STAR Questions Flashcards
Describe a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?
Cashflow
At Flybe, the Group Finance Controller asked me to update him on the progress of a cashflow report as he was presenting it to the board in a few days’ time. Due to a miscommunication, this request had not come through to me, so development on this had not started. I knew how important this request was, as it was critical that we could show an accurate view of Cashflow. I began redesigning the existing Cashflow Report and developing the TM1 architecture, working into the early hours. I was speaking with the Group Financial Controller regularly and advised him that the deadline was slipping, he appreciated being kept in the loop and was able to secure a short extension to the presentation. After 3 days, I had finished the report and it was presented to the board without an issue. I was really pleased with the result as I had turned around a development request in very quick time. I was thanked by the GFC for my work.
Tell me about a mistake you’ve made. How did you handle it?
At Flybe a colleague asked if I could make a quick change in the TM1 live environment as they needed the logic to be updated in a CFO report that was required urgently. I complied and made the necessary changes. Shortly after making the change, a few users spoke to me about some data that did not seem correct. I did some troubleshooting to find that the change I had made had caused data to be incorrect in a separate report. I circulated information to Finance about the data issue and then worked in the TM1 development environment to come up with an alternative solution. I tested the revised solution until I was happy that both reports were calculating correctly. I then migrated these changes to the live environment and sat with users to ensure they were happy with the revised output. I learnt that you must always make changes in the development environment first, no matter how small the change, otherwise you can risk compromising the data.
Share an example of a time you had to make a difficult decision. What did you do?
At Flybe, a new business model had been moved to the TM1 live environment and users had started pulling reports from it. After a short time, we found that the RAM usage on the TM1 server had become very high and had reached critical limits. I was concerned that data could become corrupted or that the server may restart unexpectedly. At the same time TM1 data was being presented to external stakeholders. I decided that the TM1 server had to continue running but that I had to swiftly find ways to reduce the RAM usage. I took continuous backups of the live environment to ensure that if there was a sudden crash, the data loss would be very minimal, and it could be restored. I also took steps to bring the total RAM used down slightly so that TM1 could continue to be used for the rest of that day. After the users had finished, I was able to isolate the issue and make the necessary changes which meant the new model would no longer be causing RAM issues.
Explain a situation where you used data or logic to make a recommendation.
Whilst speaking with members of the finance team I discovered that their existing route reporting method was on a slower Excel based system, was taking days to deliver and required a complete overhaul. I was involved in the initial scoping sessions with members from Finance and Commercial teams. I visualised the model during meetings to demonstrate how data would flow and discussed how the business logic would be realised in the model. I designed the model in the TM1 development environment and tested it as I went along. Finally, I finished the coding in TM1 and presented it to the various teams in group workshops. This new business model made it easy to access reliable and up to date information and it reduced the time it took to gather this information from 3 days down to less than an hour.
The business models I designed at Flybe supported decision-making and replaced legacy or excel-based models. This brought a significant timesaving and allowed users to spend more time doing value-added tasks.
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you resolve it?
At Flybe I was tasked with developing a new Financial Reporting by Route model in TM1. My manager wanted the new model to be completely rule driven, meaning that the calculations delivered were almost instant, but with a big impact to the space on the server. I wanted to make the model process driven, it would not be as quick but would save space on the server. We discussed both solutions at length. Considering my managers comments, I built the new model with a combination of rules and process logic. This meant that the new model was very quick and did not take up too much space on the server. We were both pleased with the outcome.
Describe a time when you had to deliver bad news. How did you do it?
At Flybe I had been speaking with a colleague who needed assistance debugging some visual basic scripting on an aged debtors report. I initially agreed that I could do it but before I was due to start the work it was deprioritised, as I had to work on other projects. I spoke with them to say that I could no longer work on the scripting, but I explained the task to a team member who was able to assist. My colleague appreciated that I had found an alternative person to carry out the task.
Tell me about a time you worked with other departments to complete a project.
At Flybe, I was invited to a meeting with members from Commercial, Revenue and Finance teams to scope out a new reporting by flight model. I was tasked with developing and demonstrating the model in TM1. I frequently attended workshops with colleagues from other departments where we would brainstorm ideas and improvements to the build. The project took 3 months to complete and working closely with colleagues helped ensure that the build aligned as closely as possible to the requirements.
The project was finished within the timeframe and showed accurate forecast financial information by flight, which had not previously been possible.
Share an example of a time when you failed. What did you learn from the experience?
A colleague in Finance showed me a report they had pulled from TM1 a month prior that was showing different values to an identical report they just created. This information was being shared with stakeholders so was imperative that it was accurate. I agreed to investigate why the numbers had changed by looking into the rule calculations in TM1. I recalled that these specific rules were changed recently when sat with another colleague in Finance. Unfortunately, I failed to communicate this change and as a result a report was distributed which meant assumptions on the rule calculations were no longer valid. I was honest and explained that the change should have been communicated as soon as it was made. I learnt to take a slower, more methodical approach when it came to change management and to ensure that any changes were circulated before moving on.
Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a specific goal.
Members of Finance wanted to know what data was held in TM1 so that slower spreadsheets could be replaced with TM1 views and applications.
I was tasked with mapping out the entire Flybe TM1 universe so that myself and others could gain a better understanding of the data. I went through each T.I process and rule file and meticulously wrote down every link between each cube and what the purpose of each cube was and how it all fit together. Using the diagram that I created, we were able to circulate information to Finance about where data was held in TM1. We found that a user was taking a few days every month collating information in spreadsheets when the information was already available in TM1. I was able to assist the user in designing a new report that pulled the information from TM1. We were also able to isolate cubes and processes that were no longer used and could be archived, saving space on the server and improving server performance.
