Section II: Define Phase 20 questions
Define carries 20 of the 100 scored questions on the 2022 CSSGB exam, tied with Measure as the largest section. It covers everything that happens before measurement begins: choosing and scoping the project, understanding the customer, basic project management, the management and planning tools, project metrics, and team dynamics.
Key topics
| Topic | What to know |
|---|---|
| Project identification | Project selection, process elements and boundaries, benchmarking, process inputs and outputs (SIPOC), owners and stakeholders. |
| Voice of the customer | Identify internal and external customers, collect customer data (surveys, interviews, focus groups, complaints), and translate needs into measurable requirements (CTQs, quality function deployment / house of quality, Kano). |
| Project management basics | Charter (business case, problem statement, goal, scope, team, timeline), project metrics, planning tools (Gantt chart, critical path), documentation, risk analysis, and project closure. |
| Management and planning tools | Affinity diagram, interrelationship digraph, tree diagram, prioritization matrix, matrix diagram, process decision program chart (PDPC), activity network diagram. |
| Business results for projects | Process performance metrics: DPU, DPMO, rolled throughput yield (RTY), cost of poor quality (COPQ), sigma level. Communicating results to stakeholders. |
| Team dynamics and performance | Team stages (Tuckman), roles (Champion/sponsor, process owner, Black Belt, Green Belt, team member), team tools (brainstorming, nominal group technique, multivoting), and team communication. |
Project metrics: worked examples
RTY = Y₁ × Y₂ × … × Yₙ (first-pass yield of each step) Steps at 95%, 93%, 98%, 96%: RTY = 0.95 × 0.93 × 0.98 × 0.96 = 0.831 (83.1%) RTY can never exceed the lowest step yield (93% here). DPU = defects / units DPMO = defects / (units × opportunities per unit) × 1,000,000 25 defects found in 500 units, 4 opportunities per unit: DPU = 25 / 500 = 0.05 DPMO = 25 / (500 × 4) × 1,000,000 = 12,500
Why RTY matters: final yield counts reworked units as good, so it hides rework. RTY measures first-time-right, and so exposes the "hidden factory."
Tuckman team stages
| Stage | What’s happening | Leader response |
|---|---|---|
| Forming | Polite, uncertain; roles unclear | Set purpose, norms and roles |
| Storming | Open conflict over ideas and direction | Facilitate; channel conflict productively rather than suppress it |
| Norming | Norms agreed; cohesion builds | Reinforce collaboration |
| Performing | Productive, self-directing | Delegate; keep focus on results |
| Adjourning | Work ends; team disbands | Recognize contributions; capture lessons learned |
VOC → CTQ
A CTQ turns a customer need into a measurable requirement: the characteristic, how it is measured, and a target or limit.
| VOC (raw need) | Driver | CTQ |
|---|---|---|
| "Shipments arrive damaged" | Package integrity | ≤ 0.5% of shipments received with visible damage |
| "The process is too slow" | Cycle time | ≤ 3 business days from order to dispatch |
Common exam traps
- SIPOC is not a detailed process map. A SIPOC shows a handful of high-level steps (roughly 4–7) to set scope; detailed flowcharts come later.
- A problem statement has no cause and no solution. "Because operators skip a step" or "we will buy a vision system" do not belong in it.
- Storming is normal. Rapid agreement with no debate in a new team is a groupthink warning sign, not proof of performing.
- RTY ≠ final yield. A process can show 95% final yield with a much lower RTY if units are reworked.
- Champion vs. process owner. The Champion sponsors and removes barriers; the process owner runs the process and takes it over at the end of the project.
Learn pages for this section
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