Civil Service Judgement Test flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

One-way door decision

A choice that is expensive or impossible to reverse. It justifies fuller analysis, wider consultation and senior sign-off, because correcting it later costs far more.

Reversible decision rule

If a decision can be undone cheaply, make it quickly and correct it from the result. Speed plus feedback usually beats extended analysis.

Delegated authority limit

The threshold above which a decision must be escalated to a more senior owner. Deciding beyond it is a procedural breach even when the outcome is sound.

Defensible decision test

Ask whether a reasonable outsider, shown the evidence and the reasoning, would accept the choice. If not, document more or reconsider the option.

Sunk cost fallacy

Continuing an approach because of resources already spent rather than expected future benefit. The only relevant question is what the next unit of effort delivers.

Decision audit trail

A record of the options considered, evidence used, assumptions made and the reason for the choice. It allows review and defends the decision later.

Urgent versus important

Urgent means time-pressured; important means high consequence. They are independent dimensions, and important-but-not-urgent work is where prevention happens.

Critical path

The longest chain of dependent tasks in a delivery. Delay anywhere on it moves the whole end date, while spare time elsewhere absorbs slippage.

Parkinson's law

Work expands to fill the time available for it. Setting a shorter, explicit deadline often compresses delivery without any loss of quality.

Minimum viable deliverable

The smallest output that still meets the need. Releasing it early provides value and exposes problems sooner than a perfect but late version.

Early slippage reporting

Telling stakeholders as soon as a deadline looks at risk, with a revised date and a recovery option, rather than waiting until the deadline passes.

Unblocking task priority

Work that releases other people's work outranks an isolated task of equal size, because its delay propagates across the team and the timetable.

Behaviour not personality

Feedback describing an observable action and its impact can be acted on; feedback labelling someone's character invites defensiveness and factual dispute.

Escalation trigger

Raise an issue with a manager when it repeats despite direct attempts, threatens delivery or safety, or involves bullying, harassment or discrimination.

Restating before countering

Summarising the other person's position until they agree it is accurate, then responding. It lowers defensiveness and tests whether you understood.

Specific request principle

A precise ask naming the task, the owner and the deadline is far more likely to be met than a general appeal for help.

Public credit, private feedback

Praise delivered in front of others reinforces the behaviour; criticism delivered in private protects dignity and keeps attention on the work itself.

Bottom line up front

Stating the conclusion or the request first, then supporting context and detail. Readers often stop early, so the ask must survive that.

Channel-stakes matching

Sensitive or complex messages need a live conversation with tone and questions; routine factual exchanges are faster and better recorded in writing.

Stakeholder power-interest grid

Mapping stakeholders by influence and by interest. High power with high interest needs close management; low on both needs only periodic monitoring.

Active listening check

Summarising what you heard and asking whether it is right before replying. It catches misunderstanding early and signals that the speaker was heard.

Bad news sequencing

Deliver the headline first, then cause, impact, remedy and next step. Burying a problem under background destroys trust when it surfaces.

Stated want versus need

Customers describe a solution they already have in mind; the underlying need is the actual problem, and the best answer may look different.

Consistent policy application

Applying the same rule to comparable cases and recording any discretion used. Unexplained exceptions become the expectation and undermine perceived fairness.

Root cause complaint handling

Fixing complaints one at a time leaves the cause in place. Recurring complaints should trigger a change to the process generating them.

Refusal with reasons

When you cannot help, explain why, offer an alternative route and record the decision. An unexplained refusal reads as indifference rather than constraint.

Minimum data sharing

Sharing only the personal information the other party needs for the stated purpose. Extra detail adds data protection risk with no service benefit.

Change curve

The typical sequence of shock, resistance, exploration and commitment. Resistance is a normal stage of transition, not evidence of disloyalty.

Pilot before scaling

Testing a change on a small scale, measuring what happens, and then rolling out only the elements the evidence supports.

Fixed outcome, flexible method

Holding the goal steady while varying how it is achieved. Changing the goal mid-delivery requires explicit agreement from the accountable owner.

No-blame review

After a setback, examining what happened and why without assigning fault, so people report accurately instead of hiding problems.

Reappraisal for resilience

Separating an event from your interpretation of it. The interpretation drives the stress response and can be revised before you act.