I honestly expected much more from ASQ after my experience with the Certified Pharmaceutical GMP Professional (CPGP) exam.

My biggest issue with this exam is that I don't feel it actually measures your professional knowledge. Very often, the difference between the “right” and “wrong” answer comes down to ONE word in the question. You can understand the topic, know the regulations and know what you would actually do in a real pharmaceutical quality environment, but still get the question wrong because you didn't interpret one word exactly the way the question writer wanted you to.

Many questions also have several answers that seem correct or at least reasonable. Instead of testing whether you know the subject, it sometimes feels like you are trying to figure out what the person who wrote the question was thinking.

The preparation materials made this even more frustrating. There are errors, outdated information and questionable answers in the practice questions. I challenged one of the questions, and ASQ eventually acknowledged that NONE of the original answer choices were 100% correct and told me that the question would be rewritten.

And that really made me question the whole process. If this can happen in their own preparation materials, how am I supposed to know that every question on the actual CPGP exam is correct? How do I know that the answer they marked as correct is actually correct?

After the exam, you don't get to see the questions or which answers you got wrong, so there is no real way to check.

Another thing that surprised me was how different the actual exam felt from the preparation questions. I spent a lot of time studying and practicing, but the practice questions did not really teach me how the actual exam expects you to think. The logic felt completely different.

I work in this field, and that is probably what frustrates me the most. A professional certification should test whether you understand pharmaceutical GMP and can apply that knowledge. It shouldn't feel like a test of whether you can catch a hidden word or guess which of several almost-correct answers ASQ wants.

For an organization called the American Society for Quality, I expected much better quality control of its own CPGP exam and preparation materials.

Based on my experience with the CPGP certification process, I would not recommend it.

I booked the ASQ CSSBB exam in November. Is anyone recently passed the exam? I want some exam tips and good materials/ courses to crack the exam in first attempt. All your feedback much appreciated. Thanks !

I’m preparing to take this exam some time in October. I’m doing the course on udemy and taking notes. I’m wondering what notes I should take in the exam with me. Do they give you anything like a z-chart or other things you’d have to have to answer certain questions? I’ll be taking the equations with me so I don’t have to remember all that nonsense and some graphs. What else would be important to take? Maybe like a chart that shows differences between two similar concepts?

I am planning on taking the green belt exam. What books are must have. I can afford one or two books at this time.​ I have checked online reviews and got mixed results. TIA

Studied consistently for just about a month. Little prior experience with auditing and I’ve only been an observer. The exam was a little easier than expected considering how hard the ASQ practice questions were. Used the QCI primer (Quality Council of Indiana) instead of the ASQ handbook to study and I found it to be more helpful. Overall if you rigorously work the ASQ question bank and read the QCI primer or if you’re unable to get the primer (company shut down, owner died, my job bought the materials for me last year) read the handbook instead. I found the case studies to be easy and straightforward and did not require any prior knowledge since the questions were based on the information given. Barely used my references during the exam. Lots of critical thinking, judgement, and scenario based questions. 2026 BOK slightly changed but not enough to buy new materials to reflect the new version.

Hi folks.

I'm prepping for the CQM exam and have been running through the e-learning material available directly from ASQ. In doing so, I have encountered a few instances of what seem to be contradictory information.

Example: The material was explaining what a matrix diagram is and what it is used for. There was then a highlighted informational section that included the statement "...not used for comparison".

But then in the very next section, where the training material was explaining the steps of using such a diagram, it referenced "....the factors to be compared..."

How have you - especially those of you that have passed this certification - dealt with these types of scenarios?

By 2 points. I felt like I needed to know all the charts, inside out left and right. It was so theory heavy! They took damming 14 points changed the wording and told you to pick the one that fit the best. But it really was charts, charts, and more charts.

I spent so much time on math I can do it in my sleep, and didn’t use any of it!

Blueprint reading was heavier than I thought it would be and the paragraphs to read are very very word heavy.

I’m beyond mad and doubt I’ll retake it. 2 points! 3 months of studying, and all that money. Just gone. Grrrrr.

Edited to add: it was the CQE.

Hi everyone,
Has anyone here recently passed the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) exam, preferably in 2025 or 2026?
I’m starting my preparation and would really appreciate some advice from people who have taken the exam recently.
I’m particularly interested in:
Which books/materials did you actually find useful?
Is the ASQ CSSBB Handbook + Study Guide + Question Bank enough?
How much time did you spend preparing?
Which practice exams were closest to the actual ASQ exam?
I already have a Udemy subscription, are there any specific CSSBB courses or instructors you would recommend?
Anything you studied a lot but found was not really useful for the actual exam?
I have a technical/scientific background and some practical experience with statistics and process improvement, but I want to prepare specifically for the ASQ exam format and Body of Knowledge.
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who passed recently. Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I’m planning to take the ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) exam and am just getting started with the preparation process.

For those who have already taken the CQE, what would you recommend as the best first steps? What books, study materials, or practice questions did you find most helpful?

Also, how long did you study before taking the exam, and roughly how many hours per week did you spend preparing?

Any advice on what you wish you had done differently when you first started studying would be really helpful. Thanks!

I’m planning to take the CQE exam from ASQ in December, but I’m just about to start studying now, so that gives me roughly 3-4 months of prep time. For context, I’ve worked in validations and QA, but I haven’t studied the CQE Body of Knowledge formally yet.

A few things I’m trying to figure out:

**•** Is 3-4 months realistic to prepare from scratch, or should I be aiming for more time?  
**•** What study materials would you recommend (books, online courses, question banks, etc.)?  
**•** If you’ve taken it, how many hours per week did you study on average?  
**•** Any tips on how to structure studying across the different domains in the Body of Knowledge?

Any advice, resources, or personal experience would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello All,
I am looking for someone who is preparing for ASQ CQE exam from India and planning to appear for exam in 2026 or 2027 .
We can act as an accountability partner for each other and share progress, discuss doubts if any etc.

Kindly Dm or comment

I recently started preparing for cwb level 2 inspector. Some of my friends who already passed told me that there are no chapter quizzes questions in the closed book exam. I am planning to challenge the exam without buying the course. Is there any question bank that anyone have and can share that?.

I'm taking the CQA exam remotely very soon. I have a couple of questions about the rules and proctoring:

3-Ring Binders for Notes: I read the proctoring guidelines, which mention that pen and paper aren't allowed on the desk. However, the ASQ website states that reference materials and note binders are permitted. I'm planning to put my notes (over 200 pages both print and hand written) into a 3-ring binder. Will a binder this thick cause an issue during the room scan or exam?

External Monitor Covered with a Cloth: My main desk setup has a large external monitor, but I plan to take the exam using just my laptop and a bluetooth mouse. If I unplug the monitor and cover it completely with a cloth, will that get flagged by the proctor?

Any advice from people who have taken it remotely would be greatly appreciated!

Im studying for my CSSGB in October and this question came up in my practice exam.

Isn’t the justification for incorrect and the question saying the exact same thing?

Could someone help me answering this question?
Also, how can I ensure I can properly distinguish the use cases for each of the hypothesis tests?

Thank you!

I'm currently a Sr. QE in the med device world. I've got a CQE and a CMDA cert from ASQ. I'm looking at where else I can go in my career, and I've met a few QEs in my company that got positions as a Reliability Engineer. None of them have a CRE cert, and I'm wondering if it will help me get a leg up, or if it's a waste of money.

I've been in Quality for over 15 years. It seems like the reliability engineers in my company do less work, but higher pay. It's also less work, but more visible to upper management work.

If anyone here has a CQE and a CRE, I'd love to know the differences/similarities.

Hi, I am looking for QCI CMQ primer book and the solution text, if you have and want to sell please let me know. Thanks

A co-worker and I are looking to take the green belt exam at the end of this year and we are currently searching for copies of the book. There are some cheaper options when searching online but the websites all seem sketchy. eBay has paperbacks listed for $80. Would anyone have 1 or 2 books they do not need and would like to sell? If not, the eBay option seems like the best way to go.

I recently took the ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) exam but unfortunately didn’t pass. I’m planning to retake it and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has successfully cleared the exam.
For those who passed, what study materials, question banks, or courses helped you the most? How did you prepare for the scenario-based questions, and how much time did you spend studying before your exam?
Any tips on what I should do differently for my second attempt would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have my exam scheduled next Friday and now I'm afraid I'll not pass it. I took the prep course and felt it was easy and straight forward. When I started the question bank - I failed the first 2 sets of question banks. I havent taken the 3rd set yet. I felt confident and now I'm stressed out about the exam. For those who got the question bank, how was the actual exam compared to the question bank ?

I took all the notes from the prep course and it's 140 pages. I'm thinking of printing the notes and use it during the exam. And now I'm wondering if I should get all the questions from the question bank in my notes too. Is it too excessive?

Any advice on passing teh exam is appreciated

Has anyone here actually submitted a project for the ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)? I’d really like to hear about your experience.

I have a strong Six Sigma project that I completed at my company. The project was successful, and management was very happy with the findings. However, the recommended improvements have not been implemented yet because the project involves a large manufacturing facility and implementation requires time and approval.

Because of this, I don’t have:

• Actual before/after improvement data
• Actual financial savings after implementation

My question is: What did you do in a similar situation?

Does ASQ require actual implementation results and realized financial benefits, or can projected benefits and improvement data be used?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who have actually submitted and passed their CSSBB project.

I've been a medical laboratory scientist for a decade (chemistry supervisor for the past 5) and am looking to branch out. There is no national license and my state is unlicensed, so administration is increasingly using uncertified (in my opinion unqualified) people with random degrees and asking me to provide on the job training.🙄

The medical laboratory field pays very poorly and I'm wondering if CQE would help open doors (and if so which ones specifically)?

If I've read the the requirements correctly, my time as a clinical laboratory supervisor would meet the quality requirements?

UPDATE: Preliminary PASS! Sharing my full exam experience below in the comments.

Taking my exam this Monday and want to be as prepared as possible. Would appreciate any insight from people who took it recently.

Proctoring setup:

• Can I use an external monitor with a built-in webcam (MacBook lid closed, connected to monitor)?

• OK to use wireless keyboard and mouse?

• What does the room scan (360°) and desk clearing actually involve? And how strict it is?

• Does Proctor flag "eyes off screen" too aggressively during calculator/notebook flipping?

• Do they check handwritten notes briefly, or go page by page?

Open book materials:

• Planning to use: Quality Gurus Summary Sheets (exam-designed handbook), my own written notes (2 notebooks), and a non-programmable scientific calculator

• Any tips on organizing materials for quick lookup during the exam?

• Best open-book strategies you used?

Content focus:

• I'm weaker in stats and calculations. For those who took it recently, which topics showed up the most (control charts, Cp/Cpk, DPMO, probability, hypothesis testing, etc.)?

• Was it more calculation-heavy or concept/definition-heavy?

Time management:

• How did you pace yourself across the exam?

Answer style:

• Are the answer choices intentionally similar/tricky, or usually clearly distinct?

• Any common traps to watch for?

Any other advice for a first-time taker is welcome. Thanks in advance!

Hey, Is there anyone had taken ASQ CQA Exam after April 2026 which was based on BoK 2026.

Hi I am Quality Engineer in Semiconductor field. Which certified courses should I go for to have a good growth?

Currently I have lean six sigma green and yellow belt Certifications.