a01-studio-strategy

Q1 multiple-choice · operating-modes

A studio shoots 600+ items/day, all white-background catalog tiles for e-shops. Operators rarely touch individual frames. Which operating mode best describes this studio?

A) Mode A — Catalog throughput
B) Mode B — Editorial / hero imagery
C) Mode C — Mixed catalog + editorial
D) Mode D — Service bureau / multi-client

Q2 scenario · mode-mismatch · weight 2

You’re new to a studio. The KPI report says “Mode A — catalog throughput.” But three of four operators tell you “we mostly do hero shots for marketing — catalog is the easy part.” What is the most important next action?

A) Re-issue the KPI report with the corrected mode
B) Ignore the operators — they don’t see the big picture
C) Investigate the discrepancy in depth — observe shifts to ground-truth what the studio actually does, then either align strategy with reality OR communicate clearly why the strategy must shift the team’s day-to-day
D) Fire the operators who disagree

Q3 multiple-choice · kpi-rework

A studio’s rework rate jumps from 1.8 % to 4.5 % over a month. Which is the most useful interpretation?

A) Rework rate is a vanity metric — ignore the change
B) The threshold has been crossed; investigate after rework hits 10 %
C) Threshold for investigation is > 3 % — the current 4.5 % indicates an upstream problem (capture, preset drift, scope misconfig) worth tracing now
D) Hire more QA staff

Q4 multiple-choice · workspace-decision

Your studio shoots both apparel (mannequin + Freemask) and small accessories (turntable + ring lights). Same physical robot and camera, different lighting and accessories. The cleanest strategy:

A) One workspace, swap accessories and lights manually at shift change
B) Two workspaces — one for apparel-Freemask, one for accessories-turntable — switch in CAPP at shift change
C) One workspace per product SKU
D) Two separate CAPP installations

Q5 true-false · workspace-ownership

Every active workspace in a multi-operator studio should have a named owner who reviews proposed changes before they take effect.

True
False

Q6 multiple-choice · preset-policy

Two operators independently created presets named “white-background apparel” and “apparel-whitebg”. Both are in active use and differ slightly. The right resolution:

A) Delete both and rebuild from scratch
B) Leave both — operators pick their preferred one
C) Pick the better-tested one, rename canonically (e.g., “Apparel · WhiteBG · v3”), delete the other, communicate the change to the team
D) Always keep the older one because it’s “the original”

Q7 scenario · capacity-math · weight 2

Your studio has 2 operators × 8-hour shifts at 45 items/hour catalog throughput. Actual daily output: 540 items. What is the utilization, and what’s the appropriate response?

A) Utilization 100 %; we are at capacity, expand hardware now
B) Utilization 60 %; operators are slacking, micromanage them
C) Utilization ~75 % (540 actual / 720 ceiling); reasonable but with headroom — investigate where the gap is (idle time, blocked time, non-capture work) before deciding whether to optimize, accept, or grow
D) Math doesn’t apply to creative work

Q8 multiple-choice · storage-planning

A studio shoots 50 MP JPEG-L at 4 frames per item × 80 items/hour × 8 hours/day on one workstation. Daily storage at ~12 MB per frame is approximately:

A) ~3 GB/day
B) ~10 GB/day
C) ~30 GB/day
D) ~100 GB/day

Q9 scenario · handoff-design · weight 2

The editor receives an item with no dimensional data. Edit-auto fails. The capturer says “you can crop it manually.” What is the design-level fix?

A) Add 30 seconds of manual crop to every item — fold into the editor’s daily rhythm
B) Define the handoff contract: capturer’s deliverable must include dimensional metadata; surface a fail-fast at capture (not at edit) when it’s missing — errors caught at the boundary, not deep in the pipeline
C) Replace the editor with a faster one
D) Tell the editor to refuse the items

Q10 multiple-choice · failure-modes

A “single-point-of-failure audit” produces this list for your studio: primary camera → no spare body; one of four lights → scope can tolerate; CAPP workstation → spare PC paired and ready. Which is the highest-priority gap to address?

A) Order a spare light (even though scope tolerates one missing)
B) Document the CAPP failover procedure
C) Acquire a spare camera body — primary camera failure with no backup means the line stops indefinitely; this is the highest-impact, longest-recovery single point of failure
D) Hire more operators

Q11 multiple-select · strategic-mistakes · weight 2

Which of the following are named “strategic mistakes” in the A01 textbook? (Select all that apply.)

“Let operators pick their own presets.”
“We’ll fix it in post.”
“This shelf has worked for two years.”
“Cameras need replacing every 3 years.”
“Throughput is the only number that matters.”
“Operators need to take more breaks.”

Q12 scenario · 90-day-plan · weight 2

You’ve just been hired as studio manager. Operators express frustration with the previous manager who “kept making changes that didn’t help.” What does the A01 90-day plan recommend you do in your first 30 days?

A) Make 3 quick wins immediately to demonstrate competence
B) Hold a 1:1 with each operator and decide on an action plan day 1
C) Observe shifts, take notes, document what the line actually does (not what the docs say it does), identify canonical presets vs. unofficial variants — change nothing yet
D) Fire the most senior operator to break with the past

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