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CSSC Green Belt practice questions

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Question 1Define

Which set of activities belongs to the Define phase of a Six Sigma DMAIC project?

  1. Chartering the project and capturing customer requirements Correct answer.
  2. Monitoring the improved process with control charts and reaction plans
  3. Piloting and validating the chosen solution across all shifts
  4. Testing hypotheses about the causes of variation in the process

Explanation

The Define phase establishes the project's legitimacy: the charter, the voice of the customer, the problem and goal statements, and the scope boundary. Measuring, root-cause testing and control all belong to later phases, so they cannot sit inside Define.

Question 2Define

Which item is normally recorded in a Six Sigma project charter?

  1. The statistically validated root causes of the defect, ranked by frequency
  2. The design of experiments that will optimise the process settings
  3. The business case, problem and goal statements, and scope Correct answer.
  4. The control limits that will be applied to the key output variable

Explanation

A charter records the business case, the problem and goal statements, the scope, the team and the milestones, because it defines what the project is and why it exists. Confirmed causes, control limits and designed experiments are outputs of later phases and cannot exist when the charter is written.

Question 3Define

Voice of the customer (VOC) data is best described as

  1. the customer's stated and unstated needs and expectations Correct answer.
  2. the financial return expected from the improvement project
  3. the internal opinion of the project team about how the process performs
  4. the specification limits written by the engineering department

Explanation

VOC captures the customer's view, both explicitly stated wants and latent needs, gathered through interviews, surveys, complaints, focus groups and observation. Internal opinions, financial returns and engineering specifications are not customer voice.

Question 4Define

A critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristic is

  1. a defect count recorded on the department's weekly quality report
  2. a process step that the project team has identified as the most expensive
  3. a tolerance band set by the design engineer without customer input
  4. a measurable output that matters most to the customer Correct answer.

Explanation

A CTQ translates a customer need into a measurable characteristic with a target and specification, so the project can be measured against it. Cost to the team, engineering convenience and internal defect counts are not defined by customer importance.

Question 5Define

In a SIPOC diagram, the five headings are

  1. Systems, Inputs, Procedures, Outputs, Controls
  2. Suppliers, Indicators, Process, Objectives, Costs
  3. Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers Correct answer.
  4. Sources, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Constraints

Explanation

SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers. It is a high-level map used in Define to agree where the process starts and stops and to set project boundaries.

Question 6Define

Who typically authorises resources, removes organisational barriers and approves the project charter?

  1. The Green Belt leading the day-to-day project work
  2. The process owner of the area being improved
  3. The Master Black Belt who provides technical guidance
  4. The project Champion or Sponsor Correct answer.

Explanation

The Champion or Sponsor is the senior manager who funds and legitimises the project, secures resources, clears organisational obstacles and signs the charter. The Green Belt runs the project daily, the Master Black Belt advises on method, and the process owner owns the process itself.

Question 7Define

A team has collected defect data across ten categories. Applying the Pareto principle, the team should first concentrate on

  1. the categories that appear last in the data collection sheet
  2. every category equally so that no defect type is ignored
  3. the few categories that account for the majority of defects Correct answer.
  4. the defect categories that the team finds quickest to eliminate

Explanation

The Pareto principle states that a small number of categories usually accounts for most of the defects, so attacking those delivers the greatest improvement for the effort expended. Selection should be driven by contribution to the problem, not by ease or by data order.

Question 8Define

After a Six Sigma project is closed, who is accountable for sustaining the gains in the improved process?

  1. The Green Belt who led the project
  2. The finance representative who validated the savings
  3. The Master Black Belt who reviewed the statistics
  4. The process owner of the improved process Correct answer.

Explanation

The process owner runs the process once the project ends and is accountable for executing the control plan and holding the results. The belt and reviewers move on to other assignments.

Question 9Define

Which statement is the most appropriate problem statement for a project charter?

  1. Defect rates on line 2 have risen, and the team believes worn tooling is the cause.
  2. The team will reduce line 2 defects by 50% before the end of the third quarter.
  3. Line 2 should install a new vision inspection system later this year to eliminate defects.
  4. Output defects rose from 3% to 7% between January and June, costing $120,000. Correct answer.

Explanation

A problem statement quantifies the observed gap: what is wrong, where, when and how much, without asserting a cause or prescribing a remedy. Naming a suspected cause or a preferred solution pre-empts the analysis and biases the team.

Question 10Define

A well-written project goal statement should be

  1. framed in terms of the solution the team prefers to implement
  2. focused only on the cost savings required by finance
  3. specific, measurable, achievable and time-bound Correct answer.
  4. broad enough to cover all problems found in the department

Explanation

A goal statement should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound so that progress and closure can be judged objectively. Broad, solution-driven or purely financial goals cannot be verified against the original problem.

Question 11Define

Why does a project charter explicitly state what is out of scope?

  1. To allow the team to skip documenting steps that are out of scope
  2. To prevent scope creep and set boundaries for the team Correct answer.
  3. To show that the team has already found the root cause
  4. To satisfy the finance department's reporting requirements

Explanation

Out-of-scope statements set boundaries, protect the team from scope creep and clarify interfaces with neighbouring processes or projects. They do not excuse the team from documenting the process, nor do they serve finance reporting or prove a cause.

Question 12Define

Customers are delighted by a feature they did not expect and would not have missed had it been absent. In the Kano model this is a

  1. performance (one-dimensional) requirement
  2. must-be (dissatisfier) requirement
  3. delighter (attractive) requirement Correct answer.
  4. reverse quality requirement

Explanation

Attractive or delighter requirements create satisfaction when present but cause no dissatisfaction when absent. Must-be requirements cause dissatisfaction when missing, and performance requirements raise satisfaction in proportion to how fully they are met.

Question 13Define

A warranty claim paid to a customer for a failed product is classified as

  1. an external failure cost Correct answer.
  2. an appraisal cost
  3. a prevention cost
  4. an internal failure cost

Explanation

External failure costs arise after a defect reaches the customer, for example warranty, returns, complaints and liability. Internal failure occurs before delivery, appraisal covers inspection and testing, and prevention covers activities that stop defects arising.

Question 14Define

The main purpose of a stakeholder analysis during Define is to

  1. identify affected parties and plan how to engage them Correct answer.
  2. calculate the cost of poor quality across the whole process
  3. determine the statistical sample size needed for the project
  4. record the process steps from supplier through to customer

Explanation

Stakeholder analysis identifies everyone who affects or is affected by the project, together with their interest and influence, so that communication and engagement can be planned. Sample size, process mapping and cost of poor quality are separate Define tools.

Question 15Define

In Tuckman's model of team development, which stage is marked by conflict over roles, goals and ways of working?

  1. Storming Correct answer.
  2. Performing
  3. Forming
  4. Norming

Explanation

Tuckman's sequence is forming, storming, norming and performing. Storming is where disagreements about roles, goals and methods surface and must be resolved before the team can settle into agreed norms.

Question 16Define

In a RACI matrix, the person marked 'Accountable' is the one who

  1. is kept informed of progress but does not decide
  2. signs off and owns the outcome of the task Correct answer.
  3. performs the hands-on work required to complete the task
  4. provides specialist input before the task is completed

Explanation

RACI assigns one Accountable person per task; that person owns the outcome and signs it off. The Responsible person does the work, the Consulted person supplies input, and the Informed person is notified.

Question 17Define

The business case section of a Six Sigma charter is used to

  1. list the team members and their individual training records
  2. record the control plan that will be used after the project
  3. justify the project in financial and strategic terms Correct answer.
  4. describe in detail how each process step will be measured

Explanation

The business case links the project to financial and strategic benefit so that sponsors can prioritise and fund it against competing demands. Measurement detail, team records and control plans belong to other charter sections or to later phases.

Question 18Define

Benchmarking during the Define phase means

  1. comparing process performance against best-in-class practice Correct answer.
  2. copying the measurement system used by a competing organisation
  3. reviewing last year's internal audit findings for the whole process
  4. comparing the team's opinions with the manager's expectations

Explanation

Benchmarking compares the process with recognised best-in-class performance, internal or external, to set credible targets and expose improvement opportunities. It is a performance comparison, not a copy of tools or a review of internal audit notes.

Question 19Define

A phase-gate (tollgate) review at the end of Define is intended to

  1. approve the final control plan before handover to the process owner
  2. review the results of the designed experiments run by the team
  3. confirm the charter and customer data justify moving to Measure Correct answer.
  4. decide which statistical software the team will use in the Analyse phase

Explanation

The Define tollgate checks that the charter, VOC and CTQ data, and the baseline evidence are sound enough to justify further investment, and it authorises the move into Measure. Software choice, experiment results and the control plan are considered at other points.

Question 20Define

A communication plan for a Six Sigma project should specify

  1. who needs what information, when, and through which channel Correct answer.
  2. the tolerances that will be applied to the key output
  3. the sampling plan that will be used to collect the data
  4. the statistical tests that will be used to analyse the data collected

Explanation

A communication plan defines audiences, message content, timing, channel and owner so that stakeholders stay informed and engaged throughout the project. Statistical tests, sampling plans and tolerances are technical planning items from other phases.

Question 21Define

In a House of Quality matrix, the relationship matrix is used to

  1. record the target values and priorities for the technical requirements
  2. compare the company's performance with that of its competitors
  3. rank the technical requirements against one another for difficulty
  4. show how technical requirements satisfy customer needs Correct answer.

Explanation

The relationship matrix maps each customer requirement, the 'whats', to the technical requirements, the 'hows', marking the links as strong, moderate or weak. It exposes which technical requirements matter most for customer satisfaction.

Question 22Define

A process produces 6,210 defects per million opportunities. Using the standard sigma conversion table, this is closest to

  1. 5.0 sigma
  2. 2.0 sigma
  3. 4.0 sigma Correct answer.
  4. 3.0 sigma

Explanation

In the standard short-term table a process centred on target at 6,210 defects per million opportunities sits at 4.0 sigma. Each additional sigma level corresponds to roughly a tenfold reduction in defects per million opportunities.

Question 23Define

In the relationship Y = f(X), the X variables represent

  1. the specification limits that define acceptable output
  2. the input and process variables that drive the output Correct answer.
  3. the random error in the output that cannot be controlled
  4. the output metrics that the customer measures and values

Explanation

Y = f(X) expresses that the output Y is a function of the input and process variables X. Six Sigma projects find and control the vital Xs in order to move Y toward the customer's target.

Question 24Define

When introducing a Six Sigma project, the first step in managing resistance to change is to

  1. announce the new control charts to the workforce at a briefing
  2. create a sense of urgency by sharing the problem data Correct answer.
  3. reassign the staff who object to the new way of working
  4. wait until the solution is proven before telling anyone

Explanation

Change efforts fail when people see no need to change, so sharing the data that shows the size of the problem builds urgency and lowers resistance before solutions are proposed. Announcing tools early, punishing objectors or withholding information all increase resistance.

Question 25Define

In Six Sigma, the 'hidden factory' refers to

  1. the unbilled inventory that is held between process steps on the line
  2. the defects that escape to the customer before the project starts
  3. the portion of plant capacity that is reserved for future expansion
  4. work spent on rework and inspection that customers never see Correct answer.

Explanation

The hidden factory is the extra effort a process expends on rework, sorting, expediting and inspection to get acceptable output to the customer. It consumes capacity and cost without adding customer value, and it rarely appears in standard cost reports.

Question 26Define

The primary purpose of the Define phase in a Six Sigma project is to

  1. verify that the measurement system is acceptable
  2. identify which input variables cause variation in the output
  3. standardise the improved process and hand it to the process owner
  4. establish the problem, scope and goals and secure authorisation to proceed Correct answer.

Explanation

Define establishes a clear, bounded problem statement, a measurable goal, scope boundaries and sponsor approval to commit resources. Causal analysis of inputs belongs to Analyse, and standardisation belongs to Control. Measurement system validation is a Measure-phase activity.

Question 27Define

In a SIPOC diagram, the letter P refers to

  1. the performance measures attached to each step
  2. the product families the process serves
  3. the steps that transform inputs into outputs Correct answer.
  4. the people who approve the project

Explanation

SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers, where Process means the high-level steps that convert inputs into outputs. Approvers, metrics and product families are not the elements the acronym names at that position.

Question 28Define

Which of the following is classified as an appraisal cost within the cost of poor quality?

  1. Scrap of nonconforming units
  2. A customer return processed under warranty
  3. Inspection and test labour Correct answer.
  4. Labour spent reworking defects

Explanation

Appraisal costs are incurred to find defects before they reach the customer, such as inspection, test and audit. Scrap and rework are internal failure costs, and warranty claims are external failure costs.

Question 29Define

Which item is a typical Define-phase deliverable that later guides the Measure phase?

  1. A control plan
  2. A data collection plan Correct answer.
  3. An analysis of variance table
  4. A response surface design

Explanation

Define produces the charter together with a data collection plan that specifies which metrics will be measured, how, by whom and how often. Control plans, experimental designs and ANOVA tables are outputs of later phases.

Question 30Define

A CTQ tree takes a broad customer need and breaks it down into

  1. the process input variables that will be studied
  2. the team roles needed to complete the project
  3. measurable requirements with target specifications Correct answer.
  4. the cost-of-quality categories affected

Explanation

A CTQ tree translates a vague voice-of-customer statement into progressively more specific, measurable requirements until an operational specification is reached. Input variables, cost categories and team roles are addressed by other tools.

Question 31Define

A selection committee scores candidate projects against customer impact, financial benefit and feasibility, giving each criterion a weight and summing the weighted scores. This method is best described as

  1. a run chart
  2. a force-field analysis
  3. a Kano survey
  4. a weighted prioritisation matrix Correct answer.

Explanation

A weighted prioritisation matrix multiplies each project's score on a criterion by that criterion's weight and totals the results, producing a defensible ranking. Force-field analysis examines forces for and against change, while run charts and Kano surveys serve different purposes.

Question 32Define

In the project definition Y = f(X), the Y represents

  1. the design tolerance permitted by the customer
  2. the output or effect the project is trying to improve Correct answer.
  3. an input variable the team will deliberately change
  4. an uncontrollable noise factor in the process

Explanation

Y is the dependent output, the performance characteristic the project exists to improve, and its behaviour is driven by the X inputs. Tolerances set the acceptable range for Y but are not Y itself, and noise factors are a category of X.

Question 33Define

A macro-level process map created during Define is best characterised as

  1. a matrix linking each process input to a customer requirement
  2. a task-by-task diagram showing every decision point and rework loop
  3. a statistical plot of process output against time
  4. a high-level view of the main steps and handoffs without task-level detail Correct answer.

Explanation

A macro map shows the sequence of major steps, handoffs and owners so the team can agree on scope quickly. Detailed task-level maps are built later when the team needs to examine specific activities.

Question 34Define

The baseline for a Six Sigma project is best defined as

  1. the measured current performance of the process before any change Correct answer.
  2. the upper specification limit for the key output
  3. the best performance achieved by a comparable organisation
  4. the target performance agreed with the sponsor

Explanation

The baseline is a quantified snapshot of how the process performs today, using the same metric that will later demonstrate improvement. Targets and specification limits are different concepts and cannot substitute for a measured starting point.

Question 35Define

Which Six Sigma role provides technical mentoring to Black Belts and gives statistical leadership across a deployment?

  1. Yellow Belt
  2. Process owner
  3. Green Belt
  4. Master Black Belt Correct answer.

Explanation

The Master Black Belt is the technical expert who mentors and certifies Black Belts and supports statistical method selection across the deployment. Green and Yellow Belts work on smaller projects, and the process owner owns the process rather than the technical curriculum.

Question 36Define

Which SIPOC element most directly drives the definition of CTQ metrics for a project?

  1. The list of suppliers feeding the process
  2. The name of the process owner
  3. The outputs together with the requirements customers place on them Correct answer.
  4. The number of process steps shown

Explanation

Customer requirements attached to each output are what get translated into measurable critical-to-quality characteristics. Suppliers, step counts and owner names describe the process context but do not define what the customer will judge.

Question 37Define

Which statement best describes the relationship between a project charter and a project plan?

  1. The plan authorises the project; the charter schedules the tasks.
  2. The charter is written in Control and the plan in Define.
  3. The charter authorises and scopes the work; the plan schedules it. Correct answer.
  4. Both documents are produced by finance before the project starts.

Explanation

The charter is the authorising document that fixes the problem, goal, scope and team at a high level. The plan then translates that authorisation into schedules, milestones and resource assignments.

Question 38Define

Which approach collects voice-of-customer input most directly from the point of use?

  1. Observing and interviewing customers as they use the process output Correct answer.
  2. Charting defect rates from internal inspection records
  3. Reviewing the process failure mode and effects analysis
  4. Running a gauge repeatability and reproducibility study

Explanation

Direct observation and interviews capture what customers actually experience and need, including needs they may not volunteer in a survey. Inspection records, gauge studies and failure mode analysis are internal sources that describe the process rather than the customer.

Question 39Define

Going to the Gemba while working in Define means

  1. reviewing the project status in a conference room
  2. going to the place where the work is actually done to observe it Correct answer.
  3. interviewing senior executives about business strategy
  4. analysing archived data in a spreadsheet

Explanation

Gemba refers to the real place where value is created, so the team observes the actual process, people and conditions first-hand. This grounds the problem statement in reality rather than in reports or assumptions.

Question 40Define

A charter states a primary metric and one or more secondary metrics. The purpose of a secondary metric is to

  1. act as a fallback if the primary metric cannot be improved
  2. check that the primary gain does not harm another part of the business Correct answer.
  3. measure supplier performance only
  4. replace the primary metric when baseline data are missing

Explanation

Secondary metrics act as guards against sub-optimisation, showing whether improving the primary metric has damaged another measure such as cost, cycle time or safety. They are not substitutes or fallbacks for the primary metric.

Question 41Measure

A team records customer complaints under the labels 'packaging', 'labeling', 'product quality', and 'delivery'. These labels represent which measurement scale?

  1. Ordinal
  2. Ratio
  3. Nominal Correct answer.
  4. Interval

Explanation

A nominal scale assigns names or labels to categories that have no inherent rank or numeric distance. Because the complaint labels could be listed in any order without changing their meaning, the scale is nominal.

Question 42Measure

Which measure of central tendency is most strongly influenced by a single extreme outlier?

  1. Median
  2. Mode
  3. Mean Correct answer.
  4. Trimmed mean

Explanation

The mean uses the value of every observation in its calculation, so one very large or very small value pulls it toward the outlier. The median and trimmed mean are based on position or on discarding extreme values, which makes them resistant to outliers.

Question 43Measure

A gage R&R study quantifies which two components of measurement variation?

  1. Stability and resolution
  2. Repeatability and reproducibility Correct answer.
  3. Bias and linearity
  4. Accuracy and precision

Explanation

A gage R&R study separates equipment variation (repeatability) from appraiser variation (reproducibility). Together these two components make up the precision of the measurement system.

Question 44Measure

Which tool displays the frequency distribution of a continuous variable using adjacent bars?

  1. Histogram Correct answer.
  2. Run chart
  3. Pareto chart
  4. Scatter diagram

Explanation

A histogram bins continuous data into intervals and shows the count or proportion in each bin as a bar, revealing shape, center, and spread. The other tools order categories, track time, or relate two variables.

Question 45Measure

As the sigma level of a process increases, the expected number of defects per million opportunities will do which of the following?

  1. Remain unchanged
  2. Decrease Correct answer.
  3. Increase, then level off
  4. Increase

Explanation

Sigma level expresses how many standard deviations fit between the process mean and the nearest specification limit. A larger sigma level means fewer opportunities fall outside the limits, so DPMO falls.

Question 46Measure

Which statistic is a measure of process dispersion?

  1. Mode
  2. Median
  3. Mean
  4. Standard deviation Correct answer.

Explanation

Dispersion describes how spread out the observations are, and the standard deviation is the most common measure of that spread. The mean, median, and mode all locate the center of the data rather than its spread.

Question 47Measure

A Pareto chart arranges categories along the horizontal axis in what order?

  1. Alphabetical order of the category names
  2. Ascending order of frequency or impact
  3. Order of the dates on which the data were collected
  4. Descending order of frequency or impact Correct answer.

Explanation

The Pareto principle is applied by ranking categories from largest to smallest contribution so the vital few stand out on the left. Ascending order would bury the largest contributors at the far right of the chart.

Question 48Measure

A process capability index compares the width of the specification limits with which of the following?

  1. The number of subgroups collected
  2. The spread of the process Correct answer.
  3. The control limit spacing
  4. The customer complaint count

Explanation

Capability indices relate the voice of the customer (the specification width) to the voice of the process (the process spread). A wide spread relative to the tolerance produces a low index value.

Question 49Measure

A process has a mean of 50.0 and a within-subgroup standard deviation of 2.5. The specification limits are 40 and 60. What is the Cpk?

  1. 1.00
  2. 0.67
  3. 2.67
  4. 1.33 Correct answer.

Explanation

Cpk is the smaller of (USL minus mean) divided by three sigma and (mean minus LSL) divided by three sigma. Here both distances equal 10 and 3 sigma equals 7.5, giving 10 divided by 7.5, or 1.33.

Question 50Measure

A work unit produced 500 units, each with 4 defect opportunities. Inspectors found 12 defects in total. What is the DPMO?

  1. 3,000
  2. 6,000 Correct answer.
  3. 24,000
  4. 1,500

Explanation

Defects per million opportunities equals total defects divided by total opportunities, multiplied by one million. Total opportunities are 500 times 4, or 2,000, so 12 divided by 2,000 times 1,000,000 equals 6,000.