PECB Six Sigma Yellow Belt study plan
PECB Six Sigma Yellow Belt · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Principles and foundations of Lean Six Sigma
Define Six Sigma, Lean, and Lean Six Sigma in your own words and state how each one differs in primary aim and typical tools
Explain the DMAIC roadmap phase by phase and list the key outputs of each phase
Distinguish CTQ (critical-to-quality) characteristics from internal process metrics and give two examples of each
Calculate process sigma level from DPMO for three worked examples and interpret the result in plain language
Your checkpoint
A one-page glossary of 15 core terms (Six Sigma, Lean, DMAIC, CTQ, DPMO, sigma level, variation, muda, value stream, VOC, and five more you define yourself) plus a table converting three DPMO values to sigma levels with a one-sentence interpretation each
Principles and foundations of Lean Six Sigma
Describe the three types of variation (common cause, special cause, and structural) and identify which control-chart signals point to special cause
Explain the cost-of-poor-quality categories (appraisal, prevention, internal failure, external failure) and classify five sample costs
Summarize the roles and responsibilities of Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt, Master Black Belt, Champion, and Process Owner
Explain how Lean thinking reduces waste and name the eight wastes with a concrete example from a workplace you know
Your checkpoint
A written case analysis of 400+ words describing one real or realistic process problem, classifying its variation, estimating its cost-of-poor-quality impact, and naming which belt role would lead the improvement
Principles and foundations of Lean Six Sigma & Lean Six Sigma methodology
Explain the purpose of the Define phase and the components of a project charter (problem statement, goal statement, scope, business case, team, milestones)
Write a problem statement that is measurable, time-bound, and free of an assumed root cause, then rewrite a deliberately bad example to fix it
Build a SIPOC diagram for a process you know, capturing at least five process steps and their inputs and outputs
Identify stakeholders and explain how a stakeholder analysis shapes project communication
Your checkpoint
A complete project charter and SIPOC diagram for one process of your choice, including a problem statement and goal statement that pass a self-check against SMART criteria
Lean Six Sigma methodology
Explain the purpose of the Measure phase and how data-collection planning prevents garbage-in data
Distinguish continuous from discrete data and select an appropriate measurement scale for five scenarios
Describe operational definitions and write one for a metric in your own process
Compute basic descriptive statistics (mean, median, range, standard deviation) by hand or in a spreadsheet and explain what each tells you
Explain measurement system analysis at a conceptual level and state why repeatability and reproducibility matter
Your checkpoint
A data-collection plan for your project process with at least one operational definition, the chosen data type, sample size rationale, and a spreadsheet showing descriptive statistics for a small sample you collected or simulated
Lean Six Sigma methodology
Interpret a histogram, run chart, Pareto chart, and control chart and state what decision each supports
Explain the purpose of the Analyze phase and how it links back to the charter problem statement
Describe root-cause analysis tools (5 Whys, fishbone, cause-and-effect matrix) and apply 5 Whys to a real problem to reach a testable cause
Distinguish correlation from causation and give an example where confusing them would mislead a project team
Your checkpoint
A root-cause analysis package: a fishbone diagram with at least four cause categories, a completed 5 Whys chain, and a Pareto chart ranking candidate causes, with a short paragraph justifying the leading hypothesis
Lean Six Sigma methodology
Explain the purpose of the Improve phase and how solution selection criteria are set
Describe brainstorming, benchmarking, and piloting as ways to generate and test countermeasures
Explain mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) and give two examples of error prevention versus error detection
Outline a pilot plan with success criteria, a defined time box, and a rollback condition
Your checkpoint
A one-page pilot plan for a countermeasure addressing the root cause you identified in week 5, including success metric, baseline value, target value, pilot duration, and decision rule for adopting or abandoning
Lean Six Sigma methodology & Principles and foundations of Lean Six Sigma
Explain the purpose of the Control phase and the elements of a control plan (metric, owner, frequency, response plan)
Describe how standard work, visual management, and response plans sustain gains after a project closes
Explain how Lean Six Sigma connects to broader quality frameworks and why project benefits must be verified before handover
Identify what could cause a project to regress and design a monitoring signal for each risk
Your checkpoint
A control plan document for your project with at least three monitored metrics, named owners, monitoring frequency, control limits or targets, and a documented reaction plan for out-of-target results
Principles and foundations of Lean Six Sigma & Lean Six Sigma methodology
Review all eight weeks of notes and consolidate them into a single condensed reference sheet covering definitions, DMAIC outputs, and key formulas
Answer at least 60 practice questions across both domains and log every miss with the reason it was missed
Re-teach the weakest three topics aloud or in writing without notes, then correct any gaps you find
Confirm readiness by scoring consistently above 80 percent on mixed-domain practice and listing any remaining weak areas
Your checkpoint
A final readiness report: a two-page condensed reference sheet, a practice-question error log with corrections, and a scored mixed-domain self-test showing your result and the three topics you will review once more before exam day
Milestones
Week 2: You can define the core Six Sigma and Lean terms from memory and correctly convert DPMO to sigma level without notes
Week 4: Your project charter and SIPOC are complete and a reviewer can state the problem, goal, and scope from them alone
Week 6: You can explain every DMAIC phase output and defend a root cause with evidence rather than opinion
Week 8: You score 80 percent or higher on a mixed 60-question self-test and your error log shows no repeated mistake category