MoreSteam Green Belt Body of Knowledge
The MoreSteam Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Body of Knowledge represents the commonly accepted competencies and core proficiencies expected of Lean Six Sigma Green Belts. Developed in collaboration with The Ohio State University's Center for Operational Excellence, it establishes a clear and practical standard for the knowledge and skills required to successfully apply Lean Six Sigma in real-world environments.
This well-established framework is recognized across industries as both rigorous and relevant. It reflects the essential improvement methods and leadership capabilities that organizations expect of Green Belts, including mastery of the DMAIC framework (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), Lean principles, process analysis, and statistical problem-solving. By aligning with this Body of Knowledge, all MoreSteam Green Belt courses prepare participants to contribute meaningful, measurable improvements in their organizations.
The MoreSteam Green Belt Body of Knowledge is also accredited by the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals, underscoring its standing as a trusted, industry-recognized standard. In addition, the knowledge areas outlined here form the foundation of the MoreSteam Lean Six Sigma Certification program, ensuring that those pursuing formal certification demonstrate competence in each topic through structured assessment and application.
| Master Requirement Key Bloom's Taxonomy | |
|---|---|
| CR | Create new methods, processes, systems, concepts, and ideas |
| EV | Evaluate to draw conclusions and reach judgments through interpretation of analytical work |
| AN | Analyze critically to compare and contrast, discriminate through experimentation, and identify inter-relationships |
| AP | Apply information, methods, and procedures in a new way or in a different context |
| UN | Understand and explain ideas and concepts |
| RE | Remember terminology, facts, and definitions |
| Topic Area | Topic | Mastery Requirement* | Mastery Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||
| General | Topic: Lean Six Sigma Defined | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Describe nature and purpose of Lean Six Sigma |
| Topic: Integration of Lean and Six Sigma | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Compare and contrast focus and approaches (Process Velocity and Quality) | |
| Topic: Y=f(X) Input Determines Output | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Express business processes as a transfer function | |
| Topic: The Business Case for Lean Six Sigma | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Describe value proposition of Lean Six Sigma as a methodology | |
| Topic: Origins of Lean and Six Sigma | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Understand historical perspective and evolution | |
| Topic: DMAIC - The Lean Six Sigma Improvement Process | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Apply DMAIC methodology to organize project thinking and work | |
| Topic: Lean and DMAIC | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Apply DMAIC methodology at varying levels of complexity based on project requirements and mix of "Lean" vs "Variation Reduction" activities | |
| Topic: Thought Process Mapping | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Employ Question->Action->Answer approach to guide critical thinking | |
| Project Management | |||
| Project Management | Topic: Organizing for Success | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Understand critical organizational success factors |
| Topic: Working Relationships & Responsibilities | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Understand typical work role definitions and structure | |
| Topic: Project Selection | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Select projects based on systematic analysis of key organizational performance metrics, comparing actual to imperative to identify gaps | |
| Topic: Project Charter | Mastery Requirement*: CR | Mastery Assessment: Understand historical perspective and evolution | |
| Topic: Project Tracking | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Systematically plan and execute project work activities | |
| Topic: Leading Project Teams | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Provide positive leadership energy to accomplish project goals through people: communicate, convince, coordinate and compel | |
| Topic: Leading Change | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Apply change management techniques to accomplish project objectives | |
| Topic: Stakeholder Analysis - RACI Matrix | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Recognize stakeholders, their needs, possible conflicts or resistance, and plan and communicate accordingly | |
| Define Phase of DMAIC | |||
| Define Phase of DMAIC | Topic: Process Thinking and The Value Stream | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Define high level value streams |
| Topic: Process Mapping - Overview | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Understand alternate forms of process mapping and apply criteria to select the appropriate type of map for the situation | |
| Topic: SIPOC Maps | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Construct SIPOC map incorporating relevant elements | |
| Topic: Process Flow Charts and Swim Lanes | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Construct Flow Chart using standard symbols and with activities identified by department or function | |
| Topic: Value-Added Flow Charts (7/8 Wastes) | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Construct Flow Chart which identifies non-value-added activities | |
| Topic: Spaghetti Charts | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Construct chart to map the physical flow of materials or virtual flow of information | |
| Topic: Value Stream Mapping (Current State, Takt Time) | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Construct Value Stream Map of current/future process state, showing order flows, processing time by step, inventories, delays, set-up times, takt time, and overall cycle time (lead time), waste and bottlenecks. | |
| Topic: Voice of The Customer | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Express importance of customer-driven activities | |
| Topic: Understanding Customer Requirements (Kano Model) | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Apply Kano Analysis to identify opportunities to "delight" customers | |
| Topic: Sources of Customer Data | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Recognize sources for VOC data | |
| Topic: Conducting Surveys | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Recognize situations calling for a survey to collect customer data | |
| Topic: Surveys - Sampling Frame | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Incorporate sample frame considerations to achieve representative sample | |
| Topic: Structuring Survey Questions | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Structure survey questions to achieve desired results and avoid bias | |
| Topic: The Degree of Uncertainty in Sampling | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Factor uncertainty into survey analysis | |
| Topic: Guideline for Margin of Error | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Incorporate margin of error into analysis of survey results | |
| Topic: Affinity Diagram Toolset | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Use Affinity Diagram to sort and group customer data | |
| Topic: CTQC Tree Diagram | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Develop Tree Diagram to refine general customer requirements into Critical To Quality Requirements. | |
| Topic: Operational Definitions | Mastery Requirement*: CR | Mastery Assessment: Craft operational definitions to express customer requirements in clear and objective terms | |
| Topic: Voice Of The Customer As Specifications | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Translate customer requirements into internal process/product specifications | |
| Topic: Define Phase Tollgate Review | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Review critical questions for the Define Phase to ensure that answers have been developed | |
| Measure Phase of DMAIC | |||
| Measure Phase of DMAIC | Topic: Measurements and Basic Statistics | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Describe the role of measurements and basic statistics in the Measure phase of a DMAIC project |
| Topic: Business Problem Solving Using Statistics | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Express practical problems as statistical questions, and translate statistical answers into practical answers | |
| Topic: Basic Statistical Terms | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Describe basic statistical terms in structuring actions to answer critical questions | |
| Topic: Descriptive and Inferential Statistics | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Differentiate between Descriptive and Inferential Statistics | |
| Topic: Discrete vs. Continuous Measurements | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Identify the most useful type of data to collect to meet project requirements | |
| Topic: Measurement Subjects | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Distinguish between types of measurement subjects | |
| Topic: Graphical Summaries | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Interpret the information conveyed by graphical representations of data | |
| Topic: Statistical Software (Minitab, EngineRoom, JMP, or other) | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Demonstrate use of statistical software to analyze data | |
| Topic: Pareto Chart | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Use Pareto Charts to rank by frequency and interpret the output | |
| Topic: Measuring Central Tendency | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Calculate and interpret appropriate measures of central tendency in analyzing process performance (mean, median, mode) | |
| Topic: Quantifying Process Variability | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Calculate and interpret appropriate measures of variation in analyzing process performance (variance, standard deviation, range) | |
| Topic: The Normal Distribution | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Apply normal distribution concepts to assessments of capability and employ Z-scores to model probability | |
| Topic: Cause & Effect Matrix Toolset | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Systematically identify process inputs with potential to significantly affect the output of interest | |
| Topic: Measurement System Analysis (MSA) | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Appreciate the important role of measurement system analysis | |
| Topic: Measurement As A Process | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Apply the study of measurement system capability as a process | |
| Topic: Requirements of Measurement Systems | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Execute measurement analysis to address the requirements of a reliable system | |
| Topic: Gauge R & R (Variable Data) | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate systems used to collect variable data | |
| Topic: MSA - Graphing | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Apply graphical analysis to enhance MSA evaluation | |
| Topic: Attribute Measurement System Analysis | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate systems used to collect attribute data | |
| Topic: Calibration of Measurement Systems | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Apply calibration guidelines to ensure measurement system reliability over time | |
| Topic: Collecting Data | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Develop a data collection plan | |
| Topic: Developing a Sampling Plan | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Incorporate effective sampling guidelines | |
| Topic: Establishing Baseline Performance | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Select and apply the appropriate measurements and interpret results | |
| Topic: Throughput Yield and Rolled Throughput Yield | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Calculate and interpret results | |
| Topic: The Process Sigma Level | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Calculate and interpret results | |
| Topic: Charting Process Behavior (SPC) Background | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Describe origin and purpose of Control Charts | |
| Topic: Trend Charts (Run Charts) | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Create and interpret this type of chart | |
| Topic: SPC Concepts & Control Limits | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Employ Control Limits to evaluate process stability | |
| Topic: Types of SPC Charts | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Recognize which chart should be applied in a given situation | |
| Topic: Rational Subgrouping | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Develop a rational sampling plan to represent the entire process output | |
| Topic: X and Moving Range Charts | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Create and interpret this type of chart | |
| Topic: Attribute Control Charts | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Create and interpret this type of chart | |
| Topic: X-bar and R Charts; X-bar and S Charts | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Create and interpret this type of chart | |
| Topic: Process Capability (Cp, Cpk, Pp, Ppk) | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Assess process capability, factoring in prerequisites of process stability and normality | |
| Topic: Normality Assessment, Transformation of Non-Normal Data | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Recognize impact of non-normality and take actions as required to transform data | |
| Topic: Rapid Improvements - Leading Kaizen Events | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Organize and execute rapid improvement events (Kaizen Blitz) | |
| Topic: Future State VSM - Line Balancing | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Create future state Value Stream Maps, incorporating balancing of resources | |
| Topic: MEASURE - Tollgate Review | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Review critical questions for the Measure Phase to ensure that answers have been developed | |
| Analyze Phase of DMAIC | |||
| Analyze Phase of DMAIC | Topic: Finding The Root Cause - Basic Concepts | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Recognize and apply alternate methods of root cause identification and validation |
| Topic: Cause & Effect Diagram | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Draw upon process experience to systematically identify potential root causes | |
| Topic: 5-Why, 1-How | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Use sequential questions to uncover causal relationships | |
| Topic: Box Plots | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Investigate the effect of discrete inputs on continuous outputs | |
| Topic: Scatter Plots | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate correlation between variables graphically | |
| Topic: Correlation and Regression Analysis | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate correlation between variables statistically | |
| Topic: Multiple Regression | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Identify relationships between multiple inputs and a continuous output and build a mathematical model of the relationship | |
| Topic: Estimating Population Proportion | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Determine required sample size to estimate population proportion | |
| Topic: Estimating Population Mean | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Determine required sample size to estimate population mean | |
| Topic: Hypothesis Testing: Purpose, Concepts and Language | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Recognize situations where a formal test of hypothesis is warranted | |
| Topic: Formatting the Hypothesis to be Tested | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Properly format null and alternate hypotheses | |
| Topic: Types of Error - Alpha and Beta | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Understand types of error and incorporate into testing plan | |
| Topic: Power Analysis | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Design test to meet Power requirements | |
| Topic: Confidence Intervals | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Apply confidence intervals to interpret the results of a test | |
| Topic: Treatment Comparisons using Control Charts | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Recognize the role of control charts in evaluating process changes | |
| Topic: Comparing Two Proportions - Z-test | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Select the correct test, structure null and alternate hypotheses, satisfy underlying assumptions, analyze for statistically significant difference, and interpret results | |
| Topic: Comparing Two Means - t-test | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Select the correct test, structure null and alternate hypotheses, satisfy underlying assumptions, analyze for statistically significant difference, and interpret results | |
| Topic: Comparing Multiple Means - ANOVA/F-test | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Select the correct test, structure null and alternate hypotheses, satisfy underlying assumptions, analyze for statistically significant difference, and interpret results | |
| Topic: Comparing Two Variances - F-test | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Select the correct test, structure null and alternate hypotheses, satisfy underlying assumptions, analyze for statistically significant difference, and interpret results | |
| Topic: Confidence Intervals - Least Significant Difference | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Employ confidence intervals to evaluate observed differences | |
| Topic: Design of Experiments (DOE): Purpose, Principles | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Describe purpose and principles of DOE | |
| Topic: DOE: Process, Components, Guidelines | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Recognize the correct circumstances to employ DOE and follow the experimental process in doing so | |
| Topic: DOE: Blocking | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Determine proper use of blocking | |
| Topic: DOE: Single Factor Experiments | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Compare effectiveness of 3 or more alternative treatments or methods, including blocking for sources of known variation. | |
| Topic: ANALYZE - Tollgate Review | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Review critical questions for the Analyze Phase to ensure that answers have been developed | |
| Improve Phase of DMAIC | |||
| Improve Phase of DMAIC | Topic: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Overview | Mastery Requirement*: UN | Mastery Assessment: Recognize the complementary role of Design for Six Sigma |
| Topic: Benchmarking | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Conduct benchmarking studies for comparative purposes | |
| Topic: Brainstorming | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Facilitate effective brainstorming | |
| Topic: Multi-voting | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Employ multi-voting to prioritize actions | |
| Topic: FMEA | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Prioritize, evaluate, and resolve potential risks | |
| Topic: Error-proofing | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Implement process changes to prevent the root cause of errors | |
| Topic: Prioritizing and Selecting a Solution | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Systematically select improvement solution sets | |
| Topic: The A3 One-Page Report | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Employ the A-3 approach to organize and communicate project activities | |
| Topic: Continuous Flow & Little's Law | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Analyze and resolve constraints to move the process toward continuous flow | |
| Topic: Quick Changeover Toolset | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Improve process flow by reducing changeover or set-up time | |
| Topic: Cellular Processing Toolset | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Implement work-cells to improve process flow | |
| Topic: Internal Pull Systems | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Set up internal pull systems to improve flow and reduce inventories | |
| Topic: Corrective Action Matrix | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Organize and track improvement activities while driving accountability for implementation | |
| Topic: Piloting a Solution | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Trial and evaluate solutions on a small scale prior to full implementation | |
| Topic: System Dynamics | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Identify potential unintended consequences while developing robust process knowledge of balancing and reinforcing forces | |
| Topic: IMPROVE - Tollgate Review | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Review critical questions for the Improve Phase to ensure that answers have been developed | |
| Control Phase of DMAIC | |||
| Control Phase of DMAIC | Topic: Verifying Improvements with Control Charts | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate "before" vs "after" data to validate process improvements, and employ control charts for ongoing process management |
| Topic: The Process Control Plan | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Establish a process management system for ongoing data collection, monitoring, and reaction | |
| Topic: Visual Control | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Institute visual control techniques to improve process management | |
| Topic: 5-S Approach | Mastery Requirement*: AN | Mastery Assessment: Apply 5-S techniques to organize and streamline the workplace | |
| Topic: Total Productive Maintenance | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Implement TPM practices to improve process reliability and eliminate downtime | |
| Topic: Best Practices and Lessons Learned | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Evaluate successful actions and proactively share lessons learned with the broader organization | |
| Topic: Standardized Work - Documenting Process Changes | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Establish and document standard work to reduce variability | |
| Topic: Ending the Project - Project Hand-off | Mastery Requirement*: AP | Mastery Assessment: Employ a systematic process to transfer responsibilities to the process owner and close the project | |
| Topic: CONTROL - Tollgate Review | Mastery Requirement*: EV | Mastery Assessment: Review critical questions for the Control Phase to ensure that answers have been developed | |
The MoreSteam Green Belt Body of Knowledge was developed in collaboration with The Ohio State University.
Explore MoreSteam Green Belt Courses
Choose from online and blended programs for individuals and groups.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
(Online, Self-Paced)
Become and process improvement leader through mastery of data-driven process analysis and Lean Six Sigma methodology.
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Become an expert in developing products and processes that meet Six Sigma levels of quality while incorporating design thinking, Lean startup, and Agile software development.
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