“First I’d try to determine why they were upset or being difficult; once you know what the problem is you can better tackle the issue. Once I had an understanding of what their concerns were when the opportunity arose, I’d seek to address their issues with a measured, reasoned response backed up with the necessary data to bolster the points I’m addressing.”

“The immediate issue with the client’s revenue stream is that it will take a severe hit once the holiday season is over. How to generate revenue outside of the holiday season would be a key point to address with the client. The other concern is with only offering five items. The client is severely limiting their opportunity to generate

“An SQL statement has three parts. There is the Data Definition Language or DDL, the Data Manipulation Language or DML, and the Data Control Language or DCL.”

“The ability to solve problems or make decisions based on evidence instead of guesses and assumptions is the most important aspect of analytical reporting. Data alone won’t solve problems, but it gives you the tools to make well-reasoned decisions that you can explain and justify even if the decision itself doesn’t work out the way you expected.”

“I once had a client who wanted to expand a product line for their store, yet they were struggling to sell many of the products they already carried. Using detailed sales analysis as well as their current profit and loss statement, I explained to them exactly why they should not expand their current line of products, and that they would need to drastically reduce what they were currently selling because only 20 percent of it was profitable for the business.”

“First there are flowcharts. They are essential because they provide a visual representation of a system, which is easy for clients to understand. There are also Activity Diagrams, and their purpose is to showcase the diverse activities occurring in different departments. And then there are Use Case Diagrams that show who interacts with a system and what primary goals they achieve with it.”

The tools I commonly use are Word, Excel, MS Visio, PowerPoint and Rational tools. I also know how to write SQL queries.

"Collaborator buy-in is critical to the success of any project, so I would be sure to front-load discussions about their expectations before getting too deep into a project. I'd priorities, allowing me to emphasize parts of the project that will meet their goals. Next, I'd summarize the critical aspects of our market research and risk analysis so that my reasoning would be clear to all collaborators involved, then use the STAR method to outline my suggested response to the client's problems."