Practice Test Geeks(COM) Certified Operations Manager Practice Test
← All COM Flashcard Decks

Data Analysis & Decision Making Flashcards

7 cards from real COM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Data Analysis & Decision Making flashcards as text

  1. A operations manager notices that defect rates spike every Monday morning. Which analytical approach best identifies the root cause?

    Answer: Time-series disaggregation by shift and day

    Time-series disaggregation breaks data by time segments (shift, day) to isolate patterns linked to specific operational conditions like Monday startup procedures.

  2. When using a decision matrix to choose between capital equipment options, which scoring approach ensures objectivity?

    Answer: Weight criteria by importance, then score each option against each criterion

    A weighted decision matrix assigns importance weights to criteria before scoring, preventing any single factor from dominating the decision.

  3. A plant manager wants to reduce inventory carrying costs. Which data metric is most directly relevant?

    Answer: Inventory turnover ratio

    Inventory turnover ratio measures how frequently inventory is sold and replaced, directly indicating carrying cost efficiency.

  4. What does a p-value below 0.05 indicate in an operational hypothesis test?

    Answer: The result is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level

    A p-value below 0.05 means there is less than a 5% probability that the observed result occurred by chance, indicating statistical significance.

  5. An operations team is comparing two process improvement methods. Which statistical test is most appropriate for comparing their mean output rates?

    Answer: Two-sample t-test

    A two-sample t-test is designed to determine whether the means of two independent groups are statistically different from each other.

  6. Which type of data visualization is best suited for showing the distribution of cycle times across a production run?

    Answer: Histogram

    A histogram displays the frequency distribution of continuous data like cycle times, revealing shape, spread, and central tendency.

  7. An operations manager uses exponential smoothing for demand forecasting. What does a smoothing factor (α) close to 1.0 indicate?

    Answer: The forecast relies almost entirely on the most recent data point

    An α close to 1.0 makes the forecast highly reactive by weighting the most recent observation almost exclusively.