Week 4: Six Sigma Analyze Phase Detail

Last time we reviewed the key topics within the Analyze Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC section of most Green Belt exams. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, no worries, just go here.

We covered a many topics that you may or may not have been familiar with.

This time, we’re going to dive in and explore the details of what’s expected by each organization.

Your Assignment

Here's what I'd like you to do.

Hint – this will look familiar to last time. ;’)

First, you’ll need to log in to the site.

Free membership or paid, it doesn’t matter. You just have to be logged in. Buttons to sign up and log in are below.

Note that after logging in you will have to return to this page. Login will bring you to your course home.

Second, review the articles I list below.

These are the concepts I refer exam candidates to when diving into these particular sections.

Take a look.

If you want to really improve your skills in a particular subject…

As I’ve mentioned before, the Feynman technique is Take a minute and write everything you know on a topic from scratch then go to the page and see how what you wrote compares to what is there.

For the rest of this week in the Analyze phase, I’d like you to focus on anchoring.

These topics can be difficult to remember due to sheer volume. So, a great way to remember them is to come up with an instance you would apply the technique in real life.

Here’s an example: Let’s say that you just can’t seem to remember when to use equations for sampling vs equations for a population.

If you take the time to either remember a real-world instance of when you did apply that equation (or simply invent a time you should or could have used that equation), you’ll stand a much better chance of remembering it.

Your assignment is to pick one topic that you are unsure of in this section and leave a comment on that topic’s page describing when you’ve seen it in action – or you could have / should have seen it in action

Let’s Dive into the Organization-Specific Analyze Phase Requirements

ASQ’s Green Belt Requirements for Six Sigma Analyze Phase

3.0 Analyze Phase

3.1 Patterns of Variation
3.1.1 Multi-Vari Analysis
3.1.2 Classes of Distributions

3.2 Inferential Statistics
3.2.1 Understanding Inference
3.2.2 Sampling Techniques & Uses
3.2.3 Central Limit Theorem

3.3 Hypothesis Testing
3.3.1 General Concepts & Goals of Hypothesis Testing
3.3.2 Significance; Practical vs. Statistical
3.3.3 Risk; Alpha & Beta
3.3.4 Types of Hypothesis Test

3.4 Hypothesis Testing with Normal Data
3.4.1 1 & 2 sample t-tests
3.4.2 1 sample variance
3.4.3 One Way ANOVA
a. Including Tests of Equal Variance, Normality Testing and Sample Size calculation, performing tests and interpreting results.

3.5 Hypothesis Testing with Non-Normal Data
3.5.1 Mann-Whitney
3.5.2 Kruskal-Wallis
3.5.3 Mood’s Median
3.5.4 Friedman
3.5.5 1 Sample Sign
3.5.6 1 Sample Wilcoxon
3.5.7 One and Two Sample Proportion
3.5.8 Chi-Squared (Contingency Tables)
a. Including Tests of Equal Variance, Normality Testing and Sample Size calculation, performing tests and interpreting results.

2.1 Process Definition
2.1.1 Cause & Effect / Fishbone Diagrams
2.1.2 Process Mapping, SIPOC, Value Stream Map (Also see: Process Map, Difference between Process Map and Value Stream Map)
2.1.3 X-Y Diagram
2.1.4 Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA)

2.2 Six Sigma Statistics
2.2.1 Basic Statistics
2.2.2 Descriptive Statistics
2.2.3 Normal Distributions & Normality
2.2.4 Graphical Analysis

2.3 Measurement System Analysis
2.3.1 Precision & Accuracy
2.3.2 Bias, Linearity & Stability
2.3.3 Gage Repeatability & Reproducibility
2.3.4 Variable & Attribute MSA

2.4 Process Capability
2.4.1 Capability Analysis
2.4.2 Concept of Stability
2.4.3 Attribute & Discrete Capability
2.4.4 Monitoring Techniques

What Do You Think?

I’d love to know what you think about the material you need to know in these sections. Please take a minute to share your thoughts below. I’ll use these responses to decide the best way to improve the site to help the most number of people.

Next Time

Next time we will dive into a few of the common question types asked on these sections.

Happy studying!