Creating Compelling Reports Course Final Exam Answers

Creating Compelling Reports Course Final Exam Answers Full 100%

In the realm of data-driven decision-making, the ability to create compelling reports is invaluable. The Creating Compelling Reports course is designed to equip you with the skills needed to present data in a clear, engaging, and persuasive manner. In this post, we provide the complete set of answers for the course’s Final Exam, ensuring you achieve a full 100%. These answers will not only help you excel in your assessment but also reinforce your understanding of effective report creation techniques. Whether you’re a business professional, analyst, or student, mastering these skills will enhance your ability to communicate insights and drive informed decisions. Let’s explore the key answers and elevate your report-writing proficiency!

1. When producing a report, which step should you complete before conducting your research and gathering the data?

   • Determine the purpose of your report.
   • Schedule the presentation meeting.
   • Organize your data and findings.
   • Write the report.
     

     Explanation & Hint: The best option is to identify the purpose of the report. Scheduling the presentation should be something that happens once the report is drafted. You never know how long it will take. Organizing your data and findings can’t happen until you have the data to organize, and writing the report without data would be difficult.

2. Match the steps of report planning in the correct order.

   • Organize your data and findings.
   • Conduct research and gather data.
   • Determine the purpose of your report.
   • Write the report.
   • Identify your audience.
     Options:1243

     5

   • Explanation & Hint: Place the options in the following order: Determine the purpose of your report. 1 Identify your audience. 2 Conduct research and gather data. 3 Organize your data and findings. 4 Write the report. 5

3. Match the report type with the correct purpose.

   • Persuade
   • Solve a problem
   • Inform
     Options:A presentation for the marketing team to present customer data and key customer insights.A written report for the IT Director about a lack of security patches that must be upgraded immediately.An email report to the IT Director outlining the details of someone gaining unauthorized access to the company’s network.

   • Explanation & Hint: Place the options in the following order: Inform A presentation for the marketing team to present customer data and key customer insights. Persuade A written report for the IT Director about a lack of security patches that must be upgraded immediately. Solve a problem An email report to the IT Director outlining the details of someone gaining unauthorized access to the company’s network.

4. As a junior cybersecurity analyst, you are responsible for monitoring, analyzing, investigating, and resolving cybersecurity breaches, threats, and events that could impact the organization’s security. One day, you notice that several users are receiving phishing emails that appear to be from a trusted vendor. After investigating the issue, you discover a hacker has compromised the company’s email system. To address the issue, block the sender, isolate and delete suspicious emails, and send a cybersecurity alert email.

   Who is the target audience for the initial cybersecurity alert email?

   • Supervisors
   • Peers in Network Administration
   • All company employees
   • Company shareholders
   • Colleagues in IT Department

   • Explanation & Hint: All company employees need to know about the attack, so they are the target audience for the initial email. Shareholders are not involved in something this minor, and all other colleagues would likely receive more detailed information later in the process.

5. What is the best technique to help you learn more about your audience?

   • Relying on written feedback after you author your first report.
   • Asking questions about the company, culture, and audience.
   • Searching online for information about the company.
   • Researching previous reports.

   • Explanation & Hint: While all these methods could work, the best option is to ask questions about the company, culture, and audience. This gives you feedback quickly and efficiently and ensures a current perspective. Previous reports may be out of style as the company changes.

6. As a cybersecurity analyst, you produce a security awareness training report for designers who build employee training. This training should fill the gaps from previous training programs. What is the best way to efficiently identify an employee’s needs?

   • Consult with the HR manager to identify the key performance indicators.
   • Give all current employees a standardized test to determine their knowledge gaps.
   • Look at previous reports from stakeholder training courses to identify common concerns.
   • Conduct interviews or surveys with stakeholders to gather feedback on what information is most important to them.

   • Explanation & Hint: While all of these methods could provide information, looking at previous reports from courses is the most efficient way to identify what information employees still need. Asking directly or testing employees isn’t an efficient way to gather the data because it takes too much time from the employees, and asking the HR manager doesn’t clearly understand what the employees currently know.

7. What four characteristics describe a formal writing style? (Choose four.)

   • respectful and positive tone
   • email or text formats
   • using third person point of view
   • objective
   • building relationships
   • simple non-controversial topic
   • evidence-based
   • casual voice

   • Explanation & Hint: A formal writing style is characterized by a respectful and positive tone, using the third person point of view, being objective, and being evidence-based in your writing.

8. Why are reports valuable to businesses?

   • They are a legal requirement for certain industries.
   • They keep employees busy and productive.
   • They provide valuable insights and information that can inform business decisions.
   • They improve company culture and morale.

   • Explanation & Hint: Reports are essential tools for businesses to measure performance, track progress, and identify areas for improvement. By analyzing data and presenting it in a clear and concise format, reports provide decision-makers with the information they need to make informed choices that can help drive the business forward. While reports may be required in certain industries, their primary value lies in the insights they provide and the opportunities they create for businesses to grow and succeed.

9. What four characteristics provide value to all business reports? (Choose four.)

   • complex
   • concise
   • data-driven
   • formal
   • highly detailed
   • subjective
   • timely
   • well-structured

   • Explanation & Hint: All business reports increase in value by being concise, well-structured, data-driven, and timely. While some situations may require a high level of detail or formality, not all reports follow those guidelines. Subjective and complex reports are usually not valuable in business.

10. You are preparing to deliver a report on the status of a current network upgrade project to the team working with you. According to Cisco’s recommended procedure, what is the best format for delivering the update?

    • Use a group text to share the current update status with the entire team.
    • Create a written report and email it to the stakeholders for review before scheduling a follow-up meeting to discuss the results.
    • Provide a verbal update during a regularly scheduled meeting or conference call.
    • Send an email to the stakeholders summarizing the project results and attach a slide deck with graphs and charts to illustrate key points.

    • Explanation & Hint: In this scenario, the best approach would be to provide a verbal update during a regularly scheduled meeting or conference call. This approach ensures that the report is communicated in a format that is most effective for the stakeholders. While all options are available, the best option is a verbal offer that doesn’t require any additional time or resources. Scheduling another meeting to ask about a format for something on this scale isn’t a good use of time. Simply sending a written report or an email with an attachment may not be the most effective way to communicate the project results, especially if there are questions from others on the team.

11. The Marketing Director wants to update the company’s website. You have been asked to create a web analytics report to identify trends in web traffic, website visits, bounce rates, page views, average time on site, and sources of web traffic. You must present the data to the marketing team in an easily digestible and engaging format. According to Cisco’s recommended procedures, what format would best explain the findings?

    • written report
    • presentation
    • infographic
    • email

    • Explanation & Hint: While a written report or email might be appropriate for providing additional detail, a presentation is the best format for presenting the findings initially. When delivering complex information or data, a presentation with visual and verbal components can effectively engage the audience and answer questions in real time. In this scenario, the report is being presented to the marketing team, which means that a verbal element could help to build rapport and demonstrate the team’s expertise in the subject matter.

12. A new software patch has just been released, and every device needs to be updated. You are responsible for providing status updates on the patch installation. According to the automated status report, about 50% of pushout update notices haven’t been approved. This is a critical security update and needs to be installed immediately in 100% of machines.

    What is the appropriate timeline required for this status update?

    • immediate
    • intermediate
    • midterm
    • longterm

    • Explanation & Hint: This report would be best on an immediate timeline. Since the update is critical and needs to be installed immediately, the timeline should be as short as possible.

13. Professional reports can be long and detailed. Because of this, the structure of the report is important. What is the correct format for a professional report?

    • Title page, Topic or Thesis, Table of Contents, Introduction, Executive Summary, Body, Conclusion, References
    • Title page, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, References
    • Title page, Table of Contents, Topic or Thesis, Executive Summary, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, References
    • Title page, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Introduction, Body, Conclusion

    • Explanation & Hint: The correct order of a professional report is the Title page, Table of Contents, Topic or Thesis, Executive Summary, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, and References.

14. A cybersecurity team is investigating a potential data breach on the company’s network. What data types would be the most valuable to collect during the investigation?

    • Employee performance metrics to find the source of the breach.
    • Financial data to determine the impact of the breach.
    • System logs and network traffic data to find the full effect of the breach.
    • Customer contact information to notify them of the breach.

    • Explanation & Hint: When investigating a potential data breach, a cybersecurity team would need to collect data related to network activity and system logs to identify potential vulnerabilities or points of entry. This data can include information on user access, file transfers, system events, and network traffic data such as IP addresses, protocols, and ports. By analyzing this data, the team can identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a breach has occurred and take steps to mitigate the damage and prevent further attacks. While employee performance metrics, financial data, and customer information may be important to the company’s overall operations, they are not directly relevant to a cybersecurity investigation.

15. There are many ways to send out a report. Which delivery method presents the best physical visual representation of the information or the data?

    • presentation
    • verbal update
    • infographic
    • written report

    • Explanation & Hint: An infographic is the best visual representation of data, whereas a presentation and verbal updates are best when meeting face-to-face. A written report is less visually stimulating than an infographic and may contain lengthy data.

16. Data collection is essential when authoring a report. A good report is based on solid and verifiable facts. Where can an author find the information (data) related to the topic to be included in a report? (Choose all that apply.)

    • company records
    • electronic resources
    • journals
    • surveys
    • interviews

    • Explanation & Hint: All of these choices are good resources for finding data to include in a report.

17. Which three phrases convey a professional, confident tone? (Choose three.)

    • I think…
    • Maybe…
    • The data shows…
    • This delay is a complete disaster!
    • Production has a 72-hour delay in filling orders.
    • There are three issues with the project.

    • Explanation & Hint: Phrases like “I think” and “Maybe” weaken your argument and present you as unprofessional. Exaggeration and emotional words like “complete disaster” make the writing less objective.

18. Which three phrases give an unprofessional, timid tone? (Choose three.)

    • Based on my ten years of experience in the industry…
    • I am confident that this strategy will achieve the desired results.
    • After careful analysis of the data, I can recommend…
    • I’m not really sure, but I would guess…
    • Maybe we could try this approach, but I’m not certain.
    • I’m not confident in my ability to provide a solution, however…

    • Explanation & Hint: Using experience and data to support your claims makes your argument stronger. Using clear, succinct language to identify your claims also generates a confident tone rather than a timid one.

19. What is the most important factor to consider when determining the relevance of information in a business report?

    • The length of the report
    • The number of sources cited
    • The topic of the report
    • The needs of the intended audience

    • Explanation & Hint: While the topic of the report is important, when determining exactly what is relevant to include, the most important factor is the needs of the intended audience.

20. How can you ensure that the information in a business report is relevant?

    • Include all available information
    • Use industry jargon to sound more professional
    • Focus on information that directly supports the report’s focus
    • Only include information that you find interesting

    • Explanation & Hint: Including all available information or only including information you find interesting may result in unnecessary information in the report.

21. What is the best organizational structure for a report on the network performance of a large organization with multiple physical locations?

    • Chronological order
    • Cause-effect
    • Problem-solution
    • Spatial order

    • Explanation & Hint: Since there are multiple physical locations, this becomes the best way to organize the report. Cause-effect and problem-solution are best when there is a single cause and the following action. Chronological order is best when there is a procedure or sequence to follow.

22. What organizational structure best suits a data analytics report comparing the sales performance of two products in a given time period?

    • Compare-Contrast
    • Problem-Solution
    • Topical order
    • Chronological order

    • Explanation & Hint: Since this is comparing two products, comparison-contrast is the best organization. Topical order is used when there is no relationship between the content. Problem-Solution is best when there is a single cause and following action. Chronological order is best when there is a procedure or sequence to follow.

23. A network outage occurred after a power surge. You are writing an incident report about the outage. Which explanation is the most succinct that still contains all relevant information?

    • Power surge at the server warehouse caused a network outage.
    • A network outage occurred due to a power surge at the server warehouse.
    • The reason for the network outage was a power surge that originated from the server warehouse. The power surge caused damage to the network equipment, leading to the outage.
    • On the day in question, a network outage occurred, significantly disrupting normal operations. The root cause of this outage was a power surge originating from the server warehouse. The surge was likely caused by a lightning strike in the vicinity, which led to a voltage spike in the power supply. The surge caused damage to several pieces of network equipment, including servers, routers, and switches, leading to the outage. The incident was promptly reported to the IT department, which worked tirelessly to restore network connectivity as quickly as possible.

    • Explanation & Hint: The network outage and the main cause are the only elements that must be included in the report. Including extra details makes finding relevant information and making efficient decisions harder. The fact that the IT department worked to repair the outage is expected behavior and not worth mentioning in a report. The specific chain of events that caused the outage is also more information than necessary. However, not having enough information limits the formal language required for a written report.

24. Which three of the following reports are analytical reports? (Choose three.)

    • Routine monthly report
    • Cybersecurity attack report
    • Network outage report
    • Inventory report
    • Website traffic report
    • Cybersecurity policy presentation

    • Explanation & Hint: Analytic reports go beyond presenting information to provide recommendations or insights that can be acted upon. Routine monthly reports, inventory reports, and policy presentations are intended to inform. Reports about cybersecurity attacks, network outages, and website traffic are all intended to support decision-making.