How to Become a Six Sigma Black Belt Certified

General Electric & Motorola developed
Six sigma certification programs but later on many organizations started offering
Six Sigma certifications to their employees. As such, there is no standard certification body, and different certification services are offered by various quality associations and other providers against a fee.

What it takes to become a Six sigma Black Belt?

Professionals with
black belt certification have a superior understanding of principles & ability to apply that knowledge to improve business function & competitiveness.

Pre-Requisites for getting a Six Sigma Black Belt certification:

Before
applying for Black belt certification, he/she may/may not be a Green belt certified (depends on the certification body). The professional should have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the
DMAIC model in accordance with Six Sigma principles. Also, it’s mandatory to have basic knowledge of Lean enterprise concepts, is able to identify non-value-added elements and activities and is able to use specific tools.

Steps for getting a Six Sigma Black Belt Certification-:

1. Candidate to enroll for the certification to the certifying body. (There may/may not be some pre-requisites to be completed before the enrollment-depends on the body)

2. Candidate to obtain basic training (full time or online or as per the certifying body) on Black belt course material

3. Candidate to sit for the exam, score minimum passing cut off. (the pattern and time differs as per the certifying body).

4. Candidate to complete projects (Depends on the certifying body)

S.no.	Certification Body	Steps	Preparation
1.	American Society for Quality (ASQ)	Pre-requisites-:Two completed projects with signed affidavits, or one completed project with signed affidavit and three years of work experience in one or more areas of the Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge. The candidate need not be a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt. Exam Format-: The Six Sigma Black Belt certification examination is a four-hour, 150 multiple-choice question examination. Description-:ASQ certification is a formal recognition by ASQ that an individual has demonstrated a proficiency within, and comprehension of, a specific body of knowledge. Understands Six Sigma philosophies and principles, including the supporting systems and tools. Demonstrates team leadership and understands all aspects of the DMAIC model in accordance with Six Sigma principles. Required Score-:The passing grade, or cut point, is established through a cut-score study. Courtesy -:http://www.asq.org/	The candidate may obtain training from a qualified institution or an online Training. ASQ also provides preparation course for the exam which is 28hours of class time.
2.	International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC)	Exam Format-:The IASSC Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (ICBB) Exam is a 4 hour 150 question proctored exam. The Exam contains approximately 30 multiple-choice and true/false questions from each major section of the ILSSBOK for Black Belts and is administered in more than 8,000 Testing Centers located within 165 countries throughout the world. Required Score-:Candidates must sit for the IASSC Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Exam and achieve a minimum score of 580 points out of a total potential of 750 points. Courtesy-:http://www.iassc.org/	The candidate may obtain training from a qualified institution, Lean Six Sigma trainer or corporate program. It is also recommended, although not required, that those sitting for the exam have some degree of real-world Six Sigma work experience and project application experience. IASSC also has the facility of Accredited Training Providers.
3.	Other Bodies-: International Quality Federation, KPMG, other private/professional organizations etc.

To summarize, any professional after undergoing intense training & passing the certification exam, has a long promising career ahead of himself. After black belt certification is completed, the professional demonstrates team leadership, understand team dynamics and assign team member roles and responsibilities during the project.

Author : SiddharthPareek