IKM Skills Assessment — Questions and Answers

Question 1: An IT project signs a fixed-price contract with a vendor to handle a risky data migration. Which risk response strategy does this represent?

Avoid
Transfer (Correct answer)
Mitigate
Accept

Correct answer: Transfer

Transferring shifts the financial impact and ownership of a risk to a third party, such as a vendor under a fixed-price contract.

Question 2: Which storage type is best suited for storing millions of images and backups accessed through a REST API?

Instance memory
Block storage
SMB file shares
Object storage (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Object storage

Object storage scales massively for unstructured data and is accessed over HTTP APIs.

Question 3: What is the purpose of NAT?

Assign IPs via DHCP
Encrypt data
Translate private IPs to public IPs (Correct answer)
Route between VLANs

Correct answer: Translate private IPs to public IPs

NAT translates private IP addresses to public ones, allowing multiple internal devices to share limited public addresses.

Question 4: Which SQL clause is used to filter groups produced by GROUP BY?

WHERE
LIMIT
HAVING (Correct answer)
ORDER BY

Correct answer: HAVING

HAVING filters after aggregation and can use aggregate functions such as COUNT(*) > 5. WHERE filters individual rows before they are grouped.

Question 5: What is the correct order of the DHCP lease exchange between a new client and a server?

Offer, Discover, Acknowledge, Request
Discover, Offer, Request, Acknowledge (Correct answer)
Discover, Request, Offer, Acknowledge
Request, Offer, Discover, Acknowledge

Correct answer: Discover, Offer, Request, Acknowledge

DHCP follows the DORA sequence: Discover, Offer, Request, Acknowledge.

Question 6: A corporation issues common stock to investors in exchange for $50,000 in cash. What is the immediate effect of this transaction on the company's accounting equation?

Assets decrease and Liabilities increase.
Assets increase and Liabilities increase.
Liabilities decrease and Equity increases.
Assets increase and Equity increases. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Assets increase and Equity increases.

The company receives cash, which is an Asset, so Assets increase by $50,000. The company issues common stock, which is a component of Equity, so Equity increases by $50,000. The accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities + Equity) remains in balance as both sides increase equally ($50,000 = $0 + $50,000).

Question 7: What is the purpose of a subnet mask in IP addressing?

To divide an IP address into network and host portions (Correct answer)
To encrypt data
To define the physical location of a server
To assign an IP address to a device

Correct answer: To divide an IP address into network and host portions

A subnet mask is used in IP addressing to differentiate the network portion of an IP address from the host portion. This division allows for the creation of smaller, more manageable subnetworks within a larger network, improving efficiency, security, and organization of network resources.

Question 8: What is database sharding?

Creating read replicas
Archiving old data
Encrypting data at rest
Horizontally partitioning data across multiple servers (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Horizontally partitioning data across multiple servers

Sharding distributes rows across multiple instances based on a shard key.

Question 9: What is the primary responsibility of a Change Control Board (CCB) on an IT project?

Implementing approved code changes in production
Writing the original project charter
Reviewing and approving or rejecting change requests (Correct answer)
Performing regression testing on every release

Correct answer: Reviewing and approving or rejecting change requests

The CCB is a formal group that evaluates change requests and decides whether they are approved, deferred, or rejected.

Question 10: Which RAID level gives both striping and mirroring, and is often recommended for write-heavy database transaction logs?

RAID 0
RAID 10 (Correct answer)
RAID 5
RAID 6

Correct answer: RAID 10

RAID 10 combines mirroring for redundancy with striping for speed, and avoids the parity write penalty of RAID 5 and 6.

Question 11: What is the purpose of a cron job?

Schedule commands to run automatically at specified times (Correct answer)
Manage passwords
Compress logs manually
Monitor CPU temperature

Correct answer: Schedule commands to run automatically at specified times

Cron is a time-based scheduler executing commands at specified times or intervals.

Question 12: What is scope creep?

Uncontrolled expansion of scope without adjusting time or cost (Correct answer)
Reducing scope to meet deadlines
Moving deliverables to future phases
Planned scope change

Correct answer: Uncontrolled expansion of scope without adjusting time or cost

Scope creep is uncontrolled growth through incremental unapproved changes.

Question 13: What does "HTTP" stand for?

HyperText Transfer Protocol (Correct answer)
High-Tech Transfer Process
Hyperlink Textual Protocol
High Transfer Text Protocol

Correct answer: HyperText Transfer Protocol

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, which is the foundational protocol for data communication on the World Wide Web. It defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.

Question 14: In standard SQL, what happens with SELECT dept, name, COUNT(*) FROM Emp GROUP BY dept?

It returns every employee with a department count
It groups by both dept and name automatically
It raises an error because name is neither grouped nor aggregated (Correct answer)
It returns one arbitrary name per department in all databases

Correct answer: It raises an error because name is neither grouped nor aggregated

Standard SQL requires every non-aggregated SELECT column to appear in GROUP BY (or be functionally dependent on it).

Question 15: In a database that uses MVCC, such as PostgreSQL, why is routine VACUUM maintenance needed?

To remove unused user accounts
To defragment the operating system file system
To reclaim space taken by dead row versions and prevent transaction ID wraparound (Correct answer)
To rebuild every index from scratch

Correct answer: To reclaim space taken by dead row versions and prevent transaction ID wraparound

MVCC leaves obsolete tuple versions behind, and VACUUM clears them out and freezes old transaction IDs.

Question 16: You make a mistake in a report that has already gone to a client. What is the most professional action?

Tell your supervisor right away and suggest a correction (Correct answer)
Blame the software for the error
Wait to see if the client notices
Send a corrected version without explaining

Correct answer: Tell your supervisor right away and suggest a correction

Owning mistakes promptly and offering a fix shows accountability and limits the damage.

Question 17: A company performs services for a client in December but does not receive payment until January of the following year. According to the revenue recognition principle under accrual basis accounting, when should the company record the revenue?

Spread evenly between December and January.
In January, when the cash is received.
At the end of the fiscal year in which the payment is received.
In December, when the services are performed. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: In December, when the services are performed.

The revenue recognition principle, a key part of accrual accounting, dictates that revenue should be recognized when it is earned, regardless of when cash is received. Since the services were performed (earned) in December, the revenue must be recorded in December.

Question 18: A table has heavy INSERT activity on random key values, and page splits are causing fragmentation. Which index setting helps most directly?

Removing the clustered index
Lowering the fill factor to leave free space on each page (Correct answer)
Raising the fill factor to 100%
Turning off automatic statistics updates

Correct answer: Lowering the fill factor to leave free space on each page

A lower fill factor leaves room on index pages for new rows, which cuts down on page splits.

Question 19: How many usable host addresses does a /27 IPv4 subnet provide?

30 (Correct answer)
62
14
32

Correct answer: 30

A /27 leaves 5 host bits (2^5 = 32), minus the network and broadcast addresses gives 30 usable hosts.

Question 20: A company needs to logically separate the network traffic of its Human Resources and Engineering departments, despite all employees being connected to the same physical switches. The primary goals are to enhance security by preventing devices in one department from easily accessing devices in the other and to reduce broadcast traffic. Which technology is MOST suitable for this purpose?

Physical air-gapping of networks
Subnetting with static IP addresses
Quality of Service (QoS) tagging
Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)

Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) are the standard technology for logically segmenting a single physical network into multiple, isolated broadcast domains. By assigning switch ports to different VLANs (e.g., one for HR, one for Engineering), traffic is contained within that VLAN. This enhances security and improves performance by limiting the scope of broadcast traffic.

Question 21: Which system call creates a new process in Unix/Linux?

spawn()
exec()
create()
fork() (Correct answer)

Correct answer: fork()

fork() creates a child process that is a copy of the parent process.

Question 22: Which international standard defines the software product quality model with characteristics such as maintainability, reliability and security?

IEEE 829
ISO 9001
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 25010 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: ISO/IEC 25010

ISO/IEC 25010 (part of SQuaRE) defines the product quality and quality-in-use models, replacing ISO/IEC 9126.

Question 23: Which data visualization principle does the concept of 'data-ink ratio' (Edward Tufte) promote?

Ensuring every chart includes a legend and title for accessibility
Using 3D effects to make charts more visually engaging for executives
Using bright colors to highlight the most important data points
Maximizing the proportion of ink used to convey actual data versus decorative elements (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Maximizing the proportion of ink used to convey actual data versus decorative elements

Tufte's data-ink ratio principle states that every element of a visualization should serve a purpose in conveying data — excess gridlines, borders, and decorative elements ('chartjunk') should be removed.

Question 24: Which statement correctly distinguishes a hard link from a symbolic link on Linux?

Deleting the original file breaks a hard link
A hard link stores the target's path as text
A hard link cannot span different file systems (Correct answer)
A symbolic link cannot point to a directory

Correct answer: A hard link cannot span different file systems

Hard links reference an inode number, which is only meaningful within a single file system.

Question 25: What is the purpose of a load balancer in web application architecture?

To encrypt all data transmissions
To compress HTTP responses
To distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers (Correct answer)
To cache static content locally

Correct answer: To distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers

A load balancer distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server is overwhelmed.

Question 26: During the execution phase of an IT infrastructure upgrade, a key stakeholder submits a formal request to add a new server that was not in the original plan. What is the immediate next step the project manager should take according to standard change control procedures?

Approve the request immediately to avoid delaying the stakeholder.
Reject the request because it constitutes scope creep.
Implement the change and adjust the schedule accordingly.
Log the change request and assess its impact on the project's scope, schedule, and budget. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Log the change request and assess its impact on the project's scope, schedule, and budget.

A formal change control process requires that all change requests are documented and evaluated before being approved or rejected. The first step is to log the request and then conduct a thorough impact assessment on key project constraints like scope, time, and cost. This ensures that decisions are made with a full understanding of the consequences, rather than reacting without analysis.

Question 27: On an IPv4 LAN, which protocol finds the MAC address for a known IP address?

ARP (Correct answer)
NDP
RARP
ICMP

Correct answer: ARP

ARP broadcasts a request for an IPv4 address and the owner replies with its MAC address.

Question 28: Which IT governance framework focuses on IT audit and control objectives?

COBIT (Correct answer)
SAFe
ITIL
TOGAF

Correct answer: COBIT

COBIT is a framework developed by ISACA specifically for IT governance, management, and audit.

Question 29: What is the primary function of Active Directory in a Windows environment?

File compression
Centralized identity and access management (Correct answer)
Network packet routing
Real-time malware scanning

Correct answer: Centralized identity and access management

Active Directory provides centralized authentication and authorization services, managing users, computers, groups, and policies across a Windows domain.

Question 30: What is a 'Slowly Changing Dimension' (SCD) in data warehousing?

A dimension table with fewer than 100 distinct rows
A dimension whose attribute values change over time and must be managed historically (Correct answer)
A fact table column whose values change only on a monthly aggregation schedule
A column that stores timestamp data for ETL auditing purposes

Correct answer: A dimension whose attribute values change over time and must be managed historically

A Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) is a dimension whose attributes change slowly over time (e.g., a customer's address), requiring strategies like Type 1, 2, or 3 to track or overwrite historical values.

Question 31: What is SSH key-based authentication?

Manage SSL certs
Secure password-less authentication using public-private key pairs (Correct answer)
Encrypt DNS queries
Speed up connections

Correct answer: Secure password-less authentication using public-private key pairs

SSH keys provide stronger security than passwords and enable automated logins.

Question 32: A House object creates its Room objects internally, and the rooms cannot exist once the house is destroyed. Which relationship is this?

Composition (Correct answer)
Association
Aggregation
Dependency

Correct answer: Composition

Composition is a strong whole-part relationship where the part's lifecycle is owned by the whole.

Question 33: A database is experiencing slow query performance, specifically on queries involving `WHERE` clauses on non-primary key columns. Which of the following database objects should be created to MOST effectively improve the performance of these queries?

A stored procedure
An index (Correct answer)
A trigger
A view

Correct answer: An index

Indexes are special lookup tables that the database search engine can use to speed up data retrieval. Creating an index on columns frequently used in `WHERE` clauses allows the database to find the matching rows quickly without performing a full table scan, which is a common cause of slow query performance.

Question 34: What does "API" stand for in software development?

Application Protocol Interface
Automated Programming Interface
Advanced Protocol Integration
Application Programming Interface (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Application Programming Interface

API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a set of definitions and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. It specifies how software components should interact, enabling integration and data exchange between systems.

Question 35: What does the cash flow statement classify as operating activities?

Cash from customers and payments to suppliers (Correct answer)
Proceeds from borrowing
Issuing stock and dividends
Purchase of long-term assets

Correct answer: Cash from customers and payments to suppliers

Operating activities include cash flows from core business operations.

Question 36: In a SQL database, which constraint guarantees that a column value matches a value in another table's primary key?

DEFAULT
FOREIGN KEY (Correct answer)
UNIQUE
CHECK

Correct answer: FOREIGN KEY

A FOREIGN KEY enforces referential integrity by requiring values to exist in the referenced primary key.

Question 37: In the V-Model, which test level is planned directly from the requirements analysis phase?

System testing
Acceptance testing (Correct answer)
Integration testing
Unit testing

Correct answer: Acceptance testing

The V-Model pairs requirements analysis with acceptance testing, which validates that the delivered system meets user needs.

Question 38: How are entries ordered when iterating over a TreeMap?

By hash code
By the natural ordering of keys or a supplied Comparator (Correct answer)
In random order
By insertion order

Correct answer: By the natural ordering of keys or a supplied Comparator

TreeMap is a red-black tree sorted by the keys' Comparable order or by the Comparator passed to its constructor.

Question 39: What is the main purpose of the CHECKPOINT operation in a relational database?

Writing dirty pages from memory to disk so less log needs to be replayed during crash recovery (Correct answer)
Making a full backup of the database
Releasing all locks held by idle sessions
Checking referential integrity across all tables

Correct answer: Writing dirty pages from memory to disk so less log needs to be replayed during crash recovery

A checkpoint flushes modified buffer pages to disk, which shortens recovery time after a crash.

Question 40: Which of the following is a type of malware?

Firewall
Encryption
Trojan Horse (Correct answer)
Cloud storage

Correct answer: Trojan Horse

A Trojan Horse is a type of malicious software that disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it. Once installed, it can create backdoors, steal data, or cause other damage, making it a significant cybersecurity threat.

IKM Skills Assessment

The IKM assessment is an adaptive knowledge measurement test used by employers to evaluate technical proficiency across IT, finance, and workforce skills.

Questions

60 min

Time Limit

70%

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