BT Assessment Tests

BT Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a delivery coordinator. You volunteered to keep the team’s risk log, which nobody else wanted. In yesterday’s planning session a colleague said in front of everyone that your risk estimates were guesswork and the discussion became heated. Nothing was resolved. The log needs updating before Thursday’s programme review. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Update the log before Thursday and put a note at the top saying the estimates are indicative only, so that nobody is misled about how firm they are.
   2. Update the log before Thursday, and ask your colleague to sit down with you and go through how the estimates are made, so the disagreement is about method.
   3. Update the log and avoid your colleague until the disagreement fades, since Thursday is what matters this week and the argument will keep until later.
   4. Stop keeping the risk log after that, since somebody who thinks the estimates are guesswork can take on the job that nobody else in the team wanted.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Update the log before Thursday, and ask your colleague to sit down with you and go through how the estimates are made, so the disagreement is about method.

   Least effective: D. Stop keeping the risk log after that, since somebody who thinks the estimates are guesswork can take on the job that nobody else in the team wanted.

   A: Answers a criticism by weakening the work: an indicative-only risk log is worth less to Thursday's review than the one you were keeping.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: nothing was resolved yesterday, so it will surface again, probably in front of the same people.

   D: Withdraws a voluntary duty after a challenge: Thursday's review loses its risk log, and the team pays for an argument between two of you.

   The most effective response is to update the log before Thursday, and ask your colleague to sit down and go through how the estimates are made. Thursday needs the log and the criticism was about method rather than effort, so making the method the subject is the useful move. It beats updating the log with a note at the top saying the estimates are indicative only, because that reduces what the review can do with it, a concession the criticism did not earn. It beats updating it and avoiding him until the disagreement fades, because yesterday resolved nothing and it will resurface in the same room. The least effective response is giving up the risk log so somebody who thinks the estimates are guesswork can take it on: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the log updated for Thursday, while this drops a job nobody else wanted as an answer to a colleague. The principle: keep the commitment, and turn a criticism of your method into a conversation about the method.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a support analyst. You are the only person who knows the reporting tool will be unavailable all of next Wednesday, because you took the call from the vendor. The finance team meets this afternoon and is about to fix Wednesday as the day they run their month-end reports. You have a backlog of thirty tickets and your manager has asked you to clear it today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Clear the backlog first as instructed, then send the outage note this evening, since thirty waiting customers plainly outrank one internal planning meeting.
   2. Work through the backlog without telling anybody about Wednesday. The outage is a week away, and the vendor will very likely have told finance as well.
   3. Spend five minutes now sending the finance team the outage date before their meeting, then return to the backlog and tell your manager why you paused for it.
   4. Put a note about Wednesday into the shared channel and carry on with the backlog, so that the information is at least somewhere people are able to find it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Spend five minutes now sending the finance team the outage date before their meeting, then return to the backlog and tell your manager why you paused for it.

   Least effective: B. Work through the backlog without telling anybody about Wednesday. The outage is a week away, and the vendor will very likely have told finance as well.

   A: Ranks the instruction above the deadline that cannot move: the note is worth far less after the meeting has fixed the date it was meant to influence.

   B: Withholds a dependency only you hold: the meeting will fix a date on a day the tool does not run, and nobody in the room has any way of knowing that.

   D: Publishes to nobody in particular: the note exists, the finance team has no reason to look for it this afternoon, and the meeting goes ahead unaware.

   The most effective response is to spend five minutes now sending the finance team the outage date before their meeting, then return to the backlog and tell your manager why you paused. Five minutes before the meeting is worth more than an hour after it, and telling your manager keeps the backlog instruction honest rather than quietly disobeyed. It beats clearing the backlog first and sending the outage note this evening, because the value of the note collapses the moment the date is fixed. It beats putting a note about Wednesday into the shared channel and carrying on, because a channel post is not the same as telling the people about to decide. The least effective response is working through the backlog without telling anybody about Wednesday: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get the fact out eventually or somewhere, while this leaves a room fixing a date on a day the tool will not run. The principle: when a five-minute message is the difference between a team planning correctly and planning wrongly, it outranks the queue.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a build engineer. Changes to the payments service need a second engineer’s approval before they go out, and the only other engineer who knows it is on annual leave for a week. A change is waiting that a customer has been promised for Friday. Your team lead is contactable but has not been asked about any of this. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait the week for the second engineer to return, and let Friday go past without saying anything to the customer until there is something to tell them.
   2. Ask a colleague from another team to give the approval, on the basis that a second pair of eyes is a second pair of eyes whoever they happen to belong to.
   3. Put the change out with only your own approval, since the second signature is a formality when there is nobody available to give it and Friday was promised.
   4. Take it to your team lead today, explain that the second approver is away and Friday was promised, and let him decide between a substitute and moving the date.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Take it to your team lead today, explain that the second approver is away and Friday was promised, and let him decide between a substitute and moving the date.

   Least effective: C. Put the change out with only your own approval, since the second signature is a formality when there is nobody available to give it and Friday was promised.

   A: Absorbs a broken promise in silence: waiting is the safe technical choice and the customer finds out by Friday arriving with nothing on it.

   B: Satisfies the form and not the purpose: the rule asks for somebody who knows payments, and this produces an approval from somebody who does not.

   C: Breaches a control to make a date: the rule exists precisely for the week when the other engineer is away, and the promise was made without checking it.

   The most effective response is to take it to your team lead today, explain that the second approver is away and Friday was promised, and let him decide. There are two live problems, an approval that cannot be given and a promise that cannot be kept, and both belong to somebody who has not been told either exists. It beats waiting the week for the second engineer and letting Friday pass without telling the customer, because that turns a schedule problem into a broken commitment. It beats asking a colleague from another team to give the approval, because it is meant to come from somebody who knows the payments service. The least effective response is putting the change out with only your own approval: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the control intact, expensively or imperfectly, while this decides that a rule written for exactly this week does not apply. The principle: when a control blocks a promise, both belong to whoever owns them, and neither is yours to set aside.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a site reliability assistant. Restoring a customer’s data after an outage should be verified record by record, which takes a day. Restoring it without the verification takes an hour and is usually fine. The customer is unable to trade until the restore finishes and has asked every hour. Your manager is at a conference and reachable by phone. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the full verification and tell the customer it will be tomorrow, since the check exists precisely for restores like this one and a day is not unreasonable.
   2. Restore without the verification and tell the customer they are back, since it is usually fine and they have been unable to trade for most of the day already.
   3. Restore without verification to get them trading, and run the full verification overnight, telling the customer only if the check turns something up.
   4. Ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer which of the two they want.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer which of the two they want.

   Least effective: B. Restore without the verification and tell the customer they are back, since it is usually fine and they have been unable to trade for most of the day already.

   A: Chooses the safe option without letting the customer weigh it: they are losing a day of trade and nobody has asked them which risk they would rather carry.

   B: Breaches the check that exists for this case: the verification is there for restores exactly like this, and the customer is told they are back on data nobody read.

   C: Discloses on failure only: they spend the evening trading on unverified data and are never given the chance to decide whether they wanted to.

   The most effective response is to ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer. This is a trade-off between somebody else’s lost day and somebody else’s risk, which makes it neither yours to take nor yours to decide quietly. It beats doing the full verification and telling the customer it will be tomorrow, because a full day of lost trading is a real cost and they have not been asked whether they would accept the risk instead. It beats restoring now and running the verification overnight, because trading overnight on unverified data is the same risk taken without telling them. The least effective response is telling the customer they are back because it is usually fine and they have lost most of the day: it is worse than either of the other two, because one keeps the check and the other at least performs it late, while this skips it entirely and reports them safely restored. The principle: when the choice is between a customer’s time and a customer’s risk, it belongs to the customer, reached through whoever can put it to them.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a junior business analyst. For six weeks you have argued that a report the team builds is not what the customer asked for, and you have been told each time to leave it. You are worn down by it. Today you are alone on a call with that customer, who mentions in passing that the report is not quite what she expected. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask her to describe exactly what she expected, write it down, and take her own words back to the team as evidence rather than as your opinion again.
   2. Tell her you have been saying this internally for six weeks, so that she raises it formally and the team finally has to take the point seriously.
   3. Agree with her that it is not quite right and say the team is looking at it, then raise it internally one more time after the call has finished.
   4. Note what she says and leave it there, since six weeks of raising it has changed nothing and there is no reason to think a seventh attempt would be different.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask her to describe exactly what she expected, write it down, and take her own words back to the team as evidence rather than as your opinion again.

   Least effective: B. Tell her you have been saying this internally for six weeks, so that she raises it formally and the team finally has to take the point seriously.

   B: Recruits the customer into an internal argument: it uses her to win six weeks of disagreement, and she is put in the middle of a team dispute.

   C: Promises movement you have no reason to expect: six weeks of being told to leave it is not the team looking at it, and she will take you at your word.

   D: Lets the strongest evidence yet go unused: the customer has just described the gap herself, which is exactly what the previous six weeks lacked.

   The most effective response is to ask her to describe exactly what she expected, write it down, and take her own words back to the team as evidence. Six weeks of your opinion has not moved anything, and the customer describing the gap in her own words is a different kind of evidence, which is precisely what has been missing. It beats agreeing that it is not quite right and saying the team is looking at it, because that is not true and she will plan on it. It beats noting what she says and leaving it there, because her account is the strongest thing you have ever had. The least effective response is telling her you have been saying this internally for six weeks: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the disagreement inside the company, while this tells a customer her supplier has been arguing about her report for six weeks in order to win the argument. The principle: under a long-running internal disagreement, take the customer’s own words back as evidence, and never recruit her as an ally against your own team.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a deployment assistant. Preparing tonight’s release you notice that one change will stop a colleague’s overnight billing job from running. He is on holiday. The billing job produces invoices that go out on Friday. You have four other releases to prepare before six o’clock and no time spare. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight's release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four.
   2. Email your colleague so that he sees it when he is back, and prepare the other four releases, since he is the person who owns the billing job.
   3. Prepare all five releases as planned and raise the billing job tomorrow. There is no time tonight, and one missed run can be caught up before Friday.
   4. Take the billing change out of tonight's release yourself, so the job runs, and mention it to the release owner at some point in the morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight's release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four.

   Least effective: C. Prepare all five releases as planned and raise the billing job tomorrow. There is no time tonight, and one missed run can be caught up before Friday.

   B: Sends the warning to the one person who cannot act: he is on holiday, the job runs tonight, and the invoices go on Friday.

   C: Withholds a consequence only you can see: the decision about tonight is being taken by people who do not know the billing job is in it.

   D: Edits somebody's release on your own reading: the change may be there for a reason you cannot see, and the person who owns tonight is told afterwards.

   The most effective response is to stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight’s release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four. Ten minutes against four releases is affordable, and only they can weigh a broken billing job against whatever the change was for. It beats emailing your colleague so he sees it when he is back, because he cannot act from holiday and the job runs tonight. It beats taking the billing change out of tonight’s release yourself, because that may break something else and presents the release owner with a decision already made. The least effective response is preparing all five as planned and raising the billing job tomorrow: it is worse than either of the other two, because both act on what you saw, while this lets tonight’s decision be taken by people who cannot see the consequence you found. The principle: ten minutes to hand a consequence to whoever owns the decision beats any amount of time spent working around it alone.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. A customer’s administrator told you quietly that she is being pushed by her own management to sign off a system she does not think is ready, and asked you not to repeat it. Your company is about to ask her to sign that acceptance. You are the only person here who knows. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing at all and let the acceptance go to her as planned, since what she told you was private and it is her decision to make either way.
   2. Tell your own account manager what she said, so that the acceptance is not sent into a situation your company knows nothing about, since it would clearly help.
   3. Go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself, so that the choice stays hers.
   4. Suggest to your account manager that the acceptance be delayed a fortnight, without giving any reason for it, so that she is given time to sort things out with her own management at her end.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself, so that the choice stays hers.

   Least effective: B. Tell your own account manager what she said, so that the acceptance is not sent into a situation your company knows nothing about, since it would clearly help.

   A: Leaves your own company walking into it blind: an acceptance is about to be sent to somebody who has said she does not think the system is ready.

   B: Breaches a confidence because repeating it would be useful: she told you privately, and the person it exposes is a customer with no power over what you do with it.

   D: Argues for a delay you will not justify: your account manager weighs an odd request instead of a real risk, and is likely to decline it.

   The most effective response is to go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself. The confidence is hers to lift, the acceptance is imminent, and this gives her control of something about to affect her whether she acts or not. It beats saying nothing and letting the acceptance go as planned, because your own company is about to send it into a situation you alone know about. It beats suggesting a fortnight’s delay without giving any reason, because that asks your account manager to weigh a preference and will probably be refused. The least effective response is telling your own account manager what she said: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep her confidence, while this repeats what a customer told you privately to the people whose commercial interest runs against hers. The principle: when a confidence collides with something about to happen, take it back to the person who gave it and let them choose, rather than spending it for them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a junior developer. Reading through tonight’s release you have noticed that a change renames a field that a report your colleague owns depends on. Her report runs every Tuesday morning and she is not working today. The release goes out at eight this evening. You may have misread it, and nobody has asked you to check anything. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email your colleague so that she sees it tomorrow morning, and leave the release alone, since she is the one who owns the report and should decide about it.
   2. Leave it. You may have misread it, nobody asked you to check the release, and the person who owns the report is the one who should have spotted it.
   3. Change the release yourself to keep the old field name alongside the new one, so that her report carries on working whichever way it turns out to be.
   4. Raise it now with whoever is running tonight's release, say what you think you have seen and that you may have misread it, and let them decide before eight.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Raise it now with whoever is running tonight's release, say what you think you have seen and that you may have misread it, and let them decide before eight.

   Least effective: B. Leave it. You may have misread it, nobody asked you to check the release, and the person who owns the report is the one who should have spotted it.

   A: Sends a warning that arrives after the event: she reads it on Tuesday, by which time the release went out on Monday evening and her report has already run.

   B: Stays silent on something only you have seen: the release goes out at eight whether or not you misread it, and nobody else is looking at this at all.

   C: Acts on a reading you are not sure of: it edits somebody else's change on the evening it ships, on the strength of something you think you saw.

   The most effective response is to raise it now with whoever is running tonight’s release, say what you think you have seen and that you may have misread it. There are hours left, they can check it in minutes, and saying openly that you may be wrong costs nothing and lets them weigh it. It beats emailing your colleague so she sees it tomorrow morning, because that arrives after Monday evening’s release and after her report has run. It beats changing the release yourself to keep the old field name alongside the new one, because editing somebody else’s change on the evening it ships, on a reading you are unsure of, risks more than it protects. The least effective response is leaving it because you may have misread it and nobody asked you to check: it is worse than either of the other two, because both act on what you saw, while this leaves the only observation anybody has made unspoken until Tuesday. The principle: an uncertain observation with hours to spare goes to whoever can check it, and uncertainty is a thing to say aloud rather than a reason to stay quiet.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a security analyst. A customer’s account has been locked for four days while a review runs. Your manager has told the team to say it will be unlocked within twenty-four hours, which has now been said three times. The customer’s operations lead rings you and asks, plainly, when she will have her account back. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her you cannot give a date at all and that she should take it up with her account manager, who has a better line into the review than you do.
   2. Promise her it will be unlocked within twenty-four hours. That is the line the team has been given, and it is not your place to depart from it.
   3. Tell her the twenty-four hours has been said three times and you cannot promise a fourth, find out today where the review actually is, and ring her back with it.
   4. Tell her the review is complex and that you understand her frustration, and avoid giving any date at all until somebody senior has authorised one.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her the twenty-four hours has been said three times and you cannot promise a fourth, find out today where the review actually is, and ring her back with it.

   Least effective: B. Promise her it will be unlocked within twenty-four hours. That is the line the team has been given, and it is not your place to depart from it.

   A: Refuses her and moves her on: she has rung three times, and being sent elsewhere is what a fourth day of nothing looks like from her side.

   B: Repeats an assurance you know has failed: the same twenty-four hours has been given three times, so she is being told something the evidence contradicts.

   D: Substitutes sympathy for information: she is four days in, and understanding without a fact leaves her with nothing new to act on.

   The most effective response is to tell her the twenty-four hours has been said three times and you cannot promise a fourth, find out today where the review actually is, and ring her back. Three failed promises is itself the most honest thing you can tell her, and finding out turns the call into something that changes her position. It beats telling her you cannot give a date and that she should take it up with her account manager, because she has rung three times and being redirected is indistinguishable from being ignored. It beats saying the review is complex and that you understand her frustration, because sympathy without a fact is the fourth day of nothing. The least effective response is promising it will be unlocked within twenty-four hours: it is worse than either of the other two, because both stop short of telling her something the evidence has disproved, while this repeats a promise that has failed three times. The principle: when the line you have been given has already failed, say that it has and go and find something true, rather than passing it on a fourth time.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a security analyst. Each quarter you confirm that the forty people who can open the payroll system still need to. You have confirmed thirty; the other ten sit with managers who have not replied to two emails. The return is due today, and your supervisor has asked twice whether it is finished. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Send the return today showing thirty confirmed and ten outstanding, and name the managers who have not replied, so that somebody can chase the last ten properly.
    2. Hold the return until the last ten managers reply so that what you send is complete, and tell your supervisor today that it is going to be late.
    3. Take the ten unanswered accounts out of the check and report on the thirty, on the basis that a question nobody answered cannot fairly be counted either way.
    4. Sign the return off for all forty. The ten silent managers would almost certainly have said something by now if any of those accounts were a real problem.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Send the return today showing thirty confirmed and ten outstanding, and name the managers who have not replied, so that somebody can chase the last ten properly.

    Least effective: D. Sign the return off for all forty. The ten silent managers would almost certainly have said something by now if any of those accounts were a real problem.

    B: Delays a return that is more useful partly done: thirty confirmed names today are worth more than forty in a fortnight, and the ten silent managers stay invisible.

    C: Shrinks the question until the answer fits: the ten accounts are the only ones anybody should be worried about, and this is the option that makes them disappear.

    D: Certifies a check that was not done: the return's whole value is that somebody looked, and this puts your name to ten accounts nobody has looked at.

    The most effective response is to send the return today showing thirty confirmed and ten outstanding, and name the managers who have not replied. It reports exactly what is known, it is on time, and naming them turns your problem into one your supervisor can solve. It beats holding the return until the last ten reply, because thirty confirmed accounts today are more use than forty in a fortnight, and the delay hides the fact that ten managers are not replying. It beats taking the ten unanswered accounts out and reporting on the thirty, because those are precisely the ones worth knowing about. The least effective response is signing the return off for all forty: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave a reader able to see what was and was not checked, while this asserts that all forty were. The principle: report the part you did and name the part you could not, and never let a record say a check happened when it did not.