Leidos Assessment Tests

Leidos Online Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a families office assistant. A contractor has told you a block of quarters may lose hot water for three days next week while a boiler is replaced, and will confirm on Thursday. Eleven families live in the block. The families liaison newsletter goes out tomorrow and is the only thing most of them read. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assure the families in tomorrow's newsletter that hot water will be unaffected next week, then correct it separately if Thursday turns out badly.
   2. Put a general line in the newsletter about works in the area, without naming the block or the hot water, so nobody is alarmed unnecessarily.
   3. Leave it out of tomorrow's newsletter and write to the eleven families separately on Thursday once the contractor has confirmed one way or the other.
   4. Put it in tomorrow's newsletter as a possibility with the Thursday confirmation date, so that eleven families can make arrangements in the days they still have.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Put it in tomorrow's newsletter as a possibility with the Thursday confirmation date, so that eleven families can make arrangements in the days they still have.

   Least effective: A. Assure the families in tomorrow's newsletter that hot water will be unaffected next week, then correct it separately if Thursday turns out badly.

   A: Gives an assurance nobody has given you: eleven families stop thinking about it entirely, and a correction after Thursday reaches them with the days for arranging anything already gone.

   B: Warns without informing: eleven households cannot tell whether it concerns them, so the notice produces unease and no arrangements.

   C: Waits for certainty and loses the channel: the newsletter is the thing they read, and a separate Thursday letter reaches fewer of them with less time.

   The most effective response is putting it in tomorrow’s newsletter as a possibility with the Thursday confirmation date, so eleven families can make arrangements in the days they still have. The newsletter is the only channel that reaches them, three days without hot water is worth planning for, and a stated confirmation date makes a possibility usable. It beats leaving it out of the newsletter and writing to the eleven families separately on Thursday once the contractor has confirmed, because that is a worse channel and less time. It beats putting a general line about works in the area without naming the block or the hot water, because a vague warning cannot be acted on. The least effective response is assuring the families that hot water will be unaffected next week: they are told there is nothing to plan for, on an assurance the contractor never gave, and the correction arrives too late to help. The principle: publish what you know and what you do not, in the channel people actually read.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a candidate liaison assistant. An applicant rings and asks you to tell him how he scored on last week’s reasoning tests. Scores are not released to applicants, and you can see them on your screen. He says he wants to know whether to keep applying elsewhere. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him scores are not released and leave it there, since the rule is clear and there is nothing else about it that you are able to discuss with him.
   2. Assure him that his scores were fine and that he has nothing to worry about, so that he stops asking for a number you are not allowed to give him.
   3. Tell him plainly that scores are never released, explain what he will be told and when, and say that applying elsewhere in the meantime costs him nothing here.
   4. Offer to ask whether his scores can be released to him this once, given that he is trying to make a decision about other applications.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him plainly that scores are never released, explain what he will be told and when, and say that applying elsewhere in the meantime costs him nothing here.

   Least effective: B. Assure him that his scores were fine and that he has nothing to worry about, so that he stops asking for a number you are not allowed to give him.

   A: Answers the rule and not the question: what he actually asked is whether to keep applying elsewhere, and that has an answer you are allowed to give.

   B: Gives an assurance the role forbids: it is a score in all but the digits, and he may stop applying elsewhere on the strength of a reassurance nobody authorised.

   D: Raises a hope the rule will not meet: scores are never released, so the question is asked only to come back refused a week later.

   The most effective response is telling him plainly that scores are never released, explaining what he will be told and when, and saying that applying elsewhere in the meantime costs him nothing here. The score is genuinely not his to have, and the decision he is trying to make can be helped by two facts you are free to give. It beats telling him scores are not released and leaving it there as the end of what you can discuss, because that stops at the rule and ignores the question. It beats offering to ask whether his scores can be released to him this once, because it raises a hope that has no chance. The least effective response is assuring him his scores were fine and he has nothing to worry about: he is given a reassurance about the very thing that may not be given, and he may act on it by stopping his other applications. The principle: when you cannot give the thing asked for, give the truth and whatever else actually helps.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a stores assistant. You and a colleague share the weekly stocktake. He counts in whatever order suits him and moves stock as he goes; you count in the fixed shelf order the sheet is printed in. Last month one bay was counted twice and another was not counted at all. This month’s count is Thursday and neither of you has moved. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Print a second sheet in the order he prefers so each of you can count your own way, and reconcile the two sheets between you on Thursday evening.
   2. Recount his bays yourself on Thursday evening once he has gone, and put the corrected totals in under his name, so the sheet is right and the argument never has to be had.
   3. Follow him round on Thursday and recount each bay behind him, so that anything he misses is picked up before the sheet goes in.
   4. Ask him before Thursday to settle one counting order for both of you, taking the bay that was missed altogether as the thing that order has to prevent.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask him before Thursday to settle one counting order for both of you, taking the bay that was missed altogether as the thing that order has to prevent.

   Least effective: B. Recount his bays yourself on Thursday evening once he has gone, and put the corrected totals in under his name, so the sheet is right and the argument never has to be had.

   A: Builds a workaround instead of a method: two sheets reconcile only if both counts are right, which is exactly what last month showed cannot be taken for granted.

   B: Breaches the stocktake by entering a count under another person's name: the figure the stores relies on now records a count he never made, and the order that lost a whole bay is untouched.

   C: Solves it by supervision: the bays do get counted, and a colleague is checked over his shoulder all afternoon without once being told why.

   The most effective response is asking him before Thursday to settle one counting order for both of you, taking the bay that was missed altogether as the thing that order has to prevent. A bay counted twice and a bay missed are both products of two orders running at once, and that is something two people can settle in ten minutes. It beats printing a second sheet in the order he prefers so each of you counts your own way and reconciling them on Thursday evening, because two sheets only agree if both are already right. It beats following him round on Thursday and recounting each bay behind him, because that fixes Thursday by watching him rather than by agreeing anything. The least effective response is recounting his bays once he has gone and entering the corrected totals under his name: the stores ends up with a count recorded against somebody who did not make it, which is a different kind of wrong from a method nobody has agreed. The principle: settle the method with the person, and never sign their name to your work.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a candidate liaison assistant. About once a week an applicant arrives for an appointment that is not in the diary, and you fit them in. Looking back, every one of them booked through the online form, which one colleague enters by hand at the end of each day. It has been happening for three months. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on fitting the applicants in as they arrive, since it works and each one takes only a few minutes out of an otherwise ordinary day.
   2. Raise it in the office meeting as the fault of the colleague who does the hand entry, so that the person losing the bookings is named and it stops happening.
   3. Ask the colleague quietly to be more careful with the evening entry, and keep an eye on whether the unexpected arrivals stop over the next month.
   4. Show the office the pattern you have found this week, so that a fix to how the online bookings are entered can be looked at rather than another applicant being squeezed in.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Show the office the pattern you have found this week, so that a fix to how the online bookings are entered can be looked at rather than another applicant being squeezed in.

   Least effective: B. Raise it in the office meeting as the fault of the colleague who does the hand entry, so that the person losing the bookings is named and it stops happening.

   A: Absorbs a recurring fault indefinitely: it has run for three months, no applicant has actually been turned away, and nothing about it will change on its own.

   B: Personalises a process failure: the hand entry step is the problem, and naming the person doing it in a meeting neither changes the step nor stops the next applicant arriving unexpectedly.

   C: Asks for more care where the design is at fault: a manual step done at the end of a long day will fail again, however carefully it is approached.

   The most effective response is showing the office the pattern you have found this week, so a fix to how the online bookings are entered can be looked at rather than another applicant being squeezed in. Three months of the same symptom points at one step, and the office is the only place a change to that step can be made. It beats carrying on fitting the applicants in as they arrive because it works and costs only a few minutes, since the cause survives untouched. It beats asking the colleague quietly to be more careful with the evening entry and watching whether the arrivals stop, because care does not fix a step that is built to fail. The least effective response is raising it in the office meeting as the fault of the colleague who does the hand entry: a person is named for a fault in the process they were handed, and not one booking is any safer afterwards. The principle: take the pattern to whoever can change the design, and keep the individual out of it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a welfare office assistant. Your task is the appointment diary. You notice the corridor noticeboard still advertises a weekly support session that was cancelled a month ago, and three people have turned up for it this week and found the room empty. The board is kept by the families office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the families office today what is still on the board and that three people have turned up to an empty room, so that the notice comes down and the three are contacted.
   2. Tell the three people who turned up that the session has ended, and leave the noticeboard to the families office to sort out in their own time.
   3. Put a note in the diary that the session has ended, so anybody ringing the appointment line is told correctly from now on.
   4. Take the notice down yourself and put up a replacement giving the diary's own contact details: the board is out of date and somebody has to correct it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the families office today what is still on the board and that three people have turned up to an empty room, so that the notice comes down and the three are contacted.

   Least effective: D. Take the notice down yourself and put up a replacement giving the diary's own contact details: the board is out of date and somebody has to correct it.

   B: Fixes the three you know about: the board is still advertising the session tomorrow, so the fourth and fifth person walk into the same empty room.

   C: Corrects your own records only: the people affected are the ones reading a board in a corridor, and they are not ringing the appointment line at all.

   D: Breaches another office's board without telling them: the notice does come down, and the office that owns the board and knows who was expected never finds out that three people were turned away.

   The most effective response is telling the families office today what is still on the board and that three people have turned up to an empty room, so the notice comes down and the three are contacted. The board is the thing sending people to an empty room, it belongs to another office, and three people have already been turned away. It beats telling the three who turned up that the session has ended and leaving the board to that office’s own time, because tomorrow’s arrivals are unaffected. It beats putting a note in the diary so anybody ringing the appointment line is told correctly, because the people walking into the empty room never touch the diary. The least effective response is taking the notice down yourself and putting up a replacement with the diary’s contact details: the board is corrected and the office that owns it, and that would want to contact the three, is left not knowing any of it happened. The principle: when the fix is in somebody else’s hands, the fastest thing you can do is put it there.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a personnel office assistant. A colleague applied six weeks ago for leave in October for a family wedding and was told he would hear within a month. The decision is now with the unit and there is still no date for it. He mentioned this morning that he is about to pay the balance on the flights. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing about the delay and let him pay the balance, because the leave will very probably be granted and telling him now would only worry him about something that has not happened.
   2. Tell him today that the decision has slipped and there is no date for it, so that he can decide about the flight balance knowing where the application has actually got to.
   3. Chase the unit today for a date and tell him as soon as one comes back, so that what you give him is an answer rather than an absence of one.
   4. Tell him to hold off paying the balance for a week, without going into where the application has got to or why there is no date for it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him today that the decision has slipped and there is no date for it, so that he can decide about the flight balance knowing where the application has actually got to.

   Least effective: A. Say nothing about the delay and let him pay the balance, because the leave will very probably be granted and telling him now would only worry him about something that has not happened.

   A: Withholds a fact from somebody about to spend money on it: the decision may well go his way, and he is committing to flights on a timetable he has been allowed to keep believing.

   C: Waits for a better message: he is paying the balance now, and a date that arrives next week reaches him after the money has gone.

   D: Gives the instruction and withholds the reason: he is asked to change his plans on your say so, with nothing he can weigh for himself.

   The most effective response is telling him today that the decision has slipped and there is no date for it, so he can decide about the flight balance knowing where the application has got to. The money goes this week, the decision has no date, and the only person who can weigh that is him. It beats chasing the unit today for a date and telling him as soon as one comes back, because chasing produces an answer after the balance is paid. It beats telling him to hold off paying for a week without going into where the application stands, because it asks him to act without telling him what he is acting on. The least effective response is saying nothing about the delay and letting him pay the balance: he pays for flights believing a timetable you know has slipped, and the probability of a good outcome is not the point when the money is his. The principle: when somebody is about to act on a date, tell them the date has moved even if you have nothing better to offer.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a unit administration assistant. You are halfway through the leave year reconciliation, which is due at the end of the month. This morning you learn that the old leave system, which holds the first six months of figures, is switched off on Friday. Nobody has exported those figures. It is Tuesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the export to a colleague in the office to fit in before Friday, and carry on with the reconciliation yourself to keep the end of month date protected.
   2. Carry on with the reconciliation and export whatever is still needed on Thursday, once you can see exactly which of the six months of figures the remaining work actually calls for.
   3. Ask for the switch off to be put back a fortnight so that the reconciliation can be finished in the order it was planned.
   4. Stop the reconciliation and export the six months of figures before Friday, so that the switch off cannot take away the only copy of the numbers the rest of the work depends on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Stop the reconciliation and export the six months of figures before Friday, so that the switch off cannot take away the only copy of the numbers the rest of the work depends on.

   Least effective: A. Hand the export to a colleague in the office to fit in before Friday, and carry on with the reconciliation yourself to keep the end of month date protected.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: the export is the one irreversible task in the scenario, and it is given to somebody with no stake in the reconciliation and no reason to treat Friday as real.

   B: Leaves an irreversible step to the last day: Thursday allows no room if the export is slower than expected, and after Friday the figures cannot be recovered at all.

   C: Asks for the fixed thing to move: a system decommissioning is arranged around far more than one reconciliation, and if the answer is no then Tuesday has been spent.

   The most effective response is stopping the reconciliation and exporting the six months of figures before Friday, so the switch off cannot take away the only copy of the numbers the rest of the work depends on. Everything else here can be done next week and the figures cannot, so the export is the only thing Friday actually decides. It beats carrying on with the reconciliation and exporting whatever is still needed on Thursday, because Thursday leaves no margin on a step that cannot be repeated. It beats asking for the switch off to be put back a fortnight, because a decommissioning date is not yours to move and asking spends the days. The least effective response is handing the export to a colleague to fit in before Friday while you protect the end of month date: the one irreversible task goes to somebody who has no reason to prioritise it, so that a date which can slip is protected instead. The principle: do the thing that cannot be undone yourself, and first.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a stores assistant. You issue kit to courses, and a course of thirty draws its kit at eight tomorrow morning. Counting this afternoon, you find eleven sets of waterproofs missing from a delivery you signed as complete last week. Replacing eleven is well beyond what you are allowed to order, and the supplier’s order desk closes at five. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Order the eleven sets yourself against the account, since the course cannot draw kit without them and the limit on what you may order is written for ordinary weeks.
   2. Ask the supplier whether eleven sets can be delivered before eight tomorrow, and decide what to do about the shortfall once you know what the supplier says.
   3. Issue the course what you have and leave a note for the morning shift explaining that eleven sets are short and where the gap in the delivery came from.
   4. Tell the person who runs the stores now, with the count and the five o'clock cut off, so that somebody who can authorise eleven sets has the afternoon to do it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the person who runs the stores now, with the count and the five o'clock cut off, so that somebody who can authorise eleven sets has the afternoon to do it.

   Least effective: A. Order the eleven sets yourself against the account, since the course cannot draw kit without them and the limit on what you may order is written for ordinary weeks.

   A: Breaches a stated ordering limit rather than escalating: the limit is the control that puts a decision this size in front of somebody who can weigh it, and going round it removes that person from the decision entirely.

   B: Delays the decision: the supplier's answer arrives with the order desk already closing, and the person who can authorise eleven sets has lost the whole afternoon.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: the morning shift meets the shortfall an hour before thirty people draw kit, with no time left to order anything and no more authority than you have.

   The most effective response is telling the person who runs the stores now, with the count and the five o’clock cut off, so somebody who can authorise eleven sets has the afternoon to do it. Eleven sets is beyond what you may decide, and the only window to fix it closes at five. It beats asking the supplier whether eleven sets can be delivered before eight tomorrow, because waiting on that answer spends the afternoon the decision needed. It beats issuing what you have and leaving a note for the morning shift, because the morning shift inherits the shortfall with no time and no more authority than you have. The least effective response is ordering the eleven sets yourself against the account: it does close the gap, and it closes it by going round the one control that exists to put a decision of this size in front of somebody who can weigh it, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two. The principle: when a problem outgrows what you may decide, escalating it is the work rather than a delay to it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an equipment store clerk. A delivery of forty radios arrived yesterday and you counted thirty eight. The person who runs the stores says the two will turn up, that the supplier is reliable, and asks you to sign the delivery as forty so the account can be closed this month. The count sheet is what the supplier is paid against. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refuse to sign anything until the two radios arrive, and leave the delivery unrecorded while the count and the paperwork disagree.
   2. Sign for the thirty eight you counted without noting the shortfall anywhere on the sheet, so that the count is honest and the question of the two missing radios is left for somebody else to raise.
   3. Sign for the thirty eight you counted and write the shortfall on the sheet, then tell the person who runs the stores that the account can close as soon as the two are found.
   4. Sign the count sheet as forty as you were asked, with the two expected shortly and the decision about how it should read already taken by the person who runs the stores.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Sign for the thirty eight you counted and write the shortfall on the sheet, then tell the person who runs the stores that the account can close as soon as the two are found.

   Least effective: D. Sign the count sheet as forty as you were asked, with the two expected shortly and the decision about how it should read already taken by the person who runs the stores.

   A: Answers a wrong instruction with a stoppage: thirty eight radios really did arrive, and recording none of them leaves the stores with no record of any of it.

   B: Records the count and leaves out the discrepancy: the sheet is true about what arrived and silent about two radios the supplier will still be invoicing for.

   D: Signs a record for goods you did not receive: the sheet is what the supplier is paid against, and being told to sign it does not make the other two radios exist.

   The most effective response is signing for the thirty eight you counted, writing the shortfall on the sheet, and telling the person who runs the stores that the account can close as soon as the two are found. Thirty eight is what you counted, the sheet can say so, and the month closes as soon as the count and the delivery agree. It beats signing for the thirty eight without noting the shortfall anywhere, leaving the two missing radios for somebody else to raise, because a silent signature still lets two radios nobody received be invoiced for. It beats refusing to sign anything until the two radios arrive, because thirty eight radios did arrive and leaving the delivery unrecorded loses that too. The least effective response is signing the count sheet as forty as you were asked: it puts your signature on a quantity that was not delivered, which is a different kind of wrong from recording it awkwardly. The principle: write down what happened, and let the person who wants a different number own the gap.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an exercise support assistant. A contractor clearing the training area is throwing out surplus kit and offers you a set of it. The stated rule is that surplus goes back through the stores. The exercise director says to take it because it is written off anyway and nobody will be counting. The stores are open this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Take the set for your own use as the director suggested: the kit is written off, the contractor was throwing it out and nobody is counting it.
    2. Take the set to the stores this afternoon and have it booked in, and tell the director that is what you have done with it.
    3. Take the set and put it in the stores yourself without booking it in, so it is back where it belongs and nobody has to be asked about it.
    4. Turn the offer down and leave the contractor to dispose of the kit, since the simplest way to stay out of it is not to handle any of it at all.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Take the set to the stores this afternoon and have it booked in, and tell the director that is what you have done with it.

    Least effective: A. Take the set for your own use as the director suggested: the kit is written off, the contractor was throwing it out and nobody is counting it.

    A: Takes an advantage the role forbids: the rule about surplus exists exactly for kit nobody is counting, and being told to take it by somebody senior does not make it yours.

    C: Puts it back and leaves no trace: the kit is where it should be, and the stores has no record of receiving something the contractor has written off.

    D: Keeps your own hands clean and loses the kit: serviceable equipment is thrown away, which the rule about surplus going back through stores exists to prevent.

    The most effective response is taking the set to the stores this afternoon, having it booked in, and telling the director that is what you have done with it. The rule is stated, the stores are open, and booking it in is both the honest route and the one that keeps the kit. It beats turning the offer down and leaving the contractor to dispose of the kit, because usable equipment is binned to avoid an awkward moment. It beats putting it in the stores yourself without booking it in so nobody has to be asked about it, because kit that is not booked in is kit the stores does not know it has. The least effective response is taking the set for your own use as the director suggested: the person who was told to take it is the person who benefits, which is a different kind of wrong from handling the paperwork badly. The principle: an instruction from somebody senior does not transfer the rule, and it does not transfer the benefit.