Fujitsu Assessment Tests

Fujitsu Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an incident coordinator. An hour before tonight’s release you find that a fault reported last week was never fixed, and the release note tells customers it was. Roughly two hundred customers read that note. The person who wrote it has gone home. Changing the note takes ten minutes; stopping the release is somebody else’s decision. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Change the release note yourself to remove the line about the fault, and let the release go ahead with an accurate note and nothing else said about it.
   2. Tell whoever is running tonight's release that the note is wrong and the fault is still open, and offer to redraft the line in the ten minutes there are.
   3. Let the release go and send the two hundred customers a correction in the morning, so tonight is not disrupted over a single line in a note.
   4. Put the fault back into the queue for next week and leave tonight alone. The release is an hour away, and one line in a note is not worth stopping it for.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell whoever is running tonight's release that the note is wrong and the fault is still open, and offer to redraft the line in the ten minutes there are.

   Least effective: D. Put the fault back into the queue for next week and leave tonight alone. The release is an hour away, and one line in a note is not worth stopping it for.

   A: Corrects the document and tells nobody: the people who decide whether the release should still go are not asked, and the change appears without explanation.

   C: Publishes something known to be false and corrects it later: two hundred people read the wrong line first, and some will act on it overnight.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: it returns the fault to a queue and lets the release go with a note that tells customers it was fixed.

   The most effective response is to tell whoever is running tonight’s release that the note is wrong and the fault is still open, and offer to redraft the line. Two things are wrong, a note that says something untrue and a fault nobody knows is open, and the release owner owns both decisions while there is still an hour. It beats changing the release note yourself to remove the line about the fault, because that resolves the wording and leaves the release decision unmade by the people who own it. It beats letting the release go and correcting two hundred customers in the morning, because they read the original first and act on it. The least effective response is putting the fault back into the queue for next week and leaving tonight alone: it is worse than either of the other two, because one fixes the note and the other corrects it later, while this lets an untrue note reach two hundred customers and returns the fault to a queue. The principle: when a document about to go out is wrong, tell the person who owns the decision while they still have time to make it.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a test analyst. A batch of two thousand records has to be checked against the customer’s own list before a migration. Checking them properly means a day of work. Checking a sample of two hundred takes an hour and would almost certainly find any systematic error. The migration is tomorrow and nobody has said which is expected. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Check the sample of two hundred and report the batch as checked, since a sample finds any systematic problem and a full check would cost a day nobody has.
   2. Check the full two thousand and let the migration slip by a day, since the check exists to be done and a sample is not the thing that was asked for.
   3. Check the sample and note in the report that two hundred of two thousand were checked, then get on with preparing for tomorrow's migration.
   4. Ask whoever owns tomorrow's migration whether a sample or the full batch is wanted, so that the trade is theirs, and do whichever they choose today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask whoever owns tomorrow's migration whether a sample or the full batch is wanted, so that the trade is theirs, and do whichever they choose today.

   Least effective: A. Check the sample of two hundred and report the batch as checked, since a sample finds any systematic problem and a full check would cost a day nobody has.

   A: Breaches the check where it counts: the report will say two thousand records were checked against the customer's list when two hundred were.

   B: Spends a day without asking whether it was wanted: nobody has said which check is expected, and the migration date belongs to somebody else.

   C: Records the limit and decides the question: the note is honest, and the choice between a day and an hour was still made by the person with least standing to make it.

   The most effective response is to ask whoever owns tomorrow’s migration whether a sample or the full batch is wanted, and do whichever they choose today. Nobody has said which check is expected, and the trade of a day’s schedule against a class of error a sample might miss belongs to them. It beats checking the full two thousand and letting the migration slip by a day, because that is a real cost to somebody else’s date and they have not been asked whether they will pay it. It beats checking the sample and noting that two hundred of two thousand were done, because an honest note still leaves the decision with the person least placed to weigh it. The least effective response is checking the sample and reporting the batch as checked: it is worse than either of the other two, because one does the fuller check and the other records what was done, while this reports two thousand records as checked when two hundred were. The principle: when the choice is between somebody else’s day and somebody else’s risk, ask them, and never let a report describe a check that was not performed.

3. Question 3 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.

4. Question 4 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.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an information security assistant. Three weeks ago, in a week when you were covering for two people, you approved a set of firewall changes without reading them. Those changes are now the subject of a review after an outage. Nobody has asked who approved them. The review meets tomorrow and your manager has said the team is not under suspicion. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your manager today that you approved the changes without reading them and why that week was what it was, so the review starts from an accurate picture.
   2. Wait to see whether the review asks who approved them, and answer fully and honestly if it does, rather than volunteering it before anybody has asked.
   3. Go through the changes now and work out whether your approval would have caught the problem, and raise it only if it turns out that it would have.
   4. Keep it to yourself. Nobody has asked, the team is not under suspicion, and reopening it now would undo three weeks of your manager defending everyone's work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell your manager today that you approved the changes without reading them and why that week was what it was, so the review starts from an accurate picture.

   Least effective: D. Keep it to yourself. Nobody has asked, the team is not under suspicion, and reopening it now would undo three weeks of your manager defending everyone's work.

   B: Answers only if asked: the review is looking for a cause, and the one person who could shorten it has decided to wait and be discovered.

   C: Makes disclosure conditional on your own analysis: the review needs to know how the approval worked, whichever way your reconstruction comes out.

   D: Conceals your own part: the review will spend tomorrow looking for a cause that one sentence from you would have supplied.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that you approved the changes without reading them and why that week was what it was. The review’s job is to find out what happened, you hold a fact nobody else has, and the double cover is a cause worth putting in front of the same people. It beats waiting to see whether the review asks who approved them, because that leaves it searching for something you could hand it, and the discovery is worse than the disclosure. It beats going through the changes now to work out whether your approval would have caught the problem, because how the approval was given matters regardless. The least effective response is keeping it to yourself because nobody has asked: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with the fact reaching the review, while this relies on it never being found and lets your manager keep defending a picture that is wrong. The principle: when a review is looking for a cause you are holding, the pressure you were under is the thing to say alongside it, not the reason to keep it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an automation tester. A fortnight of long days has left you behind, and a colleague’s slow answers to your questions are part of the reason. Yesterday you were sharp with her in front of two other people and you know it showed. This morning the delivery coordinator asks you in passing how the testing is going and why it is running late. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say the testing is late, give the reasons including your own part in it, ask for either more time or fewer tests, and apologise to your colleague for yesterday.
   2. Say only that it is behind and that you have it in hand, and sort the delay out with your colleague yourself before anybody else needs to be involved in it.
   3. Raise her pace with the delivery coordinator behind her back, and let him decide whether she should stay on this piece of work for the rest of the fortnight.
   4. Say the delay comes from waiting on answers, without saying whose answers they were, so that the pressure comes off you without her being named to anybody.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say the testing is late, give the reasons including your own part in it, ask for either more time or fewer tests, and apologise to your colleague for yesterday.

   Least effective: C. Raise her pace with the delivery coordinator behind her back, and let him decide whether she should stay on this piece of work for the rest of the fortnight.

   B: Absorbs a problem that has grown past you: a fortnight of long days is not something you can fix privately, and the person who could reprioritise has just asked.

   C: Personalises the pressure: it turns a workload problem into a judgement on a colleague, delivered to somebody with power over her and without her in the room.

   D: Points at a cause you will not name: it is fair to you and useless to him, because he cannot act on a bottleneck that has been described but not located.

   The most effective response is to say the testing is late, give the reasons including your own part in it, ask for either more time or fewer tests, and apologise to your colleague for yesterday. It gives the coordinator the real cause and the choice between time and scope, and it deals with yesterday rather than leaving it under everything else. It beats saying only that it is behind and that you have it in hand, because a fortnight of overrun is exactly what the person asking is there to resolve. It beats saying the delay comes from waiting on answers without saying whose, because a cause described but not named cannot be acted on. The least effective response is raising her pace with the delivery coordinator behind her back: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the conversation about the work, while this makes it about her, to somebody with power over her, in a conversation she is not in. The principle: under pressure, take the workload to whoever can change it, and take anything about a colleague to the colleague.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a release coordinator. A director emails asking why last month’s releases slipped, copying six people. You know the answer: two of the four slips were a supplier and two were the team’s own testing. The person who normally handles director questions is on leave for a fortnight, and the email has been sitting unanswered for two days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply saying two of the four were a supplier and leave the other two slips for your colleague to explain to him when she returns in a fortnight.
   2. Reply to the director alone with the full answer, leaving the six copied people out of it, so that the detail goes to the person who actually asked.
   3. Send the director's email on to your colleague's inbox, so that she picks it up when she returns, and reply saying she will answer it in a fortnight.
   4. Reply to all today with the full answer, two supplier slips and two on the team's own testing, and say your colleague can add to it when she is back.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Reply to all today with the full answer, two supplier slips and two on the team's own testing, and say your colleague can add to it when she is back.

   Least effective: C. Send the director's email on to your colleague's inbox, so that she picks it up when she returns, and reply saying she will answer it in a fortnight.

   A: Answers the comfortable half: the director reads a supplier explanation for a month in which half the slips were the team's own.

   B: Narrows the audience the sender chose: six people were copied for a reason, and they are left with a question they saw and no answer.

   C: Passes a question you can answer to somebody who is away: a director waits a fortnight for something you could have written in ten minutes.

   The most effective response is to reply to all today with the full answer, two supplier slips and two on the team’s own testing, and say your colleague can add to it when she is back. You have the whole answer, two days have passed, and replying to everyone he copied keeps the record straight with the same people who saw the question. It beats replying that two of the four were a supplier and leaving the other two for her to explain, because that leaves him with a false picture of a month in which half were the team’s. It beats replying to the director alone and leaving the six copied people out, because they were copied deliberately. The least effective response is forwarding his email to her inbox and saying she will answer in a fortnight: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get something accurate to somebody today, while this holds a director for a fortnight for an answer you already have. The principle: when you can answer, answer, to the audience the question was asked in front of, and let the absent colleague add to it later.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a support analyst. You agreed to sit with a customer’s new starter at eleven to set up her account, after two written guides confused her. At half past ten you are asked to join a call about next month’s rota, expected to last an hour. A colleague is free at eleven and has never met her. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say you have an eleven o'clock with a customer who has already been confused twice, and ask whether the rota call can take you afterwards instead.
   2. Join the rota call and email her now offering twelve o'clock instead, apologising for moving an appointment at half an hour's notice.
   3. Ask a colleague to take the eleven o'clock instead, since he is free at that time and she at least gets somebody at the hour she was promised.
   4. Start the setup at eleven and leave the rota call after twenty minutes, so that both of them get some of your time this morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say you have an eleven o'clock with a customer who has already been confused twice, and ask whether the rota call can take you afterwards instead.

   Least effective: C. Ask a colleague to take the eleven o'clock instead, since he is free at that time and she at least gets somebody at the hour she was promised.

   B: Moves the customer rather than the internal call: it is honest, and the person who has already been failed twice absorbs the inconvenience again.

   C: Passes the customer to somebody with no context: two guides have already failed her, and this makes the third attempt another fresh start.

   D: Splits an hour neither task can spare: she gets a hurried start and the rota discussion loses you before it reaches next month.

   The most effective response is to say you have an eleven o’clock with a customer who has already been confused twice, and ask whether the rota call can take you afterwards. The rota call is about next month, the eleven o’clock is a third attempt at something that has failed twice, and the person who called the meeting cannot weigh that without being told. It beats joining the rota call and offering her twelve o’clock instead, because moving her again is cheapest for the team and most expensive for her. It beats starting the setup at eleven and leaving the rota call after twenty minutes, because a hurried setup is the same failure as the two guides. The least effective response is asking a colleague to take the eleven o’clock: it is worse than either of the other two, because one tells her honestly and the other keeps the person she needs, while this hands somebody confused twice to a colleague who has never met her. The principle: when a customer commitment collides with an internal meeting, take the collision to whoever called the meeting, with the history that makes it one.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a site reliability assistant. You were asked to check that the backups for twelve services all restored correctly. You tested nine and ran out of time on Friday; the last three you did not get to. In Monday’s meeting your manager asks whether the backup checks came back clean, and moves on to the next item almost immediately. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say the checks came back clean and test the last three straight after the meeting, so that the statement is true by lunchtime and nobody is troubled by it.
   2. Say nothing in the meeting and send your manager a note afterwards explaining that three are still outstanding and when you will get to them.
   3. Say the checks came back clean without checking the last three. Nine of twelve restored without a problem, and the other three are the same kind of service.
   4. Say nine restored cleanly and three were not reached, and give the meeting a day by which the last three will be done, so that the gap is on the record.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Say nine restored cleanly and three were not reached, and give the meeting a day by which the last three will be done, so that the gap is on the record.

   Least effective: C. Say the checks came back clean without checking the last three. Nine of twelve restored without a problem, and the other three are the same kind of service.

   A: Makes a claim you intend to make true later: for the rest of the morning the room believes twelve services are covered when three are unknown.

   B: Corrects the record where fewer people see it: the room has moved on believing all twelve are clean, and only one person is told otherwise.

   C: Asserts a result for work that was not done: three services now count as verified on the strength of nine that resemble them.

   The most effective response is to say nine restored cleanly and three were not reached, and give the meeting a day by which the last three will be done. It takes one sentence, it is accurate, and the date turns an omission into a commitment the room can hold you to. It beats saying the checks came back clean and testing the last three straight afterwards, because the room spends the morning believing twelve services are covered, and a statement made true by lunchtime was false when it was made. It beats saying nothing in the meeting and sending your manager a note afterwards, because the meeting is where the belief was formed. The least effective response is saying the checks came back clean without checking the last three: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with those services being tested or reported, while this closes the question permanently on the reasoning that similar services behave alike. The principle: when you are asked whether something is done, answer about what was done, and name the part that was not with a date on it.

10. Question 10 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.