One of the first questions our friends interested in taking a Lean Six Sigma belt often have concerns the requirements for taking one belt or another.

Common questions include: Which should I take? Must I be a Yellow Belt before Green Belt? I already know Lean Six Sigma basics; can I take Green Belt? My company certified me as a Green Belt; can I move to Black Belt?

Below, we offer a brief explanation to help you decide which level to focus on or enroll in.

First, understand the scope of each belt we offer and certify. These are:

Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt – This belt primarily covers LEAN tools and the foundations of Six Sigma, including recognizing statistical distributions, an introduction to probability and descriptive statistics, and framing projects within DMAIC.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt - The main scope of this belt is to learn about the Six Sigma tools that can be used at each stage of the DMAIC methodology and especially using statistical data analysis for decision-making.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt – The main scope of this belt is learning more advanced statistical data analysis tools, such as Design of Experiments (DOE), but above all, how to manage Lean Six Sigma projects.

Now it is not important to clarify that the levels are progressive: that is, I must start with Yellow Belt and then move on to Green Belt if I want to become a Black Belt.

Thus, now the answers to the questions referred to above are:

If I already have Yellow Belt or Green Belt certification, can I start with Green Belt or Black Belt?

  • The answer's SI, provided the BOK (Book of Knowledge) of the institution that certified you covers the knowledge endorsed by SIGMAKAI, Exemplar Global and CSSC.

What if I already have Yellow Belt or Green Belt certification, but it is recognized only by my company or a company where I worked?

  • Ideally, enroll in Green Belt or Black Belt, but first take the Yellow Belt or Green Belt exam to recognize your existing knowledge and move forward. If that seems too difficult, begin with Yellow Belt or Green Belt.

What if I do not have any Yellow Belt certification but know I have the knowledge needed to begin Green Belt in accordance with the belt’s scope?

  • You must take the Yellow Belt exam to recognize your existing knowledge and move forward. If you find it too difficult, start with Yellow Belt.

What if I have no Green Belt certification but know I have the knowledge required to begin Black Belt according to its scope?

  • You must take the Green Belt exam to recognize the knowledge you have and move forward. If you find it too difficult, start at Yellow Belt. Otherwise, Black Belt will be very difficult to understand.

Another option is to become a SIX SIGMA BELT without certification in the LEAN philosophy. You can start at Green Belt level, but you need sufficient knowledge of statistical distributions, basic probability concepts and descriptive statistics, as well as how projects fit within the DMAIC methodology. If you are confident in that knowledge, you can begin working toward SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT. If you are unfamiliar with it, we recommend starting with LEAN SIX SIGMA Yellow Belt. Moreover, the trend is to combine both philosophies, so it is better not to go without LEAN philosophy.

This lets you decide which level suits you best and add greater value to your competencies.

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