Getting Your Ideas Approved

Internal Quiz

Question 1 of 11
Which step of the process will cause you to iterate more than others?
define the question
select analyses
create the story
discuss and refine the story

discuss and refine the story

Question 2 of 11
You should immediately start manipulating data at the beginning of this process.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 3 of 11
Poor communication leads to lengthy, inefficient process. You end up doing excess, irrelevant analysis and the result is weak, convoluted communications. When this happens, there’s a lack of _ for your ideas. You’ll also lose _ as a thought leader.
excitement; salary
color; schedule opportunities
support; credibility
linear path; clients

support; credibility

Question 4 of 11
A hypothesis is something taken to be true for the sake of argument.
TRUE
FALSE

TRUE

Question 5 of 11
You should choose your architecture based upon your audience.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 6 of 11
You can never combine a layer architecture with a column architecture.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 7 of 11
A column architecture can have more than three columns
TRUE
FALSE

TRUE

Question 8 of 11
You should spend a lot of time perfecting your story at this stage.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 9 of 11
When discussing and refining your story, you should get input from many stakeholders
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 10 of 11
You should never try to disprove your hypothesis.
TRUE
FALSE

FALSE

Question 11 of 11
You should choose your communication vehicle based upon _.
your preference
what your boss likes
how many people are in the room
your audience

your audience

Final Exam

Question 1 of 17
When transforming a layer architecture to a story, you should _.

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invert it
start with the core idea
wordsmith it
do an analysis

a) invert it

Question 2 of 17
A story based on a column architecture starts with a _.

what’s changed
background
core idea
hypothesis

c) core idea

Question 3 of 17
At what point should you wordsmith your story?

when finalizing the communication
when you build your architecture
when you write the core idea
when you first draft the story

a) when finalizing the communication

Question 4 of 17
A good architecture is both distinct and _.

complete
logical
interesting
short

a) complete

Question 5 of 17
When converting a column architecture to a story, what comes first in the story?

column 2
the core idea
column 3
column 1

b) the core idea

Question 6 of 17
How many analyses should you conduct to prove your case?

as many as you can possibly think of
as many as are required to prove the architecture
as few as you can get away with
six

b) as many as are required to prove the architecture

Question 7 of 17
What attributes should the elements of your architecture possess?

linked and nested
full and forthright
compelling and direct
distinct and complete

d) distinct and complete

Question 8 of 17
A well-defined question consists of a what” and a _.”

how
why
where
when

b) why

Question 9 of 17
What goes at the bottom of a layer architecture?

hypothesis
background
what’s changed
core idea

b) background

Question 10 of 17
What is the button?

the key analysis that your entire argument rests upon
the link between the layer and column architecture
the first element of your core idea
the objective function your stakeholder cares about most

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d) the objective function your stakeholder cares about most

Question 11 of 17
What is the benefit of structuring your communications?

clearer communications
efficient fact gathering
less rework
all of these answers

d) all of these answers

Question 12 of 17
What tells you which facts to include or exclude from your recommendation?

architecture
analysis
background
stakeholders

a) architecture

Question 13 of 17
If you disprove your hypothesis, what should you do?

change the question you’re trying to answer
change the analysis to prove the hypothesis
go home and give up
evaluate your next-best hypothesis

d) evaluate your next-best hypothesis

Question 14 of 17
Which of these are benefits of a good architecture?

prevents rambling communications
avoid irrelevant analysis
audience arrives at your conclusion
all of these answers

d) all of these answers

Question 15 of 17
Why should you get input from stakeholders when refining your story?

to get them to do the analysis
to know what concerns to avoid
to build support for your idea
to keep them from stealing your idea

c) to build support for your idea

Question 16 of 17
Which of the following is NOT part of the core idea?

why
question
button
what

b) question

Question 17 of 17
Your presentation title should be based upon _.

stakeholder preference
market research
your core idea
a column architecture

c) your core idea

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