The 'Blue Book' Test for Lean Six Sigma Certification
May 27, 2026There have been several recently published articles about universities reverting to blue books as a mechanism to deter cheating with AI. It has become comically easy to cheat on homework or online exams with a little help from our LLM friends, a temptation that is hard for many to resist.
This highlights a serious problem with many lean six sigma certification offerings that are “exam only”. It was never adequate to certify lean six sigma green belts or black belts without demonstrated mastery through real project work, but now the practice is laughable. Many of those training and certification providers requiring no project work are “accredited” by online exam providers. The sole criteria are generally 1) payment of a fee, and 2) use of that “accreditation” company’s online exam. Review of the actual training content is not part of the equation, and a qualified review of the certification candidates’ project work (if there even is any project work) is not required as part of the certification process.
The primary value proposition of lean six sigma, from day one, was about executing meaningful work of improvement. When hiring or promoting, organizations would like some assurance that people can effectively do that work. The whole point of certification is to provide that assurance, and for those enterprises who are serious about operational excellence, the best predictor of successful future improvement work is successful prior improvement work - actual projects yielding actual results. Exams are fine as a component of certification, but they were never enough on their own, and now they are of even less value because AI has made it ridiculously easy to cheat.
That’s why we lean on Master Black Belt review of actual project work - the project “blue book” that is not so easily gamed. Successful project work should be an inviolable requirement, like it used to be. Certification should mean something.
CEO • MoreSteam
Bill Hathaway is the founder and CEO of MoreSteam, the leading online platform for process improvement training and technology, launched in 2000. A genuine pioneer in his field, Bill developed and introduced the first online Lean Six Sigma Black Belt course in 2001. Bill has spent more than two decades advancing blended learning models that combine eLearning, simulation workshops, and analytics-driven coaching, designed to deliver the most effective process improvement training to global audiences.
Bill was trained in Statistical Process Control by W. Edwards Deming while at Ford Motor Company, and was sent by Ford to attend Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline executive education program at MIT. A sought-after speaker and educator, Bill has been invited to address students and faculty on operational excellence at Northwestern University (Kellogg), the University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, California Polytechnic University, and the University of Southern California. He presents regularly at the ASQ World Conference, ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference, Lean Six Sigma World Conference, and the IISE Annual Conference. Bill earned an undergraduate finance degree from the University of Notre Dame and graduate degree in business finance and operations from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
