1.2 Eligibility, Project Affidavits, Application, and Recertification

ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt CSSBB

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1 Chapter 1: Introduction & CSSBB Exam Strategy

1.1 CSSBB Exam Format, Scoring, and Testing Windows 1.2 Eligibility, Project Affidavits, Application, and Recertification 1.3 Open-Book Strategy, Reference Materials, and a 16-Week Study Plan

2 Chapter 2: Organization-Wide Planning and Deployment

2.1 Fundamentals of Six Sigma and Lean Methodologies 2.2 Selecting the Right Methodology: DMAIC, DFSS, and Lean 2.3 Business Systems, Processes, and Stakeholder Relationships 2.4 Strategic Planning and Deployment of Six Sigma Initiatives 2.5 Six Sigma Roles and Responsibilities 2.6 Organizational Barriers and Common Causes of Six Sigma Failure 2.7 Change Management: Stakeholder Analysis, Readiness, and Communication

3 Chapter 3: Organizational Process Management and Measures

3.1 Impact of Six Sigma Projects on Customers, Suppliers, and Stakeholders 3.2 Benchmarking Types and Performance Goal Setting 3.3 Performance Measures: Balanced Scorecard, KPIs, KBIs, OKRs, and Line of Sight 3.4 Leading and Lagging Indicators and Performance Dashboards 3.5 Financial Measures: Revenue Growth, Margin, NPV, ROI, and Cost-Benefit Analysis 3.6 Cost of Poor Quality and Hard versus Soft Savings

4 Chapter 4: Team Management

4.1 Team Types and Constraints 4.2 Team Roles, Responsibilities, and Member Selection 4.3 Team Success Factors and Ground Rules 4.4 Motivational Techniques and Overcoming Demotivators 4.5 Stages of Team Development and Conflict Resolution 4.6 Team Communication Plans 4.7 Team Leadership Models: Direct, Coach, Support, and Delegate 4.8 Group Behaviors, Conflict Resolution, and Meeting Management 4.9 Facilitation Techniques and Team Decision-Making Methods 4.10 Team Training: Needs Assessment, Delivery, and Evaluation

5 Chapter 5: Define Phase

5.1 Customer Identification and Segmentation 5.2 Customer Data Collection: Methods, Validity, and Reliability 5.3 Customer Requirements: CTX, CTQ Trees, and Operational Definitions 5.4 The Kano Model and Quality Function Deployment 5.5 SIPOC and Process Mapping 5.6 Business Case Justification 5.7 The Project Charter and the Problem Statement 5.8 Project Scope and Boundaries 5.9 SMART Goals and Project Performance Measurements 5.10 Project Charter Reviews and Toll-Gate Governance 5.11 Project Management Tools: Gantt Charts, Toll-Gate Reviews, WBS, and RACI 5.12 Analytical Tools Used Throughout the DMAIC Cycle

6 Chapter 6: Measure Phase

6.1 Process Flow Metrics and the Hidden Factory 6.2 Process Analysis Tools and Value Stream Mapping 6.3 Types of Data and Measurement Scales 6.4 Sampling Concepts, Methods, and Sample Size for Estimation 6.5 Data Collection Plans and Common Pitfalls 6.6 Gage R&R for Variable Measurement Systems 6.7 Attribute Agreement Analysis and Audit MSA 6.8 Measurement Systems Across the Organization, and Metrology 6.9 Population Parameters, Sample Statistics, and Valid Statistical Conclusions 6.10 Descriptive Statistics: Central Tendency, Dispersion, and Shape 6.11 Graphical Methods for Exploratory Data Analysis 6.12 Probability Concepts, Common Distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem 6.13 Additional Distributions: Hypergeometric, Exponential, Lognormal, Weibull, and Bivariate 6.14 Process Capability and Performance Indices 6.15 Capability Studies, Attributes Capability, Yield Metrics, and Long-Term Capability

7 Chapter 7: Analyze Phase

7.1 The Correlation Coefficient, Its Confidence Interval, and Causation 7.2 Linear Regression and Residual Analysis 7.3 Multivariate Tools: Factor Analysis, Discriminant Analysis, and MANOVA 7.4 Hypothesis Testing Terminology, Errors, and Single-Sample Tests 7.5 Statistical Versus Practical Significance 7.6 Sample Size for Hypothesis Tests 7.7 Point Estimates, Confidence, Prediction, and Tolerance Intervals 7.8 Tests for Means, Variances, and Proportions 7.9 Analysis of Variance 7.10 Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit and Tests of Independence 7.11 Types of Risk and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis 7.12 Gap Analysis and Root Cause Analysis 7.13 Waste Analysis: The Seven Classic Wastes and Resource Under-Utilization

8 Chapter 8: Improve Phase

8.1 Design of Experiments: Objectives, Terminology, and Effects 8.2 DOE Design Principles: Randomization, Blocking, Replication, and Resolution 8.3 Planning and Evaluating Designed Experiments 8.4 One-Factor Experiments: Completely Randomized, Randomized Block, and Latin Square Designs 8.5 Full Factorial Experiments and Design Selection 8.6 Two-Level Fractional Factorial Experiments and Confounding 8.7 Response Surface Methodology and Optimization 8.8 Waste Elimination: Pull Systems, Kanban, 5S, and Poka-Yoke 8.9 Cycle-Time Reduction: Continuous Flow, SMED, and Heijunka 8.10 Kaizen, Kaizen Blitz, Theory of Constraints, and OEE 8.11 Implementation Planning, Piloting, and Solution Selection

9 Chapter 9: Control Phase

9.1 SPC Objectives, Variable Selection, and Rational Subgrouping 9.2 Control Charts for Variables Data 9.3 Control Charts for Attributes Data 9.4 Short-Run SPC and Moving Average Charts 9.5 Control Chart Analysis: Common Cause, Special Cause, and Run Rules 9.6 Total Productive Maintenance and Visual Controls 9.7 Measurement System Reanalysis 9.8 Control Plan Development and Process Owner Handoff 9.9 Lessons Learned, Documentation, and Training for Sustainment 9.10 Ongoing Evaluation of the Improved Process

10 Chapter 10: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

10.1 DFSS Frameworks: DMADV, DMADOV, and Design Transfer 10.2 Design for X (DFX) 10.3 Robust Design, Parameter Design, and Verification 10.4 Tolerance Design and Statistical Tolerancing

1.2 Eligibility, Project Affidavits, Application, and Recertification

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

CSSBB eligibility is two completed projects with signed affidavits, or one completed project with a signed affidavit plus three years of full-time paid work experience.

No academic degree waives any part of the CSSBB experience requirement, and Certified Six Sigma Green Belt status is not a prerequisite.

The exam fee is $585, reduced to $485 for ASQ members; the retake fee is $385 for members and non-members alike.

There is no limit on retakes, but you must retake within two years of your last attempt and never inside the same testing window.

CSSBB requires recertification every three years through 18 recertification units or a retake; CSSGB and CSSYB are lifetime credentials.

Last updated: August 2026

The two eligibility routes

ASQ offers exactly two paths to sit the CSSBB exam:

Two completed Six Sigma projects , each documented on a signed project affidavit; or
One completed Six Sigma project with a signed affidavit, plus three years of work

experience in one or more areas of the Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge.

Three rules trip candidates up:

The experience must be full-time and paid. Internships, co-op placements, and coursework do not

count, and neither does unpaid volunteer improvement work.

No education waiver exists for CSSBB. Many ASQ credentials -- the Certified Quality Engineer and
Certified Supplier Quality Professional among them -- waive one to five years of experience for a
diploma, associate, bachelor's, or graduate degree. The CSSBB does not. A candidate with a doctorate

and no completed project is not eligible.

You do not need to be a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt first. There is no belt ladder in ASQ's

eligibility rules.

What counts as a completed project
The affidavit is a substantive artifact, not a formality. A qualifying project must be complete, not
in progress, and must show the candidate personally applied Six Sigma methodology. Practically, the
affidavit asks you to describe the problem, the methodology used (DMAIC or a DFSS variant), the tools
applied at each phase, the measured result, and the financial or operational benefit. It is then
signed by someone who can attest to the work -- typically the project champion, sponsor, process

owner, or a supervisor with direct knowledge.

The completed affidavit is a required attachment to the application ; ASQ's application checklist
flags it as required for the Six Sigma Black Belt exam only. Applications are subject to audit, so

the affidavit content must be defensible.

Application mechanics

Step Detail
Submit Online or paper, with fee, by the published deadline for the window
Status notification Emailed within 14 business days of receipt
Eligibility email Contains an eligibility ID and a Prometric scheduling link
Deadline behaviour Late applications roll automatically to the next window
Rescheduling $130 fee, non-refundable
Paper applications must be postmarked or emailed by the deadline. The application checklist also
requires contact details, education and work-experience documentation, your desired testing window
or paper-exam location, any ADA accommodation request with supporting documentation, agreement to the

ASQ Testing Agreement and Code of Ethics, and payment.

Fees

Item ASQ non-member ASQ member
CSSBB initial exam $585 $485
CSSBB retake $385 $385
Reschedule request $130 $130
Recertification by journal (1 certification) $160 $120
Recertification by exam (CSSBB) $585 $485
Note the asymmetry: membership saves $100 on the initial exam but nothing on a retake -- the
retake fee is identical for members and non-members. Prices are subject to change without notice, so

confirm on the ASQ certification page before applying.

Retake policy

There is no limit on the number of retakes, but three constraints apply:

You pay the retake fee each time.

You must retake within two years of your last attempt ; miss that and you must submit a fresh

application and pay the full certification fee again.

You may not retake inside the same testing window in which you first sat the exam.

Candidates who do not pass can log into their ASQ account and pull a breakdown of correct and
incorrect answers by BoK subtopic. Use it literally: rank the subtopics by number of misses,
multiply each by that section's published question count, and rebuild the study plan around the top

three.

Recertification: CSSBB is not a lifetime credential
This is a common misconception, because two of ASQ's three Six Sigma credentials are lifetime. The
Certified Six Sigma Green Belt and Certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt have no recertification
requirement. The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt does , alongside the CQE, CQA, CRE, CMQ/OE, CSQE,

CMBB, and others.

Requirements per three-year cycle: 18 recertification units (RUs) , or retake the exam. Key

mechanics:

ASQ maintains two annual recertification due dates, June 30 and December 31 . Exams taken

January to June sync to June 30; exams taken July to December sync to December 31.

You may apply up to six months before your recertification date, and there is a 60-day grace

period afterwards for the journal route.

After the grace period, only the exam route remains, and it must be used within one year of the

recertification date or the credential decertifies and you must reapply for initial certification.

Holders of multiple ASQ credentials can synchronize them, submitting a single 18-RU journal

covering all of them.

RU categories were simplified in 2024 into Professional Development, Employment, and Giving Back.

Professional Development has no maximum (continuing education earns 0.1 RU per hour as learner or
instructor; a conference day earns 1.0 RU; authoring a book earns 4.0 RUs; each additional ASQ
certification earns 2.0 RUs). Employment is capped at 10.8 RUs (0.3 RU per month full-time, 3.6 per
year). Giving Back is capped at 6 RUs and covers volunteering, professional membership, mentoring,

and committee service.

Certified individuals whose credential lapses must immediately stop using the acronym and may not
state or imply that the certification is current. ASQ also offers a retirement status for certified
professionals aged 62 or older who have retired from active employment, which keeps the credential in

good standing without further RUs.