Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification Basic 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'value' in the context of Lean thinking?
- Any activity that consumes resources
- What the customer is willing to pay for (Correct answer)
- The total cost of production
- Internal process efficiency metrics
Correct answer: What the customer is willing to pay for
In Lean, value is defined from the customer's perspective as what they are willing to pay for.
Question 2: The '5 Whys' technique is primarily used for:
- Measuring process cycle time
- Identifying root causes of a problem (Correct answer)
- Prioritizing improvement projects
- Mapping the value stream
Correct answer: Identifying root causes of a problem
The 5 Whys technique involves repeatedly asking 'why' to drill down to the root cause of a problem.
Question 3: In Six Sigma, what does 'sigma' measure?
- The average number of defects per unit
- Process speed or throughput
- Process variation or standard deviation (Correct answer)
- Customer satisfaction scores
Correct answer: Process variation or standard deviation
Sigma is a statistical measure of process variation; higher sigma levels indicate fewer defects and less variation.
Question 4: Which waste category in Lean refers to producing more than what is needed?
- Waiting
- Overproduction (Correct answer)
- Defects
- Transportation
Correct answer: Overproduction
Overproduction is making more, sooner, or faster than required by the next process or customer.
Question 5: A control chart is used to:
- Define project scope and objectives
- Monitor process performance over time (Correct answer)
- List all potential failure modes
- Calculate the cost of poor quality
Correct answer: Monitor process performance over time
Control charts track process data over time to distinguish between common cause and special cause variation.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a SIPOC diagram?
- To identify waste in a process
- To provide a high-level view of a process and its key elements (Correct answer)
- To rank defects by frequency
- To calculate process sigma level
Correct answer: To provide a high-level view of a process and its key elements
SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) provides a high-level summary of a process before detailed analysis.
Question 7: Which phase of DMAIC focuses on understanding the current state of the process through data collection?
- Define
- Analyze
- Measure (Correct answer)
- Control
Correct answer: Measure
The Measure phase establishes a baseline of current process performance through data collection and measurement.
Which of the following best describes 'value' in the context of Lean thinking?