If you are planning on taking one of the ASQ certification exams, congratulations. You chose a powerful way to invest in your future. There are many ways to prepare for an ASQ Certification exam. Some prefer to study on their own, some like to study with other people and some prefer to have the structure and guidance of a preparation course. We have been associated with the ASQ Certification exams and preparation courses for over fifteen years. That experience has provided us an understanding of what works and what doesn't when preparing for the exam. Here is an approach you can use to prepare the ASQ Certification Exam.
Step 1
Obtain a copy of the ASQ Certification body of knowledge (BOK) for the specific certification exam you are pursuing. Read and understand the body of knowledge thoroughly and learn the various levels of cognition required for each of the elements of the body of knowledge. Here is an example of the cognitive levels relative to team development:
Remember - Ability to recognize and recall
What are the four phases of team development?
-Recall they are Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
Understand -Ability to explain
Explain the four phases of team development
Apply - Know how to use and apply the ideas
Which phase of team development is most demanding of a facilitator?
Analyze - Break down the information into the constituent parts and understand
their relationship
If the team is not productive, which phase of development are they in?
Evaluate- Make judgements about the value of proposed ideas or solutions
Which of the following is most important to team development?
Create - Put parts or elements together in such a way to reveal a structure
not evident before
How would you help to guide a team from the storming to norming phase?
As an example, you could be dealing with the concept of hypothesis testing and the difference between familiarization with the concept (Remember) versus a more in depth comprehension (Evaluate) lies in the following two questions.
Which of the following is an example of a hypothesis test?
a. rank sum
b. histogram
c, t test
d. regression analysis
For a process that was producing an of 15 and a standard deviation of 2.2, you modified it and want to know if the average is now 17. You would utilize a:
a. 1 tail left Z test
b. 2 tail Z test
c. 1 tail right t test
d. 1 tail right Z test
Both deal with hypothesis testing, but both require a little different level of comprehension to answer correctly.
Step 2
Go through each section in the body of knowledge and understand where your strengths are and which areas are your weaknesses. Be honest with yourself. Obviously, you are going to need to devote more time to areas of weakness than you will areas you are already strong in.
Step 3
Collect your reference material. There is a great deal of good material out there, our only recommendation is become very proficient with one piece of reference material. It is acceptable to bring in more than one book, but it is best when you can quickly and effectively navigate the material in reference material. Your best bet to accomplish that is if you are very familiar with it and have used it often.
Step 4
Go through the ASQ Certification Body of knowledge and for each element write down a few bullet points that describe or explain the concept. Do not copy from reference material, put it in your own words. You will end up with a fairly long document, but at the end of it you will have a solid understanding of the topics covered and it will make a nice reference for you during the exam.
Step 5
Take practice tests. You can obtain questions from ASQ or Quality Council of Indiana, but you must take quizzes and exams. You have to treat them like quizzes and not homework. Give yourself a time limit. The important aspect here is that you condition yourself to timed exams.
Step 6
Evaluate your results, study and repeat
Another method you can employ is to take a refresher course or a preparation course for the exam. We offer preparation courses for the following ASQ Certification Exams:
Certified Quality Engineer - CQE
Certified Quality Auditor - CQA
Certified Manager of Quality / Organizational Excellence - CMQ/OE
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt
Certified Six Sigma Green Belt
Certified Quality Technician