Question 1

A Six Sigma team is asked to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) on a new training project to be implemented across the organization. The new training project would cost $600,000 over a period of 3 years and would involve 120 employees. The income from the project, including revenues and money saved, will be approximately $1.2 million in that same period. What is the ROI of this project?

Accepted Answer

The ROI of this project is 100. The solution is as follows:
ROI = [(Financial value ? Project cost) / Project cost] × 100
ROI = [(1,200,000 ? 600,000) / 600,000] × 100
ROI = [600,000 / 600,000] × 100
ROI = 1 × 100
ROI = 100
Key Takeaway: Return on Investment (ROI) takes into account both the cost and income of a project as a ratio. It is not the same as the revenue, which is a simple income minus cost calculation. The cost of a project is all the funds that are necessary to develop and implement it, while its income is the money gained and/or saved.

Question 2

The following formula is used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV or P as seen in the formula) of an investment that will yield a set amount after a given period. What do the A and i stand for? P = A (1 + i)^-n

Accepted Answer

The A and i stand for future money and interest rate, respectively.
Key Takeaway: Net Present Value provides a way to calculate the present value of an investment that will yield a set amount of future money after a given period. The formula takes into account the interest rate offered on an investment. For example, an investor promised a return of $2 million in 10 years at a given interest rate can use the formula to calculate the NPV of the investment.

Question 3

Richard is promised an amount equal to $10,000 in two years if he keeps his investment with his family's restaurant. He is offered an annual interest rate of 5%. What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of Richard's investment?

Accepted Answer

The NPV of Richard's investment is $9,070. Key Takeaway: To calculate the NPV of an investment with a known return date and known interest rates over a period of time, the following formula is used: P = A (1 + i)^-n. An NPV provides an estimate of how much money is needed to invest currently in order to gain a set amount in the future.

Question 4

A Black Belt practitioner is hired by a construction company to oversee a large renovation project. The practitioner seeks to determine cost of quality by adding the costs of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Promotion costs are not part of the cost of quality calculations.
Key Takeaway: Cost of quality calculations are done to justify the cost of improvement measures. Cost of quality components include appraisal costs, prevention costs, internal failure costs and external failure costs.

Question 5

Six months after the work of a contractor ends, a consumer's roof collapses. This is an example of a(an):

Accepted Answer

This is an example of an external failure.
Key Takeaway: An external failure is a cost of quality figure that occurs when a customer already owns a product. In this example, the roof collapsing after the consumer had already paid for it and a period of time had elapsed refers to an external failure. Depending on the length of warranty offered by a business on products or services, an external failure can be a costly one for organizations.

Question 6

A Black Belt practitioner is asked to facilitate a series of workshops in an organization. She notices that a few participants in the workshop are dominating the discussion. To provide leadership in this group setting, the practitioner must:

Accepted Answer

To provide leadership in this group setting, the practitioner must give every person a chance to contribute.
Key Takeaway: Team facilitation techniques are an important toolset used by Six Sigma Black Belt practitioners. During group settings such as a workshop, a few people may dominate a discussion and it is the role of the practitioner to facilitate a discussion whereby everyone gets an opportunity to participate fully.

Question 7

Team members designing a new interface for a business application choose items by prioritizing them individually. Those items given a high priority rating by the most number of team members are eventually included in the interface. This team tool is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

This team tool is referred to as the Nominal Group Technique (NGT).
Key Takeaway: A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a team tool used by Black Belt practitioners to reach a consensus on how to prioritize items in a group setting. If a team wishes to choose which of 3 venues to market a new application, based on the qualities of each venue, a team member attaches an importance in the form of a number such as 5 (on a scale of 1-5). Once all the numbers are added for each venue, then the highest one is chosen as a first priority.

Question 8

In a marketing project, distributing surveys to potential customers and gathering their responses is the phase that requires the most time. What is this portion of the project referred to?

Accepted Answer

This portion of the project is referred to as the Critical Path Method.
Key Takeaway: A critical path in a project is the path from beginning to end which requires the longest time. In this example, distributing surveys and gathering responses in a marketing campaign is the phase that requires the longest time from start to finish. The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project tracking method that helps participants aware of the longest phases of a project.

Question 9

Black Belt practitioners are responsible for team leadership in Six Sigma projects. The following are steps in team preparation EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Publishing a schedule of team meetings should be at the start of a project.
Key Takeaway: Even the most well-staffed team may not perform as well if there is no appropriate leadership preparation. Among these preparations are publishing a schedule of team meetings at the beginning of the project and setting clear purposes and goals. Also important are providing management support for team members and conducting team-building exercises during the first meeting.

Question 10

Teams undergo several stages in their growth. During the storming stage, team members:

Accepted Answer

During the storming stage, team members express their own ideas and opinions.
Key Takeaway: Teams undergo several stages of growth before they function as a cohesive and productive unit. The third stage of this development is referred to as storming. During storming, team members express their own ideas and opinions which are often in disagreement with one another.

Question 11

Michael's team is conducting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for the organization. After voicing disagreements on how to proceed in the initial phases, team members are now beginning to operate as a team not as a group of individuals. This stage in team growth is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

This stage in team growth is referred to as norming.
Key Takeaway: Norming is a stage in team growth and development whereby members begin to operate as a team not as a group of individuals. A strong team leader realizes that this stage can only occur after the earlier stages of disagreements have been resolved. Teams that do not reach norming in their growth risk poor performance.

Question 12

When a team needs a number of fresh and innovative ideas, _________ techniques are used.

Accepted Answer

When a team needs a number of fresh and innovative ideas, conversion techniques are used.
Key Takeaway: Conversion techniques are team management tools that a Black Belt practitioner can use to encourage new and innovative ideas from team members. Brainstorming and cause-and-effect techniques are types of conversion techniques that can be used to encourage these ideas. A team leader who does not use conversion techniques risks a narrowing of focus when dealing with problems and may lack ideas to solve them.

Question 13

Brett is a Black Belt practitioner who is leading a change management project in his organization. What is a common error committed during such a project?

Accepted Answer

Giving incomplete or inadequate information about coming changes is a common error during change management.
Key Takeaway: Change management is a time of unsettlement for employees as roles and responsibilities shift. A Black Belt practitioner responsible for leading team members during the change must give complete and adequate information about coming changes. This includes information about new roles and responsibilities and whether appropriate resources will be provided.

Question 14

Interest-based bargaining is an effective tool in conflict resolution because:

Accepted Answer

Interest-based bargaining is an effective tool in conflict resolution because it provides a solution that is in everybody's interests.
Key Takeaway: Conflict resolution tools available to Black Belt practitioners must provide problem-solving outcomes. Interest-based bargaining is one such tool that structures problems and solutions in such a manner that all parties involved understand each other's views. Once they have understood each other's views, they can reach a resolution to the conflict that takes into account everybody's interests.

Question 15

In a Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC), a team leader can break down project components into elements. Each project element is then broken down into _______ and ________.

Accepted Answer

Each project element is broken down into problems and countermeasures.
Key Takeaway: Process Decision Program Charts (PDPC) are planning tools that use a decision tree to expand on problems and countermeasures for each project element. For example, if a fundraising event is scheduled to raise money for charity, potential problems in finding venues are accessibility and parking. A PDPC helps team members visualize potential problems and their countermeasures.

Question 16

In an Interrelationship Digraph, a(an) _______ and ______ relationship between two variables is depicted visually.

Accepted Answer

In an Interrelationship Digraph, a cause and effect relationship between two variables is depicted visually.
Key Takeaway: Interrelationship Digraphs are simple visual representations that show the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. This type of representation is important in helping team members understand how different project variables interact with one another and their possible outcomes. For example, a delay in the processing of client complaints in customer service would affect technicians who are tasked with addressing these concerns.

Question 17

Affinity diagrams allow team leaders to present and display a number of possible answers to open-ended questions. If a team leader wishes to reduce the cycle time of one aspect of production, the following would be possible answers EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Using fewer staff members is not a possible answer to reduce the cycle time of production.
Key Takeaway: Affinity diagrams provide a visual display of possible answers to a team's open-ended questions. One way of using affinity diagrams is to pose the question and then encourage team members to come up with solutions by writing them on pieces of papers and then affixing under the question. The team can then prioritize the solutions in terms of feasibility and potential impact on the problem or question posed.

Question 18

An example of a planning diagram that shows an interdependence of tasks within a project is a(an):

Accepted Answer

An example of a planning diagram that shows an interdependence of tasks within a project is an Activity Network Diagram (AND).
Key Takeaway: An Activity Network Diagram (AND) is a planning visual tool that shows an interdependence between tasks in a project. For example, a quality assurance individual cannot perform his work until the production manager signs off on the production cycle. The goal of an AND is to visually display to team members how their work affects and is affected by the roles and responsibilities of others in the team.

Question 19

Wilma is a Black Belt practitioner tasked with providing a document that prioritizes process which provides justification for a project. What definition and prioritization tool can be used?

Accepted Answer

A Pareto chart is a definition and prioritization tool that can be used.
Key Takeaway: A Pareto chart provides detailed reasons to prioritize processes in a project. This type of chart can also be used as a justification for the resources that should be provided to the project. Senior managers and executives can use a Pareto chart to make decisions on which aspects of a project to fund and support.

Question 20

Project scope can be limited by the following factors EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Project scope can be limited by a number of factors including geography, demographics and organizational structures.
Key Takeaway: A project scope details the time and resources that are necessary to turn inputs into a product or a service. Project scope can be limited by a number of factors that include geography, demographics and organizational structures. Other sources of limitation include process boundaries, relationships with stakeholders such as customers, vendors, and contractors.

Quiz 1: Black Belt

The following formula is used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV or P as seen in the formula) of an investment that will yield a set amount after a given period. What do the A and i stand for? P = A (1 + i) ^-n

Richard is promised an amount equal to $10,000 in two years if he keeps his investment with his family's restaurant. He is offered an annual interest rate of 5%. What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of Richard's investment?

A Black Belt practitioner is hired by a construction company to oversee a large renovation project. The practitioner seeks to determine cost of quality by adding the costs of the following EXCEPT:

Six months after the work of a contractor ends, a consumer's roof collapses. This is an example of a(an) :

A Black Belt practitioner is asked to facilitate a series of workshops in an organization. She notices that a few participants in the workshop are dominating the discussion. To provide leadership in this group setting, the practitioner must:

Team members designing a new interface for a business application choose items by prioritizing them individually. Those items given a high priority rating by the most number of team members are eventually included in the interface. This team tool is referred to as:

In a marketing project, distributing surveys to potential customers and gathering their responses is the phase that requires the most time. What is this portion of the project referred to?

Black Belt practitioners are responsible for team leadership in Six Sigma projects. The following are steps in team preparation EXCEPT:

Teams undergo several stages in their growth. During the storming stage, team members:

Michael's team is conducting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for the organization. After voicing disagreements on how to proceed in the initial phases, team members are now beginning to operate as a team not as a group of individuals. This stage in team growth is referred to as:

When a team needs a number of fresh and innovative ideas, _________ techniques are used.

Brett is a Black Belt practitioner who is leading a change management project in his organization. What is a common error committed during such a project?

Interest-based bargaining is an effective tool in conflict resolution because:

In a Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC) , a team leader can break down project components into elements. Each project element is then broken down into _ and __.

In an Interrelationship Digraph, a(an) _ and relationship between two variables is depicted visually.

Affinity diagrams allow team leaders to present and display a number of possible answers to open-ended questions. If a team leader wishes to reduce the cycle time of one aspect of production, the following would be possible answers EXCEPT:

An example of a planning diagram that shows an interdependence of tasks within a project is a(an) :

Wilma is a Black Belt practitioner tasked with providing a document that prioritizes process which provides justification for a project. What definition and prioritization tool can be used?

Project scope can be limited by the following factors EXCEPT:

Quiz 1: Black Belt

The following formula is used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV or P as seen in the formula) of an investment that will yield a set amount after a given period. What do the A and i stand for? P = A (1 + i) -n

Richard is promised an amount equal to $10,000 in two years if he keeps his investment with his family's restaurant. He is offered an annual interest rate of 5%. What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of Richard's investment?

A Black Belt practitioner is hired by a construction company to oversee a large renovation project. The practitioner seeks to determine cost of quality by adding the costs of the following EXCEPT:

Six months after the work of a contractor ends, a consumer's roof collapses. This is an example of a(an) :

A Black Belt practitioner is asked to facilitate a series of workshops in an organization. She notices that a few participants in the workshop are dominating the discussion. To provide leadership in this group setting, the practitioner must:

Team members designing a new interface for a business application choose items by prioritizing them individually. Those items given a high priority rating by the most number of team members are eventually included in the interface. This team tool is referred to as:

In a marketing project, distributing surveys to potential customers and gathering their responses is the phase that requires the most time. What is this portion of the project referred to?

Black Belt practitioners are responsible for team leadership in Six Sigma projects. The following are steps in team preparation EXCEPT:

Teams undergo several stages in their growth. During the storming stage, team members:

Michael's team is conducting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for the organization. After voicing disagreements on how to proceed in the initial phases, team members are now beginning to operate as a team not as a group of individuals. This stage in team growth is referred to as:

When a team needs a number of fresh and innovative ideas, _________ techniques are used.

Brett is a Black Belt practitioner who is leading a change management project in his organization. What is a common error committed during such a project?

Interest-based bargaining is an effective tool in conflict resolution because:

In a Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC) , a team leader can break down project components into elements. Each project element is then broken down into _______ and ________.

In an Interrelationship Digraph, a(an) _______ and ______ relationship between two variables is depicted visually.

Affinity diagrams allow team leaders to present and display a number of possible answers to open-ended questions. If a team leader wishes to reduce the cycle time of one aspect of production, the following would be possible answers EXCEPT:

An example of a planning diagram that shows an interdependence of tasks within a project is a(an) :

Wilma is a Black Belt practitioner tasked with providing a document that prioritizes process which provides justification for a project. What definition and prioritization tool can be used?

Project scope can be limited by the following factors EXCEPT:

The following formula is used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV or P as seen in the formula) of an investment that will yield a set amount after a given period. What do the A and i stand for? P = A (1 + i) ^-n

In a Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC) , a team leader can break down project components into elements. Each project element is then broken down into _ and __.

In an Interrelationship Digraph, a(an) _ and relationship between two variables is depicted visually.