All the tasks are done. Can you accept the project?
A warehouse scanning project has completed all 40 delivery tasks. The sponsor asks whether it is successful.
The question
Alder Works, its warehouses and all records are fictional. You are the project manager. A mismatch is one incorrect stock record; the same counting method is used in each sample.
| Records checked | Mismatches | |
|---|---|---|
| Before project | 10000 | 200 |
| Pilot | 8000 | 120 |
The samples cover comparable stock types. Each record is checked once.
At most 1% of checked stock records may be mismatches. The warehouse operations lead accepts the result; the sponsor approves closure.
- TeamAll 40 planned tasks are complete. The AI summary says the project has met its goal.
“Choose your next action and explain the evidence behind it.”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: What defines success?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Check the agreed outcome
The strong move. The task list records delivery activity; the acceptance criterion records the required outcome.
Close the project because all 40 tasks are complete.
Tempting, but it misses something. Completed tasks do not prove the acceptance criterion.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Check the agreed mismatch rate with the operations lead.”
Why it works: The task list records delivery activity; the acceptance criterion records the required outcome.
Step 2: Does the pilot pass?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Calculate the pilot rate
The strong move. Use each sample’s own denominator.
Call the pilot successful because mismatches fell from 200 to 120.
Tempting, but it misses something. The samples have different sizes, and a reduction is not the agreed threshold.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The pilot has 120 / 8,000 = 1.5% mismatches. It improves on 2%, but fails the 1% criterion.”
Why it works: Use each sample’s own denominator.
Step 3: Does the correction change acceptance?
The operations lead verifies that 20 pilot mismatch reports were duplicate entries. The 8,000 checked records remain unchanged; the corrected mismatch count is 100.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Use the verified correction
The strong move. The audit changes the evidence, not the agreed standard.
Accept the project now that some reports were duplicates.
Tempting, but it misses something. The corrected rate remains above the threshold.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Use the verified count of 100. The corrected rate is 1.25%, so acceptance still fails.”
Why it works: The audit changes the evidence, not the agreed standard.
Step 4: What happens next?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Agree a correction plan
The strong move. Name who accepts the work and what evidence they need.
Change the criterion to 1.5% without sponsor approval.
Tempting, but it misses something. Changing the goal after measurement hides the unresolved outcome.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Agree a short correction plan, repeat the agreed check and seek operations acceptance before sponsor closure.”
Why it works: Name who accepts the work and what evidence they need.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Keep acceptance open and agree the next verified check.
- Because
- Even the corrected 1.25% result exceeds the agreed 1% limit.
- What would change it
- A passing repeat sample or an explicitly approved change in acceptance criteria.
Common traps
- A smaller raw count can hide a worse rate.
- A task completion summary cannot approve closure.
Check your answer
- I used the right denominator.
- I kept activity separate from outcome.
- I updated the count after verification.
- I named the acceptance owner.
Last reviewed Nov 10, 2026