Sky Assessment Tests

Sky Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a product assistant. A supplier mentioned on a call that the reporting tool your company resells will stop supporting exports in March. Nobody else was on the call. On Thursday the sales team presents a twelve-month plan to a customer that is built around those exports. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the sales team today with what the supplier said, and ask them to check it with the supplier directly before Thursday's presentation.
   2. Say nothing until the supplier confirms it in writing, since it was a passing remark on a call and repeating it early could damage a supplier relationship.
   3. Ask the supplier to confirm it in writing and forward their answer to sales the moment it arrives, whether or not that turns out to be before Thursday.
   4. Raise it at the weekly product meeting next Tuesday, where sales and everybody else will hear it at the same time and can react together.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Email the sales team today with what the supplier said, and ask them to check it with the supplier directly before Thursday's presentation.

   Least effective: B. Say nothing until the supplier confirms it in writing, since it was a passing remark on a call and repeating it early could damage a supplier relationship.

   B: Stays silent on a fact only you hold: sales will commit a customer to twelve months of exports on Thursday, and nobody in the room can know what you heard.

   C: Chases a confirmation past the deadline it was needed for: written proof is worth having and Thursday does not move to wait for it.

   D: Saves it for a forum that meets too late: Tuesday is after Thursday, so the plan is presented before the meeting that was going to discuss it.

   The most effective response is to email the sales team today with what the supplier said, and ask them to check it directly before Thursday’s presentation. Thursday is fixed, they can verify a supplier’s remark faster than you can, and one email gives them both the warning and the means. It beats asking the supplier to confirm in writing and forwarding their answer when it arrives, because that may not come before Thursday and the presentation happens either way. It beats raising it at the weekly product meeting next Tuesday, because that falls after Thursday. The least effective response is saying nothing until the supplier confirms it in writing: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get the fact moving somewhere, while this leaves a twelve-month customer plan resting on an export feature you alone know is ending. The principle: an unconfirmed fact that a decision depends on goes to the people making the decision, with its uncertainty attached.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an automation tester. You and a colleague who has been here eleven years disagree about whether a failing test is a real defect or a fault in the test itself. You have the evidence from three runs; he has not looked at it. He has told the team it is a test fault and the team has accepted that. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the three runs to your manager and ask her to decide, since the two of you are not going to agree and the team has already moved on from it.
   2. Accept his view. Eleven years of knowing this system is worth more than three runs, and the team has already settled on the answer he gave them.
   3. Post the three runs in the team channel so everybody can see the evidence, and let the team revisit its conclusion in its own time.
   4. Show him the three runs directly and ask what he makes of them, and take it to the team together if the two of you still disagree afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Show him the three runs directly and ask what he makes of them, and take it to the team together if the two of you still disagree afterwards.

   Least effective: B. Accept his view. Eleven years of knowing this system is worth more than three runs, and the team has already settled on the answer he gave them.

   A: Escalates before he has seen the evidence: he has not looked at the three runs yet, so the disagreement has not really been had.

   B: Puts loyalty to seniority above the evidence: the three runs either show a defect or they do not, and length of service cannot change what they show.

   C: Puts evidence in front of an audience rather than the person: he is the one who has not seen it, and the channel makes it a public correction.

   The most effective response is to show him the three runs directly and ask what he makes of them, and take it to the team together if you still disagree. He formed his view without seeing your evidence, so the first step is to show it to him, and going together keeps a factual question factual. It beats taking the three runs to your manager to decide, because the disagreement has not properly happened yet and she cannot settle what neither party has examined. It beats posting the runs in the team channel for everybody to see, because that corrects him publicly when a direct conversation was available. The least effective response is accepting his view because eleven years of knowing the system outweighs three runs: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put the evidence somewhere, while this decides a question about test runs on the basis of how long somebody has worked here. The principle: a factual disagreement is settled by looking at the evidence together, and length of service is not an argument about what the runs show.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a quality assurance analyst. A release slipped by three days and the incident note says a supplier’s late delivery caused it. They were late, by an afternoon. The other two and a half days went on a test rerun you started and abandoned twice. You have covered two roles all month, and your manager circulated the note yesterday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your manager today that most of the three days was your own rerun rather than the supplier, and say what covering two roles has cost, so that the note is corrected.
   2. Put the detail into the next retrospective rather than reopening a note that went out yesterday, so that the record is corrected in the usual place.
   3. Tell your manager the note is not quite right and ask whether it is worth correcting, without going into how the three days actually broke down.
   4. Let the note stand, since the supplier was genuinely late and correcting it now would cost your manager credibility for the sake of two and a half days.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell your manager today that most of the three days was your own rerun rather than the supplier, and say what covering two roles has cost, so that the note is corrected.

   Least effective: D. Let the note stand, since the supplier was genuinely late and correcting it now would cost your manager credibility for the sake of two and a half days.

   B: Corrects it where fewer people will read it: the note has already gone, and a retrospective reaches the team rather than everybody who received it.

   C: Raises a doubt without the fact that settles it: she cannot judge whether to reissue a note when she has not been told what is wrong with it.

   D: Conceals your own part behind a true detail: an afternoon is being carried as three days by a supplier, and the one person who could say so is staying quiet.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that most of the three days was your own rerun rather than the supplier, and say what covering two roles has cost. The note is wrong about who lost the time, it went out yesterday, and the month of double cover is the cause she can act on. It beats putting the detail into the next retrospective, because the note has already reached its readers and a retrospective reaches a smaller room later. It beats telling her the note is not quite right and asking whether it is worth correcting, because a doubt without the breakdown gives her nothing to decide with. The least effective response is letting the note stand because the supplier was genuinely late: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put the correction somewhere, while this lets a supplier carry two and a half days that were yours. The principle: a true detail does not make a false account true, and the pressure you were under is a cause to name rather than a reason to let somebody else carry it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a service desk analyst. A customer’s administrator told you quietly that she is being pushed by her own management to sign off a system she does not think is ready, and asked you not to repeat it. Your company is about to ask her to sign that acceptance. You are the only person here who knows. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing at all and let the acceptance go to her as planned, since what she told you was private and it is her decision to make either way.
   2. Tell your own account manager what she said, so that the acceptance is not sent into a situation your company knows nothing about, since it would clearly help.
   3. Go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself, so that the choice stays hers.
   4. Suggest to your account manager that the acceptance be delayed a fortnight, without giving any reason for it, so that she is given time to sort things out with her own management at her end.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself, so that the choice stays hers.

   Least effective: B. Tell your own account manager what she said, so that the acceptance is not sent into a situation your company knows nothing about, since it would clearly help.

   A: Leaves your own company walking into it blind: an acceptance is about to be sent to somebody who has said she does not think the system is ready.

   B: Breaches a confidence because repeating it would be useful: she told you privately, and the person it exposes is a customer with no power over what you do with it.

   D: Argues for a delay you will not justify: your account manager weighs an odd request instead of a real risk, and is likely to decline it.

   The most effective response is to go back to her, say the acceptance is about to be sent, and ask whether she wants you to raise it or to handle it herself. The confidence is hers to lift, the acceptance is imminent, and this gives her control of something about to affect her whether she acts or not. It beats saying nothing and letting the acceptance go as planned, because your own company is about to send it into a situation you alone know about. It beats suggesting a fortnight’s delay without giving any reason, because that asks your account manager to weigh a preference and will probably be refused. The least effective response is telling your own account manager what she said: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep her confidence, while this repeats what a customer told you privately to the people whose commercial interest runs against hers. The principle: when a confidence collides with something about to happen, take it back to the person who gave it and let them choose, rather than spending it for them.

6. Question 6 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a security analyst. A password reset system stopped working overnight and a manager asks you in the corridor what happened. You know a certificate expired at midnight. You have not confirmed that this caused the failure. Certificates expiring is the usual cause of this kind of outage, and he is on his way to tell his team something. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him a certificate expired at midnight and that this is almost always the cause, so that he has something definite to give his team on his way past.
   2. Tell him a certificate expired at midnight and that you have not yet confirmed it caused this, and say when you will know, so that he can tell his team that much.
   3. Tell him the expired certificate caused the outage, even though you cannot yet show that it did. That is nearly always what this turns out to be.
   4. Tell him you cannot say anything until the investigation is finished, and ask him to hold off telling his team until there is a confirmed answer.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him a certificate expired at midnight and that you have not yet confirmed it caused this, and say when you will know, so that he can tell his team that much.

   Least effective: C. Tell him the expired certificate caused the outage, even though you cannot yet show that it did. That is nearly always what this turns out to be.

   A: Hands over a likely cause as a settled one: the qualification will not survive the retelling, and his team hears a confirmed explanation.

   C: States as fact the cause you assume: nobody has established the link, and an entire team is told a confirmed explanation that may be wrong.

   D: Withholds a fact you are sure of: the certificate did expire at midnight, and that alone is something his team can be told.

   The most effective response is to tell him a certificate expired at midnight and that you have not yet confirmed it caused this, and say when you will know. You have one certain fact and one open question, and separating them lets him tell his team something true. It beats telling him the expiry is almost always the cause so he has something definite, because that qualifier will be dropped in the retelling. It beats telling him you cannot say anything until the investigation is finished, because the expiry itself is confirmed and worth passing on. The least effective response is telling him the expired certificate caused the outage: it is worse than either of the other two, because one qualifies it and the other says nothing untrue, while this supplies a causal link nobody has established to a manager on his way to brief his team. The principle: separate what you know from what you assume, give both, and put a time on when the second becomes the first.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a junior developer. A change you own must be finished by four o’clock, when the release branch closes for the week. A colleague on another team messages you asking for help with a piece of code you wrote last month; he is blocked and has said so. Your change needs about two more hours. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop your own change and talk him through the code straight away, since he is blocked now, your deadline is still two hours away, and the code is one you wrote yourself.
   2. Finish the change so it makes the four o'clock branch close, and reply to him now with a time this afternoon, since he needs to know when help is coming.
   3. Work on both at once, answering his messages between edits, so that neither of you is left waiting on the other for very long this afternoon.
   4. Send his question on to the general engineering channel, since somebody with free time will probably pick it up, and carry on with your own change.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Finish the change so it makes the four o'clock branch close, and reply to him now with a time this afternoon, since he needs to know when help is coming.

   Least effective: D. Send his question on to the general engineering channel, since somebody with free time will probably pick it up, and carry on with your own change.

   A: Abandons own committed work: it protects a colleague who can wait two hours by risking the one thing here with a fixed weekly cut-off attached to it.

   C: Splits effort so nothing finishes: a change edited between messages is the one most likely to miss four o'clock, and help given in fragments teaches him least.

   D: Passes responsibility to others: it moves the request to a place where no named person has agreed to answer it, so he waits and nobody owns his block.

   The most effective response is to finish the change so it makes the four o’clock branch close, and reply to him now with a time this afternoon. The branch close is fixed for the week and his block is not, so the two demands are not equally urgent, and a reply costs a minute while telling him when help is coming. It beats stopping your own change to talk him through the code straight away, because dropping a change two hours from a weekly cut-off trades a real loss for a delay he can absorb. It beats working on both at once and answering between edits, because a change edited that way is the one most likely to miss four o’clock, and an explanation in fragments is worth less than one proper conversation. The least effective response is sending his question to the general engineering channel: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the question with the only person who wrote the code, while a general channel gives it to nobody in particular. The principle: when you cannot help now, own the answer and give a time, rather than moving the request somewhere nobody owns it.

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 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.