Final test & Certificate

Choose the best answer for each question.

To pass: at least 8 of 10 correct.

1. Question 1. What is an A3 fundamentally?

   AAn administrative form to complete for procedure's sakeBA container for a thinking process that forces you through each step in orderCA polished presentation to persuade management

2. Question 2. What are the steps of the PDCA cycle?

   APlan – Do – Check – ActBPrepare – Deliver – Close – AnalyseCProblem – Data – Cause – Action

3. Question 3. What does 'Genchi Genbutsu' mean?

   AContinuous improvement in small stepsBGoing to where the problem happens and observing directlyCStandardising the process after an improvement

4. Question 4. In a good A3, which part takes the most effort?

   AThe proposed solutionBUnderstanding the problem, current state and cause analysis (boxes 1–4)CFormatting and presentation

5. Question 5. Which problem statement meets the standard?

   A'Onboarding has problems because pay isn't competitive.'B'In 12 months, 8 of 24 new hires (33%) left within 90 days; the industry benchmark is under 15%.'C'New hires keep leaving, we need a pay rise now.'

6. Question 6. Why shouldn't a problem statement contain a cause?

   ABecause it would make the statement too longBBecause it locks the analysis into one unverified directionCBecause managers dislike reading causes

7. Question 7. What if a 5 Whys chain ends with a person's name?

   AYou've found the root cause and can stopBYou're not finished — ask why the system allowed that error to happenCYou should switch to analysing another branch

8. Question 8. How do the fishbone diagram and 5 Whys differ?

   AFishbone goes WIDE across cause categories; 5 Whys goes DEEP down one branchBFishbone is for manufacturing, 5 Whys for office workCThey are exactly the same tool

9. Question 9. Why does Toyota say 'countermeasure' rather than 'solution'?

   ABecause it's a required technical termBBecause it acknowledges this is the best action we know now, to be validated and possibly adjustedCBecause 'solution' is reserved for management

10. Question 10. When a countermeasure MEETS its target at the Check step, what must Act do?

    AReport the success and move to another problemBStandardise: write the new way into the official process and train the people involvedCLeave everything as it is and change nothing further