1 / 5
The engineer is starting their notice period — what best describes good practice?
A Immediately stop all new work and focus only on knowledge transfer B Continue regular work while progressively shifting towards handover: complete in-progress items that can be finished, document partially-complete work with clear context, avoid starting large new initiatives, and prioritise enabling your successor over maximising personal output C Request to work part-time during the notice period to ease emotional transition D Negotiate an immediate exit instead of serving the full notice period
Notice period: "transition mode", not "slow down mode". Completeness audit: what can I finish? What needs documentation? Who needs briefing?
Key vocab: "notice period", "transition mode", "completeness audit", "successor enablement", "professional off-ramping".
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2 / 5
Writing a transition document before leaving — what should it contain?
A A performance review of the team you are leaving B A list of reasons why you are leaving the company C A wishlist of improvements you recommend the next engineer to implement D System ownership map (what systems you owned), in-progress work status with next steps, known issues and operational gotchas, contacts map (who to call for what external dependencies), and where to find key documentation — a compass for whoever takes over
Transition doc: successor-centric, not author-centric. Not "here's what I was proud of". Yes: "here's where the landmines are, who to call when X breaks, what's not done and what it would take to finish."
Key vocab: "transition document", "system ownership map", "operational gotchas", "successor compass", "incomplete work status".
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3 / 5
The departing engineer is telling team members the news — what tone is most appropriate?
A Professional, grateful, and forward-looking: acknowledge positive aspects of working with the team, express genuine appreciation, give brief honest reasoning for leaving without disparaging the company, and express confidence in the team's future — closing positively for future professional reference and network B Emphasise all the organisational problems that caused your decision to leave C Share the details of your new role and compensation to give context for the decision D Keep all communication minimal to maintain NDAs and prevent awkwardness
Leaving communication: gratitude + respect + forward-looking. "Working with this team taught me X" + "I'm leaving to pursue Y" (brief, positive). Don't disparage, over-explain, or burn bridges.
Key vocab: "graceful exit communication", "gratitude framing", "bridge preservation", "forward-looking departure".
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4 / 5
The knowledge transfer has a 'shadow period' — what is this in the offboarding context?
A The period after an employee leaves when their accounts remain active for knowledge retrieval B A probationary period where the replacement engineer works on probation C A structured period where the successor works alongside the departing engineer — attending their meetings, pair-programming on their systems, asking questions in context — before taking over solo. More effective than documentation alone because it transfers tacit knowledge through observation D The period between resignation and the new hire starting where a team lead covers the role
Shadow period: "see one, do one, teach one" model. New person shadows departing → does work with departing watching → can explain back.
Key vocab: "shadow period", "see-one-do-one model", "tacit knowledge transfer", "contextual handover", "observation-based knowledge acquisition".
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5 / 5
The engineer was the sole owner of a legacy system no one else understands — what is their responsibility?
A Accept that this knowledge will be lost and document what you can in the available time B Prioritise this system above all others for intensive documentation, video walkthroughs, pairing sessions, and identifying a specific successor to focus knowledge transfer on — the risk of inadequate handover for a sole-knowledge system is highest and must be treated as a critical offboarding priority C Negotiate with management to exit without serving a full notice period because of this complexity D Recommend the system be immediately decommissioned before your departure
Sole-knowledge system: bus factor = 1 = highest risk. Mitigation: pair with designated successor, create video walkthrough, write runbooks for all operational scenarios, seek temporary extension if needed.
Key vocab: "sole owner", "knowledge concentration risk", "intensive handover", "successor pairing", "video walkthrough for complex systems".
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