Analytical Thinking & Problem Decomposition Flashcards
6 cards from real Epic Skills Assessment practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Analytical Thinking & Problem Decomposition flashcards as text
You notice that error rates spike every Monday morning. What type of pattern is this, and what is the most logical hypothesis?
Answer: A cyclical pattern likely caused by a weekly event such as a batch job, system restart, or increased Monday traffic
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.
Which cognitive bias causes analysts to favor information that confirms their existing hypothesis while discounting contradictory evidence?
Answer: Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias leads analysts to unconsciously seek and weight evidence that supports their initial conclusion, potentially missing the true root cause.
A manager asks you to prioritize a backlog of 20 tasks. Which framework would most efficiently help you distinguish urgent vs. important tasks?
Answer: Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/important quadrants)
The Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks by urgency and importance, helping you focus on what matters rather than just what feels pressing.
When analyzing a dataset, you find that removing 3 outliers changes the average by 40%. What should you do?
Answer: Investigate why those outliers exist before deciding whether to exclude them
Outliers may represent errors, special cases, or the most important data points — investigation must precede any decision to exclude them.
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?
Answer: The organization's strategic planning horizon and current cash flow constraints
Whether to prioritize short- or long-term ROI depends on the organization's strategic timeline and whether it can fund the investment period.
Which of the following demonstrates deductive reasoning?
Answer: All EHR systems require user authentication; Epic is an EHR system; therefore Epic requires user authentication
Deductive reasoning applies a general rule to a specific case to reach a logically certain conclusion, given the premises are true.