Six Sigma Study Books

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SS Study Book - QCI Black Belt Primer

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QCI Digital Version 2007

Per Nicole Radziwill:
#1 CSSBB Primer from the Quality Council of Indiana –http://www.qualitycouncil.com/cssbb_p.asp

BEST. Book. Ever. I ordered the CSSBB Primer as well as the CD with the practice exam questions, and although I was daunted by the sheer heft of the book, the large fonts make this reference a pleasure to get to know. It feels like someone is giving you all the essential knowledge you need for the exam, along with a cookie, a glass of milk, a hug, and a heartfelt “you can do it!!”

I read through the entire book, underlined definitions or phrases that I thought were important, and used post-it notes to tab topics that I thought I’d want easy access to during the exam.

Do ALL the questions in the blue part of the CSSBB Primer. It will take time… for me, it took about 3 weeks, working on about 10 to 20 questions a day. Understand not only what the right answer is for each question, but also WHY THE OTHER OPTIONS ARE WRONG. You won’t be able to take any of the blue pages into the exam with you, so make sure you take notes about the key facts, formulas, or techniques when you have “a-ha” moments doing the practice problems. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

The real ASQ CSSBB exam is actually EASIER than the questions in the CSSBB Primer, but the question styles and formats are very similar. The reason that the real exam is easier is that there are a lot of questions in the Primer where at least two of the multiple choice options will tempt you into believing that they are both correct. The multiple choice options on the real exam seem to be much more distinct – that is, you’ll have an easier time distinguishing why the wrong ones are wrong.

I think the number one reason that I passed the exam was because of the time I spent on the practice exam questions in the CSSBB Primer. The practice questions on the CD were useful too, but I think the ones in the book were the most useful.

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SS Study Book - Certified Six Sigma Black Belt - Kubiak and Benbow

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On Hand - Delivered on Feb 5, 2015

Per Nicole Raziwill;
#2  The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, Second Edition by Kubiak & Benbow

This is the second book I took with me into the CSSBB exam.

This book has mixed reviews on Amazon because apparently the book made it into print with a bunch of calculation errors in it. I didn’t lean on the calculations in this book, though, because I had the CSSBB Primer for that – and as a result, I thought this book was a great reference. Some of the concepts aren’t covered in enough depth, e.g. TPM, but there were several problems on the real exam that I wanted to double check in the references before I shaded that scantron circle with my #2… and this was the book that helped out the most in that regard.

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Rajan Advice to Pass the ASQ CSSBB Exam

SS Study Book - Larson and Farber

[2/6, 10:13 AM] Darrah: Rajan, Elementary Statistics Picturing the World (5th Edition) Unabridged by Ron Larson and Betsy Farber. This book I currently have but it's a lot of material. What should I focus my studies with this book? What do you think about this book for BB Exam Prep.?

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Per Rajan:
[2/6, 10:27 AM] ‪[phone]‬: Darrah : Study statistics book for first ten days and next twenty days focus exclusively on QCI primer...
I have not studied Farber and Lawson... But as this is a standard book.. So you can refer this..
Besides this do Atleast 20 multiple choice questions daily... So you practised 600 questions till exam..
Spend at least 2 to 3 hours daily in preparation and you will do just fine..
[2/6, 10:40 AM] ‪[phone]‬: Heard this is a good statistics book..if it is helping you in clearing fundamentals.. Go for it...

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SS Study Book - Ott and Longnecker

An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis by Ott & Longnecker - Book

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Per Rajan:
[2/6, 8:10 AM] ‪[phone]‬: Darrah : It's very good book for statistics 👍

Per Nicole Radziwill:
#3  An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis by Ott & Longnecker

This was the third book I took with me into the CSSBB exam, and I think I needed it for 3 questions, 2 of which had to do with arcane aspects of DOE. However, it’s also the book that helped me get all my hypothesis testing straight, AND understand the assumptions for all of those tests.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE this book, and think it should be a required book on the bookshelf of every Six Sigma aficionado out there.  I was first introduced to this awesome, awesome book as a student in STAT 451 at Penn State… an upper level applied stats class (which I believe is now STAT 460). In addition to providing great explanations of the concepts, Ott presents every statistical test as a recipe… what assumptions to check, how to set up the null and alternative hypotheses, how to calculate the test statistic, and how to interpret the calculated and critical values of the test statistic depending upon what alternative hypothesis you selected.

I have a hard time trying to remember whether your calculated test statistic has to be greater than or less than the critical value that you look up in a table… and this is the reference that helped me keep all those important details straight.

This book is expensive, but it’s worth it. If you can find an earlier version, these are usually much more affordable and JUST AS GOOD. Thank you, R. Lyman Ott, for making me love statistics, want to use statistical tests all the time, and want to teach college students how to do it too. You have been one of the most influential people in my life.

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SS Study Book - Breyfogle

Implementing Six Sigma, Second Edition: Smarter Solutions Using Statistical Methods - Book by Forrest W. Breyfogle. What do you think about this book for BB Exam Prep?

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Per Rajan:
[2/6, 8:28 AM] ‪[phone]‬: Darrah : Forrest Breyfogle is good book but then it depends on when are you planning to take exam.. If in March than don't use this book... Go for QCI primer and Ott & longnecker
And if you are going for October exam then you can afford to read this book..

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SS Black Belt Study Book

Six Sigma for the Next Millennium: A CSSBB Guidebook by Kim Pries

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Per Nicole Radziwill:

#4 Six Sigma for the Next Millennium: A CSSBB Guidebook by Kim Pries

I really tried to like this book, but it’s big, heavy, and there is a lot of whitespace on many of the pages (very unlike the CSSBB Primer). The amount of information per pound is relatively low. HOWEVER, I like the way it consolidates notes by topic with one topic per page. For example, there is one page with Deming’s 14 points. There’s one great page on Project Scope and another great page on Scope Containment Ideas. I’m definitely going to use some of the one-sheeters for teaching my statistics and quality classes.

Unfortunately, the book just didn’t help me as I was studying for the certification exam.

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SS Black Belt Study Book

The Six Sigma Handbook, Third Edition by Pyzdek & Keller

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Per Nicole Radziwill
#5 The Six Sigma Handbook, Third Edition by Pyzdek & Keller

Great book but HARD TO FIND STUFF QUICKLY. I’d say read this before your exam instead of bedtime stories, take it with you when you lay on the beach, bring it to the coffee shop while you’re gently relaxing over synthesizing your Six Sigma knowledge into your blood and muscles. This is an excellent book for getting a deeper, more thoughtful understanding of Six Sigma related topics, but was not one I chose to bring into the exam with me.

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SS Black Belt Study Book

Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy by Warren Brussee

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Per Nicole Radziwill:
#6 Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy by Warren Brussee

This was the LEAST useful book to me for my exam prep (but it might just be as result of how my brain is wired). I find that whenever an author writes very conversationally, trying to simplify the concepts by writing long explanations of the topics (as if he or she were sitting there with you trying to explain them to you), it just confuses me. I need recipes, like what Ott provides in his book.

I can definitely see how this book might help you if you’re totally new to statistics, or if you’re starting off on the path to becoming a Six Sigma Green Belt, or if you just need someone to explain to you what in the world the meaning is behind these statistical tests.

However, IF YOU’RE CLOSE TO BECOMING A BLACK BELT, you should have a lot of this material underyours already. As a studying resource, Brussee’s book won’t be as useful to you.