ASQ GREEN BELT COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔design for Six Sigma (DFSS) - ✔✔Used for developing a new product or process, or
for processes that need total overhaul. A process often used in DFSS is called DMADV:
define, measure, analyze, design, verify. Considered the 'future of Six Sigma'. Phases
that exist in DFSS are DMADV, IDDOV, DMADOV.
✔✔design of experiments (DOE) - ✔✔A branch of applied statistics dealing with
planning, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting controlled tests to evaluate the factors
that control the value of a parameter or group of parameters. 568 Glossary
✔✔design record - ✔✔Engineering requirements, typically contained in various formats;
examples include engineering drawings, math data, and referenced specifications.
✔✔deviation - ✔✔In numerical data sets, the difference or distance of an individual
observation or data value from the center point (often the mean) of the set distribution.
✔✔dissatisfiers - ✔✔The features or functions a customer expects that either are not
present or are present but not adequate; also pertains to employees' expectations.
✔✔distribution (statistical) - ✔✔The amount of potential variation in the outputs of a
process, typically expressed by its shape, average, or standard deviation.
✔✔DMADV - ✔✔A data-driven quality strategy for designing products and processes; it
is an integral part of a Six Sigma quality initiative. It consists of five interconnected
phases: define, measure, analyze, design, and verify. "Doing it right the first time"- used
when process is available but not capable
✔✔DMAIC - ✔✔A data-driven quality strategy for improving processes, and an integral
part of a Six Sigma quality initiative. DMAIC is an acronym for define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control.
✔✔Dodge-Romig sampling plans - ✔✔Plans for acceptance sampling developed by
Harold F. Dodge and Harry G. Romig. Four sets of tables were published in 1940:
single sampling lot tolerance tables, double sampling lot tolerance tables, single
sampling average outgoing quality limit tables, and double sampling average outgoing
quality limit tables.
✔✔downtime - ✔✔Lost production time during which a piece of equipment is not
operating correctly due to breakdown, maintenance, power failures, or similar events.
✔✔effect - ✔✔The result of an action being taken; the expected or predicted impact
when an action is to be taken or is proposed.
,✔✔effectiveness - ✔✔The state of having produced a decided on or desired effect.
✔✔efficiency - ✔✔The ratio of the output to the total input in a process.
✔✔efficient - ✔✔A term describing a process that operates effectively while consuming
minimal resources (such as labor and time).
✔✔eight wastes - ✔✔Taiichi Ohno originally enumerated seven wastes (muda) and
later added underutilized people as the eighth waste commonly found in physical
production. The eight are (1) overproduction ahead of demand, (2) waiting for the next
process, worker, material, or equipment, (3) unnecessary transport of materials (for
example, between functional areas of facilities, or to or from a stockroom or
warehouse), (4) overprocessing of parts due to poor tool and product design, (5)
inventories more than the absolute minimum, (6) unnecessary movement by employees
during the course of their work (such as to look Glossary 569 for parts, tools, prints, or
help), (7) production of defective parts, (8) underutilization of employees' brainpower,
skills, experience, and talents.
✔✔eighty-twenty (80-20) - ✔✔A term referring to the Pareto principle, which was first
defined by J. M. Juran in 1950. The principle suggests that most effects come from
relatively few causes; that is, 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the
possible causes. Also see Pareto chart.
✔✔enumerative (descriptive) studies - ✔✔A group of methods used for organizing,
summarizing, and representing data using tables, graphs, and summary statistics.1
✔✔error detection - ✔✔A hybrid form of error-proofing. It means a bad part can be
made but will be caught immediately, and corrective action will be taken to prevent
another bad part from being produced. A device is used to detect and stop the process
when a bad part is made. This is used when error-proofing is too expensive or not easily
implemented.
✔✔error-proofing - ✔✔Use of process or design features to prevent the acceptance or
further processing of nonconforming products. Also known as mistake-proofing.
✔✔experimental design - ✔✔A formal plan that details the specifics for conducting an
experiment, such as which responses, factors, levels, blocks, treatments, and tools are
to be used.
✔✔external customer - ✔✔A person or organization that receives a product, service, or
information but is not part of the organization supplying it. Also see internal customer.
✔✔external failure - ✔✔Nonconformance identified by the external customers.
, ✔✔failure - ✔✔The inability of an item, product, or service to perform required functions
on demand due to one or more defects.
✔✔failure cost - ✔✔The cost resulting from the occurrence of defects. One element of
cost of quality or cost of poor quality.
✔✔failure mode analysis (FMA) - ✔✔A procedure to determine which malfunction
symptoms appear immediately before or after a failure of a critical parameter in a
system. After all possible causes are listed for each symptom, the product is designed
to eliminate the problems. failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)—A systematized
group of activities to recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a product or process
and its effects, identify actions that could eliminate or reduce the occurrence of the
potential failure, and document the process. DFMEA precedes PFMEA.
✔✔F-distribution - ✔✔A continuous probability distribution of the ratio of two
independent chi-square random variables.1
✔✔first in, first out (FIFO) - ✔✔Use of material produced by one process in the same
order by the next process. A FIFO queue is filled by the supplying process and emptied
by the customer process. When a FIFO lane gets full, production is stopped until the
next (internal) customer has used some of that inventory.
✔✔first-pass yield (FPY) - ✔✔Also referred to as the quality rate, the percentage of
units that completes a process and meets quality guidelines without being scrapped,
rerun, retested, returned, or diverted into an offline repair area. FPY is calculated by
dividing the units entering the process minus the defective units by the total number of
units entering the process.
✔✔first-time quality (FTQ) - ✔✔Calculation of the percentage of good parts at the
beginning of a production run.
✔✔fishbone diagram - ✔✔See cause-and-effect diagram.
✔✔fitness for use - ✔✔A term used to indicate that a product or service fits the
customer's defined purpose for that product or service.
✔✔five S (5S) - ✔✔Five Japanese terms beginning with "s" used to create a workplace
suited for visual control and lean production. Seiri (sort) means to separate needed
tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials and to remove the unneeded
ones. Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease
of use. Seiso (shine) means to conduct a cleanup campaign. Seiketsu (standardize)
means to conduct seiri, seiton, and seiso daily to maintain a workplace in perfect
condition. Shitsuke (sustain) means to form the habit of always following the first four
S's. Standardize and sustain most difficult to accomplish.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔design for Six Sigma (DFSS) - ✔✔Used for developing a new product or process, or
for processes that need total overhaul. A process often used in DFSS is called DMADV:
define, measure, analyze, design, verify. Considered the 'future of Six Sigma'. Phases
that exist in DFSS are DMADV, IDDOV, DMADOV.
✔✔design of experiments (DOE) - ✔✔A branch of applied statistics dealing with
planning, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting controlled tests to evaluate the factors
that control the value of a parameter or group of parameters. 568 Glossary
✔✔design record - ✔✔Engineering requirements, typically contained in various formats;
examples include engineering drawings, math data, and referenced specifications.
✔✔deviation - ✔✔In numerical data sets, the difference or distance of an individual
observation or data value from the center point (often the mean) of the set distribution.
✔✔dissatisfiers - ✔✔The features or functions a customer expects that either are not
present or are present but not adequate; also pertains to employees' expectations.
✔✔distribution (statistical) - ✔✔The amount of potential variation in the outputs of a
process, typically expressed by its shape, average, or standard deviation.
✔✔DMADV - ✔✔A data-driven quality strategy for designing products and processes; it
is an integral part of a Six Sigma quality initiative. It consists of five interconnected
phases: define, measure, analyze, design, and verify. "Doing it right the first time"- used
when process is available but not capable
✔✔DMAIC - ✔✔A data-driven quality strategy for improving processes, and an integral
part of a Six Sigma quality initiative. DMAIC is an acronym for define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control.
✔✔Dodge-Romig sampling plans - ✔✔Plans for acceptance sampling developed by
Harold F. Dodge and Harry G. Romig. Four sets of tables were published in 1940:
single sampling lot tolerance tables, double sampling lot tolerance tables, single
sampling average outgoing quality limit tables, and double sampling average outgoing
quality limit tables.
✔✔downtime - ✔✔Lost production time during which a piece of equipment is not
operating correctly due to breakdown, maintenance, power failures, or similar events.
✔✔effect - ✔✔The result of an action being taken; the expected or predicted impact
when an action is to be taken or is proposed.
,✔✔effectiveness - ✔✔The state of having produced a decided on or desired effect.
✔✔efficiency - ✔✔The ratio of the output to the total input in a process.
✔✔efficient - ✔✔A term describing a process that operates effectively while consuming
minimal resources (such as labor and time).
✔✔eight wastes - ✔✔Taiichi Ohno originally enumerated seven wastes (muda) and
later added underutilized people as the eighth waste commonly found in physical
production. The eight are (1) overproduction ahead of demand, (2) waiting for the next
process, worker, material, or equipment, (3) unnecessary transport of materials (for
example, between functional areas of facilities, or to or from a stockroom or
warehouse), (4) overprocessing of parts due to poor tool and product design, (5)
inventories more than the absolute minimum, (6) unnecessary movement by employees
during the course of their work (such as to look Glossary 569 for parts, tools, prints, or
help), (7) production of defective parts, (8) underutilization of employees' brainpower,
skills, experience, and talents.
✔✔eighty-twenty (80-20) - ✔✔A term referring to the Pareto principle, which was first
defined by J. M. Juran in 1950. The principle suggests that most effects come from
relatively few causes; that is, 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the
possible causes. Also see Pareto chart.
✔✔enumerative (descriptive) studies - ✔✔A group of methods used for organizing,
summarizing, and representing data using tables, graphs, and summary statistics.1
✔✔error detection - ✔✔A hybrid form of error-proofing. It means a bad part can be
made but will be caught immediately, and corrective action will be taken to prevent
another bad part from being produced. A device is used to detect and stop the process
when a bad part is made. This is used when error-proofing is too expensive or not easily
implemented.
✔✔error-proofing - ✔✔Use of process or design features to prevent the acceptance or
further processing of nonconforming products. Also known as mistake-proofing.
✔✔experimental design - ✔✔A formal plan that details the specifics for conducting an
experiment, such as which responses, factors, levels, blocks, treatments, and tools are
to be used.
✔✔external customer - ✔✔A person or organization that receives a product, service, or
information but is not part of the organization supplying it. Also see internal customer.
✔✔external failure - ✔✔Nonconformance identified by the external customers.
, ✔✔failure - ✔✔The inability of an item, product, or service to perform required functions
on demand due to one or more defects.
✔✔failure cost - ✔✔The cost resulting from the occurrence of defects. One element of
cost of quality or cost of poor quality.
✔✔failure mode analysis (FMA) - ✔✔A procedure to determine which malfunction
symptoms appear immediately before or after a failure of a critical parameter in a
system. After all possible causes are listed for each symptom, the product is designed
to eliminate the problems. failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)—A systematized
group of activities to recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a product or process
and its effects, identify actions that could eliminate or reduce the occurrence of the
potential failure, and document the process. DFMEA precedes PFMEA.
✔✔F-distribution - ✔✔A continuous probability distribution of the ratio of two
independent chi-square random variables.1
✔✔first in, first out (FIFO) - ✔✔Use of material produced by one process in the same
order by the next process. A FIFO queue is filled by the supplying process and emptied
by the customer process. When a FIFO lane gets full, production is stopped until the
next (internal) customer has used some of that inventory.
✔✔first-pass yield (FPY) - ✔✔Also referred to as the quality rate, the percentage of
units that completes a process and meets quality guidelines without being scrapped,
rerun, retested, returned, or diverted into an offline repair area. FPY is calculated by
dividing the units entering the process minus the defective units by the total number of
units entering the process.
✔✔first-time quality (FTQ) - ✔✔Calculation of the percentage of good parts at the
beginning of a production run.
✔✔fishbone diagram - ✔✔See cause-and-effect diagram.
✔✔fitness for use - ✔✔A term used to indicate that a product or service fits the
customer's defined purpose for that product or service.
✔✔five S (5S) - ✔✔Five Japanese terms beginning with "s" used to create a workplace
suited for visual control and lean production. Seiri (sort) means to separate needed
tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials and to remove the unneeded
ones. Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease
of use. Seiso (shine) means to conduct a cleanup campaign. Seiketsu (standardize)
means to conduct seiri, seiton, and seiso daily to maintain a workplace in perfect
condition. Shitsuke (sustain) means to form the habit of always following the first four
S's. Standardize and sustain most difficult to accomplish.
