Who is the DFSS Black Belt?: An investigation of the competence profile of the role in theory and practice

Many companies of today use development concepts like Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) to structure and improve their development processes. An important part of the DFSS concept is the role structure and the role of the Black Belt in particular. That the DFSS Black Belts are given sufficient help to meet the high expectations of the role is therefore of crucial importance for the success of a DFSS initiative. When implementing DFSS in an organization, a training investment related to the role structure is recommended by literature. Little is however said about how this training should be carried out in practice. Interviews on a multinational Swedish organization recognized for its extensive DFSS and Six Sigma program shows that some requirements on DFSS Black Belt competences are not covered by existing literature or by the official descriptions of DFSS Black Belt certification requirements. The purpose of the article is to investigate the gap between what companies whish their DFSS Black Belts to know and what support research and DFSS training companies can offer in this matter. The paper also provides a competence profile for a DFSS Black Belt. The competence profile summarizes recommended knowledge for a DFSS Black Belt derived from literature, DFSS certification companies and practical experience from the case study company.