ask two questions

Free · interactive · about 10 minutes

How well do you scope a request?

Twelve short situations. In each, someone asks you for something and you do not have every fact. Pick the reply closest to what you would do, not the one you think you should, then score yourself on this page.

Every situation in this quiz is fictional and was made up for practice. The people and workplaces in it are fictional, and so are the AI tools. The hours and times belong to the practice situations, not to any real work. Your picks stay on this page and are not saved or sent anywhere.

This is a self-reflection sheet, not a test. It has no norms and no benchmarks, and nobody has taken it yet. It reflects the answers you picked on twelve made-up situations, not your real work, ability or personality, and the "best" option in each item is the one the two-questions method points to, which real situations can bend. It is for looking at your own habits; don't use it to rate or rank other people.

Area A: Know your half

Situation 1. It's Monday. Your lead asks whether you can add a summary slide to Wednesday's deck. You have about 3 open hours before Wednesday. The slide takes about 2 hours. Your lead can't see your calendar.
Situation 2. It's 12:30. A colleague asks for a revised checklist "by end of day", which you both know means 17:00. The revision takes about 90 minutes. You're in a workshop until 15:00.
Situation 3. A teammate asks you to rename a folder label that you own. It takes about 5 minutes, and nothing else is due today.

Area B: Ask the holder

Situation 4. Tomorrow's agenda lists you as presenter for a 20-minute item you never agreed to. You don't know who added it or who can edit the agenda.
Situation 5. You're to send a six-document packet to a client at 12:00. Four documents are signed off. Two are not, and you assume the manager will sign them today.
Situation 6. Two colleagues each ask you to do their task first today. You can finish only one.

Area C: Count the plan

Situation 7. Your team's plan uses 2h + 2h + 1h = 5h, and you have exactly 5h. A colleague asks you to add one small page that takes about 1h.
Situation 8. Your plan includes a chart that takes 3h. A client says "nothing big": replace the chart with a table (about 1h) and add a filter (about 2h).
Situation 9. You're asked for a 30-minute review "sometime today". Your only open time is 10:00 to 10:20 and 15:00 to 16:00.

Area D: Check the tool

Situation 10. An AI tool reports "all 12 tables checked, no errors." You present the figures at 14:00. You don't know which tables it opened or what "checked" meant.
Situation 11. A vendor's chat agent (a fictional AI) says "Friday delivery is fine." Your launch needs the parts on Friday. You haven't checked the order and don't know what the agent can see.
Situation 12. A client sends a brief "tidied" with an AI assistant. It reads cleaner, but it adds a line asking for a vendor comparison page. Your agreed plan is already full.

0 of 12 answered

Hours and times belong to the practice situations, not to any real work. A next step stays a proposal until the person who decides confirms it.

Practice the two questions.
Play the free fictional cases as a solo game: ask Alex or Otto, reveal the missing facts and write your next-step card.

Play all 8 free cases ↗

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