CPT Quality Assurance & Improvement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A performance technologist is reviewing an intervention midway through implementation and finds that facilitators are deviating from the approved design. Which type of evaluation is being conducted?
- Summative evaluation
- Formative evaluation (Correct answer)
- Confirmative evaluation
- Meta-evaluation
Correct answer: Formative evaluation
Formative evaluation occurs during development or implementation to identify and correct problems before they become permanent.
Question 2: Which quality improvement concept focuses on reducing variation in a process to no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities?
- Total Quality Management
- ISO 9001
- Six Sigma (Correct answer)
- Kaizen
Correct answer: Six Sigma
Six Sigma targets a quality level of 3.4 defects per million opportunities, represented statistically as six standard deviations from the mean.
Question 3: A training manager wants to determine whether a newly deployed performance support tool is still producing the desired business results 18 months after launch. Which level of evaluation is most appropriate?
- Level 1 — Reaction
- Level 2 — Learning
- Level 3 — Behavior
- Level 4 — Results (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Level 4 — Results
Level 4 (Results) measures whether the intervention achieved targeted business outcomes such as productivity, quality, or profitability.
Question 4: In a PDCA cycle, what is the primary purpose of the 'Check' phase?
- Identify the root cause of a defect
- Implement the planned process changes
- Compare actual results against expected outcomes (Correct answer)
- Standardize a successful improvement
Correct answer: Compare actual results against expected outcomes
The 'Check' phase involves measuring and analyzing results to determine whether the plan achieved the intended outcomes.
Question 5: Which tool is most useful for visually identifying the relationship between a quality problem and its potential causes?
- Pareto chart
- Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram (Correct answer)
- Control chart
- Scatter plot
Correct answer: Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram
The Ishikawa or fishbone diagram organizes potential causes of a problem into categories, making root-cause analysis structured and visual.
Question 6: An organization measures customer satisfaction scores after every completed training event. This practice is best described as which type of quality assurance activity?
- Benchmarking
- Concurrent monitoring
- Ongoing performance measurement (Correct answer)
- Standards auditing
Correct answer: Ongoing performance measurement
Collecting satisfaction data after each event is an ongoing performance measurement practice that tracks trends and flags deviations over time.
Question 7: According to the HPT model, which step must be completed BEFORE designing a quality improvement intervention?
- Evaluating existing interventions
- Conducting a performance analysis (Correct answer)
- Selecting measurement tools
- Training the implementation team
Correct answer: Conducting a performance analysis
The HPT model requires a performance analysis — identifying the gap between desired and actual performance — before any intervention is designed.
CPT Quality Assurance & Improvement 2
A performance technologist is reviewing an intervention midway through implementation and finds that facilitators are deviating from the approved design.
Which type of evaluation is being conducted?