Module 17 Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, lifetime certification
40 hours, same for every track. Assessed by the certification body's exam and a project review. Completes the programme with Gate 4.
Purpose
Manual testing is itself the variation problem that Six Sigma targets: the same check, run by hand, does not give the same result every time. Automation removes that variation, but only measurement shows that it did. Module 17 gives every participant the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt method to measure a testing process, find root causes, and prove an improvement, and a Green Belt certification that does not expire.
Module 17 comes last because a Green Belt project needs what the earlier modules produce: automation skills, the Evidence 7 automation candidate analysis, and the Evidence 15 suite-health data.
Outcomes
- Learning outcome 14: apply Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC) to measure and improve a testing process, and hold a Green Belt certification that does not expire.
Depth by track
| Module | Band 3 | Band 4 quality assurance | Band 4 test engineering | Band 5 quality assurance | Band 6 quality assurance | Band 6 test engineering | Band 7 test engineering | Band 7 test management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module 17 Lean Six Sigma Green Belt | With support | With support | With support | Independent | Lead or coach | Independent | Lead or coach | Lead or coach |
The certification and its exam are the same for every track. The depth applies to the Green Belt project.
Session plan
The course sessions are taught by the Lean Six Sigma trainer chosen under Decision 8. Project sessions are with the mentor, and the product owner as sponsor.
| # | Session | Duration | Format | Who |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hours 268–275.5: Lean: value, flow, the eight wastes (TIMWOODS) in testing, kaizen | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 2 | Hours 268–275.5: Define: voice of the customer, critical-to-quality requirements, SIPOC, the project charter | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 3 | Hours 268–275.5: value stream mapping of the team's test process | 1.5 hours | Practice | Each person, their team's process |
| 4 | Hours 268–275.5: write the Green Belt project charter, and agree it with the sponsor | 2 hours | Project | Each person, product owner, mentor |
| 5 | Hours 275.5–283: Measure: data collection plans and measurement system analysis | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 6 | Hours 275.5–283: descriptive statistics and variation | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 7 | Hours 275.5–283: process capability and sigma level | 1.5 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 8 | Hours 275.5–283: collect the project's baseline data | 2 hours | Project | Each person, mentor |
| 9 | Hours 283–290.5: Analyse: Pareto charts, fishbone diagrams, the five whys | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 10 | Hours 283–290.5: hypothesis testing | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 11 | Hours 283–290.5: correlation and regression | 1.5 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 12 | Hours 283–290.5: FMEA, linked to the clinical hazard log from Module 14 | 1 hour | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 13 | Hours 283–290.5: analyse the project's root causes | 1 hour | Project | Each person, mentor |
| 14 | Hours 290.5–298: Improve: generating, choosing, and piloting solutions; automation as an improvement that is measured, not assumed | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 15 | Hours 290.5–298: Control: control charts and statistical process control | 2 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 16 | Hours 290.5–298: control plans, and handing a process to its owner | 1 hour | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 17 | Hours 290.5–298: pilot the project's improvement | 2.5 hours | Project | Each person, mentor, team |
| 18 | Hours 298–305.5: measure the result, write the control plan, and finish the project report | 1.5 hours | Project | Each person, mentor |
| 19 | Hours 298–305.5: project review with the sponsor and mentor | 1 hour | Project | Each person, product owner, mentor |
| 20 | Hours 298–305.5: practice exam, and review of the answers | 5 hours | Core | Cohort, trainer |
| 21 | Hours 305.5–308: the Green Belt certification exam | 2.5 hours | Exam | Each person, certification body |
Each person's sessions add up to 40 hours: 27.5 hours on the body of knowledge and exam preparation, 10 hours on the project, and 2.5 hours for the exam.
Green Belt projects by track
Every project improves a real measure in the person's own team's testing process, uses synthetic data only, and builds on their Evidence 7 analysis and Evidence 15 suite-health report. Typical measures:
- flaky test rate
- time from a defect report to a regression test
- manual regression hours per release
- defects found after release
- CI run time
| Track | Project |
|---|---|
| Band 3, Band 4 quality assurance, Band 4 test engineering | A named part of a team project, led by the mentor or a Band 6 or Band 7 colleague. The part is written in the charter. |
| Band 5 quality assurance, Band 6 test engineering | A small project of their own. |
| Band 6 quality assurance, Band 7 test engineering | Lead a project, and coach a lower-band colleague's part. |
| Band 7 test management | Lead a project for their area, and sponsor the cohort's other projects with the product owners. |
Activities
- Map the team's test process as a value stream, and mark the waste.
- Write and agree the Green Belt project charter.
- Collect baseline data, and work out the process's current capability.
- Find the root causes with a Pareto chart and a fishbone diagram, and test one with data.
- Pilot an improvement, measure the result, and write a control plan for the process owner.
- Prepare for, and sit, the certification exam.
Evidence
Evidence 17:
| Part | Tracks |
|---|---|
| A Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certificate from a certification body whose Green Belt does not expire (Decision 8) | All tracks |
| A Green Belt project on the team's testing process: charter, SIPOC and process map, baseline with real data, root-cause analysis, improvement, and control plan | All tracks, at the scope in the table above |
Assessment
- The certification body sets and marks the Green Belt exam. If a person does not pass, they resit once, within three months, after more exam preparation.
- The training lead and mentor review the project, with the product owner as sponsor. The project is accepted when its measure, data, analysis, and control plan are sound, whether or not the improvement was as large as hoped.
- A person completes the programme when Gate 4 is met and Evidence 17 is complete (spec, "Completion").
Resources
- testingexamples "How does Six Sigma lead manual testing into automatic testing?": https://testingexamples.github.io/en-001/what-is-lean-six-sigma-for-automatic-testing/
- testingexamples "What metrics help automatic testing?": https://testingexamples.github.io/en-001/what-are-flow-metrics-for-automatic-testing/
- The certification body's Green Belt body of knowledge and practice exams (Decision 8).
- Your Evidence 7 automation candidate analysis, Evidence 15 suite-health report, and the Module 14 hazard log.
View this document on GitHub materials/modules/module-17-lean-six-sigma-green-belt/index.md