Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Exam Trivia 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which company is most often credited with pioneering the modern Six Sigma methodology in the 1980s?
- General Electric
- Toyota
- Motorola (Correct answer)
- Honeywell
Correct answer: Motorola
Motorola developed and pioneered Six Sigma in the mid-1980s, winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1988 partly due to Six Sigma efforts.
Question 2: What statistical distribution is assumed when using a standard control chart for individual measurements (I-MR chart)?
- Binomial distribution
- Poisson distribution
- Normal distribution (Correct answer)
- Exponential distribution
Correct answer: Normal distribution
I-MR charts assume that individual measurements are approximately normally distributed for the control limits to be statistically valid.
Question 3: The concept of 'Jidoka' in lean manufacturing means:
- Just-in-time delivery
- Continuous flow production
- Automation with human intelligence to stop at abnormalities (Correct answer)
- Standardized work instructions
Correct answer: Automation with human intelligence to stop at abnormalities
Jidoka, a pillar of the Toyota Production System, means automation with human intelligence — machines detect abnormalities and stop automatically to prevent defect propagation.
Question 4: Which Six Sigma tool is best suited for identifying the root cause of a problem by asking 'Why?' repeatedly?
- Pareto Chart
- 5 Whys (Correct answer)
- SIPOC Diagram
- Box Plot
Correct answer: 5 Whys
The 5 Whys technique iteratively asks 'Why?' five times (or more) to drill down from a symptom to its true root cause.
Question 5: In hypothesis testing, a Type II error occurs when:
- A true null hypothesis is rejected
- A false null hypothesis is not rejected (Correct answer)
- The sample size is too large
- The p-value exceeds 0.05
Correct answer: A false null hypothesis is not rejected
A Type II error (beta error) occurs when the null hypothesis is false but we fail to reject it — we miss a real effect.
Question 6: What does 'Cp' measure in process capability analysis?
- Process centering relative to specification limits
- Potential process capability assuming the process is centered (Correct answer)
- Actual defect rate in PPM
- Control chart stability over time
Correct answer: Potential process capability assuming the process is centered
Cp measures potential (or inherent) process capability assuming the process is perfectly centered within its specification limits, without accounting for mean shift.
Question 7: The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established in which year?
- 1980
- 1987 (Correct answer)
- 1994
- 2001
Correct answer: 1987
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established by the U.S. Congress in 1987 to recognize U.S. organizations for performance excellence.
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Exam Trivia 3
Which company is most often credited with pioneering the modern Six Sigma methodology in the 1980s?