I am asked the about the difference between the Black Belt and the Green Belt Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training quite often.
The follow up question is typically to explain the difference in the certification projects performed by the two training levels.
After 24 years in Six Sigma, I have never found a good answer to the certification project question.
Black vs. Green Belt training?
This question is easier to answer. The two courses have a different body-of-knowledge expectation. The Black Belt courses include all of the Green belt knowledge along with more analytical tools, more soft skill training, more discovery tools, and it uses the addition training time to reinforce the most important DMAIC concepts. I see the Green Belt course as an 80% solution with the Black Belt course being a 95% solution, with respect towards the DMAIC project improvement skills.
Green Belt trained folks can provide positive improvements within an organization. The Green Belts will need assistance/support from a Black Belt or Master Black Belt on many projects that require more skills or analysis than they have been trained. At Smarter Solutions’, my employer, the Green Belts are expected to successfully perform improvements in their own work group, where they are considered as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), while Black Belts are expected to be able to perform improvements in any area of an organization.
Black vs. Green Belt projects?
Truthfully, there is not much difference. The problems that are addressed with a DMAIC project do not differentiate based on the assigned belt training level. In general, Green Belt projects address problems within the part of the organization that the Green Belt practitioner is knowledgeable. So it is not the training level that is used to assign projects, it is the non-LSS knowledge that determines the training level of the person who gets the project assigned.
In a typical Lean Six Sigma program, there are Black Belts in a pool of improvement resources that work across the entire organization. In my experience, the Black Belt are assigned projects in areas that they may have no work experience or prior process knowledge. Black Belt projects require more soft skills, which are used to get to know the processes and the workforce that executes the processes. The scope of the projects may be very similar to a Green Belt project, but it is the amount of prior process knowledge that generally differentiates the projects assignment.
What training is right for you?
If you are in an improvement role that does not have a lot of support, a Black Belt course will probably be a better suggestion, because you are taught DMAIC along with soft skills to allow you to succeed. You also receive more training on analysis and data collection so that you do not require as much outside help.
Green Belt training is a good choice if you have other trained practitioners in your organization that you can lean on for assistance and analytical support.
As a third option, if you just want to learn about Lean Six Sigma and its improvement skills in order to upgrade your knowledge, but you have no real plan to become a process improvement practitioner, the Green Belt course is probably a good choice.