Exam Schedule and Registration

Thinking Processes Practitioner Exam 

Pre-requisite:  Applicants must have demonstrated a general knowledge of TOC Thinking Processes (TP) concepts by having passed either the TOC Fundamentals exam or the Thinking Processes Fundamentals exam.

Upon successfully completing the TP Practitioner Exam, the candidate will become TOC Practitioner Certified (TOCPC™) in Thinking Processes, demonstrating their ability to apply, analyze and evaluate the knowledge of this TOC solution area.  They will also receive full endorsement from TOCICO, with their accomplishment recognized on our website while they maintain active membership.

THIS IS AN 8 HOUR EXAMINATION, broken into (2) 4-hour parts focused on a Thinking Processes analysis of a case study.  It is available in English and Korean.

• Member price $200.00
• Non-member price $297.00 (includes 1 year of Standard TOCICO membership)

The following key elements are being evaluated in this exam through a combination of different types of questions:

Please note that the applicant should have experience at the Jonah level, meaning they can effectively apply the Thinking Processes in their own lives and assist others.  Additionally, they should have applied the Thinking Processes to various topics over an extended period. The Thinking Processes (TP) Practitioner Exam goes well beyond the Thinking Processes questions found on the Fundamentals Exam which focused on: Knowledge, Comprehension and Basic Application.

The Thinking Processes Practitioner Exam emphasizes key skills: analysis (breaking down information), synthesis (putting facts together), evaluation (judging solutions), and the ability to select, apply, and interpret the Thinking Processes in new situations.

The exam features a case study that is significantly longer and more complex than those used in the Fundamentals Exam. This case is designed to challenge candidates' thinking process skills while remaining solvable within the limited exam period. It presents a context that is relatable across various global environments, requiring no specific subject matter expertise or prior knowledge of any particular solution.

Applicants will demonstrate their competency in all Thinking Processes concepts and tools, including UDEs and the Three UDE Cloud, Current Reality Tree (or its close cousin, the slightly abbreviated communications current reality tree), Evaporating Cloud, Future Reality Tree, Negative Branch Reservation, PreRequisite Tree, and Transition Tree. Due to the  limited time to take the exam, a full, detailed analysis of the case is not feasible. Instead, candidates will be tested on key elements representing major Thinking Process tools.

The exam will be graded on the clarity, effectiveness, and logical application of the Thinking Processes tools as they relate to the case. Candidates must exhibit proficient use of these tools and engage in self-scrutiny, focusing on legitimate reservations and ensuring sound effect-cause-effect logic.

A typical exam includes the following structure and question types:

• Case Narrative: This section provides the background and relevant current information for the case.

• Question 1. (3 Points)-Goal and Necessary Conditions
• Question 2. (3 Points)-UDEs
• Question 3. (9 Points)-Three UDE Cloud
• Question 4. (7 Points)-Core Conflict
• Question 5. (15 Points)-Current Reality Tree
• Question 6. (3 Points)-Criteria for a good solution
• Question 7. (10 Points)-Injections to a cloud

• Question 8. (10 Points)-Future Reality Tree
• Question 9. (4 Points)-Negative Branch Reservation (recognition)
• Question 10. (6 Points)-Negative Branch Reservation (solution)
• Question 11. (5 Points)-Prerequisite Tree (obstacles)
• Question 12. (5 Points)-PrT (intermediate objectives)
• Question 13. (5 Points)-PrT (I-O Map)
• Question 14. (5 Points)-Converting an I-O map to a project plan
• Question 15. (10 Points)-Transition Tree

Total of 100 Points possible. A passing Grade is 70 points.

Case narrative:  

The market for Home Management Software was robust for a while but sales are now in a downturn.  This is becoming a problem and management is pressing to cut costs. And, with the six recent new hires, the Help Desk over budget.  Management recently said, "Your costs are out of control!  We want you to lay-off six Telephone Service Specialist.” That put an end to John’s thoughts of adding four more specialists.  

Management views the Help Desk as an overhead function.  John views the Help Desk as an essential service.  He argued that Help Desk support is a necessary condition to increase customer satisfaction and encourage future sales.  And, the Help Desk performance needs to be expanded, not be reduced.  So far, he has prevented the lay-offs.

Sample Questions:  

1. Select an UDE from each of three areas: the company goal, and two necessary conditions.

2. Use these UDEs to construct a three UDE (the Core Conflict).

3. Draw a current reality tree (CRT), or its abbreviated communications form (CCRT), linking the core conflict to the UDEs you observed.

4. State your preferred injection to the core conflict.

5. Use an FRT to demonstrate that this injection will convert the UDEs to DEs.

6. Suggest an NBR that might occur if the injection was implemented.

7. Show how an injection would mitigate that NBR.

8. List 5 obstacles to implementation of the injections in (4) and (6). 9. Use intermediate objectives that would overcome those obstacles.

9. Construct an intermediate objective (I-O) map.

10. Show how this map provides a preliminary implementation project plan.

11. For one of the critical intermediate objectives, construct a transition tree.

Resources

2007 Thinking Processes Review by Dr. Alan H. Leader