Boston Consulting Group Assessment Tests

Boston Consulting Group Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a technology analyst at Boston Consulting Group and you record your time against the engagement every week. This week a full day went on correcting a mistake of your own, which gained the client nothing. The manager running the engagement has asked the team to keep the week’s recorded time inside the estimate. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the day as you spent it and tell the manager what it went on, so that the estimate is discussed with the actual position in front of them.
   2. Ask the manager whether they want the day recorded against the engagement, and then record it whichever way they tell you to.
   3. Record the day as six hours, so that the week comes in inside the estimate, since the extra time was your own mistake and was never work the client should be seeing.
   4. Record the day accurately and say nothing about what it was for, leaving the manager to ask you about it if the week's total prompts a question.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Record the day as you spent it and tell the manager what it went on, so that the estimate is discussed with the actual position in front of them.

   Least effective: C. Record the day as six hours, so that the week comes in inside the estimate, since the extra time was your own mistake and was never work the client should be seeing.

   B: Passes a decision that is yours: how long something took is a fact you hold, and offering somebody else the choice of what it should say invites the wrong answer.

   C: Alters a record: the estimate is then met on paper and not in fact, and the figures the manager uses to run the engagement have stopped being true.

   D: Leaves the reader to discover it: the record is right and the one number that needs explaining is put in front of somebody with no explanation attached.

   The most effective response is to record the day as you spent it and tell the manager what it went on. The time is a fact, the mistake is yours to name, and the manager can only make a sensible decision about the estimate if they can see what the week actually contained. It beats recording the day accurately and leaving the manager to ask about it, because an unexplained day in a week somebody is scrutinising will be asked about anyway, and answering first is both easier and better. It beats asking the manager whether they want the day recorded and doing as they say, because how long the work took is not a matter of preference, and inviting a manager to choose the number puts them in a position they should not be in. The least effective response is recording the day as six hours so the week comes in inside the estimate: the other three all leave a true record behind, whereas this one makes the record say something that did not happen so that a target appears to be met, and the figures the engagement is run on stop being worth anything. The principle: the record says what happened, and an uncomfortable fact is raised rather than reduced.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a delivery analyst at Boston Consulting Group, on a rollout for Braidwell Housing. Their programme sponsor has emailed you asking whether the training material will be ready for next month, because they are booking trainers this week. The material is a colleague’s to finish, it is two weeks behind, and they have told nobody. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that you will come back to the sponsor at the end of the week, and spend the days until then helping your colleague finish the material.
   2. Tell the manager running the delivery what the position is and leave the reply to them, so that the news reaches the sponsor from somebody senior enough to carry it.
   3. Reply to the sponsor today that the material is not finished and when you will confirm a date, after telling your colleague and the manager running the delivery.
   4. Pass the sponsor's question straight to your colleague and leave them to answer it, without telling anyone else on the team that the sponsor has asked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Reply to the sponsor today that the material is not finished and when you will confirm a date, after telling your colleague and the manager running the delivery.

   Least effective: D. Pass the sponsor's question straight to your colleague and leave them to answer it, without telling anyone else on the team that the sponsor has asked.

   A: Delays an answer somebody is acting on: the sponsor books trainers this week, so a reply on Friday reaches them once the bookings are made.

   B: Hands over a relationship you hold: the sponsor asked you, they are booking trainers this week, and nobody has agreed who answers or when.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: the person who has said nothing about the delay is left to explain it, and the sponsor books trainers on an answer that may never come.

   The most effective response is to reply to the sponsor today that the material is not finished, after telling your colleague and the manager. The sponsor asked you, they are committing money and diaries this week, and an honest position now is worth more to them than a date you cannot stand behind. It beats leaving the reply to the manager running the delivery, because the sponsor is waiting on you and handing the reply across leaves nobody holding a time to answer by. It beats coming back to the sponsor at the end of the week while helping your colleague finish, because the trainers are booked this week and Friday comes after that. The least effective response is passing the sponsor’s question straight to your colleague to answer: the other three all leave somebody accountable for the answer, whereas this one gives the question to the person whose silence caused the problem and tells nobody else it was ever asked. The principle: answer the person who asked you, and tell your own side before you do.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a delivery analyst at Boston Consulting Group, working on a client’s payroll system. The manager running the engagement told you yesterday, in confidence, that go-live will slip by a month and that the client’s sponsor will announce it on Friday. This morning one of the client’s own team asks you outright whether the date has moved, because they are booking training rooms for it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say you cannot answer today and that an update is coming on Friday, so that they hold the rooms, and tell the manager they asked.
   2. Tell them you have no information about the date, and steer the conversation back to the training plan so that the question is not asked again.
   3. Say nothing either way and mention the question to the manager running the engagement, leaving the client's team to book the rooms as they had planned.
   4. Tell them you cannot answer and that they should put the question to their own sponsor, then say nothing to the manager running the engagement about having been asked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say you cannot answer today and that an update is coming on Friday, so that they hold the rooms, and tell the manager they asked.

   Least effective: B. Tell them you have no information about the date, and steer the conversation back to the training plan so that the question is not asked again.

   B: States as fact something you know to be untrue: they book rooms for a month that has gone, and on Friday they learn that the person they asked already knew.

   C: Leaves somebody to spend money you know is wasted: the manager hears about it, and the bookings that prompted the question are made anyway.

   D: Sends the question on without closing it: their sponsor is the right source on Friday, and in the meantime nobody on your side knows the client's team is already asking and already booking.

   The most effective response is to say you cannot answer today, point at Friday’s update and tell the manager they asked. It refuses without pretending, it gives them the one thing they can act on today, and it puts the question in front of the manager who can decide whether Friday is soon enough. It beats telling them to put the question to their own sponsor and saying nothing to your manager, because sending them to their own sponsor answers nothing today and leaves your side unaware that the question has been asked. It beats saying nothing either way and leaving them to book the rooms as planned, because the rooms get booked anyway, which is the outcome the whole exchange existed to prevent. The least effective response is telling them you have no information about the date: the other three all leave the client’s team able to make a sensible decision about the rooms, whereas this one shuts the question with a denial, so they act on a date you know is gone and then find out you knew. The principle: you can decline to answer without saying something untrue, and you can still protect the person who has to act.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an insight analyst at Boston Consulting Group, building a customer analysis for a client. You asked for their sales extract three weeks ago, chased it twice, and it arrived yesterday. This morning their marketing lead emailed your manager saying the analysis is a week late and asking what has gone wrong. You have sent the client a short note on progress every week throughout. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop sending the client the weekly progress note, because they complained about the delay instead of asking you first, and leave them to notice that it has gone.
   2. Reply saying the analysis will be finished by Friday, and leave the reasons for the delay out of it so that the exchange does not turn into an argument.
   3. Reply to the marketing lead today with the dates you asked for the extract and the date it arrived, and give them a finish date, since the extract is now in your hands.
   4. Ask your manager to answer the email, since it was sent to them, and carry on with the analysis without contacting the marketing lead yourself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Reply to the marketing lead today with the dates you asked for the extract and the date it arrived, and give them a finish date, since the extract is now in your hands.

   Least effective: A. Stop sending the client the weekly progress note, because they complained about the delay instead of asking you first, and leave them to notice that it has gone.

   A: Withdraws a courtesy after being criticised: the one thing that was showing the client where the work stood is removed at the moment it would have answered them.

   B: Buys peace at the cost of the record: the marketing lead keeps a belief that your team is a week slow, and the extract that arrived yesterday goes unmentioned.

   D: Hands the account to somebody who was not there: the dates are yours, and the client's view of the delay is corrected at second hand or not at all.

   The most effective response is to reply today with the dates you asked, the date it arrived, and a finish date. It answers today, it replaces an impression with dates that can be checked, and it gives the marketing lead the thing they actually want, which is when the analysis will land. It beats asking your manager to answer the email and carrying on with the analysis, because the dates are in your hands and a second-hand account of them is weaker and slower. It beats replying with a Friday finish date and leaving the reasons out of it, because a Friday date with no explanation leaves the client believing your team lost a week, and that belief will be repeated. The least effective response is stopping the weekly progress note and leaving them to notice: the other three all leave the client better informed than they were this morning, whereas this one answers a complaint by taking away the weekly note, so the client is punished for having complained and loses the one thing that showed them where the work stood. The principle: answer an unfair complaint with the record, and never by withdrawing something the client relies on.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a research analyst at Boston Consulting Group, three weeks into a benchmarking study for a retail client. A figure you put in the draft came from a source you have now found is five years out of date. The draft goes to the client tomorrow morning, and the figure is what the study’s main recommendation rests on. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Add a footnote to the draft saying the figure comes from an older source, and leave the recommendation itself exactly as it stands.
   2. Leave the figure in the draft, and if the client asks about it, say it was checked against a current source.
   3. Tell the manager running the study today, saying which figure it is and what is wrong with the source, so that the recommendation can be looked at again before the draft goes out.
   4. Spend tonight looking for a current source that gives the same figure, and mention the problem to the manager in the morning only if you have not managed to find one that supports the study's recommendation by then.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the manager running the study today, saying which figure it is and what is wrong with the source, so that the recommendation can be looked at again before the draft goes out.

   Least effective: B. Leave the figure in the draft, and if the client asks about it, say it was checked against a current source.

   A: Substitutes your own judgement for the manager's: a footnote records the weakness and quietly decides, on their behalf, that it does not change what the study recommends.

   B: Gives an assurance you cannot back: the other three leave the client able to find out what the figure rests on, and this one closes that off with a statement you know is untrue.

   D: Delays the decision: if tonight does not produce a source, the first anybody hears is on the morning the draft goes out, with no time to look at the recommendation again.

   The most effective response is to tell the manager running the study today which figure it is and what is wrong with the source. The figure is what the recommendation rests on, the manager owns that recommendation, and there is a day left in which it can be looked at again. It beats spending tonight looking for a current source and raising it in the morning only if you fail, because if tonight produces nothing then the problem surfaces on the morning the draft goes out, when nobody can do anything with it. It beats adding a footnote about the older source and leaving the recommendation as it stands, because a footnote decides for the manager that a weak source does not change the conclusion, which is exactly the judgement they should be making. The least effective response is leaving the figure in and telling the client it was checked against a current source: the other three all leave the client able to find out what the figure rests on, and this one shuts that off with a statement you know to be untrue, so a recommendation the client will act on is protected by a false assurance rather than by evidence. The principle: put a weakness in front of the person who owns the conclusion while they can still use it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a project support officer at Boston Consulting Group, drawing up a list of possible suppliers for an office move at Fennimore Group. A supplier you met last week posts you a gift voucher for fifty pounds, thanking you for your time and asking to be on the list. The list goes to the client’s programme manager on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Return the voucher with a polite note and say nothing about it to anybody on your own team, then treat the supplier exactly like the others on the list.
   2. Take the voucher straight to the client's programme manager and explain what happened, without telling anybody on your own engagement about it.
   3. Return the voucher to the supplier, tell the manager running the engagement that it arrived, and judge every supplier on what they can actually do for the move.
   4. Accept the voucher and add the supplier to the list going to the client, without mentioning to anybody where the suggestion came from.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Return the voucher to the supplier, tell the manager running the engagement that it arrived, and judge every supplier on what they can actually do for the move.

   Least effective: D. Accept the voucher and add the supplier to the list going to the client, without mentioning to anybody where the suggestion came from.

   A: Deals with it privately and leaves no trace: the right thing happens, and if the supplier mentions the voucher later there is nothing on record to show that you sent it back.

   B: Puts your own team last: the client learns about an approach to their supplier list before the people accountable for that list do.

   D: Takes a gift and gives something back for it: the client's list now carries a name that is there because of a voucher, and nobody reading it is told.

   The most effective response is to return the voucher and tell the manager running the engagement that it arrived. The voucher goes back, the fact that it was sent is on the record with your own side, and the list is built on the only basis it should be. It beats returning the voucher with a polite note and saying nothing to your team, because a quiet return leaves nothing to show what happened if the supplier raises it later. It beats taking the voucher to the client’s programme manager and telling nobody on your engagement, because the people accountable for the list hear about the approach after the client does. The least effective response is accepting the voucher and putting the supplier onto the list going to the client: the other three all keep the list decided on what the suppliers can do, whereas this one lets a fifty pound voucher put a name in front of the client, so a list the client will trust has been shaped by something they cannot see. The principle: send the gift back, tell your own side, and let the work decide the list.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a systems analyst at Boston Consulting Group, setting up a client’s new booking system. Your testing shows that a report the client’s finance team uses every month will not be ready at go-live, and will be missing for about six weeks. The client’s project sponsor presents the go-live plan to their board on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise it at the weekly project meeting next Tuesday, so that the whole team hears about it at the same time and can work out together what ought to be done about it before go-live.
   2. Put the gap in writing to the manager running the engagement today, setting out what finance loses and for how long, so that the sponsor has it before Thursday.
   3. Tell the client's finance team directly, since they are the people who will be without the report, and let them take it up before the board meeting.
   4. Say nothing until after Thursday, on the basis that the report may still be ready by go-live and there is no point worrying the sponsor before the board has approved the plan.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Put the gap in writing to the manager running the engagement today, setting out what finance loses and for how long, so that the sponsor has it before Thursday.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing until after Thursday, on the basis that the report may still be ready by go-live and there is no point worrying the sponsor before the board has approved the plan.

   A: Delays the decision: Tuesday is after Thursday, so the sponsor has already taken the plan to their board by the time the team first discusses it.

   C: Substitutes your own judgement for the sponsor's: the right people learn it in the wrong order, and the sponsor can be contradicted at their own board by their own colleagues.

   D: Withholds something the sponsor needed: they commit to a plan in front of their board without the one fact that changes it, and they find out afterwards that you already knew.

   The most effective response is to put the gap in writing to the manager today, with what finance loses and for how long. It is in writing, it is today, it says what the loss actually is, and it reaches the sponsor through the person who owns the relationship with them, while Thursday can still be changed. It beats raising it at the weekly project meeting next Tuesday, because Tuesday is after Thursday, so the sponsor stands in front of their board without a fact you were already holding. It beats telling the client’s finance team directly and leaving them to take it up, because finance hearing it first can put the sponsor in the position of being corrected at their own board by their own people. The least effective response is saying nothing until after Thursday in case the report is ready anyway: the other three all get the fact to somebody before Thursday, and this one keeps it back on a hope, so the sponsor commits publicly to a plan you know to be wrong and later learns you knew. The principle: get a fact to the person who is about to rely on it, through the route that does not undercut them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a client services associate at Boston Consulting Group. A client, Penrose Timber, emails asking when the revised proposal document will reach them. The two people writing it are running a workshop for another client until Thursday and have not said how much is left to do. The client’s finance director wants a date this morning to put into a board pack that goes out this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that no date can be given until Thursday, and leave it there, so that nothing is promised that the two writing it have not agreed to.
   2. Ring into the workshop and interrupt the two writing it for a date now, so that the client has an answer in time for the board pack that goes out to them this afternoon.
   3. Tell the client the document will be ready on Friday for the board pack, and ask the two writing it to work to that date.
   4. Reply now that you cannot give a date until you have spoken to the two writing it, since only they know what is left, and say what time today you will come back.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Reply now that you cannot give a date until you have spoken to the two writing it, since only they know what is left, and say what time today you will come back.

   Least effective: C. Tell the client the document will be ready on Friday for the board pack, and ask the two writing it to work to that date.

   A: Leaves the client with nothing to plan with: a refusal with no time attached reads to them exactly like silence until Thursday.

   B: Buys a date by breaking into a workshop: the question is small, and the interruption lands in front of the people they are with.

   C: States a date as fact when nobody has checked it: the board pack carries Friday, and the two writing the document first hear of the commitment when they come back.

   The most effective response is to reply that you cannot give a date until you have spoken to the two writing it, and say what time today you will come back. It answers the client inside their morning, it commits you to a time rather than to a guess, and the date they eventually put in the board pack comes from the people doing the work. It beats replying that no date can be given until Thursday, because a refusal with no time attached leaves the finance director exactly where they started. It beats interrupting the workshop for a date now, because the question is small enough to hold for a few hours and the interruption lands in front of other people. The least effective response is telling the client the document will be ready on Friday: the other three all leave the date resting on somebody who knows how much work is left, whereas this one puts a figure you invented into a document the client’s board will act on. The principle: give the client a time for the answer rather than an answer you have not got.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a strategy analyst at Boston Consulting Group, finishing an options paper for a client’s steering group. The paper was due last Wednesday and was finished yesterday. The manager running the engagement asks you to put last Wednesday’s date on the front of it before it is circulated, so that the steering group reads it as having arrived on time. The client’s project office keeps its own list of what was received and when. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say you would rather put today's date on it, since the client's project office logs what arrived when, and offer a covering line explaining the delay.
   2. Circulate the paper with today's date on it and say nothing at all about the week it lost, leaving the steering group to notice the gap if they ever look for it.
   3. Ask the manager to put the date on it themselves, and circulate the paper only once somebody else has dated the front page.
   4. Change the date on the report to last Wednesday before circulating it, and let the steering group read the paper as delivered on the day it was due.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say you would rather put today's date on it, since the client's project office logs what arrived when, and offer a covering line explaining the delay.

   Least effective: D. Change the date on the report to last Wednesday before circulating it, and let the steering group read the paper as delivered on the day it was due.

   B: Leaves the client to find the slip: the date is honest, and the week the paper lost is left for the steering group to work out for itself.

   C: Passes an act you are already part of: the paper still goes out under last Wednesday, and the only thing that changes is whose hand typed it.

   D: Alters a record of when work arrived: the client's own list of what was received stops matching what happened, over a week nobody can get back anyway.

   The most effective response is to say you would rather put today’s date on it and to offer to explain the delay in the covering email. The date is a fact about when the paper arrived, the manager is entitled to a reason and a remedy rather than a refusal, and a covering line costs the engagement far less than a steering group discovering the paper was late. It beats circulating the paper with today’s date and saying nothing about the week it lost, because the steering group is left to work out for itself that a week went missing. It beats asking the manager to date it themselves and waiting until somebody else has done it, because the paper still goes out under last Wednesday and the only difference is whose hand typed it. The least effective response is changing the date on the report to last Wednesday before circulating it: the other three all leave the client able to see when the paper really arrived, whereas this one makes a record say something that did not happen, and the project office’s list stops being worth reading. The principle: a date records when something arrived, so fix the lateness in the covering words, never in the record.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a data analyst at Boston Consulting Group. On Tuesday you sent a client’s operations team an extract of their order data, and you have found this morning that it left out every order placed at the weekend. The client’s operations manager has already used the extract to work out where to move staff next month, and says those numbers go to their own team this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Amend the entry in the shared log so it shows the corrected extract as the one sent on Tuesday, and let the client carry on with the figures they have.
    2. Send a corrected extract straight away with a note of what was missing, and leave the operations manager to work out for themselves what it changes.
    3. Tell the manager running the engagement what happened and ask them to decide who speaks to the client and when, doing nothing more about the extract yourself until they come back to you.
    4. Ring the operations manager now, tell them the extract missed every weekend order and should not be shared today, and send a corrected extract explaining what has changed.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Ring the operations manager now, tell them the extract missed every weekend order and should not be shared today, and send a corrected extract explaining what has changed.

    Least effective: A. Amend the entry in the shared log so it shows the corrected extract as the one sent on Tuesday, and let the client carry on with the figures they have.

    A: Alters a record so a mistake never happened: the log then says the client received a clean extract on Tuesday, and the wrong figures going out this afternoon have nothing behind them to explain where they came from.

    B: Leaves the reader to size the damage: the manager is hours from sharing conclusions, and a replacement file does not tell them which of those conclusions moves.

    C: Hands on a clock you are holding: the numbers reach the client's team this afternoon, and the correction now waits on somebody else's diary.

    The most effective response is to ring the operations manager now and tell them the extract missed every weekend order. The client is hours from acting on figures you know are wrong, a phone call reaches them before that happens, and the corrected extract arrives with the one thing they need, which is what changed. It beats sending a corrected extract straight away with a note of what was missing, because a replacement file leaves the manager to work out on their own which of today’s conclusions has moved. It beats asking the manager running the engagement to decide who speaks to the client, because the deadline is this afternoon and the decision about who rings is smaller than the delay it buys. The least effective response is amending the entry in the shared log so it shows the corrected extract as sent on Tuesday: the other three all leave the client holding something true, whereas this one makes the record say they were sent a clean extract on Tuesday, so a mistake that is still live in their staffing plan is written out of existence rather than corrected. The principle: correct the person who is about to act, and never repair a mistake by repairing the record of it.