Samsung Assessment Tests

Samsung Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a build engineer. Last week you told the programme office that the average build takes nine minutes. Since a change on Monday it takes twenty-six. The programme office is publishing a paper this afternoon that uses the nine-minute figure to argue against buying more capacity. Your team lead is in interviews all day and has asked not to be disturbed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing to anybody until your team lead is out of interviews, and raise the corrected figure with her then rather than going round her to the programme office.
   2. Send the corrected figure to the programme office now and copy your team lead, so that the paper is written on twenty-six minutes rather than on nine.
   3. Interrupt the interviews to tell your team lead, since a paper going to the programme board on a wrong figure is more urgent than an hour of an interview.
   4. Send the programme office a note saying the figure may have moved and that they should check it before publishing anything this afternoon.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Send the corrected figure to the programme office now and copy your team lead, so that the paper is written on twenty-six minutes rather than on nine.

   Least effective: A. Say nothing to anybody until your team lead is out of interviews, and raise the corrected figure with her then rather than going round her to the programme office.

   A: Stays silent while waiting for a route: the paper publishes this afternoon and the interviews run until the end of the day.

   C: Escalates past a stated instruction when a direct route exists: the programme office can be told without disturbing anybody.

   D: Hedges a fact you are certain of: you know it is twenty-six, and may have moved leaves them deciding whether to believe their own paper.

   The most effective response is to send the corrected figure to the programme office now and copy your team lead. They own the paper, they can be reached directly, and the copy means nothing is done behind her back while she is unavailable. It beats interrupting the interviews to tell her, because that is unnecessary when the people publishing the paper can be told in one email. It beats sending the programme office a note saying the figure may have moved, because you are certain it is twenty-six, and that passes your certainty on as doubt. The least effective response is saying nothing until she is out of interviews: it is worse than either of the other two, because both reach somebody before the paper publishes, while this waits for a route that will not open until after the argument has been made on a figure you know is wrong. The principle: when a decision is being taken this afternoon on a number you know has changed, go to whoever holds the document and copy the people who should know.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a support analyst. In a team meeting a colleague says that the handover notes you write are too short and that he wastes time chasing detail. You think he is wrong and that he does not read them. Six people are in the room and one has already nodded. You have worked with him for a year without friction. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing in the meeting and take it up with him afterwards, since a year of working together without friction is worth more than a point won in front of six.
   2. Ask him in the room for an example of a note that was too short, so that the discussion is about a specific handover rather than about how you write.
   3. Agree in the meeting that the notes could be longer and start writing more, since it costs you little and the disagreement ends there and then.
   4. Say in front of the team that he does not read the notes he is complaining about, and let the six people present draw their own conclusion from that.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask him in the room for an example of a note that was too short, so that the discussion is about a specific handover rather than about how you write.

   Least effective: D. Say in front of the team that he does not read the notes he is complaining about, and let the six people present draw their own conclusion from that.

   A: Leaves an unanswered criticism in the room: the other five heard it, and the part you believe is wrong stands until somebody corrects it.

   C: Concedes a point you believe is wrong: the notes get longer for no reason anybody has established, and he has no reason to start reading them.

   D: Personalises the disagreement: it answers a point about the notes by putting his working habits in front of six people, and neither claim gets tested.

   The most effective response is to ask him in the room for an example of a note that was too short. That turns an argument about your writing into an argument about a document, which is the only version that can be settled, and it is fair to ask where the claim was made. It beats saying nothing in the meeting and taking it up afterwards, because five other people heard the criticism and silence leaves it as the last word. It beats agreeing that the notes could be longer and starting to write more, because agreeing to something you believe is untrue makes them longer without establishing that they were short. The least effective response is saying in front of the team that he does not read the notes he is complaining about: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the discussion about the notes, while this answers a criticism by putting his habits in front of six colleagues. The principle: move a general criticism onto a specific example, in the room where it was made, and never answer it with a claim about the person.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a security analyst. Three weeks ago a colleague in another team asked you to look at how her team’s data is stored. You meant to reply and did not. She has not chased. You have since heard that her team is about to sign a contract that depends on getting that storage arrangement right. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave it where it is, since three weeks without a chase means she has almost certainly found somebody else and would say so if she had not.
   2. Reply today, apologise for the three weeks, ask whether she still needs it, and say you can look this week if the contract turns on the storage.
   3. Ask around your own team whether anybody else picked her question up, and reply to her only if it turns out that nobody did.
   4. Look at the storage arrangement now and send her a full assessment, without asking first whether the question is still live for her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Reply today, apologise for the three weeks, ask whether she still needs it, and say you can look this week if the contract turns on the storage.

   Least effective: A. Leave it where it is, since three weeks without a chase means she has almost certainly found somebody else and would say so if she had not.

   A: Assumes the silence away: she may have stopped asking rather than found an answer, and a contract is about to be signed on whichever it is.

   C: Checks the wrong side of the silence: she is the one person who knows whether she still needs an answer, and asking her is quicker.

   D: Answers a question that may have moved: three weeks on, the contract may have changed shape, and the work could be aimed at the wrong thing.

   The most effective response is to reply today, apologise for the three weeks, ask whether she still needs it, and say you can look this week if the contract turns on the storage. Only she knows whether the question is live, the apology costs nothing, and the timescale gives her something to plan with. It beats asking around your own team whether anybody picked her question up, because they cannot tell you whether she still needs an answer and she can. It beats looking at the storage arrangement now and sending a full assessment, because three weeks is long enough for the contract to have changed. The least effective response is leaving it on the basis that she has almost certainly found somebody else: it is worse than either of the other two, because both try to close the gap, while this reads her silence as resolution when it is at least as likely to be her giving up on you. The principle: an unanswered request that has gone quiet is a reason to ask, because silence is evidence of nothing except silence.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an operations analyst. A customer has rung three times today about an outage and has been passed between two teams. You have just read the engineering note: the service returns in about four hours and his overnight run will need repeating tomorrow. He is on the phone to you now, angry at being moved around. You are not the person who normally speaks to customers. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise for the three calls, take his number, and promise that somebody from the customer contact team will ring him back within the hour with the detail.
   2. Tell him what the note says, that it is about four hours and his overnight run will need repeating tomorrow, then arrange with him who will confirm it later.
   3. Transfer him to the customer contact team, who own this conversation, since giving a customer timings on an open incident is not really your job to do.
   4. Tell him the outage is being worked on and that you cannot give him timings yourself, and ask him to wait for the official update coming out this evening.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him what the note says, that it is about four hours and his overnight run will need repeating tomorrow, then arrange with him who will confirm it later.

   Least effective: C. Transfer him to the customer contact team, who own this conversation, since giving a customer timings on an open incident is not really your job to do.

   A: Over-promises on somebody else's behalf: you cannot make that team ring within the hour, and if they do not, he has now been let down four times instead of three.

   C: Passes the problem on without owning it: it makes his fourth transfer of the day the answer to his complaint about being transferred three times.

   D: Withholds a timing you are holding: it is cautious rather than dishonest, but the two facts he needs to plan tonight are sitting on your screen unsaid.

   The most effective response is to tell him what the note says, that it is about four hours and his overnight run will need repeating, then arrange who confirms it later. He has two decisions to make tonight and you are holding both answers, and agreeing who confirms keeps the ownership somewhere rather than nowhere. It beats apologising, taking his number and promising a call within the hour from the customer contact team, because you cannot commit another team to that, and a fourth broken promise costs more than the delay. It beats telling him the outage is being worked on and asking him to wait for the evening update, because the timings exist and are in front of you. The least effective response is transferring him on because giving a customer timings is not really your job: it is worse than either of the other two, because both engage with the man on the phone, while this answers a complaint about being passed around by passing him around again. The principle: when you are holding the answer, the fact that customer calls are not usually your job does not make moving him on the right response.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a junior data engineer. A piece of work you said would be finished on Wednesday will now take until the following Tuesday. The person who set the date is presenting a plan on Thursday that assumes Wednesday. You have three days of work in front of you and telling her means a difficult twenty minutes you would rather spend coding. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Work through the weekend to try to hit Wednesday, and tell her on Wednesday morning if it becomes obvious that you are not going to make it.
   2. Get on with the three days of work without telling her the date has moved. A lot can happen in three days, and Thursday may not even come up.
   3. Send her a short message saying the work is going more slowly than expected, without naming the new date, so she is warned without being alarmed.
   4. Tell her today that it is now Tuesday rather than Wednesday, so that Thursday's plan is built on the real date, then get back to the three days of work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her today that it is now Tuesday rather than Wednesday, so that Thursday's plan is built on the real date, then get back to the three days of work.

   Least effective: B. Get on with the three days of work without telling her the date has moved. A lot can happen in three days, and Thursday may not even come up.

   A: Buys the deadline with a weekend and tells her too late either way: Thursday's plan is written before Wednesday morning.

   B: Withholds a slipped date from the person presenting it: she will stand up on Thursday and commit to a Wednesday that had already gone.

   C: Warns without the number: she cannot rebuild a plan around going more slowly, and Tuesday is the only fact that would let her.

   The most effective response is to tell her today that it is now Tuesday rather than Wednesday, then get back to the three days of work. Thursday’s plan is being written now, the useful thing is the new date rather than a warning, and twenty uncomfortable minutes is small against a plan presented on a date that has gone. It beats working through the weekend to try to hit Wednesday and telling her that morning if you cannot, because Thursday comes first, so even a successful weekend does not reach her in time. It beats sending a short message saying the work is going more slowly without naming the new date, because she cannot replan around that. The least effective response is getting on with the work without telling her the date has moved: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get something to her before Thursday, while this lets her present a plan built on a date you already know has moved. The principle: when your slip lands inside somebody else’s commitment, they get the new date today, and the awkwardness of saying it is not a cost worth passing to them.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. Every Friday you send a note confirming that all sixty open tickets have been reviewed and updated. This week you have got through forty-five; the last fifteen belong to a colleague who is off sick and whose notes you cannot see. Three managers use that note to decide where to put people next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record all sixty as checked and updated. The fifteen have not changed hands this week, and nobody reading a Friday note is going to open them one by one.
   2. Send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen.
   3. Hold the note until Monday when your colleague is back, and tell the three managers that this week's version is going to arrive late.
   4. Send the note covering only the forty-five you did review, without mentioning anywhere that another fifteen tickets exist behind it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen.

   Least effective: A. Record all sixty as checked and updated. The fifteen have not changed hands this week, and nobody reading a Friday note is going to open them one by one.

   A: Certifies work that was not done: the note's only value is that somebody looked, and three managers will place people next week on fifteen tickets nobody read.

   C: Delays a note that is used before Monday: the placement decisions are made on Friday, so a complete note on Monday informs nothing at all.

   D: Omits the part that matters: a clean note about forty-five reads as a clean note about everything, and the gap is invisible to the people relying on it.

   The most effective response is to send the note saying forty-five were reviewed and fifteen could not be, name why, and say when you expect to reach the last fifteen. The managers need to know what was checked and what was not, on Friday, and the reason turns your problem into one somebody can cover. It beats holding the note until Monday when your colleague is back, because the decisions are taken on Friday. It beats sending a note covering only the forty-five you did review, because a note listing forty-five reads as a note about the whole queue. The least effective response is recording all sixty as checked and updated: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave a reader able to work out what was covered, late or incomplete, while this states that all sixty were reviewed when fifteen were not. The principle: a status note earns its value from being accurate about its own gaps, so report the part you did and name the part you could not.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an access administrator. An alert saying an unused administrator account is still active has fired every day for nine days. The rota shows a different person on call each of those days. You have a joiner-and-leaver batch to finish today that forty new staff are waiting on. Nothing has been written against any of the nine alerts. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, close the account or name an owner for it, so that day ten is not the same as day nine.
   2. Close the unused account yourself straight away and carry on with the batch, so that the alert stops firing and forty people are not held up.
   3. Get on with the joiner batch and assume the people on the rota have the alert, since they are the ones being paged and forty staff are waiting on you today.
   4. Add a note to today's alert recording that this is the ninth day, so that whoever is on call tonight can see the history and pick it up from there.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, close the account or name an owner for it, so that day ten is not the same as day nine.

   Least effective: C. Get on with the joiner batch and assume the people on the rota have the alert, since they are the ones being paged and forty staff are waiting on you today.

   B: Acts on the alert without asking why nine people did not: the account closes and the reason nobody responded for nine days goes unexamined.

   C: Assumes somebody else has it: nine days of nothing written is the evidence against that, and forty waiting staff is a reason it feels defensible.

   D: Writes for a reader nine days of silence suggests is not there: the note joins eight others that nobody has acted on.

   The most effective response is to spend ten minutes now finding out whether anybody has the alert, and either close the account or name an owner. Ten minutes is affordable even against forty waiting staff, and the useful question is why nine consecutive people did not act. It beats closing the unused account yourself and carrying on with the batch, because that removes the symptom and leaves a rota where nine alerts went unanswered. It beats adding a note recording that this is the ninth day, because eight previous alerts with nothing written against them show the notes are not being read. The least effective response is assuming the people on the rota have it because they are the ones being paged: it is worse than either of the other two, because both do something about day nine, while this relies on an assumption nine days have already disproved. The principle: when the same alert has been ignored for over a week, the ten minutes goes on finding the owner, and a busy day is not evidence that somebody else has it.

8. Question 8 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a junior developer. A colleague has asked you to approve a change of four hundred lines so that it can go out before he leaves at five. You have not read it and you have about ten minutes. Nobody assigned you the review; he picked you because you were online. The change touches how customers’ orders are priced. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Read the ten minutes' worth that you can, approve it on that basis, and note in the comment which parts of it you actually managed to look at.
   2. Tell him you cannot approve four hundred lines in ten minutes, offer to read the pricing part properly first thing tomorrow, and let him decide about five o'clock.
   3. Ask somebody with more experience of the pricing code to look at it instead, even though nobody at all is likely to be free before five o'clock today.
   4. Approve it unread so that he makes his five o'clock, on the basis that these reviews almost never turn anything up and he knows the pricing code far better than you.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him you cannot approve four hundred lines in ten minutes, offer to read the pricing part properly first thing tomorrow, and let him decide about five o'clock.

   Least effective: D. Approve it unread so that he makes his five o'clock, on the basis that these reviews almost never turn anything up and he knows the pricing code far better than you.

   A: Signs for a sample and calls it a review: the note is honest, but the approval it carries covers four hundred lines and reads the same as any other.

   C: Moves a request you could partly meet to somebody who cannot: it is the right instinct at the wrong hour, and he is left with nothing before he goes.

   D: Breaches a control by approving unread: the approval exists so that a second person has looked, and this makes the record say somebody did when nobody did.

   The most effective response is to tell him you cannot approve four hundred lines in ten minutes, offer to read the pricing part properly first thing tomorrow, and let him decide about five o’clock. You cannot do what is being asked in the time available, saying so is quick, and the offer gives him a real option rather than a refusal. It beats reading the ten minutes’ worth you can and noting in the comment which parts you looked at, because a partial reading still produces a full approval and the qualifying comment will not travel with it. It beats asking somebody with more experience of the pricing code, because nobody senior is free before five. The least effective response is approving it unread so he makes his five o’clock: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the record honest about how much was looked at, while this puts a second name on four hundred unread lines of pricing code. The principle: when you cannot do the review that is being asked for, say what you can do and by when, and never let an approval assert a reading that did not happen.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a service desk analyst. The same alert about a failing overnight job has fired every night for a week. The rota shows a colleague on call each of those nights. He has not mentioned it and there is nothing written against any of the alerts. You are not on that rota and have never worked on that job. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel so somebody picks it up before tonight.
    2. Write a note against tonight's alert saying it has now fired seven nights running, so that whoever looks at it next has the history in front of them.
    3. Raise it directly with the manager who owns the rota, since a week of unanswered alerts is a rota problem rather than something to take up with him.
    4. Take it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand, since he is the one being paged and would surely have said something if he needed help with it.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel so somebody picks it up before tonight.

    Least effective: D. Take it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand, since he is the one being paged and would surely have said something if he needed help with it.

    B: Documents the pattern for a reader who may not exist: seven nights suggests nobody is reading these alerts, and the note joins them.

    C: Escalates over a question: he may have a perfectly good answer, and going past him first makes an ordinary check into a complaint about his week.

    D: Assumes somebody else has it: a week of silent alerts is the evidence against that assumption, and you are now the second person not looking.

    The most effective response is to ask him today whether he has the overnight alert in hand, and if he has not, say so in the team channel. One question settles whether this is covered, it goes to the person actually being paged, and it costs nothing if he does have it. It beats writing a note against tonight’s alert recording that it has fired seven nights running, because seven nights with nothing written is evidence the notes are not being read. It beats raising it directly with the manager who owns the rota, because he may have a good answer and going over him turns a check into a complaint. The least effective response is taking it that the colleague on the rota has it in hand: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put the pattern somewhere, while this rests on an assumption a week of silence has already tested and failed. The principle: when an alert has been firing for a week, ask the person on the rota rather than concluding from the rota that somebody has it.