Body of Knowledge

A comprehensive curriculum for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt practitioners

01 Context & History

01.01 Context

01.01.01 Why improve?

Why standing still is risky and why improvement becomes a basic survival need.

01.01.02 Why continuous improvement?

Why one-off projects fail and continuous improvement keeps performance from sliding back.

01.02 History

Standing on the shoulders of giants

01.02.01 History of production – Pre Ford

Craft-based production: unique products, variable quality, and limited scalability.

01.02.02 History of production – Ford and beyond

How Ford’s assembly line changed work, flow, and cost in mass production.

01.02.03 History of Statistical Process Control – SPC

Use statistics to separate random variation from real process problems.

01.02.04 History of Continuous Improvement

From inspection after the fact to prevention built into the way of working.

01.02.05 History of Total Quality Management – TQM

Company-wide quality as a management responsibility, not just an inspection task.

01.02.06 History of Lean

The evolution of the Toyota Production System as a model for flow and quality.

01.02.07 History of Kaizen

Kaizen as daily, small improvements owned by the people who do the work.

01.02.08 History of Total Productive Maintenance – TPM

Involve operators to keep equipment reliable and productive every day.

01.02.09 History of Six Sigma

Strategic storytelling. Did Motorola really use Six Sigma for their quality improvements?

01.02.10 History of Lean Six Sigma

The marketing of methodology. Why Lean and Six Sigma were fused to create a new improvement brand.

01.02.11 History of Theory of Constraints – TOC

Focus improvement on the bottleneck that limits total system output.

01.02.12 History of Project Management

How structured project work emerged to manage complex change and delivery.

01.02.13 History of Agile

Why software teams moved from big plans to short, adaptive delivery cycles.

01.02.14 History of belts

The belt hierarchy. How a martial arts metaphor became the industry’s most successful product ladder.

02 The absolute basics

02.01 What is a problem?

See problems as gaps to a standard instead of personal failures or blame.

02.02 What does a customer want?

Right product, right time, right quantity: a simple but demanding definition.

02.03 What is a process?

A chain of activities turning input into output; the stage where problems live.

02.04 What is a standard?

Without a clear standard there is no deviation, only opinions and confusion.

02.05 Data Driven Processes and Decisions

Use facts and data so effort goes to real problems, not loud opinions.

02.06 The Basics of Lean

Focus effort on what customers truly value and remove what adds only delay.

02.07 The Basics of Six Sigma

Treat variation as the main enemy of quality, predictability, and trust.

02.08 PDCA

Plan, Do, Check, Act as a simple recurring loop for learning and improvement.

02.09 DMAIC

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control: a structured framework for project-based improvement.

02.10 DMADV

Design new products and processes right the first time instead of fixing later.

03 Project Management

03.11 Project Management Basics

Project management basics. Organize work with clear scope, timeline, and accountability

03.12 Agile Framework and Scrum

Work in short cycles to deliver value when requirements keep changing.

03.13 Process Owners

Why every process needs an owner who feels the impact of its performance.

03.14 Stakeholder Management and Risk Analysis

Map influence, interest, risk, and support before you start changing things.

03.15 Who will lead the project?

Lead a Green Belt project. What authority, accountability, and support you need to succeed.

03.16 Project methodology

Choose a method that fits the problem, the people, and the level of certainty.

03.17 Project Charter

A simple contract that fixes scope, goals, and boundaries before you start.

03.18 Project Execution

Keep scope, risks, and decisions visible while the project moves forward.

04 Define Basic

04.01 Goal of Define

Turn vague ambitions into a sharp problem, goal, and case for action.

04.02 Project Identification & Selection

Choose projects where impact is real, visible, and worth the effort.

04.03 Stakeholders & Governance – Who cares?

Clarify who cares, who decides, and who must be involved early.

04.04 Voice of Customer, Business & Employee

Translate customer, business, and employee voices into clear requirements.

04.05 Problem Statement

Describe what is wrong in one sentence, with data instead of drama.

04.06 Business Case & Financial Justification

Why invest? Weigh the investment in time and resources against the expected risks and rewards.

04.07 Goal Statement SMART & CTQ

Define what success looks like.

04.08 Process Scope & SIPOC

Draw the big picture before diving into details that may not matter.

04.09 Timeline, Milestones, Tollgates & Risks

Define the rhythm of the project and the key decisions along the way.

04.10 Creating the Project Charter

Capture all define elements into a document the sponsor can say yes to.

04.11 Charter Approval & Team Formation

Get a clear go/no-go so expectations and support are aligned from day one.

05 Measure Basic

05.12 Data collection

Collect only the data you need, in a way you can trust and repeat.

05.12.01 Check sheets

Simple forms that make counting and classifying events easy and reliable.

05.12.02 Work sheets

Structured templates that guide data recording during observations.

05.12.03 Concentration diagrams

Visual maps that show where defects or events cluster in a product or area.

05.12.04 Questionnaires

Design surveys that give usable, unbiased information from respondents.

05.13 Data visualization

Turn raw numbers into pictures that reveal patterns and issues.

05.13.01 Scatter plot

Plot pairs of data to see whether variables move together or not.

05.13.02 Pareto chart

Focus on the few causes that create most of the problems or volume.

05.13.03 Bar chart

Compare categories side by side to see differences quickly.

05.13.04 Pie chart

Show how a total splits into parts, with care for clear reading.

05.13.05 Time Series Plot

Watch performance over time to see trends, shifts, and cycles.

05.13.06 Histogram

See the distribution and spread of a continuous measure at a glance.

05.13.07 Box plot

Summarize median, spread, and outliers for quick comparisons.

05.14 Performance measurement — Quality

Translate defects and rework into clear quality indicators.

05.14.01 PPM – Parts per Million

Express defect levels per million parts to compare across scales.

05.14.02 DPMO -Defects Per Million Opportunities

Count defects per opportunity instead of per item to reveal real risk.

05.14.03 DPU – Defects per Unit

Defects per unit as a straightforward way to report quality levels.

05.14.04 RTY

Rolled Throughput Yield: the chance a unit passes the whole flow first time.

05.14.05 FTR – First Time Right

First Time Right as a simple, telling quality measure for any process.

05.14.06 Defect versus defective

Understand the difference between faulty units and individual defects.

05.15 Performance measurement — Time & Throughput

Translate speed and flow into measurable indicators.

05.15.01 Takt time

Align your process pace with the real rate of customer demand.

05.15.02 Cycle time

Time to complete one unit; a key lever for capacity and flow.

05.15.03 Lead time

Total time from request to delivery as the customer experiences it.

05.15.04 OEE -Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Overall Equipment Effectiveness as a combined view of losses on machines.

05.15.05 Little’s Law

The link between work-in-progress, throughput, and lead time in any system.

06 Analyze Basic – Understand the Current Condition

06.01 Process mapping

Make a picture of the current way of working

06.01.01 Flowcharts

Overview of different techniques, the common ones and the special ones.

06.01.02 Process mapping

Using standardized symbols to show decisions, loops, and handovers.

06.01.03 Swim-lane diagram

Visualize who does what and where handovers are between functions.

06.01.04 Spaghetti diagram

Trace movement to expose unnecessary walking, transport, and delays.

06.01.05 Value Stream Mapping – Current State

Map information and material flow to see waste and delays end to end.

06.02 Bottleneck Analysis -What limits us?

What limits us? Find the true constraint that limits throughput.

06.03 Identifying causes

Move from symptoms to the conditions that actually create the problem.

06.03.01 Brainstorm Techniques

Generate ideas broadly before judging them, to avoid early narrowing.

06.03.02 Cause & Effect / Fishbone Diagrams

Create a clear problem definition and boundaries to focus the investigation

06.03.03 The 5 Whys

Structure causes by category to see patterns and gaps in your thinking.

06.03.04 Root Cause Analysis – RCA

Ask why repeatedly to move past superficial explanations.

07 Improve Basic – Create the Target Condition

07.01 Understand the obstacle – The Gap

Clarify the gap between current and target condition

07.01.01 Value added versus non-value added

Understand which activities create progress and which waste effort

07.01.02 MUDA – Waste

Recognize the eight classic wastes that hide in everyday work.

07.01.03 MURA – Fluctuation

See unevenness as a cause of stress, delays, and quality issues.

07.01.04 MURI – Overburden

Spot overload on people and equipment before performance breaks.

07.01.05 MUDA reduction

Reduce waste step by step with simple, targeted improvements.

07.01.06 MURA reduction

Smooth demand and workload to stabilize performance.

07.01.07 Muro reduction

Reduce hidden strain in the system that leads to failure later.

07.02 The Design

Define how you need to work to be able to achieve success

07.02.01 Value Stream Mapping – Future State

Design a future value stream that is faster, simpler, and more reliable.

07.02.02 Continuous Flow

Move units one by one instead of in batches to cut waiting time.

07.02.03 Pull – JIT

Let real demand trigger production instead of pushing forecasts.

07.02.04 Kanban

Use visual signals to control replenishment and limit WIP.

07.02.05 Heijunka – Level Scheduling

Level volume and mix to create a calm, predictable production pace.

07.02.06 Balanced Workload

Distribute tasks so no station is overloaded or starved.

07.02.07 Review and discuss different layouts

Compare line, process, and cellular layouts to support better flow.

07.02.08 Standardized Work

Capture the best way of working.

07.02.09 5S

Organize the workplace to make problems and deviations immediately visible.

07.02.10 Cycle-time reduction

Shorten task times to increase capacity without extra resources.

07.02.11 Single Minute Exchange of Dies – SMED

Cut changeover time to enable small batches and quick response.

07.02.12 Jidoka – Zero Defect Principle

Build in quality by stopping at abnormalities and responding fast to fix causes

07.02.13 Autonomation

Automation with a human touch: machines that detect abnormalities and stop automatically.

07.02.14 Andon

Work with a human touch: people detect abnormalities and call for help using visual and audible signals

07.02.15 Poka-Yoke

Design work so errors are impossible or immediately obvious.

07.02.16 Process and Quality control

Keep key variables within limits to protect output quality.

07.03 Proof effectiveness

Demonstrate that changes improved results, not just activity.

07.03.01 Experimenting

Test ideas on a small scale before making them the new standard.

07.03.02 Proof of concepts

Try a solution in a safe setting to see if it works in practice.

07.03.03 Try-storming

Learn by quickly trying options instead of debating them endlessly.

07.03.04 Simulations

Use models or games to explore system behavior without real risk.

07.03.05 Pilot tests

Roll out improvements in a limited area before scaling up.

08 Control Basic

08.01 Establishing and communicating the new standard

Make the new way of working clear, visible, and understood by everyone.

08.01.01 Document control

Ensure people always use the latest, correct version of procedures.

08.01.02 Control plan

Define who measures what, when, and how often.

08.01.03 Response Plan

Define what to do when a measure shows performance out of limits.

08.01.04 Work standards and Standardized Work

Understand the difference between a procedure and the best way of working.

08.01.05 Training plans & Training Within Industry – TWI

Plan how skills and knowledge will be built and refreshed.

08.02 Professional work

Treat improvement and standardization as part of professional pride.

08.02.01 Visual Management

Make performance and problems visible at a glance in the workplace.

08.02.02 SQCD

Short, focused huddles to act quickly on todays deviations.

08.02.03 Stand-up Meetings & Short Interval Control

Framework for daily steering: Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost.

08.03 Keep the saw sharp

Invest time in regular learning, reflection, and maintenance.

08.03.01 Audits

Check if reality still matches the standard and why gaps exist.

08.03.02 Quality Management

Coordinate all activities that keep results stable and trustworthy.

09 Philosophy

09.01 Philosophy as a lens

How different philosophies lead to very different improvement choices.

09.02 Ford – American

Efficiency and control as the core principles of early Ford-style management

09.02.01 Fords challenge

Make complex products affordable using a largely low‑skilled workforce.

09.02.02 Fords Solution

Mass production through standardization and the moving assembly line.

09.02.03 Scientific Management

Separate thinking from doing and its impact on workers and quality.

09.02.04 Assembly line mindset

What happens when the process sets the pace and workers must follow.

09.03 Toyota – Japanese

A system view: learning, respect, and long-term thinking.

09.03.01 Toyota’s Challenge

Competing with giants through flexibility, quality, and smart use of resources.

09.03.02 TPS as a thinking system

Toyota Production System: a Thinking People System

09.03.03 Genchi Genbutsu / Gemba

Go and see for yourself instead of managing from an ivory tower detached from reality.

09.03.04 Kaizen

Everyday improvement. Everybody improvement. Everywhere improvement.

09.04 Womack & Jones – Anglo-Saxon

How the West saw and explained Toyota’s success in its own terms.

09.04.01 Womack & Jones Challenge

Translate Japanese success into language Western managers will act on.

09.04.02 The machine that changed the world

The study that first documented Toyota’s performance gap to the world.

09.04.03 Lean Thinking

Five principles as a practical summary of Lean philosophy.

09.05 Six Sigma – American

Solve boardroom problems with a hierarchical system of data and financial ROI.

09.05.01 Six Sigma’s Challenge

Tame variation and defects in large-scale, complex processes.

09.05.02 Boardroom origins

How Six Sigma became a strategic agenda in top management.

09.05.03 Data & statistics as authority

Let numbers speak louder than opinions and titles.

09.05.04 Belts & governance

How roles and structure support disciplined project execution.

09.05.05 Is this really what Motorola did?

Or was there another boardroom problem to be solved?

09.06 Agile – people-centered

Prioritize people, feedback, and adaptation over rigid plans and processes.

09.06.01 Agile’s Challenge

Deliver value when needs change faster than documentation can keep up with.

09.06.02 Agile Values and Principles

What matters most: people, solutions, collaboration, and adaptation.

09.06.03 Iterative learning

Learn in short cycles with frequent inspection and adaptation.

09.07 Toyota Way 2001

Toyota’s core philosophy written down by Toyota for its global workforce.

09.07.01 Toyota Way 2001 Challenge

Keep culture intact while scaling to a global, diverse workforce.

09.07.02 2 Pillars

Continuous Improvement and Respect for People as twin foundations.

09.07.03 5 Keywords

Challenge, Kaizen, Genchi Genbutsu, Respect, and Teamwork explained.

09.08 Liker 2004

A Western summary of Toyota’s principles in the 4P model.

09.08.01 Liker 2004 Challenge

Why copying tools without adopting the mindset fails to replicate Toyota’s success.

09.08.02 4P Model 2004

Philosophy, Process, People, and Problem Solving as one system.

09.08.03 14 Principles of Liker

Break down Toyota’s 5 keywords into 14 detailed practices and behaviors.

09.09 Liker 2021

Updated insights on how Toyota’s system works in practice.

09.09.01 Liker 2021 Challenge

Mike Rother’s findings about scientific thinking have to be addressed.

09.09.02 Influence of Toyota Kata on Liker’s thinking

How Kata gave more depth to the 14 principles.

09.09.03 4P Model 2021

See scientific thinking as the glue in the updated 4P model.

09.09.04 14 Principles of Liker

A revised breaking-down of Toyota’s 5 keywords into 14 detailed practices and behaviors.

10 Strategy & Organization

10.01 WHY?

Clarify why improvement matters now and in the future.

10.01.01 True North

A long-term direction that guides daily priorities and choices.

10.01.02 Vision

A concrete picture of the future that inspires people.

10.01.03 Mission

What we are currently working on in support of the envisioned future.

10.01.04 Business drivers

The economic and strategic forces that your improvement must support.

10.01.05 Organizational drivers & metrics

Turn abstract drivers into measurable indicators you can steer on.

10.01.06 Financial & performance metrics

Choose a small set of numbers that really reflect success.

10.01.07 KPIs

Key indicators that keep daily conversations linked to strategy.

10.01.08 COPQ

Translate poor quality into financial metrics.

10.02 WHAT?

Create focus for improvement efforts instead of spreading effort too thin.

10.02.01 Wardley

See where each process sits on the evolution curve to choose the right improvement approach.

10.02.02 Policy Development

Turn strategy into a small number of clear improvement priorities.

10.02.03 Policy Deployment

Cascade priorities into aligned goals and actions at every level.

10.02.04 Project Selection

Select projects that actually deliver the impact you need.

10.02.05 Linking projects to SMART goals

Connect improvement work explicitly to measurable outcomes.

10.02.06 Breakthrough projects

Large, high-stakes improvements for a stepchange in performance.

10.02.07 Daily improvement in operations

Small, frequent changes anchored in everyday frontline work.

10.02.08 Portfolio prioritization

Limit work in progress so important projects actually finish.

10.03 HOW?

Design structure, roles, and rhythm so improvement can thrive.

10.03.01 Improvement alongside the hierarchy

Use a project structure that supports the line.

10.03.02 Six Sigma roles & responsibilities

Clarify who sponsors, leads, and supports projects.

10.03.03 Building a Six Sigma team

Compose a balanced team with the right mix of skills and authority.

10.03.04 Kaizen Event/Blitz

Intensive workshops: when they help and when they disappoint.

10.03.05 Improvement within the hierarchy

Make line managers the owners of continuous improvement.

10.03.06 Learning Organization

Create systems that help the organization to learn and adapt.

10.03.07 Continuous Improvement

From isolated projects to a sustainable improvement system.

11 Collaboration & Change

11.01 The Psychology of Change

Understand why people resist, adapt, or embrace change at work.

11.01.01 Kotter

Kotter’s eight steps. A structured approach to building urgency and anchoring change.

11.01.02 Covey

Personal habits and leadership as a base for effective change work.

11.01.03 Meaningful goals

Why people commit more deeply to goals that actually matter to them.

11.01.04 Psychological safety

Create a climate where people can speak up without fear.

11.01.05 Individual and team empowerment

Give teams both authority and support to solve real problems.

11.02 Team Formation and Roles

Clarify who does what so the project team can act with confidence.

11.02.01 Team selection

Choose team members for skills, influence, and learning potential.

11.02.02 Team roles and responsibilities

Make expectations explicit to avoid confusion and overlap.

11.02.03 RACI

Use RACI to avoid “everyone and no one” being accountable.

11.02.04 Project Ground Rules

Agree how you will work together before pressure hits.

11.02.05 Team stages

Recognize team phases from forming to performing and back.

11.03 Communication and Decision-Making

How clear communication and decisions keep projects moving.

11.03.01 Communication techniques

Use different channels and approaches for different audiences.

11.03.02 Team communication

Keep the team aligned through regular, honest information sharing.

11.03.03 Brainstorming

Separate idea generation from evaluation to unlock creativity.

11.03.04 Decision-making techniques

Use simple group methods to reach better, faster decisions.

11.03.05 Reaching consensus

Find decisions people can truly support, not just tolerate.

11.04 Group Dynamics and Pitfalls

Spot unhelpful patterns early so they do not derail the project.

11.04.01 Negative dynamics

Deal constructively with dominant or disengaged participants.

11.04.02 Groupthink and feuding

Avoid blind spots and unproductive conflicts in teams.

11.04.03 Meeting pitfalls

Prevent rushed, unfocused, or endlessly drifting meetings.

11.04.04 Opinions vs. Facts

Teach the team to challenge assumptions with evidence.

11.05 Coaching and Development

See Green Belt work also as a chance to grow people.

11.05.01 The importance of coaching

Why coaching skills matter as much as tools and methods.

11.05.02 Coaching techniques

Listening, questioning, and reflecting to help others learn.

11.05.03 Intervision

Use peer consultation to learn from each other’s cases.

12 Advanced Define

To be defined.

13 Advanced Measure

To be defined.

14 Advanced Analyze – Understand the Current Condition

To be defined.

15 Advanced Improve – Create the Target Condition

To be defined.

16 Advanced Control

To be defined.

17 Diverse Topics

To be defined.