Since creating this website, I’ve expanded my knowledge of Six Sigma practices and techniques far beyond my preparations to pass the Villanova Six Sigma Black Belt exam. One of the most frequent questions I get is centered on How I Passed the Villanova Six Sigma Black Belt Exam on the first try.

How I Passed the Villanova Six Sigma Black Belt Exam on the First Try

It’s an important question. Candidates usually take the exam after months of preparation and sometimes after thousands of dollars spent – either by their company or on their own. Sometimes, passing the exam is a job requirement; if you fail, you lose your job.

Before we dive in, I’ll summarize what I did. I took all of the questions that I could find and made sure I understood all of them. If you’re getting ready, please check out my guides here. Exam candidates report a 100% success rate on passing their exams (ASQ, IASSC, and Villanova) by using my study guide and mock exams. That includes black belts looking for a refresher. If you want to pass your exam, consider signing up here.

Personally, passing the exam was a job requirement as part of a new prestigious – and challenging – position I was offered in my company. I needed to pass the test as quickly as possible. Of course, I had to fit that into a demanding career requiring travel and long hours. My wife and I also welcomed our first daughter during this time. Since we both work, that meant long days and nights for both of us. Time was at a premium; the stakes were high, so I knew I had to optimize my time. If you’re interested in hearing about how I felt about all of that, check out this article What I was Worried About Before My Exam.

How I Passed the Villanova Six Sigma Black Belt Exam: My Process

My plan of attack was as follows:

  • Talk to people who had passed and failed the exam
  • Affinitize the best practices of the people who passed the exam.
  • Find out what the people who failed did wrong.
  • Find people who passed the exam on the second try and do whatever they said made the difference.

Also, since my company provided it, I took the Villanova Six Sigma Black Belt course.

My Findings

When I talked to people who passed it, they said, ‘Just study and you’ll be fine.’

That wasn’t good enough for me. What if they were smarter, had better memories, or had an easier test than the one I would sit for? Also – study what? There had to be an optimized way of performing.

The Breakthrough

Then, I talked to people who failed the first time. I asked what they would do differently. I made sure I did all of that. It was overkill, but I was prepared!!! Here are the best suggestions that I found:

Take a Course and Master it.

Check. As I said before, I was taking the Villanova course as my company was paying for it. I resolved to do the following:

  • Complete all of the readings
    • Including those not only required to pass it but the suggested ones as well.
  • Watch all of the videos
  • Participate in all of the instructor-led lessons.
    • I could never make the time to attend live, but I watched all of the sessions during my off hours.
  • Completed all problem sets for every topic, not just the ones assigned.
  • Do every portion of the graded case study.
  • Retake every quiz involved with the course.
    • You needed a 70% grade on each quiz to pass the course. I received a passing grade on each quiz on the first try, but since they give you three chances to take the quiz, I re-took each quiz until I ran out of chances.
  • I studied any question I got wrong.
    • Knowing the correct answer and why the other questions were incorrect was essential.

Study the Published Body of Knowledge (BOK)

Each certification organization states the topics they will be covering in the certification. This is referred to as the Body of Knowledge or BOK. An important note to remember is that an organization may offer a training course, but that course will NOT teach you everything you need to know for the exam. That means that simply studying provided training materials IS NOT ENOUGH!

You must be fluent in all materials in the Villanova Six Sigma BOK.

To prepare for the BOK, I ensured I understood each area they asked me. To help you study, I’ve listed each BOK subject for three major certifying organizations. I’ve linked my study notes on each topic.

I also studied all the questions I could find on those topics. To achieve mastery, you must be able to answer questions using any vocabulary set people use. Fortunately, plenty of free University resources exist on many of these topics – especially probability and statistics.

Synthesized the BOK

The BOKs for each certification are excellent. But I found them to be very disjointed. In my mind, it makes little sense to organize the demands of the certification that way. After all, that’s not how you would apply the knowledge. Also, there is little context. It’s difficult to see how one concept complements another.

That cognitive dissonance made it very difficult for me to remember all of the material, so I chopped it into sections on how you would apply it. You can see how I did so here under Six Sigma Tools Walk Through.

Along the way, I made this website by transcribing all of my hand-written notes to pages! This practice helped me gather multiple viewpoints in one area. I wrote comprehensive articles on the concepts for many topics to help me learn them better. I also searched for YouTube videos to get different perspectives.

Supplemental Reading

Since the certification test is comprehensive and not merely a final exam, it covers more than what is in the course. Whenever an outside reference was mentioned, I made sure to read it. Also, I asked others about how else I could deepen my knowledge.

Check here to see the list of supplemental reading materials I covered in preparation for the Six Sigma black belt exam.

Real-Life Application

Whenever I read something in the Wall Street Journal or anywhere else that applied to Six Sigma principles, I would share it on LinkedIn or email it to colleagues and try to converse with other members. The goal here was to try to see the applicability of it in what I was learning in the real world. For example, articles on new product development = Design for Six Sigma or TRIZ. New Processes or process changes that led to businesses losing out to competitors usually boiled down to a root cause of the company not mapping CTCs to  CTQs.

Also, I again used visualization techniques to help out. I did this by imagining myself talking to my company’s leaders about opportunities in their divisions regarding the techniques I was learning. Alternately, I’d imagine an articulated elevator speech relating to an issue I saw in the world or a concept I learned from the top 100 CEOs.

Explaining Six Sigma and how it could help others is a great way to apply this material to real life. Friends and family in various positions and disciplines are certainly sick of hearing me talk about these materials by now!

I’ve recently started publishing articles on these real or imagined conversations and other factual examples under the category heading Six Sigma in Real Life.

Make Study Notes for the Exam.

Each Six Sigma Black Belt exam gives you certain kinds of notes. I made lots of decision sheets for myself. For example, use these hypothesis tests when this, not that.

It was helpful to have my notes in a format that I understood rather than looking up formulas in textbooks.

Also, I built Excel macros to help me error-check my calculations.

Practice Exams

Retaking all of the quizzes was helpful. I highlighted the items I got wrong and worked on those. Focusing on taking my lowest-scoring areas and then getting those individual areas 100% complete let me turn a weakness into a strength. Repeating that process ensured that I would be strong enough to pass regardless of how any section was weighted in the test.

Even though I was taking the Villanova Black Belt exam, I used example questions from any kind of format. This is helping me immensely as I prepare for the ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt exam.

Visualization & Reward

Envisioning yourself succeeding is a powerful psychological technique advocated in multiple disciplines. When I was in school and playing sports, I would envision the game beforehand. In soccer, I would imagine where I would line up and how I would play the opposition’s defense, pass, and execute the fundamentals of the game.

I’m unsure if this ever helped me play better, but it did drown out the voices of doubt that come into every competitor’s mind. I continue this practice to this day before adventure races, triathlons, or other events.

I avoided ever verbalizing, not passing, or making self-deprecating jokes. Several colleagues would make jokes about having to take the test twice. While that can help calm some people’s nerves, you must be certain not to make those statements a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I also believe that positive reinforcement is more effective than negative. The threat of losing one’s job if you don’t pass an exam is an excellent motivator, but having a positive goal to shoot for is more fulfilling. Instead of worrying about what I would do if I didn’t pass the exam, I focused on what the rewards would be once I did pass. I imagined receiving the Six Sigma Black Belt certificate. Closing my eyes, I imagined how good it would feel with my mentors and colleagues congratulating me. I imagined updating my LinkedIn resume with the new accomplishment!

Finally, I wanted to reward myself for the effort, whether I passed or failed. There was a 3-day weekend coming up right after my test, so my wife and I took a day of vacation to extend it to 4 days. We rented a beach house with several of our other friends and their families. All of the guys made plans to do a deep-sea fishing trip.

Whether I passed or failed, I would enjoy a great vacation with my family and be surrounded by good friends. I’ll admit that I combined the techniques, and whenever the preparation for the exam got tough, I visualized playing on the beach with my family, catching fish with my friends, and telling them repeatedly how I passed the exam.

Where to Take the Exam

The ASQ is a proctored exam, so you have to take that at the appropriate center. The Villanova is entirely online. As we know, ‘Variation is the enemy!’ So, I focused on choosing an area where I had the best chance of performing well.

Even though my internet connection at home was not the best, I knew I could focus there. Several colleagues would take the exam at work after hours, but this would not be a great strategy for me.

As I took the exam at home, I focused on making one room quiet, clean, and calm.

I organized all of my notes. Then, I eliminated distractions by cleaning out everything from the room. I even installed Sun blocking drapes so there would not be a glare on my monitor.

The Day Before the Exam

I had to work. Being busy there was a blessing. Diving deep into work is a great distraction! Leading up to the exam, I made time for exercise -even if it were only 30 minutes a day, I would be sure to have a great workout and follow a clean diet, avoiding sugar and caffeine while having as many vegetables and fruits as possible.

After work, I avoided television, internet, and anything else. To clear my mind, I played with my daughter. After she went to bed, I read fiction in a bid to avoid anxiety. Cramming the night before is counterproductive. If you have prepared, you will succeed. If not, maybe you will get lucky. Twenty-four hours out, the die is already cast.

The best thing you can do is to have a restful night’s sleep, so I focused there. Sleeping aids make me drowsy, but Melatonin Tablets are a good natural alternative. I honestly don’t know if there is any science to melatonin. To me, it’s irrelevant. Even if the benefits I get from it are the same as a sugar pill, I still get a great night’s sleep.

The Day of the Exam

Per my plan, I worked from home. Made sure no one was around the house. I blocked out 4 hours. I dropped my daughter off at daycare, got my coffee, and put up dark sun-blocking drapes. Organized my materials in my home office/guest room. Things were on the bed behind me and all over! The excels that I made were up. I had my calculator set.

It took 4 hours, and I went through answering all the ones I was sure of and ‘starring’ anything I did not. I made a list of the questions I was close to but not certain. Then, I made a 2nd list of the ones I had no idea.

I went through working the ones I had narrowed it down and re-read. I’m hoping my subconscious had a chance to digest it. Also made sure that I read the questions correctly.

Many people warned me about how awkwardly worded the questions were and that they might make no sense with the use of double and triple negatives! I noted any questions with awkward writing and made certain to revisit them and read them carefully.

Results

Six Sigma Reward Fish!
Six Sigma Reward Fish!

A day or two later, the results came in. I passed with a great grade. Even better, I dramatically improved my understanding of Six Sigma tools and techniques, gaining skills that have helped me create great value for my clients and my company.

I followed through with my plans and had a great weekend with my family and friends. We even caught a bunch of tasty fish!

Author

Comments (35)

Just curious, was the Villanova exam based off the same question bank (i.e. similar questions) than those from the course exams?

I’m studying for my Green Belt now and always get a little anxious before taking an exam.

Thanks

Hey John. Congratulations on finishing up the training. I can relate to the nerves. For the Villanova CSSB the questions were very different than the ones in the quizzes. There was no overlap. In fact, a few weeks before the test the person in charge of Six Sigma training for Bisk – the partner company for Villanova – sent an email stressing that the exam was NOT a final, it was a measure of the entire BOK.

My advice is to know your quiz questions backwards and forwards – but do not expect to see them again. Make a concerted effort to go through every single portion of the BOK and know every topic they bring up there.

A good way to practice other questions would be to look at the free practice exams I’ve listed here: https://sixsigmastudyguide.com/six-sigma-practice-exams/

What kind of studying have you been doing? What would you tell others to do to prepare that you’ve found useful?

First of all, thank you for making such a great website, it has really helped me with studying. After looking through a few practice questions, especially Indiana Quality Council’s, I am a bit nervous about this exam. Although I did well in the black belt course, passing every exam on the first try, and then retaking all the exams at a later date, I have a strong feeling the questions on this test are going to be significantly harder, or at least more awkwardly written. I found the ones from the Indiana QC Primer to be subjective at times. For example:

8.21.What is the best definition of takt time?
a.It is a calculated time element that equals customer demand
b.It is the speed at which parts must be manufactured in order to satisfy demand
C.It is the heartbeat of any lean system
d.It is the application of kaizen to continuous flow manufacturing

Although A through C are all correct to some extent, my first reaction was B, since that is the explanation that was written on iSixSigma, and in class. The answer was A.

Is it best for me to assume the questions will be at this level, or will they be more similar to the quiz questions?

Hi John, Thanks for the warm words! I’m very glad the site helped! Not to worry, I think you’ll find the Villanova exam to be much easier than the QCI questions which I completely agree are subjective and poorly-written.

I found the main benefit of QCI studying using the questions not their actual help, but for the fact that you had to parse their meanings (and often times grammar) so carefully that the concepts are indelibly inked in your memory.

The “trick” to the Villanova exam is that 1) it is not a ‘final exam’ of what they instructed but rather a comprehensive exam on every thing they offered. and 2) there is specific “Villanova” verbiage that I just don’t see elsewhere in the industry.

For point #1 review your old quizzes and ensure that you have mastered everything there. Not only the questions but every option on the multiple choices. Then go through your project, all of the recitation notes, and all optional / supplemental materials. When I was researching how to pass the test I found colleagues who failed the exam. They claimed that there was a lot of material in the Villanova exam that wasn’t taught. What I found was that, yes they test material that is not covered in the lectures or the quizzes but is certainly in the supplemental material. I also found that you must be familiar with how their video presenters phrase concepts (George Eckes, et al.)

In the end, if you can go line-by-line on the Villanova Black Belt BOK and write a few paragraphs from memory on each concept, you’ll do fine. Have your reference materials available and a quiet room and you’ll do fine.

Wish you the best of luck and let me know how I can help!

Greetings, thank you for creating an excellent resource for those of us who aspire to eventually become SSBB holders. Before I get bogged down into a grueling study regiment, I need clarification on one basic point – work experience. I am currently a Warehouse & Distribution Mgr for a Japanese based logistics company. Kaizen, JIT, 5S, TQM, Continuous Improvement, kanban etc, are integrated into our management system and SOPs. I have been applying Lean principles and concepts in Warehouse and Distribution before I knew it had a name – I’m a 15+ veteran of the industry. As an ISO 9001 company, I have served as Internal Auditor for about 10 years and ISO DMR for one. My tentative plans are to take the SSGB exam with a local college provider. Then, begin preparing for the SSBB exam with ASQ in OCT 2016. I want to make sure I would meet ASQ criteria of “three years of work experience in one of more areas of the SSGB BOK.” Can you give me any insight?

Thanks for the warm words and you’re very welcome! Glad it helps!!

The affidavit and FAQs do not elaborate beyond that statement. Anecdotally, I’ve known people in a similar situation be accepted so I’m optimistic you would. It would be best to contact them. It might also be a good idea to make sure you list the six sigma tools and practices that you’ve utilized clearly on the resume that you need submit. Hope that helps! I think you’re a good bet, but let me know if you find out otherwise.

Don’t for get that I’ve to got the entire ASQ Green Belt BOK and ASQ Black Belt BOK covered here (along with free quizzes, downloads, etc) for when you do start. Let me know what I can do to help out

Thank you very much. I will definitely follow-up with ASQ for final confirmation. Utilization of the earlier mentioned SSGB BOK will certainly be made.

Hi, my boss has offered to fund a lean six sigma course of my choosing & I had a family friend recommend I go straight for the black belt instead of green belt first. I’m only a year into the workforce in management for a company after graduating college, I did well in school but worried about the time I’d need to commit to taking this course. what would you recommend?

Hi Lauren,

I’m assuming you’re taking the Villanova BB? If so, you would be fine even with limited work experience. This will be a major time commitment to both learn the material, complete their assignments, and then study for the exam, however. I would budget 3-6 months of consistent effort.

Best, Ted.

First, Thanks for taking the time and energy to put all of this together. I am going to reuse all your good work. Next, I got her via searches for ‘excel for six sigma formulas’. You said that you created one to verify your calculations. Can I have a copy of that to save myself some time?

Hi Ted,

Like you, I completed my LSSBB Course at Villanova University and I’m planning to take the Black Belt Certification this coming May or June. How many months will I take to prepare for the exam?

I started reviewing materials from Villanova and I am basing my review on the study guide that you have provided. Do you think 4 months is enough to prepare for the exam?

Thank you,
Moreno

Hi Moreno. Congratulations on completing the course! Certainly a large investment of time. I think 4 months is more than enough time. Careful not to take too long – it’s difficult to retain all of the information you need to have at hand. Be sure to have a strategy for exhaustively studying each topical area as well as doing regular comprehensive exams to ensure you’re not losing any ground with material you’ve already mastered.

I am the main architect of the online Villanova University Six Sigma programs. Occasionally we get feedback from students that the certification examinations are unfair or the test is unrealistically difficult. Sometimes, we get these responses. “I did very well on the course assessments. The certification test was not like the questions in the course. Many of the questions were in a different format. The content of the questions was not covered in the course.

Because of these responses (few as they are), I sometimes feel a need to write a response that explains the intention of these certification examinations. I will go into detail following this ‘bottom line’ statement. Here goes. The exams are designed to be extremely difficult to pass so that only those that have poured their lives into studying will pass. Those that wing it will be disappointed. Getting a piece of paper that states that you are certified should not be your primary intention. If you pass a certification test your peers will expect you to know EVERYTHING about the subject matter. Does that mean that you will know everything? No. But, that doesn’t mean they won’t expect it. A certification test SHOULD have a reputation of being tough. Such a reputation encourages highly motivated people to put their lives on hold for a couple of months so that they get to a point where they have virtually no confusion about any of the topics.

The test is unfair
The test for certification is designed to assess the candidate at a much deeper level of understanding. To pass the certification examination, the candidate needs to be at a level BEYOND mere demonstration of the use of the tools and techniques. The candidate needs to be at the level of ASSIMILATION. What is assimilation? Assimilation is the process of effortlessly and often unconsciously responding to new situations in conformity with what is already available to consciousness. Example: A 16 year old has passed the driver’s test. They have demonstrated that they can steer, shift, brake, etc. Let’s say that one day the gas pedal sticks in the full throttle position. The 16-year-old mashes down on the brake with both feet, but considering the horsepower of the car, it is not be enough to stop it. The speed rises. The driver panics. The result is devastating. In the ASSIMILATION level of understanding, the person would simply put the car in neutral and apply the brake. The engine roars and probably burns up, but at least the car stops avoiding a deadly consequent. The more experienced driver assimilates that the neutral shift position of the transmission disengages the torque from the motor to the wheels and almost unconsciously understands that the consequent of the roaring engine is acceptable. This level of assimilation is the level of understanding where the certification candidate needs to be—especially with the most commonly used tools and techniques. In addition, the test is timed, so a candidate will run out of time if they need to rely on looking up answers as they take the test. This is why I recommend preparing up to 200 hours (depending upon prior experience) for our tests, or for ASQ’s tests for that matter. You need to know the subject matter inside and out.

What is needed to pass?
The questions are from either 1.) What is covered in the course through video lectures or 2.) From the provided reading materials. The body of knowledge is virtually the same as what is presented in the courses, but it does not mean that the depth of any particular question has been covered in the course. For example, in the Green Belt Course a multi-vari chart is one of the topics. In that lecture, three sources of variation are presented (i.e., within-piece, piece-to-piece, and time-to-time). The certification test might refer to these same sources as ‘positional’, ‘temporal’, and ‘cyclical’. The candidate that assimilates what is already known (i.e., within-piece, piece-to-piece, and time-to-time) to be the same as ‘positional’, ‘temporal’, and ‘cyclical’ respectively. To the candidate that is at the demonstration level of understand might fail to recognize that these are just different terms for the same things. If the test was designed to include a deeper dive into a topic the test would be referred to as a final exam, and not a certification exam.

The test is unrealistically difficult
Occasionally we hear from customers (usually those that have failed the test) that maintain that the three Six Sigma certification tests have questions that are beyond what is either 1.) covered in the lectures or 2.) covered in the reading materials and as such are unfair.  I will contrast a final exam with a certification exam.  A final exam is inward focused meaning that a question is fair game if the question’s topic had been covered in the course.  A certification exam is both inward and outward focused meaning that a question is fair game if the question’s topic had been covered in the course or the question’s topic can be found somewhere in the reading materials.  Yes, that is right.  There are definitely questions where the question’s topic can be found somewhere in the reading materials and where that topic had NOT been covered in any lecture.  This requires test candidates to dig into the materials much deeper and study much harder because ‘certification’ has a meaning that is at a higher level than merely passing a final exam.  This is extremely fair because ASQ, as an example, lists a Body of Knowledge (BOK) and it is up to the test candidate to research from any of a possible hundred books to gain a thorough understand of topical areas.  With Villanova, we tell you that you only need to study the reading materials and the lectures.  Ours is 1/100 as difficult if you thing about it.  My bet is that some customers sit for the exam without even considering the reading materials.  They go through the lectures.  They look over their notes.  They sit for the exam and are shocked at some of the topics referred to in some of the questions.  Either the test candidates did not do their due diligence, or they have not been told what to expect. 

Certification exams are similar to what one might expect if sitting for the Bar Exam or the CPA Exam.   Certification sets those with the credential apart-or above-those without it. Certification becomes a public recognition of professional achievement-both within and outside of the profession.  For this reason, the test is meant to be difficult.  Trust me, once you are certified, you will hope the test gets more difficult because the more difficult the test is, the more it means to be certified. 

Here is a direct response from a student that recently passed one of the Villanova certification examinations. I think the following comment speaks for itself.

I passed but JUST passed (YIKES!!!!).  I studied just about every waking moment for three weeks straight (I am so far behind at work, they’re ready to kill me) and had tons of notes to refer to and there were still things I hadn’t heard of before.  I even re-listened to the lectures because I noticed they mentioned things that weren’t in the readings, but were on the weekly tests.  I was very concerned there were going to be questions regarding the calculations / metrics on the test and we never discussed those in the virtual class or the lectures AND I am lost with those.  If someone isn’t a math person, how are they expected to answer those questions when we never discussed them, we weren’t even “required” to read those prior to listening to the lectures.  Anyway the main thing is I passed, YEAH!, but it was much harder than I thought.

Thanks for all your help!!!!
Deb
“MEAN” Certified (that’s what everyone is calling me at work instead of Lean Certified)

Thank you and study hard so that you are not upset with Villanova. (smile)

Dan Munson
AVP of the Six Sigma Programs.
on behalf of Villanova University

Dan, Thank you for taking the time to stop by and share your insight! Your Villanova courses were great. My Six Sigma Black Belt journey started in earnest when several of my collegues failed the Villanova exam. These were / are talented coworkers. Seeing their difficulties inspired me to put a tremendous amount of time into my preparation – and I’m sure your notes here will inspire others to work hard to EARN the certification. Thank you for designing a difficult standard and standing by it.

Can you provide a Villanova SSBB pratice exam? I took my second test and I failed again. I watched the videos, studied the BOK, etc. I don’t want to give up until I pass the test. It is hard when you are really not practicing it at work. I used to, three years ago. Now, my work requires it but I have forgotten due to lack of use and practice. I am starting all over again using your methodology but I think I need to have some sample practice test.

Hi Monica, I do not have a Villanova SSBB practice exam. To my knowledge, they don’t have one. I did put the Villanova BOK on this page and linked to each topic. That’s one way to review. I do have a practice BB exam available in the free membership area. Even though it’s geared to ASQ, I’d try it anyway to learn what your weakest points are and direct your study that way.

If you’re not on the newsletter, let me know and I’ll add you. We just covered what I think the best way to prepare is there over a series of articles.

I just finished my LSSMBB Certification Test through Villanova. I must admit, that test was very, very thorough. The content of the certification followed the ASQ BOK with respect to content. I have one thing to say: study.
I strongly recommend taking the three classes required by Villanova as a part of attaining the LSSMBB certification. The DOE and LSSMBB Course rocked. The DOE Course was very comprehensive and appeared to have an updated format.
The virtual projects were good for bot the LSSMBB and the DOE Classes. Babb has been around the Six Sigma ranks for good long time and was a good teacher. For me, I use Six Sigma analytics in my job so this training was spot-on. Nice going Villanova and Bisk!
K.M.

Hi, Kent: thanks for very useful remarks. Are you suggesting to leave the exam until after completing the Design for SS course also? I have to say that was one topic covered extremely poorly in the MBB course (covered at length, but still very poorly wrt actually conveying any information), very lightly in the MBB course text, and I haven’t been able to make much sense out of it in the numerous other sources I’ve consulted.

I hope this system will notify me of a response as I found this thread rsndomly and may not be able to get back to it.

I had notes prepared for each video session. Each set of notes was put in a folder and marked with a number. Then, I wrote the numbers of the folder and the corresponding topics on one piece of paper that I could easily reference. The process worked fairly well. I could not find my information on training. There were two very tough questions on this area and I honestly could not figure out the right answer!

Here are some more best practices. Read the MBB book and read it again if you don’t understand. I would say the certification test was 1/2 strategic and 1/2 functional with respect to effectiveness competencies.

Also, don’t take the test when people are at home. I told the family that I was taking the test. I picked a bad day! The house was noisy. Additionally, my son is autistic and he came up stairs and pulled the cord from the computer to the monitor and took off outside. I guess he was telling me that I was not spending enough time with him! I was back on the computer within 13 minutes so I did not miss much time but it did hurt my concentration and time allocation.

Some of the questions, I could answer from experience deploying multiple CI Initiatives, completing many Six Sigma Projects, and reading books. Naturally, I have strong and weak points with the information. I think this curriculum would be very tough for someone w/o much experience completing projects and deploying CI Initiatives.
Thanks,
Kent

How many questions are on the Villanova certification exam? Did you find that you needed the full 4 hours?

Hi Kate, I don’t remember the number of questions off the top of my head. I am guessing between 60 and 150 because I remember calculating how much time I had per question and it didn’t seem like much, especially when you had to do the more complex calculations like ANOVA. I remember having plenty of time to both go through the exam and double-check all of my answers, though.

I do know that non-native English speakers are often pressed for time. I can imagine how difficult that is and I have tremendous respect for anyone who can.

Hope this helps!

Hi

There is a section that says recommended books for the exam but there is no link. Any plans to add the link or a list of books allowed in the asq bbc exam.

Thanks
Mark

Hello,

Six Sigma Global Institute is offering online training + exam. They also indicated that they are accredited training provider with IASSC. They are also accredited with PMI and CSSC.

Do you think it is a good idea to obtain certification (there will be an online exam from SSGI) via this method?

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Please help email me back.

Hi Vu,

I think any certification is better than no certification. And certainly having an approved IASSC, PMI, and CSSC partner is better than one of the fly-by-night online shops that pop up with no backing or credentials.

One clarifying question is what are your alternatives? If you don’t spend the $ to work with them, what will you do?

I completed the Villanova SSGB course and passed every test with an A. I studied the BOK and could speak to all of the contents in the BOK for certification.

I agree the certification is not a final exam and it should require the ability to digest the material – to demonstrate one’s ability to apply the material.

A 4 page index of topics is not the same as a BOK. It would be helpful to have a recommended reading list that one could draw on for success with their certification endeavors.

In response to Dan Munson’s post, my suggestion is that you provide a BOK that includes all possible certification test question concepts.

I was advised that the BOK and course material would be the testing parameters. If you choose to test beyond that scope, then simply disclose that fact. I see it as an integrity issue.

I’d like to believe the shared goal is to gain mastery of the material and continuous learning.

Hi Joe,

I agree with many of your points. Just a point of clarification though; I’m not Villanova so I cannot speak for them. However, nothing I’ve seen from them indicates to me that there are shared goals outside of the main transaction. One of the reasons I encourage practitioners to join an organization like ASQ.

Best, Ted.

Hi Ted,

I signed up for the Villanova SSGB (8 weeks), Lean (8 weeks), & SSBB (16 weeks) bundled course.

The course does not include cost of the certification exam. Upon completion of the course we receive “certification of completion”. Based on your experience, are the “live projects or case studies” affiliated with the course work sufficient?

Other institutions such as Michigan Green Belt Certification is 180 days long with a live project that must be completed & exam costs covered.

Would you be able to shed some light into how these programs differ and whether the Villanova Course is credible to hiring organizations?

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