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No. Venugopal, Good to read the comments. I never challenged the value project execution experience carries. My contention was always on whether it should be a "Must have/Essential criterion" or Not. In spite of having so many unknown factors such as the quality or Genuinity of the projects, the benefits realised, the factors that helped in completing the projects, if it is still made an "essential criterion", then the company only restricts the kind of candidates it receives. Also your example validates my thought process that it may not be essential criterion, as your organization was satisfied hiring a guy without having the project execution experience. I feel that, if it is an essential criterion then potential candidates like A ( "trained BB" from my earlier example) might not even get shortlisted for the interview. Some potential candidate (like A) may not even apply, if it is very evident that they do not satisfy a "Must have" criterion. I totally agree that there are other variables regarding the company's bandwidth (their situation, time, position criticality and resources availability... ) which come into play. If the position is for, say, the first BB that the company is hiring, then surely an experienced candidate would be good. Given the general nature of the debate topic, I still hold my stand that it should not be "essential criterion" . A person with general Project management experience/skills and a good command on six sigma concepts/techniques should be able to do justice to the position. With this I rest my case. Thanks.

No...... Just imagine if the person is conceptually very sound with Six sigma methodology and there are no opportunity for him/her to do any project in the organization, or may be the management is not supporting, then it will be very difficult for him/her to prove potential skills. Also, there is no guarantee that the project submitted by someone is really unique, and is not actually copied from some friend who has submitted the same project somewhere else. If the person has smartly copied, then the examiner would not be able to judge the authenticity of the project. Even if you do Six Sigma project, no one can guarantee the successful completion of the project, but at the end of project there will be lot of learnings, which I believe will definitely help that person to do much better in future projects. Also, as we know that if our project is not successfully completed, our organization will not give any signoff. Irrespective of the fact that person has submitted the project or not, interviewer will have to ask logical questions in order to validate his/her knowledge and skills. Lastly, I would like to say that we should not compare the experience of Six Sigma projects with human operations done by experienced medical surgeons. Human life is always precious than any Six Sigma project because we cannot afford the loss of human lives. Hence, I believe submission of project is not really important, but the sound knowledge is more important, and the basis of his/her knowledge one can definitely does a better job in terms of working on projects as well.

Appreciate Mohan PB's effort in analysing most of the answers and sharing the comments. Valuable comments from Venugopal and many others!! I still do stand by my opinion that it should not be "essential criterion" but should be a "good to have". Let me give a hypothetical example to explain my thought process. I understand the BB certification process consists of 2 steps: Step 1. Passing an Examination to prove technical and conceptual Six Sigma knowledge Step 2. Project to exhibit practical knowledge. Most people, complete step 1 and are stuck looking for opportunities to complete Step 2. What can these people be called - If not "Certified BB" then may be "Trained BB"? Consider two candidates A and B with following background profiles applying for a improvement Manager position in your company: A - Trained BB (Step 1) - understands Six sigma concepts and techniques, questions existing processes and enthusiastic with a keen eye for process improvement opportunities. He has been a project manager for various technical projects - handled teams, interacted with management /customers , resolved conflicts, but has not been involved in Six Sigma projects. B - Certified BB - Due to unavoidable circumstances, he had to move to the the Quality department in his company. He has completed certification and has completed projects to save and sustain his "Job". Now due to some reasons he has to change companies, but Six sigma is the field he has been working in most recently and is experienced certified in, so he has to apply for similar positions. Now, my argument is based on the fact, that if project execution is "essential criterion" then Candidate A becomes ineligible and the company is left with no choice , but only candidate B. This is not favourable, because candidate A with some mentoring (learning gap) could have been a better option than B. On the other hand, if project execution experience is a "good-to have" criterion, then the company would have had both candidates and can evaluate between them. I am not suggesting that a newbie who has just academic knowledge on six sigma should be considered. I am only suggesting that a experienced professional who understands and is experienced in project management/execution ( team building, conflict resolution, communication with management) and technically clear on six sigma methodology/concepts should not be left out from consideration, only due to the fact that he may not have executed six sigma projects. If a company gets two candidates with similar skill set and same enthusiasm for improvement projects, then preference can definitely be given to the candidate with project experience, but it should not be made an eligibility/essential criterion.

No. As per the previous question, if the organisation does not allow the BB/ GB to do a DMAIC project, the opportunity is not given to him to prove his skill set. But in such cases, he can only refresh his knowledge and simulate a project experience and move on to next firm if there is an opportunity. Hence the BB / GB should be ready to take up a project and prove his skill set at any point in time even if we don't get an opportunity. He can also use lean approach instead of DMAIC / DMADV. So, the project using DMAIC / DMADV methodology application should not be a road block for his career growth.