This document discusses the key roles in Lean Six Sigma projects. There are typically external resources like Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts who provide Lean Six Sigma expertise. Internally, there are Sponsors in executive leadership roles, Champions in mid-level management, Process Owners who directly own the process, and Subject Matter Experts for support. Together these roles work collaboratively on projects, with the external resources serving as consultants and the internal roles providing functional expertise, resources, and leadership.

1. Section & Lesson #:
Pre-Requisite Lessons:
Complex Tools + Clear Teaching = Powerful Results
Key Roles in a Lean Six Sigma Project
Introduction – Lesson 8
A review of the project and functional roles in Lean Six Sigma projects.
None
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.

2. o A Six Sigma project is usually led by a collaborative team of internal & external experts…
Project Leadership
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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Lean Six Sigma
Project
Characteristics External Resources Internal Resources
Lean Six Sigma Expertise = Strong Not Required
Functional Expertise = Not Required Strong
Roles = Green Belt, Black Belt,
Master Black Belt
Sponsor, Champion,
Process Owner, SMEs

3. o The Six Sigma external resources fall into these three general roles:
o A project can have one or more of any of these roles assigned (depending on scope).
• In many ways, these resources serve as consultants or “Change Leaders” for the business.
o The definition & certification of these roles vary by organization/company.
• Some organizations create other roles like “White Belt”, “Yellow Belt”, etc. These are less
common and generally less stringent in qualifications.
Characteristics
Expertise of Tools/Concepts Moderate Strong Very Strong
Dedication to projects Part-Time Full-Time Full-Time
Project Benefits
Generally small
(< $250K/yr)
Generally large
(> $250K/yr)
Manage multiple
projects (> $1M/yr)
Project Timeframe
Generally shorter
(1 to 3 months)
Generally longer
(3 to 6 months)
Generally longer
(3 to 6 months)
Project Scope
Generally limited
to functional area
Often extends across
multiple functional areas
Manage BB Training
and/or Team of BBs
Typical Certification Req’ts GB Test & 2 GB projects BB Test & 2 BB projects Varies (Sponsorship)
Lean Six Sigma Resources
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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Green
Belt (GB)
Black
Belt (BB)
Master Black
Belt (MBB)

4. Functional Resources
o The internal resources of the functional area fall into these four general roles:
o Projects usually have multiple SMEs, but only one of each of the other roles.
o The definition of these roles don’t vary much by organization/company
• Some organizations have formally certified the Sponsor and Champion roles, but that’s rare.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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Characteristics
Leadership Position
Executive
(VP or Director)
Mid-Level
(Director or Mgr)
Lower-Level
(Mgr, Sup, or Lead)
Not typically in
leadership
Communication
Frequency
Infrequent (2 to 5
times during project)
Frequent
(Every 2 wks or so)
Very Frequent
(1 to 2 times/wk)
Varies
(as needed)
Process Ownership
Ultimately owns
process and effects
across departments
Controls process
and effects within
department
Direct ownership
of process and
its effects
Support role;
no direct
ownership
Project Involvement
Final decision
maker for getting
resources &
removing roadblocks
Strong decision
maker for getting
resources and
removing roadblocks
Drives coordination
for resources and
elevating roadblocks
to Champion
As needed
support related
to expertise
Sponsor Champion Process
Owner
SMEs

5. Practical Application
o Think of a few previous projects you worked on:
• If they were Lean Six Sigma projects, who filled the Lean Six Sigma roles on each project?
• Who filled the functional roles for each project?
• Was there any project that didn’t have any of these roles identified?
 If so, then how did the lack of that role affect the progress or results of the project?
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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