Fundamentals & Core Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real CSC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Fundamentals & Core Principles flashcards as text
In senior consulting, 'benchmarking' is best used to:
Answer: Compare a client's performance metrics against industry peers or best-in-class organizations
Benchmarking provides external reference points that reveal performance gaps and identify realistic improvement targets.
Which type of consulting deliverable is typically used to secure executive buy-in at the start of an engagement?
Answer: Kickoff presentation or project charter
A kickoff presentation or charter aligns stakeholders on objectives, scope, and roles before work begins.
When applying root cause analysis, which technique asks 'why' iteratively until the underlying cause is identified?
Answer: 5 Whys
The 5 Whys technique drills down through symptom layers to expose the true root cause of a problem.
A senior consultant is asked to lead a team of junior consultants. Which leadership behavior most directly improves team output quality?
Answer: Providing structured feedback tied to specific work products and coaching toward improvement
Structured, work-product-linked feedback accelerates skill development while maintaining deliverable quality.
What distinguishes a 'strategic recommendation' from a 'tactical recommendation' in consulting?
Answer: Strategic recommendations address long-term positioning and capability; tactical ones address immediate operational actions
Strategic recommendations shape future direction and competitive positioning, while tactical ones resolve near-term operational challenges.
Which consulting principle requires that the engagement team avoid overcomplicating solutions when simpler approaches achieve the same outcome?
Answer: Occam's Razor / parsimony
Parsimony or Occam's Razor guides consultants to prefer the simplest effective solution to reduce implementation risk and cost.
At the close of a consulting engagement, what is the primary purpose of a 'lessons learned' session?
Answer: To capture insights that improve future engagement performance and client outcomes
Lessons learned sessions institutionalize knowledge, enabling continuous improvement across the consulting practice.