Chapter 40 Quiz: Building Your Python Business Portfolio
20 questions. Select the best answer for each. Answer key at the end.
1. Which of the following best describes what a professional portfolio is for a business Python practitioner?
A. A collection of course completion certificates B. A GitHub account with as many repositories as possible C. Concrete evidence of problems solved, organized for an audience D. A personal website with a biography and skill list
2. You have finished a Python script that automates a weekly report. Which of the following README sections do most people skip but is most important for non-technical readers?
A. Tech Stack B. How to Run C. The Problem It Solves and Results D. Future Improvements
3. Which commit message follows the professional conventions described in this chapter?
A. fixed the bug
B. updates
C. Add fuzzy matching for customer deduplication
D. WIP - working on cleaning module
4. A hiring manager at a company that does not primarily hire software engineers sees your GitHub profile. What is the single most important thing for them to find?
A. A profile photo B. Code with no syntax errors C. A pinned repository with a clear README explaining a real business problem solved D. Contributions to major open-source projects
5. You are explaining your customer segmentation Python project to the VP of Marketing. Which description is more appropriate?
A. "I used k-means clustering on RFM features with a silhouette score of 0.72." B. "I grouped our customers into segments based on purchase behavior so we can send more targeted offers." C. "I wrote 200 lines of Python using scikit-learn and pandas." D. "I built a machine learning model."
6. Which of the following should NEVER be committed to a public GitHub repository?
A. A requirements.txt file
B. A README.md file
C. An .env file containing your database password
D. A sample_data.csv file with synthetic data
7. Which open-source contribution type is most appropriate for someone who has just finished this book?
A. Implementing a major new feature in a popular library B. Rewriting the core architecture of an existing project C. Fixing a documentation ambiguity or adding a clearer example D. Creating a competing library from scratch
8. Your resume bullet currently reads: "Used Python and pandas to analyze customer data." What is the improved version?
A. "Proficient in Python, pandas, matplotlib, and scikit-learn" B. "Built customer segmentation tool in Python that identified 4 key segments, enabling targeted campaigns that increased email response rate by 18%" C. "Python developer with experience in data analysis" D. "Analyzed customer data using machine learning algorithms in Python"
9. Which learning path is most appropriate for someone whose primary goal is to replace manual data transfer between business systems?
A. Deep learning and neural networks B. Mobile app development C. Data engineering: Airflow, dbt, and database integration D. Game development with Pygame
10. The "before/after framework" described in section 40.5 is most useful for:
A. Explaining technical architecture to other developers B. Communicating the value of your work to non-technical stakeholders C. Writing unit tests D. Deciding which Python libraries to use
11. Which project type from section 40.2 demonstrates the widest range of skills and is most appropriate as a centerpiece portfolio project?
A. A simple data cleaning script B. A single-function utility library C. An end-to-end deployed business application with authentication and a database D. A Jupyter notebook with exploratory analysis
12. When someone asks you to "quantify" the impact of a project, what does that mean?
A. Count the number of lines of code you wrote B. Express the business outcome in measurable terms: time saved, errors reduced, users served, revenue affected C. List all the Python libraries you used D. Document the technical architecture in detail
13. What is the purpose of a .gitignore file?
A. It prevents you from committing any files at all B. It lists files and directories that git should not track or include in commits C. It documents which files are most important in the repository D. It specifies the Python version required to run the project
14. Which of the following best represents the "identity shift" described in section 40.10?
A. You have memorized Python syntax and can write it without looking things up B. You have completed a professional certification in Python C. You have moved from being someone who uses software to someone who builds software D. You have learned every Python library in the standard library
15. What is the best way to demonstrate Python skills to a non-technical colleague who is skeptical?
A. Explain the technical architecture of Python in clear terms B. Show them a certificate from a Python course C. Solve a real problem they care about and show them the working result D. Forward them a link to the Python documentation
16. Why is a machine learning project's "Limitations" section important for a business portfolio?
A. It is required by GitHub's terms of service B. It demonstrates technical rigor and intellectual honesty, which builds trust with stakeholders C. It allows you to avoid being held responsible if the model fails D. Limitations sections are not important and should be omitted
17. Which community resource is described as most useful for staying current with the Python ecosystem in about 20 minutes per week?
A. Reading all of the Python Enhancement Proposals (PEPs) B. Watching every PyCon talk uploaded each year C. A weekly newsletter such as Python Weekly or Pycoder's Weekly D. Re-reading chapters of this book
18. What is a "good first issue" on GitHub?
A. An issue that describes a perfect, complete feature to implement B. An issue that the project maintainer has flagged as approachable for newcomers to the project C. The first issue ever filed on a repository D. An issue that has already been resolved
19. A business professional says: "I would contribute to open source, but I am not experienced enough to write new features for major libraries." What is the most appropriate response?
A. That is correct — open-source contribution requires expert-level skills B. You should wait until you have more experience C. Documentation improvements, bug reports with reproducible examples, and typo fixes are all genuine contributions that do not require advanced expertise D. You should write your own library instead
20. Which of the following is the most accurate description of what Priya Okonkwo achieved eighteen months after beginning Python?
A. She became a professional software engineer and left the business world B. She took an online course and received a data science certificate C. She automated enough manual work to spend her full time on data analysis D. She became Head of Data Analytics at Acme Corp by building tools that demonstrated the value of a dedicated analytics function, and is now mentoring two junior analysts
Answer Key
| Question | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | A portfolio is evidence of problems solved, organized for a specific audience — not certificates, not volume of repositories |
| 2 | C | "The Problem It Solves" and "Results" are the sections that make work legible to non-technical readers, and the sections most people skip |
| 3 | C | Imperative verb, specific description of what changed — the correct format from section 40.3 |
| 4 | C | A pinned repository with a clear README that explains a real problem solved answers the most important business audience question: "can this person solve problems?" |
| 5 | B | Business framing leads with outcome and speaks in terms the VP cares about, without jargon |
| 6 | C | Credentials, passwords, and API keys must never be committed to any repository, public or private |
| 7 | C | Documentation fixes and example improvements are the most accessible and genuinely appreciated contributions for someone new to open-source contribution |
| 8 | B | Describes a specific outcome with measurable impact, following the action verb + what + measurable result format |
| 9 | C | Data engineering (Airflow, dbt, database tools) addresses the problem of data movement and system integration |
| 10 | B | The before/after framework is specifically for communicating business value to non-technical stakeholders |
| 11 | C | An end-to-end deployed application demonstrates the broadest range: design, implementation, error handling, deployment, documentation |
| 12 | B | Quantification means expressing impact in measurable business terms — time, errors, users, revenue |
| 13 | B | .gitignore tells git which files and directories to not track, preventing accidental commits of credentials, large files, and generated artifacts |
| 14 | C | The identity shift is about capability and mindset: from user of software to builder of software |
| 15 | C | Solving a real problem they care about and showing the result is more persuasive than any explanation |
| 16 | B | Acknowledging limitations demonstrates intellectual honesty and technical rigor — qualities that build professional trust |
| 17 | C | A weekly newsletter provides current awareness in about 20 minutes and is explicitly recommended in section 40.8 |
| 18 | B | "Good first issue" is a GitHub label that maintainers use to flag issues appropriate for newcomers to the project |
| 19 | C | Documentation, bug reports, and typo fixes are all genuine contributions accessible to practitioners at any level |
| 20 | D | Priya's arc: she built tools that demonstrated business value, was promoted to Head of Data Analytics, and is now mentoring junior analysts |
This is the final quiz of the book. If you scored 18 or higher, you are ready to build a professional Python portfolio. If you scored below 15, re-read sections 40.3 through 40.6 before proceeding to the exercises.