Fast Stream E-Tray Exercises (Prioritisation) — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You arrive Monday morning to find the following in your inbox. Which should you address first? A) An invitation to a team away-day next month. B) A briefing request from your director needed by 10am today. C) A newsletter from a professional body. D) An email from a colleague asking about your weekend.
- B — the director's briefing due today at 10am (Correct answer)
- A — the away-day needs early planning
- C — professional updates are important
- D — colleagues expect prompt social responses
Correct answer: B — the director's briefing due today at 10am
Deadlines from senior officials take highest priority. The briefing is urgent and important — it must be addressed first.
Question 2: You have four tasks to complete today. Using urgent/important prioritisation, which should be done first? A) Reviewing a draft document due in 3 days. B) Responding to a minister's office query sent an hour ago. C) Filing last week's meeting notes. D) Reading an optional policy update.
- B — urgent and important: a ministerial query (Correct answer)
- A — important but less urgent than B
- C — neither urgent nor important
- D — neither urgent nor important
Correct answer: B — urgent and important: a ministerial query
A ministerial query is both urgent and important. It has the highest priority in any prioritisation matrix.
Question 3: An e-tray contains: a complaint letter requiring a response within 5 days, a meeting request for next week, a risk alert about a live IT system, and an FYI email with no action required. What is the correct order of priority?
- Risk alert, complaint letter, meeting request, FYI email (Correct answer)
- Complaint letter, risk alert, meeting request, FYI email
- Meeting request, complaint letter, risk alert, FYI email
- FYI email, risk alert, complaint letter, meeting request
Correct answer: Risk alert, complaint letter, meeting request, FYI email
A live system risk alert could affect operations immediately — it is the most urgent. The complaint has a deadline. The meeting is important but not urgent. The FYI requires no action.
Question 4: Your e-tray contains a complaint from a stakeholder, a request for statistics from the press office needed within the hour, a draft document from a colleague for comment due in two days, and a meeting confirmation. Which do you handle first?
- Press office statistics request — due within the hour (Correct answer)
- Stakeholder complaint — complaints are always first
- Colleague draft — getting ahead shows good time management
- Meeting confirmation — admin tasks should be cleared first
Correct answer: Press office statistics request — due within the hour
The press office request has the nearest, hardest deadline (within the hour) and involves external-facing communications. It must be the immediate priority.
Question 5: You have 90 minutes before an important meeting and four tasks pending. Which task should you defer to after the meeting? A) Prepare talking points for the meeting. B) Email a colleague to confirm a data source. C) Update a tracker that has a weekly deadline. D) Read background papers for the meeting.
- C — the tracker with a weekly deadline (Correct answer)
- A — talking points are critical for the meeting
- B — confirming data may affect the meeting
- D — background papers help you prepare
Correct answer: C — the tracker with a weekly deadline
The tracker has a weekly deadline — it is important but not time-critical right now. Tasks directly related to the upcoming meeting take priority.
Question 6: In an e-tray exercise you find: an email from a journalist requesting comment (1-hour deadline), a fire evacuation notice for a drill in 10 minutes, a request to review a policy document by end of week, and a message from a colleague about a lunch arrangement. What is the correct order of priority?
- Evacuation drill, journalist request, policy document, lunch arrangement (Correct answer)
- Journalist request, evacuation drill, policy document, lunch arrangement
- Policy document, evacuation drill, journalist request, lunch arrangement
- Lunch arrangement, journalist request, policy document, evacuation drill
Correct answer: Evacuation drill, journalist request, policy document, lunch arrangement
Health and safety obligations make the imminent evacuation drill the immediate first priority. The journalist deadline is next. Policy review can wait. Lunch is lowest priority.
Fast Stream E-Tray Exercises (Prioritisation)
You arrive Monday morning to find the following in your inbox.
Which should you address first? A) An invitation to a team away-day next month.
B) A briefing request from your director needed by 10am today.
C) A newsletter from a professional body.
D) An email from a colleague asking about your weekend.