When did new evidence change your mind?
Explain your first proposal and how you revised it.
The question
Your student support group used a long online signup form. Several visitors walked away at a trial. You proposed shortening the form. The group held off until another session.
- Your groupSeveral visitors left before registration. We did not record where they stopped.
- YouI suggested trying a shorter version before adopting the form.
“In an individual finalist conversation, explain what you proposed and how you would test it.”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Tell the decision story
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Explain why you made the suggestion and why you did not treat it as settled.
The strong move. Give the proposal and the evidence you had at the time.
Say the first trial proved the form was too long.
Tempting, but it misses something. The first trial recorded people leaving. It did not establish whether they had opened the form or reached a long section.
See how a strong candidate says it
“When people walked away, I suggested shortening the form. We kept the current version for another session because we didn’t know where people had stopped.”
Why it works: Give the proposal and the evidence you had at the time.
Step 2: Say what you would check
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Check where people stopped and what they needed.
The strong move. The point where people stop helps you distinguish different causes.
Use the total number of registrations per day as the only measure.
Tempting, but it misses something. Registration totals also change with visitor volume. They do not identify a problem with the form.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I would ask volunteers to note where people stopped and what help they needed. That would show us where to look before we change the form.”
Why it works: The point where people stop helps you distinguish different causes.
Step 3: Use the new observation
A volunteer reports that visitors who left had not opened the form because their phones could not load it. At a later session, the visitors who were offered the same questions on paper completed them.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Offer both formats and track where visitors get stuck.
The strong move. The two formats let you investigate access while keeping the questions comparable.
Shorten the online form and keep it as the only option.
Tempting, but it misses something. Visitors who could not open the online form still could not answer a shorter version.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I would try the same core questions on paper and online. The new observation points to trouble opening the form, and shortening it would not fix that.”
Why it works: The two formats let you investigate access while keeping the questions comparable.
Step 4: Explain the change
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Credit the observation and propose a test that keeps the questions the same.
The strong move. Name the evidence that changed your mind and the question it leaves open.
Conclude that paper works better for every visitor.
Tempting, but it misses something. The volunteer describes a problem for some visitors in one setting. The group has no comparison across all visitors.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I started with a guess about form length. The volunteer’s observation changed my view. I would test paper and online versions with the same questions, then check whether people still leave once they can open or read the form.”
Why it works: Name the evidence that changed your mind and the question it leaves open.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Explain the change from shortening the form to testing access first.
- Because
- The new observation locates the failure before the visitors reach the questions.
- What would change it
- If visitors who can access either version still leave partway through, test a shorter question set separately.
Common traps
- Presenting a first guess as a conclusion.
- Changing two things at once when you want to learn which mattered.
Check your answer
- I explained my first decision.
- I gave the check I needed.
- I changed my view after the observation.
- I said what remains open.
Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026