than unblocked groups of runs
B. All noise factors have been tracked and recorded
C. Blocking will increase variation making it easier to measure
D. Variation introduced by noise factors threatens to obscure results
E. One factor is of primary interest in the experiment
A sales company randomly selects 1,000 invoices. Any error means the invoice is defective. In 27 invoices, the customer name is wrong, and in 13, the product number is wrong. In 9 invoices, both events occurred. Based on this sample, what's the probability of a defective invoice?
A. 0.03
B. .031
C. 3.1%
D. .03
E. 3.1
F. 3
G. 0.031
While calculating your results take a moment to complete our simple survey!
How likely is it that you would recommend TestPrep.Academy to a friend or colleague?
0 - Not at all likely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 - Extremely likely