APMG LSS Yellow Belt study plan
APMG LSS Yellow Belt · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Lean principles and waste
Define value from the customer's perspective and distinguish value-adding from non-value-adding activity
Classify the eight wastes (TIMWOODS) and give two workplace examples of each
Map a simple process you personally perform and tag each step as value-adding, necessary non-value-adding, or waste
Your checkpoint
A one-page waste audit of a real process listing at least 10 identified waste instances tagged by type
Lean principles and waste
Explain the five Lean principles and order them correctly
Distinguish push from pull and describe how takt time and flow reduce waiting
Describe 5S, standard work, and visual management as waste-countermeasures
Match each common Lean tool to the waste it primarily addresses
Your checkpoint
A tool-to-waste mapping table covering at least six Lean tools with a one-sentence justification each
Six Sigma fundamentals and DMAIC
Explain why variation matters and contrast common-cause with special-cause variation
Describe each DMAIC phase's purpose, key activities, and typical outputs
Identify which DMAIC phase a given activity belongs to
State the roles of sponsor, champion, and process owner within a project
Your checkpoint
A DMAIC phase summary sheet listing purpose, key activities, and exit criteria for all five phases
Six Sigma fundamentals and DMAIC & Process improvement tools and techniques
Construct a problem statement and goal statement that are specific and measurable
Build a basic project charter with scope, business case, and team
Translate a vague complaint into a scoped, data-driven problem definition
Your checkpoint
A completed one-page project charter for a real or realistic process problem
Process improvement tools and techniques
Select appropriate data-collection methods and define operational definitions for a measure
Build and interpret a check sheet, histogram, and Pareto chart
Distinguish discrete from continuous data and choose suitable displays for each
Identify the vital few from a Pareto analysis
Your checkpoint
A Pareto chart with a written interpretation naming the top contributors and their cumulative share
Process improvement tools and techniques
Construct and read a cause-and-effect diagram and a why-why analysis
Distinguish a root cause from a symptom and verify a suspected cause with data
Explain how a process map or flowchart supports root-cause analysis
Select countermeasures and describe how to pilot and verify them
Your checkpoint
A fishbone diagram plus verified root cause supported by at least one data point
Roles, teamwork and improvement support
Describe the responsibilities of Yellow, Green, and Black Belts and how they differ
Explain how a Yellow Belt supports a project team without leading it
Identify effective team behaviors and common team dysfunctions in improvement work
Outline how to communicate results and hand off improvements to the process owner
Your checkpoint
A role comparison table covering Yellow, Green, and Black Belt responsibilities plus a short team-ground-rules list
Lean principles and waste & Six Sigma fundamentals and DMAIC & Process improvement tools and techniques & Roles, teamwork and improvement support
Review all four domains and close weak areas identified by practice results
Practice timed mixed-topic questions and analyze error patterns
Rehearse explaining key terms and tools in plain language
Confirm readiness against the exam weighting by domain
Your checkpoint
A scored full practice set with a written error log listing each missed concept and a correction note
Milestones
Week 2: Can name all eight wastes and explain the five Lean principles without notes
Week 4: Can place any given activity into the correct DMAIC phase and produce a scoped project charter
Week 6: Can select and correctly interpret a Pareto, histogram, and cause-and-effect diagram for a sample scenario
Week 8: Scores at or above a self-set passing threshold on a timed mixed-domain practice set and has a completed error log