Six sigma knowledge is important to the different team leaders who are using this method of providing analysis that predicts the future outcomes of new product designs. This methodology is performed by teams of trained and certified professionals working together to achieve a common production goal.

The teams working on Six Sigma Projects may vary slightly but all of them will have experts in the methodology, such as black belts, they will include process experts, they also need data specialists on the teams, they require communicators, and they need to have customers on their team.

The term customer refers to anyone who will be affected by the product development or change in the product. The customer may be someone from outside the company structure, or it may be someone from within the company who will be continuing work on a product. The majority of the time, the customer is the most important part of the team. They set the bar of standards for the rest of the team to meet. Their expectations of quality, reliability, performance, and competitive pricing, are what make the product a success or a failure.

Someone who is said to be a Six Sigma Black Belt in this methodology is supposed to have a deeper understanding of all the methods and tools used to perform the tasks at hand. They have enough experience that they are the team leaders, and are able to teach the other members of their team how to use all the tools available to them in order to produce the outcome they desire. They must be supportive, informed, team oriented, capable of taking control, and inspire others to do the job that needs doing.

The Six Sigma Green Belts are one step below team leaders. They know enough of the methodology to figure out the different challenges that may occur during the project. All the process experts and the data specialists will more than likely at the Green Belt level within the team. Green belts must be highly motivated, and have the ability to motivate and inspire others. They are critical to the product design and development, and do most of the data collection; arguably the most important part of the entire process.

The lowest level of Six Sigma Certification includes the Yellow Belts. Yellow belts will not be as immersed in the projects as the green belts, or the black belts are. They are indispensable to the rest of the team though, as they are the auxiliary employees who keep everything moving.  They help meet team objectives concerning the product design and development.

They are the administrators, they include the staff members, and they include the operations personnel who work on the project under the direct supervision of the green belts. The yellow belts on a team must be able to follow instructions given by the green belts. They must also be motivated to see the project completed as a success. It takes all these different people, with their different levels of six sigma knowledge, to implement the methodology and make it all work together for business success.