CSC Assessment & Evaluation Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A senior consultant is conducting a capability maturity assessment for a client. Which model is most commonly used to assess process maturity levels from 1 (Initial) to 5 (Optimizing)?
- Six Sigma DMAIC
- Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) (Correct answer)
- Balanced Scorecard
- PESTLE Analysis
Correct answer: Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
CMMI provides a structured framework for assessing and improving process maturity across five levels from Initial to Optimizing.
Question 2: When evaluating a client's organizational readiness for change, which assessment approach gathers anonymous ratings from employees across all levels simultaneously?
- One-on-one structured interviews
- Focus group facilitation
- Likert-scale survey instrument (Correct answer)
- Shadowing and observation
Correct answer: Likert-scale survey instrument
Likert-scale surveys allow simultaneous, anonymous collection of attitudes and readiness perceptions across a broad population.
Question 3: A consultant performing a root cause analysis discovers multiple contributing factors to a client's operational problem. Which tool best visualizes the relationship between a problem and its potential causes?
- Gantt chart
- Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram (Correct answer)
- Scatter plot matrix
- Decision tree
Correct answer: Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram
The fishbone diagram organizes potential causes into categories (e.g., people, process, equipment) branching from the central problem.
Question 4: In evaluating an IT project's success post-implementation, which metric most directly measures whether the project delivered its intended business value?
- Schedule variance (SV)
- Defect density rate
- Benefits realization rate (Correct answer)
- Resource utilization percentage
Correct answer: Benefits realization rate
Benefits realization rate compares the actual business benefits achieved against those promised in the business case.
Question 5: A senior consultant is asked to validate findings from a qualitative stakeholder assessment. Which technique involves triangulating data by using multiple independent sources?
- Benchmarking
- Sensitivity analysis
- Cross-validation triangulation (Correct answer)
- Gap analysis
Correct answer: Cross-validation triangulation
Triangulation cross-checks qualitative findings across multiple data sources or methods to enhance credibility and reduce bias.
Question 6: When conducting a financial performance evaluation, a consultant calculates that a project's NPV is negative. What does this primarily indicate?
- The project will exceed its budget
- The project does not generate sufficient return to justify the investment (Correct answer)
- The project has poor schedule performance
- The project has high operational risk
Correct answer: The project does not generate sufficient return to justify the investment
A negative NPV means the present value of costs exceeds the present value of benefits, indicating the investment destroys rather than creates value.
Question 7: A consultant uses a heat map during a risk assessment workshop. What does the heat map primarily communicate?
- The timeline of risk events across the project lifecycle
- The combined likelihood and impact severity of identified risks (Correct answer)
- The stakeholder ownership of each identified risk
- The financial exposure associated with each risk category
Correct answer: The combined likelihood and impact severity of identified risks
A risk heat map plots risks on a likelihood-versus-impact grid, visually prioritizing which risks demand the most attention.
CSC Assessment & Evaluation Techniques 2
A senior consultant is conducting a capability maturity assessment for a client.
Which model is most commonly used to assess process maturity levels from 1 (Initial) to 5 (Optimizing)?