Question at position 40 Jacob is a junior consultant at McKinsey and has been invited to be a part of a team that has been tasked with coming up with a process improvement in the oil industry. He knows that a good first step in the process is to interview people to understand the problem and the needs of those he’ll be designing for. He looks back to his SEM310 notes for some ideas for best practices on how to do this. What is NOT a strategy he’d find in those notes? Jacob is a junior consultant at McKinsey and has been invited to be a part of a team that has been tasked with coming up with a process improvement in the oil industry. He knows that a good first step in the process is to interview people to understand the problem and the needs of those he’ll be designing for. He looks back to his SEM310 notes for some ideas for best practices on how to do this. What is NOT a strategy he’d find in those notes? Asking open-ended questionsAsking questions to probe their opinions as opposed to pitching a productContinuing to probe even if respondents seem uncomfortable with a questionAsking general questions as opposed to personal questionsTrying to actively listen to responses and ask appropriate follow-up questionsClear my selectionSingle choice
A
Asking open-ended questions
B
Asking questions to probe their opinions as opposed to pitching a product
C
Continuing to probe even if respondents seem uncomfortable with a question
D
Asking general questions as opposed to personal questions
E
Trying to actively listen to responses and ask appropriate follow-up questions

Question

Question at position 40 Jacob is a junior consultant at McKinsey and has been invited to be a part of a team that has been tasked with coming up with a process improvement in the oil industry. He knows that a good first step in the process is to interview people to understand the problem and the needs of those he’ll be designing for. He looks back to his SEM310 notes for some ideas for best practices on how to do this. What is NOT a strategy he’d find in those notes? Jacob is a junior consultant at McKinsey and has been invited to be a part of a team that has been tasked with coming up with a process improvement in the oil industry. He knows that a good first step in the process is to interview people to understand the problem and the needs of those he’ll be designing for. He looks back to his SEM310 notes for some ideas for best practices on how to do this. What is NOT a strategy he’d find in those notes? Asking open-ended questionsAsking questions to probe their opinions as opposed to pitching a productContinuing to probe even if respondents seem uncomfortable with a questionAsking general questions as opposed to personal questionsTrying to actively listen to responses and ask appropriate follow-up questionsClear my selectionSingle choice

A

Asking open-ended questions

B

Asking questions to probe their opinions as opposed to pitching a product

C

Continuing to probe even if respondents seem uncomfortable with a question

D

Asking general questions as opposed to personal questions

E

Trying to actively listen to responses and ask appropriate follow-up questions

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Context: The question asks which item is NOT a strategy you’d find in SEM310 notes about interviewing stakeholders to understand problems and needs.
Option 1: 'Asking open-ended questions' — This is a classic interviewing strategy. Open-ended questions encourage rich, detailed responses and better understanding of needs, so this would be listed in best-practice notes.
Option 2: 'Asking questions to probe their opinions as opposed to pitching a product' — Probing opinions rather than pitching aligns with user-centered interviewing practices that seek authentic insights, so this is likely included in the notes.
Option 3: 'Continuing to probe even if respondents seem uncomfortable with a question' — This is a red flag in interview best practices. Pushing respondents beyond their comfort can bias responses, reduce trust, and violate ethical guidelines; hence, it would NOT be recommended in SEM310 notes.
Option 4: 'Asking general questions as opposed to personal questions' — Balancing general questions with relevant context is a common approach to gather broad information without making people uncomfortable, so this would be consistent with standard interviewing guidance.
Option 5: 'Trying to actively listen to responses and ask appropriate follow-up questions' — Active listening and well-timed follow-ups are foundational interviewing skills and would be highlighted in best-practice notes.
In summary, the only option that conflicts with ethical and effective interviewing practices is option 3, since it promotes persistence despite discomfort, which undermines reliable data collection and respondent respect.