PT204 – CQI and IRCA Practitioner Managing Change and Continual Improvement Examination [paper 3][v3]

Section 1 – Governance

Question 1.1

Which of the following is NOT a role of the Project Sponsor in an improvement team?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 1.2

Who is accountable to the senior leadership team for the results of improvement projects?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 1.3

The project based improvement cycle is often referred to by the acronym DMAIC. Which of the following are DMAIC stages?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 1.4

What are the main purposes of the 8D approach to problem solving?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 1.5

As an improvement practitioner, you wish to introduce a culture of continual improvement into the workplace. Which improvement approaches would be needed to enable this?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Question 1.6

The leader of a team of improvement project managers carrying out breakthrough improvement projects observes that there is an ongoing issue with a failure to embed a process change resulting from completed projects. Which three of the following are the most likely causes?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Section 2 – Assurance

Question 2.1

Which of the following would typically appear on a workplace “plan the day” visual management board?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 2.2

A lean waste walk has identified a list of potential rapid improvement opportunities. What approach could you apply to generate a prioritised list?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 2.3

Which of the following are benefits of aligning improvement activities with organisational strategic objectives?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 2.4

Breakages have been identified as key improvement opportunity within a service delivery organisation. How can an improvement leader best use this data in a visual way to help identify and track potential improvement activities for kaizen events?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 2.5

When working with a senior team it becomes apparent that some members of the team are not fully supportive of the improvement initiative. Which three of the following approaches would most effectively gain their support?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Question 2.6

You have an issue with the number of defects detected in your service delivery process. Root cause investigation points to a potential issue with quality in one of your data streams originating from a key supplier. You decide to initiate a project to investigate and improve the situation. Success will require the involvement of the supplier in the project. Which three of the following approaches are most likely to gain their willing and enthusiastic engagement?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Section 3 – Improvement

Question 3.1

Which of the following statements about control charts is true?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 3.2

An organisation-wide improvement process, has been adopted. It focusses on rapid kaizen events supported by PDCA cycles and, then, by standardisation. What type of organisational objectives does this type of approach reflect?

(Select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 3.3

As part of the chartering process an improvement specialist is asked who would be the most appropriate sponsor for a potential improvement project. Which of the following would be the most effective recommendation?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 3.4

You are investigating the causes of variation in the output of a key business process. While comparing two measurements (one a results measure, the other a process measure) using a scatter diagram you find a strong linear relationship. What are the most effective next steps?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 3.5

While facilitating a root cause analysis process with a team of managers you find the group has a tendency to lose patience with the process and settle for apparent cause rather than investigating to reach the root cause. Which of the following would be effective actions to take?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Question 3.6

You are to run an introductory workshop for a senior manager group that will include a session on control charts. You want to use some meaningful data, so you decide to adopt local measures used by the people attending the session. You decide that you will ask the attendees to bring their own data, what could prompt the delegates to ensure that useable data is provided?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Section 4 – Context

Question 4.1

Which tool helps understanding of the relationships between the core process of an organisation and its suppliers and customers?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 4.2

An external customer has complained because the length of the steel rods you are supplying them varies between +/- 10mm against a specification limit of +/- 2mm. Which approach would be most effective to address this issue?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 4.3

Your organisation has carried out a number of improvement projects 6 months ago, but with little visible financial benefit being seen. What could be said about the projects that were adopted that could explain this?

(Select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 4.4

A robust strategy is essential to the success of change. When facilitating development of a strategy with a leadership team which of the following questions should be asked?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Section 5 – Leadership

Question 5.1

On the Kubler-Ross change curve model which stage immediately follows the initial “shock phase” when the change impacts the individual?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 5.2

In the context of a RACI chart, which of the following best describes a person who is ‘Accountable’?

(select ONE answer)(1 mark)

Question 5.3

An employee in an invoicing department is asked to adopt a new way of processing customer enquiries as a result of an improvement project you’ve carried out. You
interview their supervisor one month later and to your surprise they state the employee is struggling. Which two behaviours will most likely be observed in the individual at this point?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 5.4

The project charter is a key communication tool, bringing together in a single document a summary overview of a project. Which two of the following must be included in a robust charter?

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 5.5

Organisational transformation is not primarily achieved by the introduction of tools and processes, but by paying attention to the psychological requirements of the staff in order to ensure they are engaged in the transformational process. Identify two key steps that should be taken to ensure workforce engagement.

(select TWO answers)(2 marks)

Question 5.6

You are about to propose a significant increase in the scope of the organisation’s continual improvement initiative. This will require significant investment, primarily in training and staff/resource time to deliver projects. You are concerned that there will be resistance from members of the executive to your plans What three tactics would be most effective to reduce this risk?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Question 5.7

At the start of a change project you have identified three key stakeholders and you arrange to meet them, individually, to discuss the project. The three sentences, below, typify their feelings about the project.

Bill: “It’s what the CEO wants, so it’s going to happen, but I think that it’s a ridiculous waste of time.”

Mary: “I am looking forward to this, it’s something that we should have been doing for years.”

Frank: “I can see that there will be some use from the project but if we could include my team’s activities in the work, I am sure that we can get more out of it.”

Identify the three points on the change curve where the people are roughly sitting.

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)

Question 5.8

You are leading the Strategy Deployment process within a multi-site organisation of 10,000 people. Year 1 went well with each function and location developing their own project portfolio to address local issues. However, this has an unforeseen side effect of re-enforcing localised behaviour. Which of the following would be most effective in correcting for this in the coming year?

(select THREE answers)(3 marks)