Exam Study Questions Flashcards
Increasing performance in a lean six sigma corporation from 3 sigma to 4 sigma would reduce defects per million by a factor of:
10
What is the best upper management reason for not providing black belt assistance to an improvement team?
a. black belt resources may be tight
b. it forces the team to develop their own skills
c. it may not be required
d. it requires the team to ask for help
c. it may not be required
A six sigma project requires $23,000 of initial investment and training costs of $6000, spread out over a 6 month period. The project is expected to save the company $3000 per month, starting in the 3rd month. Ignoring interest and taxes, what is the payback period?
a. 9 months
b. 10 months
c. 11 months
d. 12 months
d. 12 months
$23,000 + $6000 = $29,000
$29,000/$3000 = 9.6666666667
3 months + 9 months = 12 months
The term “metrics” most frequently refers to:
a. a unit of measurement
b. the metric system
c. net present value
d. an evaluation method
d. an evaluation method
Many training instructors have developed approaches to emphasize multiple sense learning. Which of the following options would be generally recognized to best foster student retention?
a. reading and hearing
b. hearing and seeing
c. seeing and speaking
d. reading and seeing
c. seeing and speaking
Team briefing presentations to senior management should include which of the following considerations?
a. since the time of senior management is valuable address all potential details
b. every member of the team should have a speaking/briefing role
c. identify the problem and the proposed action desired
d. handouts should require author(s) explanations
c. identify the problem and the proposed action desired
A customer satisfaction program was started on the right foot, and it has gone very well for the last year or so. The company should now:
a. look to improve the program, with new customer input
b. do nothing with the program, it’s not broken
c. form a management group to add new wrinkles to the program
d. stop collecting data to save money
a. look to improve the program, with new customer input
Which of the following is a primary reason for periodic project reviews?
a. to highlight the project team’s efforts
b. to update goal achievement
c. to expand the schedule
d. to increase the costs
b. to update goal achievement
One would normally describe recorded values reflecting length, volume, and time as:
a. measurable, discrete, continuous
b. discrete, variable, continuous
c. continuous measurable, variable
d. variable, discrete, measurable
c. continuous, measurable, variable
When performing calculations on sample data:
a. a continuous frequency graph called a histogram results
b. rounding the data has no effect on the mean and standard deviation
c. coding the data has no effect on the mean and standard deviation
d. coding and rounding affect both the mean and standard deviation
d. coding and rounding affect both the mean and standard deviation
The reported Cpk for a process with an average of 28, a spread (+ or - 3 sigma) of 10 units, and upper and lower specification limits of 35 and 15 respectively, would be:
a. 1.6
b. 1.4
c. 1.8
d. 0.714
b. 1.4
A process consists of 3 sequential steps with the following yields:
Y1=99.8, Y2=97.4, Y3=96.4
Determine the total defects per unit.
a. 0.063
b. 0.065
c. 0.067
d. 0.069
b. 0.065
99.897.496.4=.9371
ln(.9371)=0.065
A random sample size n is to be taken from a large population having a standard deviation of 1”. The sample size is to be determined so that there will be a 0.05 risk probability of exceeding a 0.1” tolerance error in using the sample mean to estimate u ( pronounced mu). Which of the following values is nearest the required sample size?
a. 385
b. 40
c. 200
d. 100
a. 385
n=z2 sigma2/triangle2 =384 (round up sigma=1 z=1.96 triangle = 0.1
In an experiment designed to compare two different ways of measuring a given quantity, it was desired to test the null hypothesis that the means were equal at the 0.05 level of significance. A sample of 5 parts was measured by method A and a sample of seven parts with method B. A t-ratio of 2.179 was obtained. One should:
a. reject the null hypothesis
b. rail to reject the null hypothesis
c. conclude that A is greater than B
d. Conclude that more should be known about the sample means
b. fail to reject the null hypothesis
A 2 level 5 factor experiment is being conducted to optimize the reliability of an electronic control module. A half replicate of the standard full factorial experiment is proposed. The number of treatment combinations will be:
a. 10
B. 16
c. 25
d. 32
b. 16
2 to the 5th power=32 runs
32/2=16
A process is in control with p-bar=0.10 and n=100. The 3 sigma limits of the np control chart are:
a. 1 and 19
b. 9.1 and 10.9
c. 0.01 and 0.19
d. 0.07 and 0.13
a. 1 and 19
An X-bar and R chart was prepared for an operation using 20 samples with 5 pieces in each sample; X-bar bar was found to be 33.6 and R-bar was 6.20. During production, a sample of 5 was taken and the pieces measured 36, 43, 37, 25, and 38. At the time, this sample was take:
a. both the average and range were within control limits
b. neither the average nor range were within control limits
c. only the average was outside control limits
d. only the range was outside control limits
d. only the range was outside control limits
What is the major difference between the DFX and DMAIC?
a. one is a product design approach and the other is a problem solving approach
b. one concentrates on functions and performance and the other does not
c. one has a limited number of process steps whereas the other is virtually unlimited
d. there are few difference, they can operate independently or together
a. one is a product design approach and the other is a problem solving approach
Six Sigma can be differed by which of the following opinions?
a. philosophy
b. use of no tools
c. methodology
d. metrics
a,c,d
What is the probability of getting a 3 followed by 2 when a dice is thrown twice?
Sample space: 6*6=36 and Event: 3,2. The probability of getting a 3 followed by 2 can happen only in one way: Probability of an event = Total number of events/total number of sample space = 1/36
Which of the following is the key benefit of multi-vari charting?
a. it keeps track of the time when measurements were made
b. it graphically displays the variation in a process
c. it assists in the breakdown of components of variation
d. it is much easier to plot than most control charts
A multi-vari chart is a graphical representation of multiple variables on the same chart. Data variation can come from multiple sources
____ statistics is used to apply to describe the data using numbers, charts, and graphs and the ____ statistics used determine the interrelationship of population parameters.
Descriptive, inferential
Descriptive statistics deals with data presentation in numeric or graphic form or table form for data analysis. Inferential statistics is a technique of inferring about the population on the basis of observations obtained from the population.
A ___ is used to explain the time scheduled by separate phases by breaking down the project and tasks for the dependencies to be accounted.
a. bar chart
b. spc chart
c. pdca
d. gantt chart
d. gantt chart
Gantt chart is a type of bar chart which represent the start and finish dates of the project and shows many crucial elements like resources, milestones, tasks, and dependencies.
Which of these are not multivariate analyses?
a. factor analysis
b. manova
c. anova
d. cluster analysis
Anova stands for analysis of variance. Anova is a business process improvement methodology. Anova analysis is the analysis of variation in mean (not median or mode) of different groups of the population or different populations. When root cause analysis methods like DMAIC, or DFSS cannot depict the errors then anova analysis is recommended.
Which of the following is a non-parametric test?
a. regression
b. 2 tailed 2 sample t-test
c. anova
d. Kruskal test
The Kruskal-Wallis H test (sometimes also called the “one-way ANOVA on ranks”) is a rank-based nonparametric test to determine whether samples come from the same distribution. This is a one-way analysis of variance. This test is useful for comparison of 2 or more independent samples of equal or different sample sizes.
Cause and effect diagram is not known as!
a. Ishikawa Diagram
b. 4-M
c. Affinity Diagram
d. None of the above
An affinity diagram collects data based on a few parameters like language, ideas, opinion, and issues and organizes them into groups based on these parameters. These groups get organized based on natural relationships.
What is the technique to trace the rule responsible for the problem and break the assumption for the process?
a. assumption busting
b. analogy technique
c. benchmarking
d. constrained brain writing
assumption bursting is a brainstorming and questioning technique that identifies conventional assumptions and eliminates all the challenges that become obstacles to get an optimal solution.
Cost-benefit analysis does not include:
a. project benefits
b. project cost factors
c. project gain
d. impact on competitor
A cost-benefit analysis does not take into consideration the factors impacting the competitors. A cost-benefit analysis analyzes business decisions. All the benefits of a situation or business actions are summed. The costs associated with them are subtracted
What is lean philosophy?
a. helps to provide a perfect value through a perfect value creation that has zero waste
b. continuous improvement
c. higher output by encouraging people to work hard and have targets
d. reducing cost and improving purchasing power. When samples are drawn out of a population randomly, what is said to be true?
Lean philosophy: lean six sigma is a philosophy for performance improvement by removing waste and reducing variation. This philosophy removes eight kinds of defects. This method relies on collaborative team effort.
When samples are drawn out of a population randomly, what is said to be true?
a. the sample mean is always the same as the population mean
b. the sample standard deviation will be the same as population standard deviation
c. the sampling distribution approaches normality with an increase in sample size
d. the sampling distribution would be triangular if the population is distributed as a triangular distribution
A random sampling is a sampling technique. Each sample has an equal opportunity of being chosen and the sample chosen is the unbiased representation of the entire population.
Which of the following tools is most commonly used in the define phase of a project?
a. affinity diagram
b. control chart
c. failure mode and effects analysis
d. data collection checklist
Define is the first phase of the DMAIC phase of six sigma project. A control chart is the most effective tool used in the define phase.
True or False:
Efficiency and Effectiveness Matrix is a tool used to balance the types of measurement applied to a process. This matrix facilitates the listing of all proposed measurement in order to uncover any imbalances in the data collection plan.
True
True or False:
Gemba is a Japanese term that translates to the “real place” or where the work takes place.
True
True or False:
A goal statement is a tool that helps teams take customer comments, determine the underlying issues represented by those comments and use this information to develop measurable customer requirements.
False
Correct answer is VOC translation matrix
True or False:
A quartile is a quarter of a data set. People divide data sets into this in order to study things like the lowest performing 25% or a workforce, or the top 25% turn around times for shipping. The box plot is a great visual that makes use of this.
True
A hypothesis test that determines whether a statistically significant difference exists between the average of a normally distributed continuous data set and a standard. It provides a way to determine if there is truly a difference between the standard and a particular data set mean or whether the difference is due to random chance.
An example would be testing whether a supplier, that has guaranteed an average 12-ounce fill rate on their beverages, is performing as promised.
a. chi-square test
b. one-sample T-test
c. multiple regression test
d. mann-whitney test
b. one-sample T-test
Refer to process steps that fail to meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The step transforms the item toward completion (something changes)
- The step is done right the first time (not a rework step)
- The customer cares (or would pay) for the step to be done.
a. champion aka sponsor
b. parallel processing
c. internal failure
d. non-value adding activities
d. non-value adding activities
These were invented by Dr. Ishikawa as a way to empower workers to enhance product design, make the workplace safer and improve the processes they worked on. Led by a trained facilitators, these work groups grew into what are now known as modern day Rapid Improvement Events, also known as Kaizens.
a. quality circles
b. process performance boards
c. continuous improvement
d. brainstorming
a. quality circles
This is a method, popularized by the quality guru Shigeo Shingo, that proposes removing the need for inspection by eliminating the possibility of human error. Mr. Shingo was a proponent of Poka Yoke or Mistake Proofing processes which is a key component to removing the need for inspection. The idea is that by removing the root causes of errors, it is possible to achieve zero defects.
a. Taguchi loss function
b. zero quality control
c. zero defects
d. autonomation (aka Jidoka)
b. zero quality control
Any person or organization that provides an Input to a Process.
a. inventory
b. customer
c. stakeholder
d. supplier
d. supplier
Method of organizing physical operations in the most efficient combination to maximize value added steps and to minimize waste.
Work cell design
The last phase of DMAIC which ensures that improved processes continue to work predictably and meet the customers’ expectations. In short, this phase ensures any gains are maintained.
control phase
An emphasis on understanding the needs of those who receive the goods and services of the process.
customer focus
The third phase of the DMAIC process focuses on identifying the root cause (or causes) of a process problem.
analyze phase
Refers to the goal of eliminating the variation in how a process or process step is completed.
standard work
Any and all measurements of a Process.
process measures
A quality principle that asserts that the majority of effects come from a minority of causes. AKA the 80/20 rule, 80% of effects come from 20% of causes.
Pareto principle
Displays that enable leaders to visually track People, Quality, Delivery, Cost and Process Improvement.
process performance boards
Control Charts designed for tracking the proportion defective for discrete data.These charts require both the total population as well as the count of defective units in order to plot the proportion.
A classic example is to track the proportion of defective products returned each month.
P chart
This has two basic components. The most important is the beginning and end of the process being addressed - the ““Start”” and ““Stop”” points - which is most often outlined in the SIPOC. The second part addresses what’s ““In”” versus what’s ““Out”” in terms of the team’s responsibility. This clarifies what’s being addressed versus what’s off limits. This is part of the Define phase in DMAIC and is included in the Project Charter.
Project Scope (aka scope)