Six Sigma Certification

The Body of Knowledge for Certified Master Black Belt Candidates

The Master Black Belt Certification or CMBB, according to the American Society for Quality (ASQ) standards, is the highest Six Sigma certification given to exceptional people who possess leadership skills, dedication, and capabilities for quality and improvement in the Six Sigma program.

To be qualified for this Six Sigma certification, one must be a CSSBB or Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and either must be adept of the position for five years or must have completed ten Black Belt projects. Of course, just like other certifications, the candidate must undergo a comprehensive examination. Before that, he must have his portfolio checked and approved.

After his portfolio of work as a CSSBB has been approved by his peers, he can now take part of the examination. The examination is based on the Body of Knowledge that is specific to the job of a Six Sigma certification for the Master Black Belt.

Just like any other certifications, the Body of Knowledge for the CMBB candidate is made up of main topics and subtopics, containing the ideas that are in relation to the six levels of cognitive thinking as explained by Bloom’s Taxonomy. For this certification though, it is divided into two parts.

The first part of the Body of Knowledge that will be reviewed by the candidate before the examination proper is the multiple-choice questions of each main topic. The second part is a two-and-a-half-hour essay writing exam that is also divided into two phases. The essays are about a sample project proposal.

In totality, the examination has six main topics, each corresponding to the level of cognitive thinking according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy, and has a two-phased essay writing exam. Because of the proposed difficulty of the examination, the candidate must finish the examination in five hours. Of course, to guide the candidate for the CMBB certification, the exam is open-book.