1.Solving Business Problems

Question 1 of 5
When you skip pinning the problem, you usually _.

waste time and effort coming up with wrong solutions
get to an answer much more quickly
make your boss happy because you’re saving time
build stakeholder buy-in because you’re being efficient

waste time and effort coming up with wrong solutions

Question 2 of 5
What are assertions?

something you assume
facts stated to persuade
negative proofs of a hypothesis
ideas you make up without proof

facts stated to persuade

Question 3 of 5
Ideas that are small in impact but easy to do are known as _.

low hanging fruit
low priority ideas
top priority ideas
fill-in initiatives

low hanging fruit

Question 4 of 5
A good logic map is _.

oral and written
distinct and complete
detailed and broad
logical and analytical

distinct and complete

Question 5 of 5
Which of the following is not a tool for pinning the problem?

asking your boss to define the problem
evaluating prior efforts
looking through new lenses
answering focusing questions

asking your boss to define the problem

2. Communication within Teams

Question 1 of 11
Research shows that effective _ produce better outcomes than _.

managers; individuals or uncoordinated groups
teams; individuals or uncoordinated groups
individuals; teams or uncoordinated groups

teams; individuals or uncoordinated groups

Question 2 of 11
Jamal tells Carla that something she said was hurtful to him. Now, it is Carla’s turn to respond. What kind of response is best?

Carla should explain how Jamal’s actions fit into a larger pattern of hurtful behavior.
Carla should articulate her understanding of Jamal’s perspective.
Carla should agree with Jamal’s perspective.
Carla should defend what she said.

Carla should articulate her understanding of Jamal’s

Question 3 of 11
Which statement about conditions of satisfaction is FALSE?

Conditions of satisfaction define what is acceptable and what is the bare minimum of achievement.
Conditions of satisfaction should be established before you start your project.
Conditions of satisfaction are different than goals.
Conditions of satisfaction should be established once team members confront their first obstacle.

Conditions of satisfaction should be established once

Question 4 of 11
What does AAR stand for?

Anonymous author review
After-action review
Active assessment review
Anonymous assessment report

After-action review

Question 5 of 11
What tool can you use to ensure team members are accountable for their roles and meeting minimum expectations?

the Say-Do matrix
the microleader tool
the five W’s
the consequence tool

the five W’s

Question 6 of 11
You manage a team that is geographically distributed. How can you encourage your team to engage in conversations?

Ask open-ended questions.
Create virtual spaces for conversations.
Host virtual socials.
all of these answers

all of these answers

Question 7 of 11
You are in a meeting and your team’s discussion starts to stray off topic. You interrupt the conversation and remind the group to stay focused on the key agenda items. In this scenario, what role did you take on?

Convener
Coordinator
Recorder
Monitor

Monitor

Question 8 of 11
What is the C in LESCANT and why is it important?

Context. It is important to know whether the teammate is from high or low context culture.
Clarity. It is important to communicate simply and clearly when working in a multilingual setting.
Culture. It is important to know the culture of the teammate.

Context. It is important to know whether the teammate is from high or low context culture.

Question 9 of 11
What is NOT true about a team charter?

Team charters should be created with an HR representative present.
Team charters outline expectations for how your team will collaborate.
An important part of a team charter includes rules and norms for communicating.
Well-crafted team charters can help you avoid misunderstandings and conflict.

Team charters should be created with an HR representative present.

Question 10 of 11
Which of these questions might be included in a team charter?

What are your ground rules for communication?
all of these answers
How will you make decisions?
What will you do when a conflict arises?

all of these answers

Question 11 of 11
A RACI matrix tracks and assigns responsibilities to team members. Which of these items is NOT a part of the RACI matrix?

Responsible
Informed
Consulted
Approval

Approval

3. Getting Your Ideas Approved

3.1 Internal Quiz

Question 1 of 11
Which step of the process will cause you to iterate more than others?
define the question
select analyses
create the story
discuss and refine the story

discuss and refine the story

Question 2 of 11
You should immediately start manipulating data at the beginning of this process.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 3 of 11
Poor communication leads to lengthy, inefficient process. You end up doing excess, irrelevant analysis and the result is weak, convoluted communications. When this happens, there’s a lack of _ for your ideas. You’ll also lose _ as a thought leader.
excitement; salary
color; schedule opportunities
support; credibility
linear path; clients

support; credibility

Question 4 of 11
A hypothesis is something taken to be true for the sake of argument.
TRUE
FALSE

TRUE

Question 5 of 11
You should choose your architecture based upon your audience.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 6 of 11
You can never combine a layer architecture with a column architecture.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 7 of 11
A column architecture can have more than three columns
TRUE
FALSE

TRUE

Question 8 of 11
You should spend a lot of time perfecting your story at this stage.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 9 of 11
When discussing and refining your story, you should get input from many stakeholders
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 10 of 11
You should never try to disprove your hypothesis.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 11 of 11
You should choose your communication vehicle based upon _.
your preference
what your boss likes
how many people are in the room
your audience

your audience

3.2 Final Exam

Question 1 of 17

When transforming a layer architecture to a story, you should _.

invert it
start with the core idea
wordsmith it
do an analysis

a) invert it

Question 2 of 17

A story based on a column architecture starts with a _.

what’s changed
background
core idea
hypothesis

c) core idea

Question 3 of 17

At what point should you wordsmith your story?

when finalizing the communication
when you build your architecture
when you write the core idea
when you first draft the story

a) when finalizing the communication

Question 4 of 17

A good architecture is both distinct and _.

complete
logical
interesting
short

a) complete

Question 5 of 17

When converting a column architecture to a story, what comes first in the story?

column 2
the core idea
column 3
column 1

b) the core idea

Question 6 of 17

How many analyses should you conduct to prove your case?

as many as you can possibly think of
as many as are required to prove the architecture
as few as you can get away with
six

b) as many as are required to prove the architecture

Question 7 of 17

What attributes should the elements of your architecture possess?

linked and nested
full and forthright
compelling and direct
distinct and complete

d) distinct and complete

Question 8 of 17

A well-defined question consists of a what” and a _.”

how
why
where
when

b) why

Question 9 of 17

What goes at the bottom of a layer architecture?

hypothesis
background
what’s changed
core idea

b) background

Question 10 of 17

What is the button?

the key analysis that your entire argument rests upon
the link between the layer and column architecture
the first element of your core idea
the objective function your stakeholder cares about most

d) the objective function your stakeholder cares about most

Question 11 of 17

What is the benefit of structuring your communications?

clearer communications
efficient fact gathering
less rework
all of these answers

d) all of these answers

Question 12 of 17

What tells you which facts to include or exclude from your recommendation?

architecture
analysis
background
stakeholders

a) architecture

Question 13 of 17

If you disprove your hypothesis, what should you do?

change the question you’re trying to answer
change the analysis to prove the hypothesis
go home and give up
evaluate your next-best hypothesis

d) evaluate your next-best hypothesis

Question 14 of 17

Which of these are benefits of a good architecture?

prevents rambling communications
avoid irrelevant analysis
audience arrives at your conclusion
all of these answers

d) all of these answers

Question 15 of 17

Why should you get input from stakeholders when refining your story?

to get them to do the analysis
to know what concerns to avoid
to build support for your idea
to keep them from stealing your idea

c) to build support for your idea

Question 16 of 17

Which of the following is NOT part of the core idea?

why
question
button
what

b) question

Question 17 of 17

Your presentation title should be based upon _.

stakeholder preference
market research
your core idea
a column architecture

c) your core idea