Epic Skills Assessment Analytical Thinking & Problem Decomposition 2

Question 1

You notice that error rates spike every Monday morning. What type of pattern is this, and what is the most logical hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A cyclical pattern likely caused by a weekly event such as a batch job, system restart, or increased Monday traffic

Answer

A recurring pattern tied to a specific day strongly suggests a scheduled event or behavioral pattern — like a weekly batch process or first-day load surge.

Question 2

Which cognitive bias causes analysts to favor information that confirms their existing hypothesis while discounting contradictory evidence?

Accepted Answer

Confirmation bias

Answer

Confirmation bias leads analysts to unconsciously seek and weight evidence that supports their initial conclusion, potentially missing the true root cause.

Question 3

A manager asks you to prioritize a backlog of 20 tasks. Which framework would most efficiently help you distinguish urgent vs. important tasks?

Accepted Answer

Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/important quadrants)

Answer

The Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks by urgency and importance, helping you focus on what matters rather than just what feels pressing.

Question 4

When analyzing a dataset, you find that removing 3 outliers changes the average by 40%. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Investigate why those outliers exist before deciding whether to exclude them

Answer

Outliers may represent errors, special cases, or the most important data points — investigation must precede any decision to exclude them.

Question 5

You are asked to evaluate two competing proposals. Proposal X has stronger short-term ROI, Proposal Y has stronger long-term ROI. What additional information would most change your recommendation?

Accepted Answer

The organization's strategic planning horizon and current cash flow constraints

Answer

Whether to prioritize short- or long-term ROI depends on the organization's strategic timeline and whether it can fund the investment period.

Epic Skills Assessment Practice Test

Epic Skills Assessment Practice Test

Epic Skills Assessment Analytical Thinking & Problem Decomposition 2