Microsoft Assessment Tests

Microsoft Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a release coordinator. A customer emails you directly because yesterday’s release changed a screen her staff use all day and she cannot find a setting they rely on. She has written to you because your name was on the release note. You know where the setting has moved to. The support queue is running at three days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to her today telling her where the setting has moved, and raise a ticket yourself so that the change gets documented for everybody else who will hit it.
   2. Reply asking her to raise it through the support portal, where her question will be picked up by whoever is on the queue that day.
   3. Reply with where the setting has moved to and leave it there, since her question is answered and the release note is somebody else's document to maintain.
   4. Forward her email to the team who wrote the screen and ask them to reply to her directly, as they will explain the change far better than you could.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Reply to her today telling her where the setting has moved, and raise a ticket yourself so that the change gets documented for everybody else who will hit it.

   Least effective: B. Reply asking her to raise it through the support portal, where her question will be picked up by whoever is on the queue that day.

   B: Passes the problem on without owning it: she wrote to the one person who knows the answer, and is sent to a three-day queue to be told what you could say now.

   C: Answers her and stops: the next twenty customers hit the same wall, and the note that caused it stays exactly as wrong as it was this morning.

   D: Adds a hop she did not ask for: they may well explain it better, and she is now waiting on people who have not agreed to write to her.

   The most effective response is to reply to her today telling her where the setting has moved, and raise a ticket so the change gets documented. She needs one sentence you already have, and the fact that she had to ask is evidence the release note is missing something others will need. It beats replying with where the setting has moved and leaving it there, because that leaves the same gap for everyone behind her, and the note carries your name. It beats forwarding her email to the team who wrote the screen, because they have not agreed to write to customers and she gets no faster answer. The least effective response is asking her to raise it through the support portal: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with her being told something, while this sends the person who reached the only individual holding the answer into a three-day queue. The principle: when a customer reaches the person who knows, answer, and fix the thing that made her have to ask.

2. Question 2 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.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an access administrator. You are handing a customer’s account migration to the evening shift before a week off. Everything is ready except that two of the customer’s own staff have not confirmed which of them keeps the senior permissions, and they have disagreed about it twice. The migration is scheduled to run tonight at eleven. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the migration over with the checklist and leave the permissions question with the customer, whose disagreement it is and who will have to settle it themselves.
   2. Postpone the migration until you are back in a week, so that nothing runs tonight with an open question hanging over who gets which permissions.
   3. Write the permissions question into the handover note with the history, and go, so that the evening shift has it in front of them when they start.
   4. Tell the evening shift directly what is unresolved and that the two of them have already disagreed twice, and give the customer a time by which it must be settled tonight.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the evening shift directly what is unresolved and that the two of them have already disagreed twice, and give the customer a time by which it must be settled tonight.

   Least effective: A. Hand the migration over with the checklist and leave the permissions question with the customer, whose disagreement it is and who will have to settle it themselves.

   A: Passes the problem on without naming it: the evening shift runs a migration believing it is ready, and the one unresolved thing sits with two people who have already failed twice.

   B: Buys certainty with a week of the customer's time: the disagreement may settle tonight, and only the customer can judge whether waiting is worth it.

   C: Puts a live problem into a document: a note read at seven is better than nothing and it is not the same as the shift knowing what it is walking into.

   The most effective response is to tell the evening shift directly what is unresolved and that the two of them have already disagreed twice, and give the customer a time by which it must be settled. Two things have to happen before eleven and only you can supply either. It beats postponing the migration until you are back in a week, because that is a real cost to the customer and they should weigh it against a question that may settle in an hour. It beats writing the permissions question into the handover note with the history, because a note describes the problem while a conversation makes sure it has been received. The least effective response is handing the migration over with the checklist and leaving the permissions question with the customer: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the risk visible to somebody, while this hands over a migration described as ready. The principle: name the unresolved thing to the people who inherit it, and give whoever must decide a time to decide by.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an operations analyst. Two colleagues have each spent the morning chasing the same alert from different ends, and neither knows the other is on it. You noticed because both posted questions in the same channel within an hour. Neither has asked you for anything, the alert is assigned to nobody, and you have your own work to finish today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Post the piece of the answer you know into the channel and let the two of them work the rest out, without saying anywhere in the channel that the two of them are working the same alert.
   2. Leave it between the two of them. Neither has asked you for anything, and both are perfectly capable of finding each other in a shared channel.
   3. Message them both together now and say they are working the same alert from two ends, so that the pair of them can agree which one of them takes it on.
   4. Take the alert on yourself so the duplication stops, and tell them both that you have picked it up so that they can drop it and move on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Message them both together now and say they are working the same alert from two ends, so that the pair of them can agree which one of them takes it on.

   Least effective: B. Leave it between the two of them. Neither has asked you for anything, and both are perfectly capable of finding each other in a shared channel.

   A: Withholds the one fact that would help: the answer is useful, but the thing they are missing is each other, and that is the part you are not saying.

   B: Assumes somebody else will close the gap: it is the only option that does nothing at all with information only you hold, so the duplicated morning simply continues.

   D: Absorbs the problem instead of naming it: it puts a third person on one alert and costs you your own work, when a single message would have freed two.

   The most effective response is to message them both together now and say they are working the same alert from two ends. You hold the only fact neither has, it costs one message, and letting them choose who takes it leaves ownership with the people doing the work. It beats posting the piece of the answer you know into the channel without mentioning the duplication, because the missing piece is not technical: it is that they are duplicating each other. It beats taking the alert on yourself so the duplication stops, because spending your own afternoon on an alert two people already cover solves the duplication by adding to it. The least effective response is leaving it between the two of them because neither has asked: it is worse than either of the other two, because each at least puts something back, while this leaves a whole morning of doubled effort running. The principle: when you are the only person holding the fact that would unstick two colleagues, being unasked is not a reason to keep it.

5. Question 5 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a product assistant. Five weeks ago a customer asked for a change to how a report is filtered. You logged it and never went back to her. She has not chased. Today you are choosing which four requests go into next month’s work, and hers is one of eleven candidates with no recent activity against it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email her today asking whether the request still matters and how much, and use the answer when you choose the four rather than guessing from the silence.
   2. Put her request into next month's four on the basis that five weeks is too long to have waited, whether or not she still needs it now.
   3. Leave hers out of the four, since five weeks without a chase almost certainly means she found another way round it or it was never that important.
   4. Ask the support team whether she has raised it again through any other route, and decide about next month once you hear back from them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Email her today asking whether the request still matters and how much, and use the answer when you choose the four rather than guessing from the silence.

   Least effective: C. Leave hers out of the four, since five weeks without a chase almost certainly means she found another way round it or it was never that important.

   B: Buys back the delay with the wrong currency: a place in next month's four may go to something she no longer wants, and three other customers lose it.

   C: Assumes the silence away: she stopped chasing because nobody replied, and the request is now dropped on the strength of your own failure to answer.

   D: Checks the wrong side of the silence: she can tell you today whether it still matters, and the support team can only tell you whether she asked twice.

   The most effective response is to email her today asking whether the request still matters and how much, and use the answer when you choose the four. Only she can say whether it is still live, one email settles it, and next month’s four should be chosen on what customers currently need. It beats putting her request into next month’s four because five weeks is too long to have waited, since a slot given out of guilt may go to something she has stopped wanting while three others lose their place. It beats asking the support team whether she has raised it again elsewhere, because they can only report whether she asked, and she can tell you whether she needs it. The least effective response is leaving hers out because five weeks without a chase means she found another way round it: it is worse than either of the other two, because both act on the request, while this reads her silence as her having stopped needing it, when the likelier cause is that nobody answered her. The principle: five weeks of silence after you failed to reply is evidence about you, not about how much the customer wants it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a technical support adviser. A member of the public rings after reading about a problem at your company and asks whether her details were affected. The security team is still working on it and has published nothing. Nobody has told the support desk what to say, and yours is the first call of this kind. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her you are not allowed to comment and that she should watch the company's website for an announcement when one is published.
   2. Take her details and promise that somebody from the security team will ring her back today with an answer about her own records specifically.
   3. Tell her an investigation is running and nothing is ruled in or out, take her details, and tell your manager the desk needs a line, since more of these will come.
   4. Tell her that her details are almost certainly fine, since nothing has been confirmed as taken and there is no point worrying somebody over a maybe.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her an investigation is running and nothing is ruled in or out, take her details, and tell your manager the desk needs a line, since more of these will come.

   Least effective: D. Tell her that her details are almost certainly fine, since nothing has been confirmed as taken and there is no point worrying somebody over a maybe.

   A: Refuses a caller you could partly help: that an investigation is running is itself true and sayable, and she is left with nothing to do.

   B: Commits another team to a call they have not agreed to: the security team is mid-investigation and has no capacity to ring individual callers.

   D: Gives an assurance nobody has authorised: no one has established what was taken, and she will make decisions about her own accounts on your word.

   The most effective response is to tell her an investigation is running and nothing is ruled in or out, take her details, and tell your manager the desk needs a line. She gets the truthful state of play, her details are captured, and the fact that this is the first such call is something your manager needs because it will not be the last. It beats telling her you are not allowed to comment and that she should watch the website, because the existence of an investigation is safe to say and gives her something real. It beats promising that somebody from the security team will ring her back today, because they have not agreed to that and cannot mid- investigation. The least effective response is telling her that her details are almost certainly fine: it is worse than either of the other two, because both stop short of telling her anything untrue, while this reassures a member of the public about her own data on an investigation that has not concluded. The principle: give the honest state of play, capture the caller, and tell your own manager that a line is needed before the second call arrives.

8. Question 8 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.

9. Question 9 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a product assistant. A customer’s request for a change to a report has sat for five weeks because it was logged against a product that was retired, so nobody picks it up. You are the only person who has worked this out. She has stopped chasing. You have a launch on Thursday that is taking every hour you have. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Spend ten minutes today moving the request to the right product and emailing her what happened, so that five weeks of silence does not become a sixth.
    2. Move the request to the right product now and leave the explanation until after Thursday, when there will be time to write to her properly about it.
    3. Email her today explaining the mistake and apologising, and move the request across once the launch is out of the way on Thursday.
    4. Leave both until after Thursday. She has stopped chasing, the launch is the thing with a date on it, and five weeks means another three days changes nothing.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Spend ten minutes today moving the request to the right product and emailing her what happened, so that five weeks of silence does not become a sixth.

    Least effective: D. Leave both until after Thursday. She has stopped chasing, the launch is the thing with a date on it, and five weeks means another three days changes nothing.

    B: Fixes the queue and not the silence: the request starts moving and she has still heard nothing for five weeks and does not know why.

    C: Explains a delay while extending it: she now knows why it stalled and the request is still sitting under a retired product until the weekend.

    D: Withholds the one explanation that exists: she stopped chasing because nobody answered, and the reason lives nowhere but with the person who is too busy.

    The most effective response is to spend ten minutes today moving the request to the right product and emailing her what happened. Ten minutes is genuinely available even in a launch week, and the two halves are the same job. It beats moving the request now and leaving the explanation until after Thursday, because a moving request she knows nothing about does not repair five weeks of silence. It beats apologising today and moving the request once the launch is out of the way, because an apology followed by three more days under a retired product repeats the original failure in miniature. The least effective response is leaving both until after Thursday because she has stopped chasing: it is worse than either of the other two, because both do one half today, while this reads her having given up as permission. The principle: a customer who has stopped chasing is evidence of a failure, never of consent, and ten minutes outranks the argument that it has already been five weeks.