Sony Assessment Tests

Sony Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a quality assurance analyst. In a review meeting yesterday a colleague said, in front of six people, that your test coverage figures were wrong. They were wrong. You disputed it at the time and the exchange became sharp, and neither of you has spoken since. She has now asked you to check a report she is sending out this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refuse to check the report after the way she spoke to you yesterday, and tell her to find somebody else who has the time this afternoon.
   2. Check the report this afternoon, and separately tell her that the figures were wrong but the way it was raised was not, and ask how she wants to handle it next time.
   3. Check the report and say nothing at all about yesterday, on the grounds that the work matters and the argument will fade if neither of you feeds it.
   4. Reply that you will check it once the two of you have sorted out yesterday, so the conversation happens before you do her any further favours.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Check the report this afternoon, and separately tell her that the figures were wrong but the way it was raised was not, and ask how she wants to handle it next time.

   Least effective: A. Refuse to check the report after the way she spoke to you yesterday, and tell her to find somebody else who has the time this afternoon.

   A: Retaliates by withdrawing: the report going out this afternoon has nothing to do with yesterday, and the refusal is aimed at her through her work.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: the sharp exchange is unresolved and will surface again, and she has no idea that anything is still wrong.

   D: Makes the work the lever: the conversation is worth having, and attaching it to a report going out this afternoon turns it into a condition rather than a request.

   The most effective response is to check the report this afternoon, and separately tell her that the figures were wrong but the way it was raised was not. The report and the argument are separate problems, both are yours today, and conceding the accurate part is what makes the rest of the conversation possible. It beats checking the report and saying nothing at all about yesterday, because a sharp public exchange neither party mentions does not fade, and she cannot repair something she does not know is broken. It beats saying you will check it once the two of you have sorted out yesterday, because tying the check to a conversation makes it a condition. The least effective response is refusing to check the report after the way she spoke to you: it is worse than either of the other two, because both get it checked, while this uses a piece of work to answer a personal grievance. The principle: separate the work from the argument, concede the part that was right, and raise the manner directly rather than through the queue.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a deployment assistant. Preparing tonight’s release you notice that one change will stop a colleague’s overnight billing job from running. He is on holiday. The billing job produces invoices that go out on Friday. You have four other releases to prepare before six o’clock and no time spare. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight's release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four.
   2. Email your colleague so that he sees it when he is back, and prepare the other four releases, since he is the person who owns the billing job.
   3. Prepare all five releases as planned and raise the billing job tomorrow. There is no time tonight, and one missed run can be caught up before Friday.
   4. Take the billing change out of tonight's release yourself, so the job runs, and mention it to the release owner at some point in the morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight's release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four.

   Least effective: C. Prepare all five releases as planned and raise the billing job tomorrow. There is no time tonight, and one missed run can be caught up before Friday.

   B: Sends the warning to the one person who cannot act: he is on holiday, the job runs tonight, and the invoices go on Friday.

   C: Withholds a consequence only you can see: the decision about tonight is being taken by people who do not know the billing job is in it.

   D: Edits somebody's release on your own reading: the change may be there for a reason you cannot see, and the person who owns tonight is told afterwards.

   The most effective response is to stop preparing for ten minutes and tell whoever is running tonight’s release that the billing job will not run, then carry on with the other four. Ten minutes against four releases is affordable, and only they can weigh a broken billing job against whatever the change was for. It beats emailing your colleague so he sees it when he is back, because he cannot act from holiday and the job runs tonight. It beats taking the billing change out of tonight’s release yourself, because that may break something else and presents the release owner with a decision already made. The least effective response is preparing all five as planned and raising the billing job tomorrow: it is worse than either of the other two, because both act on what you saw, while this lets tonight’s decision be taken by people who cannot see the consequence you found. The principle: ten minutes to hand a consequence to whoever owns the decision beats any amount of time spent working around it alone.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a technical support adviser. You told a colleague privately that a customer’s account kept locking and that you were working on it. He raised it with your manager the same afternoon without telling you, and it became a formal issue. You had agreed weeks ago to cover his Saturday shift so he could go to a wedding. The two of you have not spoken since. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Cover the Saturday as agreed and say nothing about the escalation, on the grounds that a wedding is a wedding and the work argument is separate from it.
   2. Cover the Saturday as agreed, and tell him before then that raising it without a word to you first is what you took issue with, so that it is said rather than carried.
   3. Tell him you will not be covering the Saturday now, and let him work out for himself which of the two of you changed the arrangement.
   4. Cover the Saturday but tell your manager that you would rather not be paired with him on shifts in future, since the two of you clearly work differently.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Cover the Saturday as agreed, and tell him before then that raising it without a word to you first is what you took issue with, so that it is said rather than carried.

   Least effective: C. Tell him you will not be covering the Saturday now, and let him work out for himself which of the two of you changed the arrangement.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: the Saturday is honoured and he never learns that going over your head cost anything, so it happens again.

   C: Retaliates by withdrawing: the wedding has nothing to do with the escalation, and he is left to guess at a reason you have decided not to give.

   D: Rearranges the rota around a conversation that has not happened: it is durable, it is quiet, and he never hears the thing you actually object to.

   The most effective response is to cover the Saturday as agreed, and tell him before then that raising it without a word to you first is what you took issue with. The Saturday was agreed and a wedding cannot be rearranged, while the real grievance is about being gone over, and saying so is the only thing that could change it. It beats covering the Saturday and saying nothing about the escalation, because he cannot stop doing something nobody has told him was a problem. It beats covering it but asking your manager not to pair you on shifts in future, because that is a permanent answer to a conversation the two of you have never had. The least effective response is telling him you will not be covering the Saturday now: it is worse than either of the other two, because both honour the commitment, while this spends a wedding to make a point and then declines to make the point. The principle: keep the commitment, then say the thing directly, and never let an agreement you made become the instrument of a grievance.

4. Question 4 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.

5. Question 5 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.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a build engineer. You and a colleague have argued twice this week about whose checks run first in the release, and neither of you has given ground. The releases are now going out later each day because of it. This morning the person who owns the release schedule asks you, casually, how the two of you are getting along. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say the two of you disagree about the order of the checks and that it is costing time, and ask him to settle it, so that it stops being decided by whoever pushes hardest.
   2. Raise his judgement with the schedule owner behind his back, so that the order gets decided by somebody who has heard only one side of the argument.
   3. Say the two of you are getting along fine and sort the order out with him yourself, without involving the person who owns the schedule in something small.
   4. Describe it as a process problem without saying who is on which side, and leave him to work out for himself who he ought to be asking about it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say the two of you disagree about the order of the checks and that it is costing time, and ask him to settle it, so that it stops being decided by whoever pushes hardest.

   Least effective: B. Raise his judgement with the schedule owner behind his back, so that the order gets decided by somebody who has heard only one side of the argument.

   B: Personalises the conflict: it converts a disagreement about sequencing into a verdict on him, delivered to the one person with power over both your weeks.

   C: Reports a problem as solved while it is still costing time: two failed attempts is evidence you cannot settle it, and the releases keep slipping meanwhile.

   D: Names the problem but not the people: he cannot resolve a dispute whose parties are hidden, so the disclosure buys nothing and costs another day.

   The most effective response is to say the two of you disagree about the order of the checks and that it is costing time, and ask him to settle it. The disagreement is about sequencing, which is what the schedule owner owns, and it has already failed twice to settle itself. It beats saying the two of you are getting along fine and sorting the order out yourselves, because two attempts have proved you cannot, and the daily slippage keeps running. It beats describing it as a process problem without saying who is on which side, because a dispute with its parties removed cannot be arbitrated. The least effective response is raising his judgement with the schedule owner behind his back: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep the conversation about the checks, while this puts his judgement in front of the person who decides his work, in a conversation he is not in. The principle: take a sequencing dispute to whoever owns the sequence, describe both sides, and never make the argument about the other person while they are absent.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a deployment assistant. Nothing may go out this week while the customer support system is being migrated, and everybody has been told. You have found that a mistyped address means the daily summary email has been going to nobody for six days. The fix is one line and takes a minute. Nobody has noticed the email is missing. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise it with whoever set the freeze, explain that the summary has gone nowhere for six days and the fix is one line, and let them decide about this week.
   2. Wait for the freeze to lift on Monday and fix it then, and say nothing meanwhile, since six days of a missing summary plainly matters far less than a support system migration.
   3. Send the summary out by hand each morning until the freeze lifts, so that the people who should be getting it are not left without it any longer.
   4. Put the one-line fix out now. A freeze written for a system migration was never aimed at a typo in an email address, and nobody could reasonably object.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Raise it with whoever set the freeze, explain that the summary has gone nowhere for six days and the fix is one line, and let them decide about this week.

   Least effective: D. Put the one-line fix out now. A freeze written for a system migration was never aimed at a typo in an email address, and nobody could reasonably object.

   B: Obeys the freeze without reporting the cost: waiting may well be right, and nobody gets to weigh six days of a missing summary because nobody is told.

   C: Solves the symptom by hand: it works for a week, it depends entirely on you remembering, and the mistyped address is still there on Monday.

   D: Breaches a stated freeze on your own reading of it: the week exists so that nothing moves during a migration, and one line is still something moving.

   The most effective response is to raise it with whoever set the freeze, explain that the summary has gone nowhere for six days and the fix is one line, and let them decide. Whether a freeze admits a one-line exception is a question for them, and those two facts are what they need. It beats waiting for the freeze to lift on Monday and saying nothing meanwhile, because obeying it may be right and nobody can reach that answer if the cost is never mentioned. It beats sending the summary out by hand each morning, because that depends on you every day and leaves the fault in place. The least effective response is putting the one-line fix out now: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the freeze intact, while this reads a week-long instruction as not covering the change you happen to want to make. The principle: take the exception to whoever owns the rule, with the size of the fix and the size of the cost, and never grant it to yourself.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a site reliability assistant. Restoring a customer’s data after an outage should be verified record by record, which takes a day. Restoring it without the verification takes an hour and is usually fine. The customer is unable to trade until the restore finishes and has asked every hour. Your manager is at a conference and reachable by phone. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the full verification and tell the customer it will be tomorrow, since the check exists precisely for restores like this one and a day is not unreasonable.
   2. Restore without the verification and tell the customer they are back, since it is usually fine and they have been unable to trade for most of the day already.
   3. Restore without verification to get them trading, and run the full verification overnight, telling the customer only if the check turns something up.
   4. Ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer which of the two they want.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer which of the two they want.

   Least effective: B. Restore without the verification and tell the customer they are back, since it is usually fine and they have been unable to trade for most of the day already.

   A: Chooses the safe option without letting the customer weigh it: they are losing a day of trade and nobody has asked them which risk they would rather carry.

   B: Breaches the check that exists for this case: the verification is there for restores exactly like this, and the customer is told they are back on data nobody read.

   C: Discloses on failure only: they spend the evening trading on unverified data and are never given the chance to decide whether they wanted to.

   The most effective response is to ring your manager now, set out the hour against the day and what the verification is for, and let her decide with the customer. This is a trade-off between somebody else’s lost day and somebody else’s risk, which makes it neither yours to take nor yours to decide quietly. It beats doing the full verification and telling the customer it will be tomorrow, because a full day of lost trading is a real cost and they have not been asked whether they would accept the risk instead. It beats restoring now and running the verification overnight, because trading overnight on unverified data is the same risk taken without telling them. The least effective response is telling the customer they are back because it is usually fine and they have lost most of the day: it is worse than either of the other two, because one keeps the check and the other at least performs it late, while this skips it entirely and reports them safely restored. The principle: when the choice is between a customer’s time and a customer’s risk, it belongs to the customer, reached through whoever can put it to them.

9. Question 9 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.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a graduate software engineer. You volunteered months ago to run the team’s Friday session where people share what they have learned. This week your estimate for a piece of work was questioned in planning and the team agreed a shorter one. Nobody was unpleasant and the shorter estimate may well be right. Two people are booked to speak at Friday’s session. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Run Friday's session as usual, and separately ask the person who challenged the estimate to walk you through how they got to the shorter number.
    2. Run Friday's session and tell the team afterwards that you would like somebody else to take it on from next month, without saying why you have changed your mind.
    3. Stop running the Friday session after that, and let whoever wants it pick it up, including the two people who are already booked to speak.
    4. Run Friday's session but stop preparing for it, so the time you were giving to the team goes back into the work you are apparently expected to do faster.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Run Friday's session as usual, and separately ask the person who challenged the estimate to walk you through how they got to the shorter number.

    Least effective: C. Stop running the Friday session after that, and let whoever wants it pick it up, including the two people who are already booked to speak.

    B: Withdraws with the reason removed: the team loses the session's organiser and never learns that a planning discussion is what did it.

    C: Withdraws a voluntary duty after a challenge: two booked speakers and the whole team pay for a disagreement about an estimate that had nothing to do with them.

    D: Reduces the thing quietly: the session still has your name on it and it is now worth less, which nobody has agreed to or been told.

    The most effective response is to run Friday’s session as usual, and separately ask the person who challenged the estimate to walk you through how they got to the shorter number. The session and the estimate are unrelated, two people are booked, and finding out how they reached it is the honestly useful response. It beats running Friday’s session and asking the team afterwards for somebody else to take it on without saying why, because that costs the team its organiser and teaches nobody anything. It beats running it but no longer preparing, because your name is still on a session you have quietly stopped preparing for. The least effective response is letting whoever wants it pick the session up, including the two already booked to speak: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep it running at least once more, while this drops it on the speakers themselves, over a planning discussion they had no part in. The principle: a challenge to your estimate is a thing to ask about, and never something a voluntary commitment to other people should pay for.