How Stroomdiagrammen works
Ixly describes the exercises as diagrams in which the properties of a starting figure gradually change into an end figure. The test measures how well you understand logical rules and apply them to new problems, and takes about 20 minutes.
Ixly aims it at roles in logistics, technical work and software development, at higher professional education (HBO) level and above. It publishes nothing further about the format: no item count, no time per item and no sample question.
How to solve a diagram question
Whatever the exact layout, the same method works for step-by-step change:
- Write down the starting figure’s properties: shape, fill, inner marks.
- Read the key or the first examples and note what each step changes, and what it leaves alone.
- Apply the steps in order, writing the figure after each one. Do not try to jump to the end.
- Count the steps when you finish. Stopping one step early is the most common error.
- If you have to work backwards from the end figure, undo the last step first.
Worked example
An example in the style of our practice version. Start: an outlined square with one dot. Key: P makes the figure a circle, Q makes it solid, R adds one dot, S removes one dot. The chain is R, then P, then Q.
After R: an outlined square with two dots. After P: an outlined circle with two dots. After Q: a solid circle with two dots, which is the answer. An outlined circle with two dots has stopped one step early, and a solid circle with no dots has used S where the chain said R.
Tips for the real Stroomdiagrammen
- Keep pen and paper ready and write each intermediate figure. A diagram held in your head goes wrong at step three.
- Read the instructions and any examples slowly. With no published format, they are your only preview.
- Allow at least 20 minutes without interruptions.
- Practise any rule-following puzzle with several steps. Diagrammatic reasoning items train the same habit.
Practise Stroomdiagrammen on CogniPrep
Ixly publishes nothing about the item format, so our version is our own reading of its one-line description: a start figure, a legend of operations labelled P onwards, some unused, and a chain of 3 to 6 steps, with five options labelled A to E. You get 14 questions at 75 seconds each, both our choice, and the chains and legends get longer as you go. The result is a practice percentile shown as a sten, based on accuracy, speed and how complex the rules were.