Tech Mahindra Assessment Tests

Tech Mahindra Online Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a quality assurance analyst. A release checklist needs one line ticked to say the data migration was rehearsed. The colleague who ran the rehearsal is on a flight and unreachable until tomorrow morning. You believe she ran it, but you did not see it. The people running tonight’s release are waiting on the sheet. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hold the sheet until she lands and send it complete tomorrow morning, rather than sending something tonight that raises a question nobody in the building can answer.
   2. Mark the line as done, since you are confident she ran the rehearsal, and mention it to her tomorrow morning if it should turn out to matter to anybody.
   3. Send the sheet with that line left open, say plainly that the rehearsal cannot be confirmed until she lands, and let them decide what to do about tonight.
   4. Ring round the team until you find somebody who watched the rehearsal, and send the sheet on the strength of what that person tells you about it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Send the sheet with that line left open, say plainly that the rehearsal cannot be confirmed until she lands, and let them decide what to do about tonight.

   Least effective: B. Mark the line as done, since you are confident she ran the rehearsal, and mention it to her tomorrow morning if it should turn out to matter to anybody.

   A: Delays the decision: the release is tonight, so a complete sheet tomorrow arrives after the only moment at which anyone could have used it.

   B: Records as done what you did not see done: the sheet exists so that somebody can rely on it tonight, and this makes it say something you cannot support.

   D: Acts on second-hand word without checking: the sheet ends up carrying the same unverified tick, with one more person between you and the thing you did not see.

   The most effective response is to send the sheet with that line left open, say plainly that the rehearsal cannot be confirmed until she lands, and let them decide about tonight. The people running the release need to know both what is confirmed and what is not, and an open line with a plain explanation gives them a real choice. It beats holding the sheet until she lands and sending it complete tomorrow, because that arrives after the release it was meant to inform. It beats ringing round until you find somebody who watched the rehearsal, because a colleague’s recollection is not the check the line asks for. The least effective response is marking the line as done because you are confident she ran it: it is worse than either of the other two, because both leave the uncertainty visible, late or diluted, while this removes it from the record altogether and somebody tonight relies on that. The principle: when a record would have to say more than you know, send it with the gap showing and let the people carrying the risk decide.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a site reliability assistant. You and a colleague check each other’s incident write-ups before they go out. Last week he wrote, in a comment the whole team can see, that your last write-up read as though you had not been there. You disagreed and said so, and it has not been settled. Two of his write-ups are now waiting for your check. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Check both write-ups and add nothing beyond the bare minimum, so that the work goes out on time and you are not drawn back into last week's argument.
   2. Check the two write-ups on their merits now, and separately ask him for ten minutes to settle what he meant, so the disagreement stops sitting under the work.
   3. Ask somebody else on the team to take over checking his write-ups, since neither of you is likely to be objective about the other's work at the moment.
   4. Withdraw from checking his write-ups after this and leave them sitting in the queue for whoever picks them up next to judge for themselves.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Check the two write-ups on their merits now, and separately ask him for ten minutes to settle what he meant, so the disagreement stops sitting under the work.

   Least effective: D. Withdraw from checking his write-ups after this and leave them sitting in the queue for whoever picks them up next to judge for themselves.

   A: Prioritises quiet over the quality of the check: the write-ups get a signature rather than a review, and the disagreement is still there underneath them.

   C: Removes the people rather than the problem: it is a reasonable precaution that quietly makes last week permanent, and somebody else absorbs the cost of it.

   D: Retaliates by withdrawing: the two write-ups now sit unowned as an answer to a comment about a different piece of work, and nobody is told why they stopped.

   The most effective response is to check the two write-ups on their merits now, and separately ask him for ten minutes to settle what he meant. The write-ups are separable from the disagreement, so both get dealt with properly, and ten minutes is the only thing here that could actually settle it. It beats checking both and adding nothing beyond the bare minimum, because a check reduced to a formality is worth nothing to the people who rely on it, and the argument survives anyway. It beats asking somebody else to take over checking his write-ups, because that makes a temporary falling-out permanent and charges it to a third person. The least effective response is withdrawing from checking his write-ups and leaving them in the queue: it is worse than either of the other two, because both keep them moving, thinly or through somebody else, while this leaves them sitting with no one able to know why. The principle: settle the disagreement with the person, and never let work in the queue become the way you answer them.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a support analyst. You were asked to ring twenty customers affected by last week’s outage and record what each said. You reached fourteen; six did not answer and you did not try again. In this morning’s meeting the person writing the report to the customers asks whether the calls are done, and there are eleven other items on the agenda. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say fourteen were reached and six were not, and give a day for the six, so that the report is written on the number of customers who actually spoke to you.
   2. Say the calls are done and ring the remaining six straight after the meeting, so that the answer you gave becomes true before the report is written up.
   3. Say the calls are done, even though you know six were never reached. Fourteen of twenty is a good rate for an outage, and the six are unlikely to have said anything different.
   4. Say the calls went well and offer to send the detail round afterwards, rather than holding up a meeting with eleven other items on its agenda.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say fourteen were reached and six were not, and give a day for the six, so that the report is written on the number of customers who actually spoke to you.

   Least effective: C. Say the calls are done, even though you know six were never reached. Fourteen of twenty is a good rate for an outage, and the six are unlikely to have said anything different.

   B: Makes a claim you intend to make true later: the room agrees the report now, and six of the twenty had not been reached when you said they had.

   C: Asserts a result for work that was not finished: six customers count as consulted on the reasoning that they would probably have agreed.

   D: Gives an impression instead of a number: went well is not fourteen of twenty, and the detail arrives after the report has been agreed.

   The most effective response is to say fourteen were reached and six were not, and give a day for the six. One sentence gives the writer the real denominator, which is what the report rests on, and a date turns the shortfall into something the room can hold. It beats saying the calls are done and ringing the remaining six straight afterwards, because the report is agreed in the meeting, so a claim made true later was false when it was acted on. It beats saying the calls went well and offering to send the detail round, because a good impression is not a response rate. The least effective response is saying the calls are done when six were never reached: it is worse than either of the other two, because both end with the six being reached or the detail circulated, while this closes the question by reasoning about what six unreached customers would probably have said. The principle: when asked whether something is finished, give the number you reached and the number you did not, with a date on the remainder.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a delivery coordinator. A customer’s staff were being logged out at random all last week. Nothing has been changed, but the logouts stopped on Friday and nobody knows why. The customer’s operations manager rings to ask whether the problem is fixed, because she must decide today whether to train forty new staff on the system next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the logouts have stopped but nobody has found the cause, so you cannot call it fixed, and offer to have somebody watching the system while she trains.
   2. Tell her it has stopped, and advise her to put the training back a fortnight so there is time to be certain before forty people depend on the system.
   3. Explain that you cannot comment until the engineers have finished looking, and offer to ring her back as soon as there is something definite to report.
   4. Tell her it is sorted and the training can go ahead, since nothing has gone wrong for four days and she is asking you for an answer today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell her the logouts have stopped but nobody has found the cause, so you cannot call it fixed, and offer to have somebody watching the system while she trains.

   Least effective: D. Tell her it is sorted and the training can go ahead, since nothing has gone wrong for four days and she is asking you for an answer today.

   B: Substitutes your own judgement for the customer's: the delay may cost her more than the risk does, and she is the only person here who knows which.

   C: Delays a decision she has to make today: it is accurate and it is useless to her, because the deadline she is working to does not move to suit yours.

   D: Gives an assurance you cannot support: four quiet days with an unknown cause is not a fix, and she will commit forty people on the strength of your word.

   The most effective response is to tell her the logouts have stopped but nobody has found the cause, so you cannot call it fixed, and offer to have somebody watching while she trains. It gives her the two things she has to weigh and adds cover so her decision is cheaper to get wrong. It beats telling her it has stopped and advising a fortnight’s delay, because the cost of that delay sits with her business, so the choice is hers on full information. It beats explaining that you cannot comment until the engineers have finished, because she cannot wait for certainty and refusing to characterise what you do know leaves her deciding on less. The least effective response is telling her it is sorted and the training can go ahead: it is worse than either of the other two, because each leaves her with a true picture, however unwelcome, while this hands her a false certainty and forty people are trained on it. The principle: tell a customer what is known and what is not, and let the person carrying the risk decide.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a support analyst. The monthly figure for tickets resolved first time looks about twenty points too high, and the only way it could be that high is if a colleague has been closing and reopening tickets. The figure goes into a board pack tomorrow. You have a full queue and a difficult history with that colleague. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Rebuild the whole month's figure from the raw ticket data yourself tonight, and take a finished alternative number to whoever compiles the pack tomorrow.
   2. Leave it alone and get on with the queue. The figure is not yours to police, and raising it would mean an awkward conversation about somebody else's numbers.
   3. Send a note to whoever compiles the pack saying the figure looks high and that they may want to check it before tomorrow, without saying why you think so.
   4. Ask your colleague today how the figure got so high, and if the answer does not explain it, tell whoever compiles the pack what you have found before tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask your colleague today how the figure got so high, and if the answer does not explain it, tell whoever compiles the pack what you have found before tomorrow.

   Least effective: B. Leave it alone and get on with the queue. The figure is not yours to police, and raising it would mean an awkward conversation about somebody else's numbers.

   A: Spends a night proving what a question would settle: the pack goes tomorrow either way, and one conversation this afternoon would have resolved it.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: a board reads a first-time-fix rate tomorrow that only you have any reason to doubt, and the queue was never the reason.

   C: Flags a doubt without its reason: they cannot check a number without knowing what to check, so the warning arrives too vague to act on.

   The most effective response is to ask your colleague today how the figure got so high, and if the answer does not explain it, tell whoever compiles the pack before tomorrow. The one thing that settles this is a question only he can answer, it takes minutes, and there is still time to warn the compiler. It beats rebuilding the whole month’s figure from the raw ticket data tonight, because a night of that produces a rival number without establishing whether the first was wrong. It beats sending the compiler a note saying the figure looks high without saying why, because they have no way to check it. The least effective response is leaving it alone and getting on with the queue: it is worse than either of the other two, because both put something in front of somebody before the pack goes, while this lets a board read a figure only you have reason to doubt. The principle: when the fastest route to the truth is a conversation you would rather avoid, the discomfort is the cost of the check, not a reason to skip it.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 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.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an incident coordinator. You promised the on-call handover pack by Friday and it will now be Tuesday. The person who runs the weekend rota is building this weekend’s cover around it and is on annual leave until Thursday. Her deputy is at his desk today and has the rota open in front of him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email her now so that she reads it on Thursday when she is back, and carry on with the pack in the meantime without troubling anybody else.
   2. Say nothing until she is back on Thursday. She owns the rota, and one working day either way will not change very much about what she decides.
   3. Tell her deputy today that the pack will be Tuesday rather than Friday, so that this weekend's cover is built on the real date, and email her as well.
   4. Tell the deputy the pack may be a little late without giving him the new date, so that he is warned and she is not alarmed while she is away.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her deputy today that the pack will be Tuesday rather than Friday, so that this weekend's cover is built on the real date, and email her as well.

   Least effective: B. Say nothing until she is back on Thursday. She owns the rota, and one working day either way will not change very much about what she decides.

   A: Sends the warning to the one person who cannot act on it: she is on leave until Thursday and the cover is being built this week.

   B: Stays silent while the plan is built: the weekend cover is assembled around a Friday pack that is not coming, and only you know that.

   D: Warns without the number he needs: he cannot rebuild a weekend rota around might be late, and Tuesday is the only fact that would let him.

   The most effective response is to tell her deputy today that the pack will be Tuesday rather than Friday, and email her as well. He is at his desk with the rota open, the weekend is being planned now, and emailing her means nothing is done behind her back. It beats emailing her now so she reads it on Thursday, because she cannot act until then and the cover is assembled this week. It beats telling the deputy the pack may be a little late without giving him the new date, because a vague warning cannot be planned around. The least effective response is saying nothing until she is back on Thursday: it is worse than either of the other two, because both reach somebody with something, while this leaves a weekend rota being built around a pack that is not coming. The principle: when your slip lands inside somebody else’s plan, tell whoever is holding it today, with the date.

10. Question 10 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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