These are four sample questions from Bryq’s Strategic & Critical Thinking assessment, a soft skills test for hiring candidates who need to analyze complex situations and make sound decisions. The full assessment covers four skills: problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and strategic decision-making. Each question sets out a workplace challenge and asks which response shows the best judgment, from four options.
Problem-Solving
Question
You are leading a team that has just delivered a project on time, but post-delivery feedback reveals several recurring quality issues that were not flagged during the process. What is the best first step?
Select your answer
Map the delivery process end-to-end to identify at which stages the quality issues originated and why they were not surfaced earlier.
Speak with the team members involved to understand what they observed during delivery.
Review the feedback in detail and compile a list of the issues raised before taking any action.
Implement additional quality checks at the final stage to prevent similar feedback in future.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Tracing the process identifies both where defects entered and why they went undetected.
Critical Thinking
Question
A manager presents a proposal and supports it by noting that a well-respected competitor adopted the same approach last year. What is the most important consideration before accepting this reasoning?
Select your answer
Assess whether the competitor’s context, goals, and circumstances are comparable to your organisation’s before drawing any conclusions.
Accept the reasoning since competitors operating in the same market face similar challenges.
Ask whether the competitor’s approach has been publicly evaluated for its outcomes.
Check how many other competitors have adopted the approach, to see whether it has become an industry standard.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
What worked for one organisation is only relevant if the conditions are comparable.
Decision Making
Question
You are asked to approve a resource request from a team, but the business case is incomplete and the deadline for a decision is tomorrow. What is the best approach?
Select your answer
Identify the most critical missing information, request it urgently, and make the most informed decision possible within the available time.
Approve the request provisionally to avoid blocking the team, and review the full case once it is complete.
Decline the request until a complete business case is submitted.
Delay the decision and ask for the deadline to be extended so the case can be properly evaluated.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Prioritising the gaps that matter most and deciding within the deadline balances rigour with timeliness.
Strategic Decision
Question
Your organisation is performing well in its current market, but early signals suggest that a structural shift in the industry could reduce demand for your core offering within three to five years. What is the best response?
Select your answer
Raise the signals with relevant stakeholders, begin exploring strategic options, and build early-stage contingency planning into your current cycle.
Monitor the signals closely and initiate strategic planning once the shift becomes more certain.
Continue focusing on current performance while tasking a small group with investigating the signals separately.
Wait for leadership to acknowledge the shift before adjusting strategic priorities.
