3.3 Applying Information to New and Changing Situations

The Level 5 Skill: Transfer to a New but Similar Situation

At Level 5, the WorkKeys Workplace Documents assessment stops giving you a scenario that matches the document word-for-word and starts giving you a new but similar situation. The scenario is not printed in the document. But the rule that governs it is. Your task is to recognize the rule, map the scenario's specifics onto the rule's variables, and carry out the action the rule requires. This is the core of Skill Area 2 — Apply Instructions or Information, which is the highest-weighted skill area on the test at 15 of 30 scored items.

What 'Changing Conditions' Means

'Changing conditions' does not mean the document changes. It means a variable in the scenario shifts, so the action required under the document's rule also shifts. Common variables that change between scenarios:

• Quantity (more items than the example, fewer items, bulk vs. single)
• Price or rate (a different unit cost, a discount applied, a surcharge added)
• Date or time (a deadline falls on a weekend, a holiday shifts the schedule)
• Status (an employee is full-time vs. part-time, a customer is a member vs. non-member)
• Location (a shipment goes to a different zone, a task happens at a different site)

When one of these variables changes, the rule's required action may change with it. Level 5 items test whether you notice the change and apply the correct branch of the rule.

How to Transfer a Rule to a New Situation

Use a four-step transfer:

1. Identify the rule's variables. Read the document and ask: what factors determine the required action? Those factors are the variables.
2. Read the scenario's values. What values does the scenario give for each variable?
3. Map the values onto the rule. Find the branch of the rule that matches those values.
4. Carry out the required action. Perform (or select) the action that branch specifies.

Do not search the document for the scenario word-for-word. The scenario is new; only the rule is in the text.

Worked Example: A Tiered Shipping Policy

Shipping and Handling Policy

• Orders shipped to Zones 1–2: flat fee of $7.50.
• Orders shipped to Zones 3–4: flat fee of $12.00, unless the order subtotal is over $100, in which case shipping is free.
• Orders shipped to Zones 5–6: flat fee of $18.00, unless the order subtotal is over $150, in which case shipping is free.
• Expedited shipping adds $10.00 to any of the above fees and waives the free-shipping thresholds (expedited orders are never free).

The document's example describes the rule. Now the test gives you a new scenario not in the document.

Scenario: A customer places a $120 order shipped to Zone 4 with standard shipping. What is the shipping fee?

Reasoning:

1. Variables: destination zone, order subtotal, shipping speed.
2. Scenario values: Zone 4, $120 subtotal, standard shipping.
3. Map to the rule: Zones 3–4 use the $12.00 flat fee, unless the subtotal is over $100, which makes shipping free. The $120 subtotal exceeds the $100 threshold, and standard shipping means the expedited waiver does not apply.
4. Required action: shipping is free.

Changing the conditions now. Suppose the same $120 order to Zone 4 is placed with expedited shipping. The expedited rule adds $10.00 and waives the free-shipping thresholds. Even though $120 exceeds $100, the free-shipping branch no longer applies because expedited orders are never free. The base fee for Zone 4 is $12.00, plus $10.00 expedited = $22.00. The condition that changed — shipping speed — shifted the action from 'free' to '$22.00.'

Conditionals Carry Over from 3.2

Notice that Level 5 items lean heavily on conditional (if-then) information. The 'unless' and the expedited waiver in the example above are conditionals. The skills from Section 3.2 — reading all conditions, checking 'unless' and 'except,' matching the scenario to the most specific trigger — apply directly here. The difference is that at Level 5 the scenario is new, so you must do the extra work of mapping the scenario's values onto the conditional's variables before you can apply it.

Worked Example: A Time-Off Request Rule

Time-Off Request Policy

• Full-time employees must submit time-off requests at least 14 days in advance.
• Part-time employees must submit requests at least 7 days in advance.
• Requests for more than 3 consecutive days require a manager's written approval regardless of employee status.
• During a designated blackout period (December 20–January 2), no time-off requests are granted except for medical or family emergencies, which require documentation.

Scenario: A part-time employee asks to take off December 22–24 (3 days) and submits the request on December 10. The request is not for a medical or family emergency. What should the manager do?

Reasoning:

1. Variables: employee status, advance notice, length of request, blackout period.
2. Scenario values: part-time, request submitted December 10 for December 22 (12 days in advance), 3 consecutive days, during the December 20–January 2 blackout.
3. Map to the rule: The part-time 7-day advance rule is met (12 days ≥ 7). The 3-consecutive-day rule is at the boundary (3 days) and requires manager approval — but the more specific rule is the blackout. During the blackout, no requests are granted except for medical/family emergencies, and this request is neither. The exception does not apply.
4. Required action: deny the request.

The trap here is stopping at the first rule that fits ('part-time, 7 days advance, met → approve') and missing the blackout, which is the more specific governing condition. Changing conditions — the request falling inside the blackout window — override the default approval logic.

Take This Habit Into Level 5 Items

Before answering any Level 5 item, name the variables out loud (mentally): 'This question turns on zone, subtotal, and shipping speed' or 'This question turns on status, advance notice, length, and blackout.' Once the variables are named, you will not forget to check one of them — and forgetting one variable is exactly how Level 5 points are lost.