AT&T Assessment Tests

AT&T Online Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a delivery coordinator. You compile the weekly figures showing how the team’s hours split across three projects. This week roughly a third went on unplanned support, which has no project to sit against and makes the delivery figure look poor. Your manager has said she would rather the report did not raise questions from the programme board this month. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Show the support hours as their own line and add a note saying they were unavoidable, so that the delivery figure is read with that caveat attached.
   2. Show the support hours as their own line and say nothing about them unless somebody asks, since the figures speak for themselves either way.
   3. Show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions, so that she has the answer ready before the board asks it.
   4. Record the support hours as covered by the nearest project. The delivery figure then holds up properly, and the board is not distracted by an odd line item this month.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions, so that she has the answer ready before the board asks it.

   Least effective: D. Record the support hours as covered by the nearest project. The delivery figure then holds up properly, and the board is not distracted by an odd line item this month.

   A: Softens the number with a label: unavoidable is your judgement rather than a fact, and it invites the board to discount a third of the week.

   B: Reports accurately and abandons the explanation: a third of the week appears without a cause, which is exactly what will generate the questions.

   D: Records effort against work it was not spent on: a third of the week now appears as project delivery in a report the board uses to allocate people.

   The most effective response is to show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions. The figures should say what happened, and the honest way to handle her concern is to warn her what the question will be and hand her the answer. It beats showing them as their own line with a note saying they were unavoidable, because that is an opinion added to a fact and it encourages the board to set the week aside. It beats showing the line and saying nothing unless somebody asks, because a large unexplained line is precisely what produces the questions she is worried about. The least effective response is recording the support hours as covered by the nearest project: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the hours visible, spun or bare, while this moves a third of the week into project delivery in a report used to allocate people. The principle: report the number as it is and prepare the person who will be asked about it, rather than changing the number so the question is never asked.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. The same alert about a failing overnight job has fired every night for a week. The rota shows a colleague on call each of those nights. He has not mentioned it and there is nothing written against any of the alerts. You are not on that rota and have never worked on that job. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel so somebody picks it up before tonight.
   2. Write a note against tonight's alert saying it has now fired seven nights running, so that whoever looks at it next has the history in front of them.
   3. Raise it directly with the manager who owns the rota, since a week of unanswered alerts is a rota problem rather than something to take up with him.
   4. Take it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand, since he is the one being paged and would surely have said something if he needed help with it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel so somebody picks it up before tonight.

   Least effective: D. Take it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand, since he is the one being paged and would surely have said something if he needed help with it.

   B: Documents the pattern for a reader who may not exist: seven nights suggests nobody is reading these alerts, and the note joins them.

   C: Escalates over a question: he may have a perfectly good answer, and going past him first makes an ordinary check into a complaint about his week.

   D: Assumes somebody else has it: a week of silent alerts is the evidence against that assumption, and you are now the second person not looking.

   The most effective response is to ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel. One question settles whether this is covered, it goes to the person actually being paged, and it costs nothing if he does have it. It beats writing a note against tonight’s alert recording that it has fired seven nights running, because seven nights with nothing written is evidence the notes are not being read. It beats raising it directly with the manager who owns the rota, because he may have a good answer and going over him turns a check into a complaint. The least effective response is taking it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put the pattern somewhere, while this rests on an assumption a week of silence has already tested and failed. The principle: when an alert has been firing for a week, ask the person on the rota rather than concluding from the rota that somebody has it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. After a fortnight of covering two people’s work you missed a callback you had promised, and the customer has written a complaint naming you. Your manager has forwarded it and asked for your account by the end of the day. The customer has complained twice before about things that were not anybody’s fault. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Point out in your account that this customer complains about everything, so that whoever reads it weighs the two earlier complaints alongside this one.
   2. Write that the callback was missed and apologise, and leave out the fortnight of double cover, so that it does not read as though you were making excuses.
   3. Write that you missed the callback and that a fortnight of covering two people is why, and ask what should be dropped, since the cover is still running.
   4. Ask for a day's grace before replying, so that you can go back through a fortnight of tickets and give a complete account rather than a rushed one.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Write that you missed the callback and that a fortnight of covering two people is why, and ask what should be dropped, since the cover is still running.

   Least effective: A. Point out in your account that this customer complains about everything, so that whoever reads it weighs the two earlier complaints alongside this one.

   A: Personalises a complaint that was accurate: the callback was genuinely missed, and answering it with the complainer's record puts them on trial instead of the facts.

   B: Withholds the cause that could be fixed: the apology is right and the workload that produced the miss goes unrecorded, so the next fortnight looks the same.

   D: Delays a reply that needs no research: you already know why the callback was missed, and the customer is waiting while a fortnight of tickets is reread.

   The most effective response is to write that you missed the callback and that a fortnight of covering two people is why, and ask what should be dropped. The complaint is accurate, so the account is about cause rather than fault, and the double cover is the one thing your manager can act on. It beats writing that the callback was missed and apologising while leaving out the fortnight, because an apology with the cause removed leaves the workload invisible. It beats asking for a day’s grace to give a complete account, because you already know what happened and the customer waits for a fact you have. The least effective response is pointing out in your account that this customer complains about everything: it is worse than either of the other two, because both concede the miss, while this answers a justified complaint by arguing about the person who made it. The principle: under sustained pressure, own the thing that was missed and name the pressure as a cause, never as a counter-accusation.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an incident coordinator. A customer’s account manager rings during an ongoing incident and asks whether her clients’ records were exposed. The security team has the incident and has said only that they are investigating. She has customers of her own asking her the same question and needs to tell them something today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her that everything is contained and that there is no sign of anything being exposed, which is what the security team have implied without quite saying it.
   2. Tell her exactly where it stands, that the security team is investigating and nothing is ruled in or out, and put her in touch with them, since only they can answer it.
   3. Reassure her that her clients' records are safe, since no exposure has been confirmed and she has her own customers waiting on her for an answer today.
   4. Tell her you cannot comment on an open incident and ask her to wait for the formal statement, which will be accurate and will come out in due course.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her exactly where it stands, that the security team is investigating and nothing is ruled in or out, and put her in touch with them, since only they can answer it.

   Least effective: C. Reassure her that her clients' records are safe, since no exposure has been confirmed and she has her own customers waiting on her for an answer today.

   A: Converts an absence of findings into a finding: nothing has been ruled out, and she will pass on an assurance nobody in the building has actually given.

   C: States as settled what nobody has established: her clients will be told their records are safe on the strength of an investigation that has not finished.

   D: Hides behind the process: the state of the investigation is itself something she can use, and she is left with nothing at all to tell anybody today.

   The most effective response is to tell her exactly where it stands, that the security team is investigating and nothing is ruled in or out, and put her in touch with them. The honest position is something she can say to her own customers, and connecting her to the people who will know is worth more than anything you can tell her. It beats telling her everything is contained and there is no sign of exposure, because implication is not confirmation and she will repeat it as though it were. It beats telling her you cannot comment on an open incident and asking her to wait for the formal statement, because the state of play is itself usable. The least effective response is reassuring her that her clients’ records are safe: it is worse than either of the other two, because both stop short of a guarantee, while this declares records safe on an investigation that has not concluded. The principle: when the answer belongs to somebody else, give the customer the true state of play and a route to the people who own it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a release coordinator. You are twenty minutes from a release window that closes at noon and cannot reopen until next week. A customer who has been passed between two teams this morning rings you directly. From the notes you can see her question is about a change that went out yesterday, and you happen to know the answer. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Finish the release first, since the window is the only thing here that cannot be reopened, and ring her back at noon once the checks are safely done.
   2. Give her the answer now, which takes two minutes, then finish the release checks with the eighteen minutes that are left before the window closes.
   3. Ask her to hold on the line while you work through the checks, and come back to her question as soon as the release is safely out of the door.
   4. Transfer her back to the team who own customer calls, since the window closes in twenty minutes and their queue is where a question like hers belongs.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Give her the answer now, which takes two minutes, then finish the release checks with the eighteen minutes that are left before the window closes.

   Least effective: D. Transfer her back to the team who own customer calls, since the window closes in twenty minutes and their queue is where a question like hers belongs.

   A: Ranks the fixed deadline above a two-minute answer: the window is real, but twenty minutes is ample for both, and she has already waited through two teams.

   C: Splits attention across a task that needs neither half: the checks want your full attention and she wants two minutes, and holding gives each of them less.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: it makes her third transfer of the morning the answer to a question you could have closed in two minutes.

   The most effective response is to give her the answer now, which takes two minutes, then finish the release checks in the eighteen that are left. Two minutes against twenty is not a real conflict, and you are holding an answer two other teams did not have. It beats finishing the release first and ringing her back at noon, because that costs her another hour for no gain when the window is in no danger from two minutes. It beats asking her to hold while you work through the checks, because a release check done while somebody waits on hold is the kind that misses things. The least effective response is transferring her back to the team who own customer calls: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get her the answer today from the person who has it, while this returns her to a queue after a morning of queues. The principle: when you are holding the answer and it costs two minutes, holding it is not prioritisation.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. Working late in a busy week, you and a colleague restored a customer’s mailbox without the confirmation step that the customer is meant to give first. It worked and nobody was harmed. She has asked you not to raise it, because she is three weeks from a promotion decision and has had a difficult year. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her you will not raise it now but that you will if it ever comes up, so she is not caught out and the promotion decision runs its course first.
   2. Raise it with your manager without naming her, so that the missed step is recorded and the promotion decision is not affected by something you reported.
   3. Agree not to mention it. Nobody was harmed, the mailbox was restored, and raising it now would cost her a promotion over a step in a process nobody checks.
   4. Tell her you are going to raise it, that you will say plainly it was both of you and why the week was what it was, and then raise it today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her you are going to raise it, that you will say plainly it was both of you and why the week was what it was, and then raise it today.

   Least effective: C. Agree not to mention it. Nobody was harmed, the mailbox was restored, and raising it now would cost her a promotion over a step in a process nobody checks.

   A: Trades a disclosure for a date: the step was skipped either way, and the condition simply moves the decision three weeks and makes it hers.

   B: Reports a fact and withholds half of it: two people did this, and an account with one of them removed is a version rather than a record.

   C: Conceals a missed step by agreement: the confirmation exists so a customer authorises access to their own mailbox, and now two people have a reason to stay quiet.

   The most effective response is to tell her you are going to raise it, that you will say plainly it was both of you and why the week was what it was, and then raise it today. The step exists so a customer authorises access to their own mailbox, so it is not yours to waive, and telling her first means she is not ambushed. It beats promising not to raise it now but to do so if it ever comes up, because that leaves the same gap unrecorded and hands her the timing. It beats raising it with your manager without naming her, because you were both there and an account with her removed is a version rather than the record. The least effective response is agreeing not to mention it: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with the missed step reaching somebody, while this turns a lapse into an agreement between two people to say nothing. The principle: when somebody asks you to be quiet about something you both did, the pressure they are under is a reason to tell them first, not a reason to agree.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a procurement assistant. A new tool your team wants must be signed off by two named reviewers before it can be bought, which takes about a fortnight. The supplier’s quoted price rises at the end of this month, four days away. Nobody has asked you to do anything about it; you noticed the date on the quote yourself. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start using the trial version on live work now and put the paperwork through afterwards, so that the price is locked in before the reviewers ever reach it.
   2. Email the two reviewers explaining the price date and ask them to look this week, then wait to see whether either of them gets round to it in time.
   3. Let the price rise and buy the tool at the higher figure once both reviews are finished, on the basis that the process is the process and it is not yours.
   4. Tell your manager today that the quote expires on Friday and ask whether the review can be brought forward, so that somebody who can decide that is deciding it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager today that the quote expires on Friday and ask whether the review can be brought forward, so that somebody who can decide that is deciding it.

   Least effective: A. Start using the trial version on live work now and put the paperwork through afterwards, so that the price is locked in before the reviewers ever reach it.

   A: Builds a workaround round a control: the fortnight is not an accident, it is the two reviewers, and this puts the tool into real use before either of them has looked.

   B: Asks once and treats the answer as out of your hands: the reviewers do not know the deadline is real, and nobody who could reorder their week has been told.

   C: Absorbs a cost nobody chose: the extra spend is real and avoidable, and the people who would have wanted the choice never find out it existed.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that the quote expires on Friday and ask whether the review can be brought forward. The deadline is real, the decision about hurrying a review is not yours, and telling the person who can make it costs one message. It beats emailing the two reviewers about the price date and waiting to see whether either gets round to it, because reviewers who do not know a date is at stake have no reason to reorder their week. It beats letting the price rise and buying at the higher figure once both reviews are done, because a rise you saw coming and mentioned to nobody is a choice made by default. The least effective response is starting to use the trial version on live work and putting the paperwork through afterwards: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the reviewers in front of the decision, late or expensive, while this puts the tool into live use with neither having seen it. The principle: when a control is in the way of a real deadline, take the deadline to whoever owns the control, not round it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are an information security assistant. A customer’s request to remove a former employee’s access has sat for three weeks because it needs a signature from a manager who himself left the company last month. You are the only person who has worked out why it is stuck. The customer stopped chasing a fortnight ago. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the customer a short update saying the request is still open and that you are working out who can approve it, and keep looking for the right approver yourself.
   2. Tell your supervisor today that the approver left the company and the request has been stuck three weeks, and ask who signs in his place.
   3. Leave the request in the queue without telling anybody why it has stalled, since the customer has stopped chasing and an approver leaving is not something you caused.
   4. Close the request and ask the customer to raise a fresh one, so that it enters the queue again with a current approver attached to it from the start.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your supervisor today that the approver left the company and the request has been stuck three weeks, and ask who signs in his place.

   Least effective: C. Leave the request in the queue without telling anybody why it has stalled, since the customer has stopped chasing and an approver leaving is not something you caused.

   A: Keeps the customer informed and the block unmoved: the update is honest, and three weeks becomes four while you hunt for something your supervisor already knows.

   C: Stays silent on the only explanation that exists: a former employee still has access, and the reason nobody can fix it lives nowhere but in your head.

   D: Restarts the clock instead of removing the block: it is transparent and it costs the customer another wait for a problem that would simply recur.

   The most effective response is to tell your supervisor today that the approver left the company and the request has been stuck three weeks, and ask who signs in his place. The block is a named absence, she holds the list of alternative signatories, and one conversation converts three lost weeks into a signature. It beats emailing the customer a short update while you keep looking for the right approver yourself, because an honest update does not move a request and the person who can has still not been asked. It beats closing the request and asking the customer to raise a fresh one, because that meets the same missing approver. The least effective response is leaving the request in the queue without telling anybody why it has stalled: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put something in front of somebody, while this leaves a former employee holding access and keeps the only explanation in your own head. The principle: when a block is somebody’s absence and you can see the way round it, the customer going quiet is not permission to stop.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an access administrator. An alert saying an unused administrator account is still active has fired every day for nine days. The rota shows a different person on call each of those days. You have a joiner-and-leaver batch to finish today that forty new staff are waiting on. Nothing has been written against any of the nine alerts. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, close the account or name an owner for it, so that day ten is not the same as day nine.
   2. Close the unused account yourself straight away and carry on with the batch, so that the alert stops firing and forty people are not held up.
   3. Get on with the joiner batch and assume the people on the rota have the alert, since they are the ones being paged and forty staff are waiting on you today.
   4. Add a note to today's alert recording that this is the ninth day, so that whoever is on call tonight can see the history and pick it up from there.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, close the account or name an owner for it, so that day ten is not the same as day nine.

   Least effective: C. Get on with the joiner batch and assume the people on the rota have the alert, since they are the ones being paged and forty staff are waiting on you today.

   B: Acts on the alert without asking why nine people did not: the account closes and the reason nobody responded for nine days goes unexamined.

   C: Assumes somebody else has it: nine days of nothing written is the evidence against that, and forty waiting staff is a reason it feels defensible.

   D: Writes for a reader nine days of silence suggests is not there: the note joins eight others that nobody has acted on.

   The most effective response is to spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, and either close the account or name an owner. Ten minutes is affordable even against forty waiting staff, and the useful question is why nine consecutive people did not act. It beats closing the unused account yourself and carrying on with the batch, because that removes the symptom and leaves a rota where nine alerts went unanswered. It beats adding a note recording that this is the ninth day, because eight previous alerts with nothing written against them show the notes are not being read. The least effective response is assuming the people on the rota have it because they are the ones being paged: it is worse than either of the other two, because both do something about day nine, while this relies on an assumption nine days have already disproved. The principle: when the same alert has been ignored for over a week, the ten minutes goes on finding the owner, and a busy day is not evidence that somebody else has it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a service desk analyst. Every Friday you send a note confirming that all sixty open tickets have been reviewed and updated. This week you have got through forty-five; the last fifteen belong to a colleague who is off sick and whose notes you cannot see. Three managers use that note to decide where to put people next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Record all sixty as checked and updated. The fifteen have not changed hands this week, and nobody reading a Friday note is going to open them one by one.
    2. Send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen.
    3. Hold the note until Monday when your colleague is back, and tell the three managers that this week's version is going to arrive late.
    4. Send the note covering only the forty-five you did review, without mentioning anywhere that another fifteen tickets exist behind it.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen.

    Least effective: A. Record all sixty as checked and updated. The fifteen have not changed hands this week, and nobody reading a Friday note is going to open them one by one.

    A: Certifies work that was not done: the note's only value is that somebody looked, and three managers will place people next week on fifteen tickets nobody read.

    C: Delays a note that is used before Monday: the placement decisions are made on Friday, so a complete note on Monday informs nothing at all.

    D: Omits the part that matters: a clean note about forty-five reads as a clean note about everything, and the gap is invisible to the people relying on it.

    The most effective response is to send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen. The managers need to know what was checked and what was not, on Friday, and the reason turns your problem into one somebody can cover. It beats holding the note until Monday when your colleague is back, because the decisions are taken on Friday. It beats sending a note covering only the forty-five you did review, because a note listing forty-five reads as a note about the whole queue. The least effective response is recording all sixty as checked and updated: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave a reader able to work out what was covered, late or incomplete, while this states that all sixty were reviewed when fifteen were not. The principle: a status note earns its value from being accurate about its own gaps, so report the part you did and name the part you could not.