Sometimes the PCs need a piece of information for the story to continue, and the best option is simply to have them find it. Sometimes this can be facilitated fluidly through the narrative, but other times it can seem like a charity handout, and I've taken to doing the following to give the players a sense of accomplishment at obtaining information which in truth is simply handed them...
The player makes a check using a skill appropriate to the narrative, but success is a foregone conclusion, so Success and Failure are ignored. Instead, only Advantage, Threat, Triumph, and Despair are pared down, this to determine the quality of the information or otherwise push the narrative in interesting directions while not leaving the players feeling like you're simply being charitable.
Example: The group are tossing an office looking for damning evidence against their rivals. Maybe you haven't planned for this, but you run with it to see where it takes the game. They don't necessarily specify what information, and you need time to think about what they might find. Because success is a forgone conclusion a check is not necessary, however they did have to pass a night watchman who is now prowling the halls outside the office...
The GM asks the players to make a single Knowledge (Education), Skullduggery, or Percetion check from among their characters, setting the Difficulty to Average and adding 2 Setback, one for their hurried pace, and one for dim lighting; the net result is 1 Threat.
The group find what they are looking for, but the night watchman suddenly turns the knob of the office door to make sure it's secure...did the PCs lock the door behind them when they came in? 2 Threat might mean the watchman has decided to have a seat on the bench outside the door and have smoke and a "power nap", so now they have to exit via the third-floor window...did the PCs bring any climbing gear? 3 Threat means he unlocks the door and comes in after the bottle of hooch he knows old man Soandso keeps in his desk and catches the group with their fingers in the cookie jar...are the PCs prepared to leave a witness? Despair might mean old man Soandso set up a hidden camera to catch the night watchman taking a pull from his hooch.
If the check is a wash (as checks sometimes are) the group find what their looking for, though its quality is neither poor nor spectacular, and now they simply need to exit without getting caught.
Adavantage can be spent to increase the quality of the information (ie: 1 Advantage = significant quality, 2+ = outstanding quality), and Triumph reveals the hidden floor safe containing Ingredient X, and you can let the players tell you what it is they've found.
Another thing I use this for are those times when "a single Success is all that's needed"; the CRB suggests not using such a statement because it goes against the spirit of the game, but sometimes that IS all that's needed (ie: some miscellaneous vehicle actions), but instead of saying that, I just call for a "quality" check.
I've used this for social interactions at high-society functions, attempts to communicate with heretofore unknown aliens, and even to "simulate" special abilities or talents the PCs don't possess (like Contraption with an upgrade to the Difficulty, with disasterous results), although this last use is used sparingly and not meant to replace purchasing special abilities or talents, and I also reserve a discretionary veto.
Edited by Alekzanter