Nvidia Assessment Tests

Nvidia Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a test analyst. A supplier who provides the test devices has told you the twelve you ordered will arrive a week after the date the team agreed with the customer. You are mid-way through a test run due this afternoon. Nobody else knows about the delay, and the customer’s date was agreed on the basis that the devices arrive on time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Finish this afternoon's run first and raise the device delay tomorrow, when there will be room to explain what it means for the customer's date properly.
   2. Keep the supplier chasing it and leave the customer's date alone for now, since the delivery is their commitment and a week can often be pulled back.
   3. Put the supplier's email into the team channel and carry on with the run, so that anybody who needs to know about the devices can read it there.
   4. Tell whoever agreed the customer's date now, in one message, that the devices are a week late, then go back and finish this afternoon's run.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell whoever agreed the customer's date now, in one message, that the devices are a week late, then go back and finish this afternoon's run.

   Least effective: B. Keep the supplier chasing it and leave the customer's date alone for now, since the delivery is their commitment and a week can often be pulled back.

   A: Ranks a run that has no external date above one that has: the customer's date is the thing at risk, and tomorrow is a day less to do anything about it.

   B: Passes the problem back to the supplier and stops there: the team that promised the customer a date still does not know the devices will be late.

   C: Publishes to nobody in particular: the people who agreed the customer's date have no reason to be reading the channel this afternoon.

   The most effective response is to tell whoever agreed the customer’s date, in one message, that the devices are a week late, then go back and finish the run. A week’s slip against a date already given is somebody else’s problem to solve and they cannot start until they know. It beats finishing this afternoon’s run first and raising the delay tomorrow, because a day lost is a day of options lost and the run carries no external commitment. It beats putting the supplier’s email into the team channel and carrying on, because a channel post is not the same as telling the people who made the promise. The least effective response is keeping the supplier chasing it and leaving the customer’s date alone: it is worse than either of the other two, because both surface it somewhere eventually, while this leaves the people holding the date entirely unaware. The principle: when a supplier’s slip lands on somebody else’s promise, the promise-holders are told first and told today.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a delivery coordinator. You compile the weekly figures showing how the team’s hours split across three projects. This week roughly a third went on unplanned support, which has no project to sit against and makes the delivery figure look poor. Your manager has said she would rather the report did not raise questions from the programme board this month. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Show the support hours as their own line and add a note saying they were unavoidable, so that the delivery figure is read with that caveat attached.
   2. Show the support hours as their own line and say nothing about them unless somebody asks, since the figures speak for themselves either way.
   3. Show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions, so that she has the answer ready before the board asks it.
   4. Record the support hours as covered by the nearest project. The delivery figure then holds up properly, and the board is not distracted by an odd line item this month.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions, so that she has the answer ready before the board asks it.

   Least effective: D. Record the support hours as covered by the nearest project. The delivery figure then holds up properly, and the board is not distracted by an odd line item this month.

   A: Softens the number with a label: unavoidable is your judgement rather than a fact, and it invites the board to discount a third of the week.

   B: Reports accurately and abandons the explanation: a third of the week appears without a cause, which is exactly what will generate the questions.

   D: Records effort against work it was not spent on: a third of the week now appears as project delivery in a report the board uses to allocate people.

   The most effective response is to show the support hours as their own line, and tell your manager the figure will raise questions. The figures should say what happened, and the honest way to handle her concern is to warn her what the question will be and hand her the answer. It beats showing them as their own line with a note saying they were unavoidable, because that is an opinion added to a fact and it encourages the board to set the week aside. It beats showing the line and saying nothing unless somebody asks, because a large unexplained line is precisely what produces the questions she is worried about. The least effective response is recording the support hours as covered by the nearest project: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the hours visible, spun or bare, while this moves a third of the week into project delivery in a report used to allocate people. The principle: report the number as it is and prepare the person who will be asked about it, rather than changing the number so the question is never asked.

3. Question 3 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.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a delivery coordinator. You promised a customer you would personally walk her through a new reporting screen at two o’clock, because two earlier attempts by other people confused her. At midday you are told to attend a bid meeting at the same time, which your manager says matters more. A colleague is free at two but has never seen the screen. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask a colleague to take the two o'clock session instead, since he is free at two and the customer at least gets her walkthrough at the hour she was promised.
   2. Tell your manager a customer is expecting you at two after two confused attempts, and ask whether the bid meeting can take you later, so that neither is dropped.
   3. Go to the bid meeting and email the customer beforehand offering her a new time tomorrow, apologising for moving an appointment at three hours' notice.
   4. Attend the bid meeting and ask your colleague to sit with her at two, and offer to ring her afterwards to pick up anything he could not answer.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your manager a customer is expecting you at two after two confused attempts, and ask whether the bid meeting can take you later, so that neither is dropped.

   Least effective: A. Ask a colleague to take the two o'clock session instead, since he is free at two and the customer at least gets her walkthrough at the hour she was promised.

   A: Hands a customer to somebody with none of the context: two earlier attempts already confused her, and this makes the third the same as the first two.

   C: Moves the customer rather than the internal meeting: it is honest and it makes the third failed attempt her problem to absorb.

   D: Splits one walkthrough across two people: she gets a session from somebody who has not seen the screen, then a second conversation to repair it.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager a customer is expecting you at two after two confused attempts, and ask whether the bid meeting can take you later. The two failed attempts are the fact she does not have, and the bid meeting may be movable once she knows. It beats going to the bid meeting and emailing the customer a new time tomorrow, because moving her again is the cheapest option for the team and the most expensive for her. It beats asking your colleague to sit with her at two while you ring afterwards, because a session run by somebody who has not seen the screen followed by a repair call is more of her time, not less. The least effective response is asking a colleague to take the two o’clock session instead: it is worse than either of the other two, because one tells her honestly and the other follows up, while this sends a third person with no context after two attempts that confused her. The principle: when a commitment to a customer collides with an internal meeting, take the collision to whoever set the meeting, with the history that makes it a collision.

5. Question 5 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.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a release coordinator. A customer emails an hour before tonight’s release asking whether the change she has been waiting three months for is included. You have not checked, and the release contents were finalised by somebody who has now left for the day. She is holding a training session for her staff tomorrow morning either way. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that you cannot confirm the contents until tomorrow morning, and apologise that nobody is available this evening to check the list for her.
   2. Reply that you will check and come back to her, and leave it until the morning, by which time the release will have run and she will be able to see for herself.
   3. Check the release list now, and reply telling her plainly whether the change is in, so she can plan tomorrow's session on something she has actually been told.
   4. Reply that her change is in tonight's release, even though you cannot see the final list. She has waited three months and it was near the top of it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Check the release list now, and reply telling her plainly whether the change is in, so she can plan tomorrow's session on something she has actually been told.

   Least effective: D. Reply that her change is in tonight's release, even though you cannot see the final list. She has waited three months and it was near the top of it.

   A: Refuses a question you could answer within the hour: the list exists and can be read, and she is planning tomorrow morning around it tonight.

   B: Answers after the thing she needed it for: her training session is tomorrow morning, so a reply that arrives then is a reply about the past.

   D: Confirms something you have not looked at: she will build a training session around a change that may not be there, and nobody checked before telling her.

   The most effective response is to check the release list now, and reply telling her plainly whether the change is in. The list can be read in minutes, she has a concrete reason to know tonight, and there is an hour available. It beats replying that you cannot confirm the contents until tomorrow morning, because they are not unknowable, merely unread, and the compiler being gone does not make the list unreadable. It beats replying that you will check and come back, then leaving it until the morning, because that is when she needs it. The least effective response is telling her the change is in tonight’s release without seeing the final list: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave her knowing that she does not know, while this gives her a confirmation nobody has checked and she trains her staff on it. The principle: when the answer is an hour of reading away and somebody is planning around it, read it, and never confirm from probability.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an operations analyst. Clearing space on a shared drive at two in the morning during an incident, you deleted a folder of test data belonging to another team. You have just realised it was not yours to delete and there is no copy. Nobody has noticed. You have been awake for nineteen hours and your shift ends in an hour. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait until you have slept and tell them tomorrow afternoon, when you can explain what happened properly and are far less likely to get the detail wrong.
   2. Try to rebuild the folder from whatever you can find before anybody arrives in the morning, and mention it to them only if you cannot manage it.
   3. Say nothing and hope nobody has noticed by the time the incident is written up. Nineteen-hour shifts are precisely how this sort of thing comes about.
   4. Tell the other team and your own supervisor before you go home, and write down exactly what you deleted and when, so that whoever rebuilds it knows what is missing.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the other team and your own supervisor before you go home, and write down exactly what you deleted and when, so that whoever rebuilds it knows what is missing.

   Least effective: C. Say nothing and hope nobody has noticed by the time the incident is written up. Nineteen-hour shifts are precisely how this sort of thing comes about.

   A: Delays a warning past the point it helps: the other team may spend tomorrow morning hunting for data you already know is gone for good.

   B: Discloses only on failure: a rebuild you assembled at three in the morning may be wrong in ways nobody is told to look for, because nobody is told at all.

   C: Conceals your own fault: the other team owns that data and will plan around it existing, and every day this survives makes the discovery more expensive.

   The most effective response is to tell the other team and your own supervisor before you go home, and write down exactly what you deleted and when. The expensive thing is not the deletion, it is another team working on the assumption that their data exists, and the record written while it is fresh is what makes a rebuild possible. It beats waiting until you have slept and telling them tomorrow afternoon, because they may spend the morning searching for something you know has gone. It beats trying to rebuild the folder before anybody arrives, because a folder reassembled at three in the morning by somebody nineteen hours awake may be wrong in ways nobody has been warned to check. The least effective response is saying nothing and hoping nobody has noticed: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with the other team learning what happened, while this leaves them planning around data that is not there. The principle: exhaustion explains a mistake and does not excuse holding it, and the cost of holding it is what other people spend.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a security analyst. A team leader emails asking whether her team can be given access to a shared folder of contracts, and copies four of her own staff. Access to that system belongs to a different team. You know from a conversation last week that the folder is being restructured next month, which will change the answer. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send her email straight to the team who own the system and drop off the thread, since the access decision is theirs and they will reply to her when they reach it.
   2. Reply to her alone with the right team's address, and leave the four copied staff out of it so that a routing detail does not go to five people.
   3. Reply to all saying the request is with the right team, without mentioning the restructure, which is not settled and would only complicate a simple question.
   4. Reply to all today, name the team who own the access, say the folder is being restructured next month so the answer may change, and introduce her to them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Reply to all today, name the team who own the access, say the folder is being restructured next month so the answer may change, and introduce her to them.

   Least effective: A. Send her email straight to the team who own the system and drop off the thread, since the access decision is theirs and they will reply to her when they reach it.

   A: Passes the problem on without owning it: she wrote to you, gets no reply from you, and the restructure that changes her answer is mentioned to nobody.

   B: Narrows the audience she chose: she copied four people deliberately, and they are left watching a question that appears to have gone unanswered.

   C: Withholds the fact that changes the answer: her team may be given access next month to a folder that will not exist in that form.

   The most effective response is to reply to all today, name the team who own the access, say the folder is being restructured next month so the answer may change, and introduce her to them. She needs the right owner, an introduction and the restructure, and the people she copied need them too. It beats replying to her alone with the right team’s address, because she chose to copy four colleagues and dropping them leaves four people with an unanswered question. It beats replying to all without mentioning the restructure, because that is the fact that makes next month’s answer different. The least effective response is sending her email straight to the team who own the system and dropping off the thread: it is worse than either of the other two, because both reply to her, while this leaves the thread entirely and takes the restructure with it. The principle: reply to the audience the question was asked in front of, name the owner, and pass on the fact that changes the answer.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an operations analyst. Your team’s monthly figure counts incidents closed within four hours. One incident has run eleven hours and is still open. A colleague suggests closing it and opening a new one for the remaining work, which he says is what everybody does at month end. The customer is still without the service. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mark the incident as done at four hours and open a fresh one for the rest, as your colleague suggests, which is apparently the accepted practice across the team at month end.
   2. Leave the incident open and say nothing about what your colleague suggested, since the figure is his problem and the incident is the thing that matters.
   3. Leave it open and raise it privately with your colleague, so that he stops doing it without anybody else in the team needing to be involved.
   4. Leave the incident open, and tell your manager the four-hour figure is being met by reopening incidents at month end, so that the measure itself can be looked at.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Leave the incident open, and tell your manager the four-hour figure is being met by reopening incidents at month end, so that the measure itself can be looked at.

   Least effective: A. Mark the incident as done at four hours and open a fresh one for the rest, as your colleague suggests, which is apparently the accepted practice across the team at month end.

   A: Records an incident as resolved while it is running: the customer is still without the service, and the measure will report that it was handled in four hours.

   B: Fixes your own record and leaves the practice: if this is what everybody does at month end, the measure has been wrong for a while and nobody has said.

   C: Corrects one person and not the measure: a four-hour target that everybody works around is a problem with the target, not with him.

   The most effective response is to leave the incident open, and tell your manager the four-hour figure is being met by reopening incidents at month end. The incident stays honest, and the more important fact is that a target is being met by a technique rather than by performance. It beats leaving the incident open and saying nothing about what your colleague suggested, because if everybody does this at month end then the figure has been misleading for some time. It beats raising it privately with him so nobody else is involved, because a practice described as normal is not one person’s habit. The least effective response is marking the incident done at four hours and opening a fresh one for the rest: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the record true, while this reports an eleven-hour incident as resolved in four while the customer is still without the service. The principle: keep the record honest, and take a measure that everybody is working around to whoever owns the measure.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a test analyst. While testing a new pricing screen you have seen next quarter’s price list, which is not public. Over lunch, a friend who works for one of the company’s resellers asks what the new prices will be, and offers to put your name forward for a job at his firm if you help him out. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Give him the headline figures in return for the favour he has offered, since the whole list will be public in a few weeks anyway and nothing turns on it.
    2. Tell him you cannot discuss it and change the subject, and say nothing at work about having been asked for an unreleased price list over lunch.
    3. Tell him only which direction the prices are moving, on the basis that a direction is not a figure and could not really be acted on by anybody.
    4. Tell him you cannot give him anything from unreleased work and decline the offer, and let your own manager know, since a reseller has approached a tester for it.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Tell him you cannot give him anything from unreleased work and decline the offer, and let your own manager know, since a reseller has approached a tester for it.

    Least effective: A. Give him the headline figures in return for the favour he has offered, since the whole list will be public in a few weeks anyway and nothing turns on it.

    A: Takes an advantage the role forbids: it trades information you hold only because of your job for something that benefits you personally, which is what puts it in a different class from the rest.

    B: Avoids the difficult conversation: declining is right, but your employer has just learned nothing about a reseller approaching a tester for unpublished prices.

    C: Splits a confidence in half and calls it kept: a reseller who knows prices are rising can act on that alone, so the concession is worth more than it looks.

    The most effective response is to tell him you cannot give him anything from unreleased work, decline the offer, and let your own manager know a reseller has approached a tester for it. It closes the request, refuses the thing that would make refusing hard later, and puts the approach in front of the people who can decide whether it matters. It beats telling him you cannot discuss it and saying nothing at work, because the approach itself is what your employer needs and that keeps it. It beats telling him only which direction the prices are moving, because a reseller who knows that can price against it. The least effective response is giving him the headline figures in return for the favour: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave you with nothing you were not entitled to, while this takes a personal benefit for something that was never yours to sell. The principle: the moment a favour is attached to information you hold only through the job, the question stops being how much to say and becomes who you should tell.