You are currently working on creating the activity list for an initiative in your organization.
What characteristic must be assigned to each task in your task list?
- A . Procurement needs
- B . Risk level
- C . Unique number
- D . Roles and responsibilities
C
Explanation:
Each task in the task list should have a unique number to identify the specific task and it should have a description of what the task is.
Answer. B is incorrect. The risk level is not associated with the task list.
Answer. D is incorrect. Roles and responsibilities are not included directly in the task list.
Answer. A is incorrect. Procurement needs are not included in the task list.
Shelly is the business analyst for her organization and she’s working with Thomas to review the business requirements. They are discussing the identified requirements, how the requirements will transition to the operations, and the longevity of the solution. Thomas is concerned that the identified requirements may not map to the desired future state of the organization.
What business analysis task is Shelly facilitating in this scenario?
- A . Acceptance evaluation criteria definition
- B . Requirements quality assurance
- C . Validate requirements
- D . Stakeholder management
C
Explanation:
Shelly and Thomas are performing the validate requirements task. This task helps to ensure that the requirements map to the business goals and objectives, resolve the issue, and predict the longevity of the requirements to satisfy business needs.
Answer. B is incorrect. There is not a business analysis task called requirements quality assurance.
Answer. A is incorrect. Acceptance evaluation criteria definition is a task to ensure that the requirements are clear and precise enough to create tests and inspect to know that the work has been completed.
Answer. D is incorrect. Stakeholder management is the management of stakeholders’ issues, conflicts, queries, concerns, threats, and perceived threats about the requirements.
Which of the following are documented approaches to the business analysis work? Each correct answer represents a complete solution.
- A . Deming’s Quality Circle
- B . Lean
- C . Six Sigma
- D . Waterfall approach
BCD
Explanation:
The waterfall approach, lean, and Six Sigma are the valid answer for business analysis approaches.
Answer. A is incorrect. Deming’s Quality Circle describes the quality management approach of plan, do, check, and act. This isn’t a business analysis approach.
You are the business analyst for your organization and working with the stakeholders to prioritize the requirements. The stakeholders are concerned about the financial impact of the requirements should some of them fail during the implementation. You would like to rank the risk tolerance of the stakeholders based on their comments about the solution and the requirements.
The following are the three categories of risk tolerance associated with the stakeholders except for which one?
- A . Neutrality
- B . Mitigation
- C . Risk-seeking
- D . Risk-aversion
B
Explanation:
Mitigation is a risk response that seeks to lower the risk’s probability and/or impact. It is not one of the three categories of risk tolerance.
Tracy is a business analyst for her organization and she’s gathered and identified the needed requirements for the solution scope.
What must Tracy do before she can begin managing the requirements? Choose the best answer.
- A . Tracy must decompose the requirements in WBS.
- B . Tracy must create cost-benefits analysis of each requirement to manage the benefits first.
- C . Tracy must identify roles, responsibilities, and owners of the requirements to fully manage the requirements.
- D . Tracy must communicate the requirements to the stakeholders for their consent and approval.
D
Explanation:
Requirements must be communicated before they are managed. Tracy must communicate the requirements to the stakeholders for their consent and approval before managing the requirements.
Answer. A is incorrect. Before Tracy decomposes the requirements, she should have the approval of the stakeholders.
Answer. B is incorrect. To begin managing the requirements, Tracy needs the approval and consent of the stakeholders.
Answer. C is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement, as the best thing to do is to gain the approval of the stakeholders first.
Ben is the business analyst for his organization. Ben is currently working on a solution to improve a laser printer. He has taken the laser printer apart, identified each component, and documented each component’s purpose.
What type of requirements organization is Ben doing in this scenario?
- A . Functional decomposition
- B . Process modeling
- C . Scope modeling
- D . Data modeling
A
Explanation:
Ben is completing the functional decomposition technique for the organize requirements process. Each component in the printer can have its own set of requirements, while the improved printer to be manufactured is the ultimate goal of the requirements.
Answer. D is incorrect. Data modeling describes the concepts and relationships relevant to the solution or business domain.
Answer. C is incorrect. Scope modeling allows the requirements to be organized by the solution component they’re relevant to.
Answer. B is incorrect. Process modeling is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed and improved in future. It allows the requirements to be organized around the related processes. Processes are also considered to have sub-processes, inputs, and outputs.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re working with Fran on business analysis processes. Fran is a stakeholder who wants to ensure that your business analysis approach and activities are compatible with the project activities.
Of the following, what type of business analysis stakeholder is Fran?
- A . Regulator
- B . Project manager
- C . Sponsor
- D . Domain subject matter expert
B
Explanation:
Fran is the project manager. The project manager must ensure that the business analysis approach is compatible with other project activities.
Answer. D is incorrect. The domain subject matter expert is a person who is steeped in knowledge regarding the project’s purpose.
Answer. A is incorrect. The regulator approves any tailoring to the business analysis processes or activities.
Answer. C is incorrect. The sponsor allows the business analysis activities and resources to exist in support of the organization.
You are a business analyst for your organization and you’re working with Mary. Mary wants to know what you need to complete the process of planning the business analysis approach if you’re already the business analyst for your organization.
Which of the following statements is true regarding the plan business analysis approach?
- A . The plan business analysis approach describes the amount of budget needed for the requirements elicitation.
- B . The plan business analysis approach is required to select an approach that will perform business analysis.
- C . The plan business analysis approach describes the processes the business analyst will or will not do, based on the time and budget available.
- D . The plan business analysis approach describes the amount of time needed for the business analysis approach.
B
Explanation:
The plan business analysis approach is required to select an approach that will perform business analysis.
This approach helps to find out the following:
Which stakeholders need to be involved in the decision?
Who will be consulted regarding and informed of the approach?
What is the rationale for using it?
Answer. D, A, and C are incorrect. These statements are not true regarding the plan business analysis approach.
You are the business analyst for a large software development project. There are several issues that must be resolved by certain dates or the problem will prevent the project from advancing.
What technique can you use to track problems with the requirements?
- A . Issue tracking
- B . RTM
- C . Problem tracking
- D . Baselining
C
Explanation:
The technique you’ll use is simply problem tracking. This technique allows the business analyst to manage any issues identified within requirements by stakeholders and to ensure that those issues are resolved. Problem tracking allows the business analyst to manage any issues identified within requirements by stakeholders and to ensure that those issues are resolved. It provides an organized approach to tracking, management, and resolution of defects, issues, problems, and risks throughout business analysis activities. Management of issues is important so that they can be resolved in a timely manner to ensure success.
Answer. D is incorrect. Baselining the requirements does not track problems but creates a standard set of requirements that deliverables may be compared against.
Answer. A is incorrect. Issue tracking is not a valid business analysis term.
Answer. B is incorrect. An RTM is a requirements trace matrix which tracks requirements through the solution, not issues.
Which one of the following statements is most true about changing requirements in a change-driven approach to business analysis and requirements management?
- A . Change-driven approaches must use a change control system with a change control board.
- B . Change-driven approaches only use a change control system for approved changes.
- C . Change-driven approaches don’t use a formal change control process.
- D . Change-driven approaches are driven by change control processes.
C
Explanation:
Change-driven approaches typically do not use a formal change control process, as requirements are prioritized and selected for implementation at the beginning of each iteration and no changes to the requirements occur during the iteration process.
Answer. A is incorrect. Change-driven approaches don’t typically use a change control board.
Answer. B is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement to describe the processes of change within a change-driven approach to requirements management.
Answer. D is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement to describe the processes of change within a change-driven approach to requirements management.
Which element of the process of assessing the capability gaps is best described as gathering as much enterprise architecture information as is available about the current state of the organization and the areas affected by the business need?
- A . Current capability analysis
- B . Current organizational needs assessment
- C . Enterprise architecture assessment
- D . Snapshot baseline
A
Explanation:
Current capability analysis is an approach of assessing the organization’s capability gaps. This process reviews the process and helps determine what capabilities exist now and how large the gap may be.
Answer. C is incorrect. This isn’t a valid assessment type so this choice is not valid.
Answer. B is incorrect. This isn’t a valid assessment type so this choice is not valid.
Answer. D is incorrect. This isn’t a valid assessment type so this choice is not valid.
Beth is the business analyst for her organization and she wants to be certain that she and her team follow the correct procedures for enterprise analysis.
What document can provide the governances for enterprise analysis efforts?
- A . Organizational process assets
- B . Enterprise environmental factors
- C . Business analysis plans
- D . Project charter
C
Explanation:
Business analysis plans define the governance or rules and procedures that Beth should follow as the business analyst for her organization.
Answer. A is incorrect. Organizational process assets are the rules and procedures for the implementation of documents, templates, and guidelines.
Answer. B is incorrect. Enterprise environmental factors are the regulations, policies, and procedures that are unique to an organization and industry.
Answer. D is incorrect. The project charter isn’t the correct answer, as the charter authorizes the project, not business analysis activities.
Henry and Fred are working together on business analysis duties for the implementation of new software. Henry, the business analyst, tells Fred that they should take the current measurement of productivity, and then measure again after the solution has been implemented. This benchmarking approach will allow Henry and Fred to see the real effect of the solution on the business need.
What term is assigned to this measurement?
- A . Post implementation factor
- B . Yield
- C . Key performance indicators
- D . S-Curve
C
Explanation:
The measurements are known as key performance indicators. It’s an approach for measuring how well the solution has affected the organization.
Answer. D is incorrect. The S-curve describes the direction of elements over time, such as time and cost,
in a typical business analysis activity or in a project.
Answer. B is incorrect. The yield is the output of the effort.
Answer. A is incorrect. It is not a business analysis term so this choice is incorrect.
Kendra is the business analyst for her organization. She’s working with the project manager and the project sponsor to discuss the current requirements. Kendra believes it’s important for the project manager to first implement the requirements with the highest amount of risks. Is this a good idea?
- A . No, the project manager and team should actually implement the lowest risk requirements first.
- B . Yes, if the risky requirements cause the project to fail, the organization will not suffer much loss, as it hasn’t invested much time or money on the project.
- C . No, the project manager and team should implement the requirements with the highest risks last.
- D . Yes, this allows the project manager to get the risky work done as soon as possible in the schedule.
B
Explanation:
It’s often best to implement the most risky requirements first in the project. If the risky requirements cause the project to fail, the organization will not suffer much loss, as it hasn’t invested much time or money on the project.
Answer. A is incorrect. It’s not the best idea to implement the lowest risk requirements first.
Answer. C is incorrect. Implementing the highest risk requirements last could cause all of the prior work to be worthless if the risky requirements fail.
Answer. D is incorrect. This choice is tempting, but the best reason is the financial consideration of the risky event in the project.
A business analyst is studying the cost of the endeavor in relation to the projected income the endeavor will bring once the project is completed.
What financial valuation technique can the business analyst use to determine the breakeven point for the project?
- A . Payback period
- B . Average rate of return
- C . Cost-benefit analysis
- D . Discounted cash flow
A
Explanation:
Payback period quantifies the duration that the project will need to exist and generate revenue in order to pay back the original investment of the project. The payback period is also known as management horizon or the breakeven point.
Answer. B is incorrect. Average rate of return describes the rate of return the project will create.
Answer. C is incorrect. Cost-benefits analysis describes the relation of costs to benefits in a project.
Answer. D is incorrect. Discounted cash flow describes the future value on the investment of the project.
When a business analyst completes the elicitation process, she will create four outputs.
Which one of the following is an output of the elicitation process?
- A . Requirements management plan
- B . Resource identification
- C . Stakeholder Concerns
- D . Solution scope
C
Explanation:
Following are the outputs of the elicitation process:
Stakeholder Concerns
Elicitation Results
Schedule Resources
Supporting Materials
When using a change-driven approach, the business analyst may create an initial list of high-level requirements for the initiative.
This high-level requirements list is also known as what term?
- A . Requirements envisioning
- B . Project scope
- C . Product scope
- D . Requirements foundation
A
Explanation:
The initial high-level listing of requirements in a change-driven approach is also known as requirements envisioning.
Answer. B is incorrect. Project scope defines all of the required work to satisfy the requirements of the project.
Answer. C is incorrect. Product scope defines all of the features and functions of the thing, solution, or service the project or organization will create.
Answer. D is incorrect. Requirements foundation is not a valid term for business analysis.
As a business analyst, you may be called upon to define the scope of work and to develop the estimates for the endeavor.
Which one of the following is an important tool for this activity?
- A . Organizational process asset
- B . WBS
- C . Project management plan
- D . Pareto chart
B
Explanation:
The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool used to define the scope of work and to develop estimates.
This tool creates a hierarchy of work by decomposing the project scope into smaller and smaller pieces.
WBS can perform the following tasks:
It may break the project into iterations, releases, or phases.
It can break deliverables into work packages.
It may break activities into smaller tasks.
Answer. C is incorrect. The project management plan could be helpful, in some instances, but for this question, the best answer is WBS.
Answer. D is incorrect. A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph, which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa.
Answer. A is incorrect. Organizational process assets are elements of historical information, guidelines, processes, and standard procedures within an organization. They mandate certain deliverables and the lessons learned from business analysis activities can be used in the development of business analysis plans.
You are the project manager of the NGQQ Project for your company. To help you communicate project status to your stakeholders, you are going to create a stakeholder register. All of the following information should be included in the stakeholder register except for which one?
- A . Assessment information of the stakeholders’ major requirements, expectations, and potential influence
- B . Stakeholder management strategy
- C . Stakeholder classification of their role in the project
- D . Identification information for each stakeholder
B
Explanation:
The stakeholder management strategy is generally not included in the stakeholder registry because it may contain sensitive information that should not be shared with project team members or certain other individuals that could see the stakeholder register. The stakeholder register is a project management document that contains a list of the stakeholders associated with the project. It assesses how they are involved in the project and identifies what role they play in the organization. The information in this document can be very perceptive and is meant for limited exchange only. It also contains relevant information about the stakeholders, such as their requirements, expectations, and influence on the project.
Answer. D is incorrect. Stakeholder identification should be included in the stakeholder register.
Answer. A is incorrect. Assessment information should be included in the stakeholder register.
Answer. C is incorrect. Stakeholder classification should be included in the stakeholder register.
According to ‘A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge’, the two most common data models are the entity-relationship diagram and what other model?
- A . Class model
- B . Project network diagram
- C . Data flow diagram
- D . WBS
A
Explanation:
The class model is most often used with object-oriented development, while the entity-relationship diagram is preferred for relational databases.
Answer. D is incorrect. WBS isn’t a data model, but a decomposition of the project scope.
Answer. B is incorrect. The project network diagram is an illustrated flow of project activities.
Answer. C is incorrect. A data flow diagram shows how data moves into, through, and out of a system.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re performing the solution assessment process. When you assess a solution, what are you actually looking for?
- A . To determine the value of the proposed solution to the stakeholder requirements
- B . To determine the quality of the proposed solution to the stakeholder requirements
- C . To determine the cost of the proposed solution to the stakeholder requirements
- D . To determine the accuracy of the proposed solution to the stakeholder requirements
D
Explanation:
The purpose of assessing proposed solutions is to determine how closely they meet stakeholder and solution requirements. The business analyst, while assessing a single solution, determines whether the solution delivers enough business value to justify its implementation. However, the business analyst has the additional goal of attempting to determine which solution delivers the greatest business value while assessing multiple alternative solutions.
Answer. A is incorrect. Solution assessment isn’t concerned with the value of the solution.
Answer. B is incorrect. Solution assessment isn’t concerned with the quality, but with the accuracy of the solution in light of the stakeholders’ requirements.
Answer. C is incorrect. Solution assessment isn’t concerned with the costs, but with the accuracy of the solution in light of the stakeholders’ requirements.
Beth is the business analyst for her organization and she’s creating a data dictionary for her organization. All of the following information should be included in the data dictionary for an endeavor Beth is leading except for which one?
- A . Description
- B . Aliases
- C . Name
- D . Code of account identifier
D
Explanation:
Code of account identifier is not a valid selection. The code of accounts is a numbering system used in WBS to identify each element and work packages. The correct elements to include in the data dictionary are names, aliases, values and meanings, and description.
Answer. C is incorrect. This is a valid element to include in the data dictionary.
Answer. B is incorrect. This is a valid element to include in the data dictionary.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is a valid element to include in the data dictionary.
You are a business analyst for your organization. Your current business analysis endeavor includes working with stakeholders who are located in offices around the world. Because these stakeholders are dispersed, what are likely to increase in this endeavor as opposed to a collocated group of stakeholders?
- A . Face-to-face meetings
- B . Communication needs
- C . Risks
- D . Costs
B
Explanation:
Of all these possible choices, the best answer is that communication needs will increase. Because complex projects often involve non-collocated stakeholders, it may be necessary to travel more often, have more teleconferences or video conferences, or take other measures to provide accurate and consistent communications across offices, countries, and time zones.
Answer. A is incorrect. Face-to-face meetings are often the best type of communication, but this isn’t the best choice presented.
Answer. C is incorrect. Risks do not necessarily increase because the stakeholders are not collocated.
Answer. D is incorrect. Costs do not necessarily increase in the business analysis approach because of dispersed stakeholders.
What’s the difference between a desired outcome and a solution? Choose the best answer.
- A . The desired outcome is how the organization will operate in the future; the solution is the method to reach the desired outcome.
- B . They are synonymous.
- C . The solution is the ideal fulfillment of the business goals; the desired outcome is the financial gain created by the implementation of the solution.
- D . The desired outcome is what the solution will remove.
A
Explanation:
Of all the choices, only this answer properly identifies the desired outcome as how the organization will operate once the solution has been implemented.
Answer. B is incorrect. Business goals and desired outcomes are not the same.
Answer. D is incorrect. The solution doesn’t remove the desired outcome.
Answer. C is incorrect. The solution is not always a financial gain so this choice is not valid.
In order to plan the business analysis approach, the business analyst must understand the organizational process needs and what other thing?
- A . Objectives that apply to the initiative
- B . Stakeholders’ threats and perceived threats
- C . Consideration of risk and reward
- D . Purpose of the proposed solution
A
Explanation:
The business analyst must understand how the organization operates and the objectives of business analysis duties. Without a clear understanding of what the expected outcomes are to be of the business analysis duties, the business analyst cannot adequately plan for the business analysis duties.
Answer. B is incorrect. It’s important for the business analyst to identify and categorize stakeholders, but this isn’t the best answer for this question.
Answer. D is incorrect. The purpose of the proposed solution is valid only if the initiative is to solve a problem. Business analysis can also occur to detail an opportunity, not just to create solutions to identified problems.
Answer. C is incorrect. This isn’t the best answer for this question.
You are the business analyst for your organization. Management has asked you to define and document the requirements of an endeavor so that the requirements may be reused again in the organization.
Why would an organization want to re-use requirements?
- A . Re-using requirements is useful if the organization wants to sell the set of requirements to its customers.
- B . Re-using requirements is useful if the current solution fails.
- C . Re-using requirements is useful when the requirements are something the organization must do on an ongoing basis.
- D . Re-using requirements doesn’t mean re-using the requirements over and over, but tracing the requirements to actual deliverables.
C
Explanation:
When an organization identifies a set of requirements for an ongoing set of activities, it’s useful to craft the requirements so that the requirements may be used over and over. This saves time, effort, and cost.
Answer. B is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about re-using requirements in an organization.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about re-using requirements in an organization.
Answer. D is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about re-using requirements in an organization.
In the life of a project, when do the number and impact of change requests often increase?
- A . During project planning
- B . Once the project scope is reviewed
- C . Towards the end of the project
- D . At the launch of the project
C
Explanation:
As the life of the project draws towards its end, there’s often an increase in the number of change requests. When change requests are made towards the end of a project, however, the cost and impact of the change increases significantly.
Answer. D is incorrect. It’s ideal for change requests, if they must happen, to happen at the launch of the project, not just at the end.
Answer. A is incorrect. The best answer is that change requests must happen towards the end of project execution, not just project planning. Planning spans the entire life of the project.
Answer. B is incorrect. Scope review happens early in the project and changes early in the project are easier to incorporate and manage than changes at the end of the project.
You are the business analyst for your organization and preparing to plan the business analysis approach. There are three inputs to the business analysis approach.
Which one of the following is not an input to this approach?
- A . Organizational process asset
- B . Expert judgment
- C . Enterprise environmental factor
- D . Business need
C
Explanation:
Enterprise environmental factors are the rules, policies, and procedures that the business analyst must adhere to. These are already established and therefore are not considered to be inputs to this process. The three inputs to the plan business analysis approach are business needs, expert judgment, and organizational process assets.
Bradley is working with the business analyst Marsha to prioritize requirements for their organization. Marsha insists that the requirements be ranked on the cost-benefits analysis of the relative value to the organization.
What type of prioritization approach does Marsha want to use in this scenario?
- A . Likelihood of success
- B . Business value
- C . Urgency
- D . CBR Ratio
B
Explanation:
Marsha wants to utilize the business value of the requirements using a cost-benefit analysis of each requirement. The requirements with the higher value are most important.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is not a valid approach to be used in this scenario.
Answer. D is incorrect. There is not a basis for prioritization called the CBR ratio; this is not a valid choice.
Answer. C is incorrect. Urgency prioritizes requirements based on time sensitivity.
Billy is the business analyst for her organization and she’s working with a team to select a model. Richard doesn’t understand why a model is needed for the requirements.
Which one of the following statements best describes the reason to use a model?
- A . Models abstract and simplify reality.
- B . Models restrict the effect, risk, cost, and schedule of the solution.
- C . Models define the solution in time, cost, space, and logistics.
- D . Models show the complete solution in a non-functional slice of the organization.
A
Explanation:
According to ‘A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge’, models are ideal because they abstract and simplify reality. They help simplify reality in a way that’s useful for understanding the requirements and their impact on the organization.
Answer. C is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement about why it’s important to use a model.
Answer. D is incorrect. Models do not show the solution in a non-functional portion of the organization.
Answer. B is incorrect. Models do not restrict the attributes of the solution.
What business analysis process is needed to define the solution scope and prepare the business plan for the endeavor?
- A . Verify requirements.
- B . Define requirements management and communication.
- C . Prioritize requirements.
- D . Determine solution approach.
D
Explanation:
The business analysis process of determining the solution approach is the process that’s needed in order to define the solution scope and prepare the business plan for the endeavor.
Answer. C is incorrect. Prioritization of requirements is needed to rank requirements from the most important to the least important based on the identified needs.
Answer. B is incorrect. Defining requirements management and communication is not related to the solution scope.
Answer. A is incorrect. Verifying requirements is the verification of the requirements for the stakeholders and completeness of the endeavor.
You are the business analyst for your organization. Your stakeholders have recently reviewed and approved the set of requirements that you’ve presented to them. You have now baselined the requirements.
What does it mean to baseline the requirements in the light of this scenario? Choose the best answer.
- A . The baseline represents the final collection and approval of all requirements.
- B . The baseline represents the future set of physical deliverables.
- C . The baseline represents the approved set of requirements and no additional changes are allowed.
- D . The baseline represents the approved requirements and any changes must go through a change control system.
D
Explanation:
Of all the choices, this is the best answer, as it acknowledges that although the current set of requirements is approved, any future changes to the requirements must pass through a change control system.
Answer. B is incorrect. This statement is moderately true, but current requirements don’t always equate to complete future deliverables.
Answer. A is incorrect. This statement is moderately true, but current requirements don’t always equate to complete future deliverables.
Answer. C is incorrect. This statement is not valid, as changes can enter the set of requirements through the change control process.
When you, a Business Analyst, work with your stakeholders, team, and experts to define the business analysis activities, what thing do you actually define?
- A . You define the requirements of the initiative.
- B . You define the roles and responsibilities.
- C . You define the communication needs.
- D . You define the business analysis approach.
D
Explanation:
The purpose of the plan business analysis approach is to define the business analysis approach.
Answer. A is incorrect. The plan business analysis approach does not define the requirements.
Answer. B is incorrect. The plan business analysis approach does not define the roles and responsibilities.
Answer. C is incorrect. The plan business analysis approach does not define the communication needs.
A business analyst has just hosted a brainstorming session that has generated 57 ideas for a solution.
What should the business analyst do with the ideas now?
- A . Discuss each idea with the project manager.
- B . Research each idea for time and cost.
- C . Record the ideas as requirements.
- D . Rate the ideas.
D
Explanation:
Once the ideas have been recorded, then the business analyst should rate the ideas and distribute the list to the appropriate stakeholders.
Answer. C is incorrect. The business analyst doesn’t record the ideas as requirements.
Answer. B is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement as time and cost estimates aren’t needed for each idea generated in the session.
Answer. A is incorrect. The project manager doesn’t need, necessarily, to discuss the brainstorming ideas.
Which of the following is used as a means of validating a created, selected, or tailored business analysis approach?
- A . Process modeling
- B . Progressive elaboration
- C . Decision analysis
- D . Structured walkthrough
D
Explanation:
Structured walkthrough is used as a means of validating a created, selected, or tailored business analysis approach.
Answer. C is incorrect. Decision analysis is used to rate available methodologies against organizational needs and objectives.
Answer. A is incorrect. Process modeling is used to define and document the business analysis approach.
Answer. B is incorrect. Progressive elaboration describes the process of providing more and more information through incremental details. It is a form of deductive reasoning to go from a very broad set of requirements to the exact details on the requirements.
As a business analyst in your organization, you must understand the difference between operative rules and structural rules.
What is the difference between structural rules and operative rules?
- A . Structural rules are rules that the organization chooses to enforce as a matter of policy. Operative rules are intended to help determine when something is or is not true, or when things fall into a specific category.
- B . Operative rules are rules that the organization chooses to enforce as a matter of policy. Structural rules are intended to help determine when something is or is not true, or when things fall into a specific category.
- C . Operative rules are rules that describe the organizational process assets of the organization. Structural rules are policies that restrict the authority of each line of business.
- D . Operative rules are rules that define how an organization operates. Structural rules define the boundaries of the structure, business units, and departments within the organization.
B
Explanation:
Operative rules are the policies of the organization. Structural rules create categories of things, actions, and departments within an entity.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about structural rules and operative rules.
Answer. C is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about structural rules and operative rules.
Answer. D is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about structural rules and operative rules.
The task of verifying requirements is used to ensure that the requirements are ready for formal review and validation by the customers and for what other purpose?
- A . For defining the specifications for the desired future state based on the solution
- B . For gaining approval of chartering the project
- C . For defining the information to allow additional work to be performed
- D . For gaining approval of cost and schedule
C
Explanation:
Requirement’s verification allows the business analyst and key stakeholders to define any additional information that will allow any additional work to be performed. In other words, once the current requirements are approved, the tasks may continue forward based on what’s been analyzed so far.
Answer. D is incorrect. Gaining approval of the cost and schedule is not an accurate answer.
Answer. B is incorrect. Chartering a project isn’t the best answer for this question.
Answer. A is incorrect. The requirements comprise the solution scope for the business need, so this isn’t the best answer for the question.
Which technique in organizing requirements is best described as showing the concepts and relationships relevant to the solution or business domain?
- A . Data flow diagram
- B . Business rules analysis
- C . Data modeling
- D . Functional decomposition
C
Explanation:
Data modeling is the best answer, as this approach describes the concepts and relationships relevant to the solution or business domain.
Answer. A is incorrect. The data flow diagram shows how information flows through a system.
Answer. B is incorrect. The business rules analysis examines how business rules may be implemented and managed in an organization.
Answer. D is incorrect. Functional decomposition is the process of breaking down the scope into smaller, more manageable deliverables. It ensures that all of the active characteristics of the proposed solution are identified, documented, and capable of being tracked.
A business analyst is helping management determine which solution they should choose. As it happens that the organization can only choose one of the two solutions due to time and resource restrictions. Solution A worth $456,000 to the organization while solution B worth $565,000 to the organization. While solution A costs less, it is less risky and takes less time to complete so management elects to seize Solution A.
What is the opportunity cost?
- A . $565,000
- B . There is not enough information to know how much the solution will cost the organization.
- C . $109,000
- D . $456,000
A
Explanation:
The opportunity cost is the total value of the opportunity that can be taken advantage of.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re working with Adam on business analysis processes. Adam is steeped in knowledge regarding the project’s purpose. Of the following, what type of business analysis stakeholder is Adam?
- A . Project manager
- B . Domain subject matter expert
- C . Sponsor
- D . Regulator
B
Explanation:
The domain subject matter expert is a person who is steeped in knowledge regarding the project’s purpose.
Answer. A is incorrect. The project manager must ensure that the business analysis approach is compatible with other project activities.
Answer. D is incorrect. The regulator approves any tailoring to the business analysis processes or activities.
Answer. C is incorrect. The sponsor allows the business analysis activities and resources to exist in
support of the organization.
You are the business analyst for your organization. You are currently identifying opportunities for a customer to improve their business processes. The customer wants to streamline their business efforts either through new technologies, better processes, or a combination of both. The customer demands, however, that the solution should not cost more than $300,000 to implement and support for one year.
What does the $300,000 represent?
- A . Budget
- B . Constraint
- C . Solution cost
- D . Requirements
B
Explanation:
The maximum price of $300,000 is a constraint that the solution must be bound to. The solution does not have to cost $300,000, it just cannot exceed this limit.
Answer. A is incorrect. A budget is the defined amount of funds to implement a solution. In this instance, the stakeholder will accept a maximum of $300,000 or less for a solution. Because a solution has not been identified the budget is not yet known.
Answer. D is incorrect. Requirements are the characteristics of the solution, not the constraint of the price.
Answer. C is incorrect. A solution has not yet been proposed so the cost of the solution is still unknown.
You are the business analyst for your organization. On your current project you’ll be using the change-driven approach for defining requirements and gathering feedback.
Which of the following statements best describes the change-driven approach?
- A . The change-driven approach favors defining requirements through experimentation.
- B . The change-driven approach favors defining requirements standardized templates.
- C . The change-driven approach favors defining requirements through team interaction.
- D . The change-driven approach does not define the requirements until after a solution for the problem has been identified.
C
Explanation:
The change-driven approach looks to create business value in short iterations. The downside of this approach, however, is that there is more risk and uncertainty in the overall direction. The change-driven approach relies on team interaction to define requirements and gather feedback on the solution.
Answer. B is incorrect. The plan-driven approach relies on standardized templates, not the change-driven approach.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is not a valid description of the change-driven approach.
Answer. D is incorrect. Requirements may evolve through the change-driven approach, but they are still identified early in the business analysis work. The requirements must be identified so that the business analysts know what solution would satisfy the requirements.
According to the business analysis book ‘A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge’, which your exam is largely based on, almost all methodologies fit somewhere along a spectrum between plan-driven and what other methodology?
- A . Risk-driven
- B . Cost-driven
- C . Change-driven
- D . Reward-driven
C
Explanation:
The methodology that defines the business analysis approach is either plan-driven or change-driven.
Answer. A is incorrect. Risk-driven is not a valid approach for planning business analysis activities.
Answer. B is incorrect. Cost-driven is not a valid approach for planning the business analysis activities.
Answer. D is incorrect. Reward-driven is not a valid approach for planning the business analysis activities.
Which of the following is used to rate available methodologies against organizational needs?
- A . Structured walkthrough
- B . Progressive elaboration
- C . Decision analysis
- D . Process modeling
C
Explanation:
Decision analysis is used to rate available methodologies against organizational needs and objectives.
Answer. D is incorrect. Process modeling is used to define and document the business analysis approach.
Answer. A is incorrect. Structured walkthrough is used as a means of validating a created, selected, or tailored business analysis approach.
Answer. B is incorrect. Progressive elaboration describes the process of providing more and more information through incremental details. It is a form of deductive reasoning to go from a very broad set of requirements to the exact details on the requirements.
You’re organizing the business analysis approach for your organization. Jane wants to know when changes to requirements are most likely to happen in business analysis processes.
Which one of the following statements best describes when changes to requirements may happen?
- A . Changes to requirements usually happen at the end of the business analysis processes.
- B . Changes to requirements usually happen early in the business analysis processes.
- C . Changes to requirements may happen at any time.
- D . Changes to requirements happen after the business analysis processes.
C
Explanation:
Changes to requirements may happen at any time in the business analysis processes and throughout the project. When these changes happen later in the process, it becomes more difficult to accept, communicate, and manage those changes.
Answer. B is incorrect. Changes may happen at any time, not just at the beginning of the processes.
Answer. A is incorrect. Changes don’t just happen at the end of the business analysis processes.
Answer. D is incorrect. Changes may happen at any time, not just after the business analysis processes.
There are three inputs for stakeholder analysis.
Which input describes the organizational units that exist and their interactions with one another?
- A . Business need
- B . Enterprise architecture
- C . Matrix structure
- D . Organizational process asset
B
Explanation:
The enterprise architecture describes the relationship among the organizational units and how the organizational units act with one another.
Answer. A is incorrect. The business need describes business requirements, solution scope, and solution requirements.
Answer. C is incorrect. A matrix structure is not one of the three inputs to stakeholder analysis.
Answer. D is incorrect. Organizational process assets describe organizational policies, procedures, forms, and methodologies the business analyst is to follow.
You are the business analyst in your organization. Management comes to you with a customer complaint that they’d like you to analyze.
What’s the common task associated with customer complaints or loss of revenue?
- A . Stakeholder assessment of implementation
- B . Issue management and identification
- C . Evaluation of a business need
- D . Capability assessment
C
Explanation:
When there are customer complaints, loss of revenue, or new market opportunities, the best course of action is the evaluation of a business need.
Answer. D is incorrect. Capability assessments are useful, but they happen after defining and evaluating the business need.
Answer. B is incorrect. Issue management and identification cannot be the best answer for understanding and research customer complaints.
Answer. A is incorrect. Stakeholder assessment of implementation is not a valid business analysis activity.
Kelly is the business analyst for her organization and she’s identifying roles and responsibilities of the people involved in business analysis activities. Her manager has asked Kelly to create the RACI matrix to accomplish this task.
What is the RACI matrix?
- A . The RACI matrix is a roles and responsibilities chart that uses the legend of Responsible, Action, Controlled, and Informed.
- B . The RACI matrix is a roles and responsibilities chart that uses the legend of Role, Action, Controlled, and Information.
- C . The RACI matrix is a roles and responsibilities chart that uses the legend of Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
- D . The RACI matrix is a roles and responsibilities chart that uses the legend of Risk, Action, Cost, and Information.
C
Explanation:
The RACI matrix is a roles and responsibilities chart that uses the legend of Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
Beth is a business analyst for her organization and she’s discussing the solution with her key stakeholders. Beth is considering that moving to a new operating system, new office software, and new customized applications will be too much for the end users to learn and to manage their ongoing responsibilities.
What task is Beth completing in this scenario?
- A . Manage the stakeholders.
- B . Evaluate solution performance.
- C . Define transition requirements.
- D . Assess organizational readiness.
D
Explanation:
Beth is performing the assessment of organizational readiness. This task reviews the organization’s ability to accept and use the solution.
Answer. A is incorrect. Stakeholder management is not an applicable business analysis task for this scenario.
Answer. C is incorrect. The task of defining transition requirements describes the process of moving from one solution to another.
Answer. B is incorrect. Evaluation of solution performance is the task of reviewing current solutions for improvement.
Management comes to you and asks you to complete some specifications and models about the current state of the organization.
Management wants you to complete this business analysis activity as soon as possible and report back to them with your findings.
What is the primary purpose of the specify and model requirements process?
- A . To analyze the roles and responsibilities of users within the organization to determine how the processes may be improved.
- B . To analyze the utility function within the organization to determine how risk tolerance may allow for new opportunities.
- C . To analyze the functioning of an organization and to provide an insight into opportunities for improvement.
- D . To analyze the processes of an organization to determine what processes can be improved, removed, or added.
C
Explanation:
The specify and model requirements is a business analysis process to analyze the functioning of an organization and provide an insight into opportunities for improvement.
Answer. D, A, and B are incorrect. These are not valid definitions of the specify and model requirements process.
In preparation for your business analysis examinations, you should be familiar with the tasks to complete requirements management and communication activities.
How many tasks are there in the knowledge area of requirements management and communication?
- A . 7
- B . 4
- C . 5
- D . 6
C
Explanation:
Following are the tasks in Requirements Management and Communication:
– Manage solution scope and requirements.
– Manage requirements traceability.
– Maintain requirements for reuse.
– Prepare requirements package.
– Communicate requirements.
Which business analysis task in the requirements management and communication domain is best described as creating and maintaining relationships among business objectives, requirements, team deliverables, and solution components to support business analysis activities?
- A . Communicate requirements.
- B . Prepare the requirements package.
- C . Manage requirements traceability.
- D . Document requirements for review.
C
Explanation:
The question describes the task of managing requirements traceability.
Answer. B is incorrect. Preparing the requirements package is a task that selects and structures a set of requirements to ensure that the requirements are effectively communicated to, understood by, and usable by a stakeholder group or groups.
Answer. A is incorrect. Communicating requirements is the process of discussing the requirements through communication channels to ensure that the stakeholders understand the requirements.
Answer. D is incorrect. Documenting requirements for review is not a valid answer, as this is not a business analysis task in the requirements management and communication knowledge area.
Which of the following describes the organizational policies, procedures, forms, and methodologies the business analyst is to follow?
- A . Organizational process asset
- B . Enterprise architecture
- C . Business need
- D . Matrix structure
A
Explanation:
Organizational process assets describe the organizational policies, procedures, forms, and methodologies the business analyst is to follow.
Answer. C is incorrect. The business need describes business requirements, solution scope, and solution requirements.
Answer. B is incorrect. The enterprise architecture describes the relationship among the organizational units and how the organizational units act with one another.
Answer. D is incorrect. A matrix structure is not one of the three inputs to the business analysis process.
You are the business analyst for your organization. You’ve believed that your solution can actually be purchased from outside vendor rather than trying to create the solution internally. You decide to ask the vendor to provide a fee for their services based on the statement of work.
What document will you give the vendor along with the statement of work?
- A . Request for quote
- B . Contract terms
- C . Request for proposal
- D . Purchase order
A
Explanation:
When an organization wants just the cost of the service or product, request for quote is used. Quotes, provided by vendors to buyers, don’t present any ideas or direction, but provide just the cost of the solution.
Answer. C is incorrect. Request for proposal asks the vendor to provide detail on a proposed solution and the cost of the solution.
Answer. D is incorrect. Purchase order tells the vendor that your organization will be purchasing the goods or services.
Answer. B is incorrect. Contract terms aren’t feasible, as the business analyst doesn’t know how much the solution will cost. Contract terms come later in the procurement process.
Which requirements allocation technique is best described as the breaking down of the solution scope into smaller units for allocation?
- A . Functional decomposition
- B . Resource allocation granularity
- C . WBS creation
- D . Process modeling
A
Explanation:
Functional decomposition takes the solution scope and decomposes it into smaller, more manageable units.
Answer. B is incorrect. Resource allocation granularity isn’t a business analysis term and is not acceptable for this question.
Answer. D is incorrect. Process modeling maps activities in a process model to different roles, vendors, and contractors.
Answer. C is incorrect. WBS creation also uses a decomposition of the project scope into work packages, but it’s not the process described in this question.
John and Hanna are business analysts in their organization and they are completing the verification activities to check for completeness of the requirements.
When should John and Hanna perform these verification activities?
- A . At each milestone of the requirements analysis process
- B . Once all of the requirements have been gathered
- C . Iteratively throughout the requirements analysis process
- D . As often as the requirements management plan calls for
C
Explanation:
Requirements verification activities are performed iteratively throughout the requirements analysis process.
Answer. A is incorrect. Requirements verification happens in iterations, not just at milestones (assuming there are milestones in the process).
Answer. B is incorrect. Verification activities don’t happen just at the end of the requirements gathering process, but iteratively throughout the process.
Answer. D is incorrect. This answer is tempting, but it’s not the best answer.
Business needs do not always originate from the business analyst or from business owners. There are several stakeholders which may identify or contribute to the identification of a business need.
Which one of the following stakeholders are most likely to have the most direct awareness of problems that could lead to a business need?
- A . End users
- B . Business analysts
- C . Project managers
- D . Functional managers
A
Explanation:
End users of a system are the stakeholders that are to have the most direct awareness of problems. The end users typically represent the largest group of stakeholders and are closest to the applications, services, and facilities where business needs may be represented.
Answer. C is incorrect. Project managers may be aware of business needs, but they aren’t the most likely stakeholders.
Answer. D is incorrect. Functional managers oversee end users and other resources, but may not be the stakeholders closest to the need.
Answer. B is incorrect. Business analysts can help identify and clarify the need, but this isn’t the best choice for the question.
You are the business analyst for your organization and are leading a presentation about an identified problem. This presentation will help the stakeholders to understand the problem and it will help you when you begin to elicit requirements from the stakeholders.
Which type of learner learns best through the presentation of models?
- A . Kinesthetic learners
- B . Auditory learners
- C . Communication model learners
- D . Visual learners
D
Explanation:
Visual learners are people that learn best by observing a model of the problem or visual aids to demonstrate the problem.
Answer. B is incorrect. Auditory learners describe people that learn best by oral and written communications.
Answer. A is incorrect. Kinesthetic learners learn best by experiencing the topic, hands-on activities, and walk-throughs of the identified topic.
Answer. C is incorrect. This is not a valid learning type.
Brian is the business analyst for his organization and he’s hosting a brainstorming session. He is facilitating the session with eight stakeholders.
Why is it important for Brian to not set a goal for the number of ideas the group should generate in the session?
- A . A goal for the number of ideas to be generated should be created.
- B . A goal for the number of ideas puts too much pressure on the group.
- C . A goal for the number of ideas may be too large to reach.
- D . A goal for the number of ideas actually limits the ideas that can be generated.
D
Explanation:
When a business analyst sets a goal for the number of ideas to be generated during a brainstorming session, it actually limits the number of ideas that the group can generate. For example, if Brian sets the goal of 25 ideas, then once the group reaches 25, the session ends instead of urging more ideas into the session.
Answer. C is incorrect. While it’s possible that the goal may be too large to be feasible for the session, this isn’t the best choice presented.
Answer. B is incorrect. A goal may put pressure on the group, but the best answer is that the goal for the number of ideas may actually limit the number of ideas created.
Answer. A is incorrect. This isn’t a valid statement as Brian should not create a goal.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re preparing the solution for your organization’s review and implementation. Some of the requirements of the solution, however, must be inspected by compliance officers before the project and implementation can move forward.
The requirements of the inspection can be best described as what?
- A . Bottleneck
- B . Requirements
- C . Cost-negativity
- D . Constraint
D
Explanation:
Requirements that require a compliance officer to be regulated and inspected are constraints that limit the project’s options.
Answer. B is incorrect. While these are requirements, the best answer is a constraint. Constraints limit the project’s ability to move forward. A delay in the inspection can delay the project.
Answer. C is incorrect. This isn’t a valid term and isn’t applicable to this scenario.
Answer. A is incorrect. While some business analysts and project managers may call this a bottleneck in the flow of the project, the correct business analysis term for this is constraint.
Karen is the business analyst for her organization and she’s reviewing the tasks within her endeavor. Several of the tasks have the characteristic that the activity will be completed with the project stakeholders, consultants, and business analyst, though this hasn’t yet been approved.
What is this condition of believing some things to be true about an activity without proving the validity of the belief called?
- A . Risk
- B . Assumption
- C . Constraint
- D . Boundary
B
Explanation:
An assumption is something that you believe to be true, but it’s not been proven to be true or false. The assumption in this scenario is that the stakeholders will be available to complete activities.
Answer. C is incorrect. A constraint is something that limits your options.
Answer. D is incorrect. A boundary defines what’s in and out of the domain of business analysis, project management, or any other endeavor.
Answer. A is incorrect. A risk is an uncertain event or condition that may have a positive or negative effect on the project.
All of the following are examples of elicitation techniques that are used as part of the business analyst elicitation task except for which one?
- A . Brainstorming
- B . Observation
- C . Decomposition
- D . Prototyping
C
Explanation:
Decomposition describes the process of taking the product or project scope and breaking it down into
smaller, more manageable units.
Decomposition is not an elicitation technique.
Answer. A is incorrect. Brainstorming is an elicitation technique that’s useful for requirements gathering.
Answer. B is incorrect. Observation allows the stakeholder to actively or passively observe the work to better understand the requirements of the solution.
Answer. D is incorrect. Prototyping allows the business analyst and team to create mockups of the deliverable for solution testing and requirements approval.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re preparing to elicit requirements from the stakeholders. You’ve gathered several inputs to help with the elicitation process.
Which input(s) will be used to ensure that you understand the type of information that should be elicited from the stakeholders?
- A . Stakeholder list
- B . Risk assessment
- C . Business need
- D . Roles and responsibility
C
Explanation:
The business need and the solution scope are the two inputs which help the business analyst understand what should be elicited from the stakeholders.
Answer. A is incorrect. Stakeholder list, roles, and responsibilities help the business analyst understand from whom the requirements should be elicited.
Answer. D is incorrect. Stakeholder list, roles, and responsibilities help the business analyst understand from whom the requirements should be elicited.
Answer. B is incorrect. Risk assessment is a review of the risks in the project and isn’t an input to elicitation business analyst tasks.
You are a business analyst for your organization and you’re working with the stakeholders to identify the primary inputs to the business analysis approach.
Which one of the following is a primary input to the business analysis approach?
- A . The business analysis approach will be shaped by the problem or opportunity faced by the organization.
- B . The business analysis approach will be shaped by the penalty of not seizing the opportunity.
- C . The business analysis approach will be shaped by the time allowed for business analysis planning.
- D . The business analysis approach will be shaped by the risks faced by the organization.
A
Explanation:
A primary input to the business analysis approach is to consider the problem or opportunity faced by the organization.
Answer. C is incorrect. The time allowed for business analysis planning does have an effect on the thoroughness of the business analysis activities, but this isn’t the best answer for the question.
Answer. D is incorrect. While risk and reward are considerations, consideration of the problem or opportunity is a better choice for this question.
Answer. B is incorrect. This answer doesn’t consider the reward of the opportunity or acknowledge, as there may also be problems to be solved, not just opportunities to seize.
Your organization is using a plan-driven approach to business analysis.
What must you do with all of the communication documents created as part of this high-priority project that you are serving as the business analyst for?
- A . The communications management plan will dictate what will happen to the business analysis communications.
- B . All formal communication must be destroyed once the project is completed.
- C . All communications must be archived and will become part of the organizational process assets.
- D . All communications must be documented and passed onto the solution’s project manager for analysis and to serve as supporting detail.
C
Explanation:
Communications in a plan-driven approach to business analysis must use formal communication. Formal communications should be archived as part of the organizational process assets.
Answer. A is incorrect. The communications management plan may dictate that the communications be archived, but this is not a requirement of the communications management plan.
Answer. D is incorrect. The project manager may want to reference the communication but doesn’t always need. If the communications are archived, then the project manager can access them as needed.
Answer. B is incorrect. Communication documents are not destroyed; they are archived as part of the organizational process assets.
Linda is the business analyst for her organization and she’s working with Joe, a new business analyst, to prioritize requirements. Joe doesn’t understand why requirements need to be prioritized; as all requirements are required, they should carry equal weight in the analysis.
What should Linda tell Joe as to why requirements must be prioritized?
- A . Prioritization ranks the requirements according to the cost and schedule.
- B . Prioritization ranks the requirements on a weighted scale of key performance indicators, such as cost, schedule, risk, and experience.
- C . Prioritization ensures that the most important stakeholders are considered first.
- D . Prioritization of requirements focuses on the most critical requirements first.
D
Explanation:
Prioritization of requirements is used to make certain that analysis and implementation efforts focus on the most critical requirements. The requirement prioritization process ranks the requirements by importance. It is a decision process. This process is used for determining the relative importance of requirements. These priorities determine which requirements should be targets for further analysis.
Answer. C is incorrect. Requirements prioritization does not rank the requirements by the stakeholders, but by the needs of the stakeholders and the requirements that are most important to satisfy those needs.
Answer. A is incorrect. Requirements prioritization does not rank the requirements according to the cost and schedule, but by importance.
Answer. B is incorrect. Requirements prioritization does not rank the requirements on a weighted scale; this isn’t a valid statement.
What condition of the requirements must be fulfilled in order to use the matrix documentation approach to specify and model requirements?
- A . The requirements must have opposing values.
- B . The requirements must have common characteristics.
- C . The requirements must have the uniform structure.
- D . The requirements must have rated goals, such as time, cost, and quality.
C
Explanation:
In order to use the matrix documentation approach to model requirements, the identified requirements must have the uniform structure of their characteristics and identification.
Answer. A is incorrect. The requirements do no need to have opposing values to use the matrix documentation approach.
Answer. B is incorrect. While this choice is tempting, the best answer is the uniform structure.
Answer. D is incorrect. This isn’t a valid answer, as requirements don’t need rated goals.
Which of the following is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986?
- A . Quality Circle
- B . Waterfall model
- C . Lean
- D . Six Sigma
D
Explanation:
Six Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. It is widely used in many sectors of industry, although its use is not without controversy. The Six Sigma approach seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified financial targets.
As a business analyst, you’ll often have to coach stakeholders on the processes, knowledge areas, and tasks you’ll complete for an organization. One of the knowledge areas is enterprise analysis.
This knowledge area completes all of the following activities except for which one?
- A . It defines the nature of a solution that meets that need.
- B . It identifies business needs, problems, or opportunities.
- C . It justifies the investment necessary to deliver that solution.
- D . It manages and expresses requirements to a broad and diverse audience.
D
Explanation:
The Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area describes the activities and considerations to manage and express requirements to a broad and diverse audience. The execution of these tasks ensures the following facts:
The stakeholders have a shared understanding of the nature of a solution.
Those stakeholders with approval authority are in agreement as to the requirements that the solution shall meet.
Answer. B, A, and C are incorrect. The Enterprise Analysis knowledge area describes the following business analysis activities:
It identifies business needs, problems, or opportunities.
It defines the nature of a solution that meets that need.
It justifies the investment necessary to deliver that solution.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re working with your manager to discuss the constraints and assumptions that may affect the requirements. Your manager wants to know from where you’ve derived the list of constraints and assumptions.
What’s the best answer as to where assumptions and constraints are identified?
- A . Assumptions and constraints are identified through a review of project requirements.
- B . Assumptions and constraints are identified through elicitation from stakeholders.
- C . Assumptions and constraints are identified through risk identification and analysis.
- D . Assumptions and constraints are identified through document analysis.
B
Explanation:
Assumptions and constraints are identified through elicitation from stakeholders.
Answer. D is incorrect. Assumptions and constraints are not identified through document analysis.
Answer. C is incorrect. Assumptions and constraints are not identified through risk identification, though false assumptions may be subject to risk analysis.
Answer. A is incorrect. Assumptions and constraints are not identified through a review of project requirements.
There are five tasks and six inputs to requirements management and communication.
As a business analyst, you’ll need to gather all of the following inputs for this knowledge area except for which one?
- A . Requirement Management Plan
- B . Work breakdown structure
- C . Business Analysis (BA) communication plan
- D . Solution scope
B
Explanation:
The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool used to define the scope of work and to develop estimates.
This tool creates a hierarchy of work by decomposing the project scope into smaller and smaller pieces.
WBS can perform the following tasks:
It may break the project into iterations, releases, or phases.
It can break deliverables into work packages.
It may break activities into smaller tasks.
Answer. C, A, and D are incorrect.
The inputs to requirements management and communication are as follows:
Business Analysis (BA) communication plan
Requirement Management Plan
Solution Scope
Requirements Structure
Organizational Process Assets
Stakeholder, List, Roles, and Responsibilities
Requirements
Which of the following is an output of the Identify Stakeholders process?
- A . Scope baseline
- B . Project charter
- C . Stakeholder register
- D . Project scope statement
C
Explanation:
The Identify Stakeholders process identifies all people or organizations that are impacted by the project. It also documents relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, and impact on project success. Stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy are outputs of this process.
Answer. B is incorrect. Project charter is one of the inputs of the Identify Stakeholders process.
Answer. A is incorrect. Scope baseline is one of the outputs of the Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) process.
Answer. D is incorrect. Project scope statement is one of the outputs of the Define Scope process.
You are documenting the requirements attribute for your requirements management plan.
Which attribute would you use if you want to identify the person who created the requirements?
- A . Absolute reference
- B . Ownership
- C . Requirements sponsor
- D . Author of the requirements
D
Explanation:
The author of the requirements is a good attribute to include in the requirements attribute. This allows follow-up questions or clarifications, if necessary, for the project.
Answer. A is incorrect. Absolute reference is needed to define specific requirements. A numeric coding is preferred over text and this code should not be reused.
Answer. B is incorrect. The ownership attribute describes who will be the owner of the requirement or deliverable. The owner isn’t necessarily the same person who created the requirement.
Answer. C is incorrect. There is not an attribute called requirements sponsor, so this choice is not valid.
A business analyst has just completed an elicitation event.
What stakeholder(s) is/are involved in the documentation of the elicitation results?
- A . Business analyst and key stakeholders
- B . Business analyst
- C . Project manager, project team, and business analyst
- D . Project manager, business analyst, and project sponsor
B
Explanation:
Only the business analyst is involved in the documentation of the elicitation results.
Answer. D is incorrect. Only the business analyst is involved in the documentation of the elicitation results, not the project manager and project sponsor.
Answer. C is incorrect. Only the business analyst is involved in the documentation of the elicitation results, not the project manager and project team.
Answer. A is incorrect. Only the business analyst is involved in the documentation of the elicitation results, not key stakeholders.
Consider a business analyst who is completing the business analysis tasks of specifying and modeling requirements for an organization. This task can help an organization achieve all of the following objectives
except for which one?
- A . Supporting training activities and knowledge management
- B . Facilitating communication among stakeholders
- C . Compliance with contracts and regulations
- D . Increasing revenue and/or reducing costs within an organization
D
Explanation:
The task of specifying and modeling requirements does not ensure that revenues will increase or that costs will be reduced. However, the task does allow for some insight into operational improvements.
Answer. C is incorrect. The task of specifying and modeling requirements does help with compliance to contracts and regulations.
Answer. B is incorrect. The task of specifying and modeling requirements does help the stakeholders communicate better.
Answer. A is incorrect. The task of specifying and modeling requirements can help with training and knowledge management.
In order to begin defining the solution scope, you’ll need four inputs.
Which one of the following is actually a task that will use the solution scope and is not an input?
- A . Required capability
- B . Assumptions and constraints
- C . Business need
- D . Allocation of requirements
D
Explanation:
The task of allocating requirements is the future task in the business analysis domain that will need the solution scope. The four inputs to the solution scope are assumptions and constraints, business need, required capabilities, and solution approach.
Answer. B is incorrect. Assumptions and constraints is one of the four inputs to the solution scope.
Answer. C is incorrect. Business need is one of the four inputs to the solution scope.
Answer. A is incorrect. Required capability is one of the four inputs to the solution scope.
What can be considered the only input to the task of defining assumptions and constraints?
- A . Business case
- B . Prioritized requirements
- C . Requirements
- D . Stakeholder concern
D
Explanation:
The only input to the task of defining assumptions and constraints is stakeholder concern.
Answer. C is incorrect. Requirements aren’t inputs to the task of defining assumptions and constraints.
Answer. B is incorrect. Prioritized requirements aren’t inputs to the task of defining assumptions and constraints.
Answer. A is incorrect. The business case isn’t an input to the task of defining assumptions and constraints.
A business analyst wants to elicit requirements from a large group of stakeholders. One of her primary goals of this event is to produce a broad set of options for solutions.
Which elicitation technique would you recommend for this business analyst?
- A . Business rules analysis
- B . Brainstorming
- C . Benchmarking
- D . Data flow diagrams
B
Explanation:
Brainstorming is the business analysis solution the business analyst should use to generate a broad set of options.
Answer. C is incorrect. Benchmarking compares two comparable businesses, solutions, systems, or other entities for measurement, goal setting, and idea generation.
Answer. A is incorrect. Business rules analysis defines the rules that govern decisions in an organization and that define, constrain, or enable organizational operations.
Answer. D is incorrect. Data flow diagrams illustrate how information is input, processed, stored, and output from systems.
Which of the following is the prime purpose of the Manage Stakeholders Expectations process?
- A . Identify stakeholders
- B . Close project
- C . Resolve issues
- D . Updating risk registers
C
Explanation:
The prime purpose of the Manage Stakeholders Expectations process is to resolve issues. These issues may be from different areas of the project. An issue log or action item log can be used to document and monitor the resolution of issues. It can be used to facilitate communication and ensure a common understanding of issues. Issues are resolved to maintain good, constructive working relationships among various stakeholders, including team members.
Answer. B is incorrect. Although, the Manage Stakeholders Expectations process helps in closing the project, it is not the prime purpose of this process.
Answer. A is incorrect. Stakeholders identification is done in the separate process named Identify Stakeholders.
Answer. D is incorrect. Risk register is a document that contains the results of the qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, and risk response planning. Description, category, cause, probability of occurring, impact on objectives, proposed responses, owner, and the current status of all identified risks are put in the risk register. Updating risk registers is done throughout the project duration. It is not the prime purpose of the Manage Stakeholders Expectations process.
Sam is preparing for the task of prioritizing requirements and he’ll need five inputs to accomplish the task.
Which one of the following is not an input that Sam will use to prioritize requirements?
- A . Risk analysis
- B . Business need
- C . Requirements management plan
- D . Business case
A
Explanation:
Risk analysis is not considered for prioritization of requirements. The correct inputs are business case, business need, requirements, requirements management plan, and the stakeholder list, roles, and responsibilities.
Answer. D is incorrect. Business case is needed as an input for the task of prioritizing requirements.
Answer. B is incorrect. Business need is needed as an input for the task of prioritizing requirements.
Answer. C is incorrect. The requirements management plan is needed as an input for the task of prioritizing requirements.
What elicitation technique is best described as a study to compare the strengths and weaknesses of an organization against its peers and competitors?
- A . Brainstorming
- B . Market analysis
- C . Comparative analysis
- D . Benchmarking
D
Explanation:
Benchmarking is the only valid business analysis process that compares the strengths and weaknesses of an organization against other similar entities.
Answer. A is incorrect. Brainstorming generates ideas and inputs to the business analysis process.
Answer. C is incorrect. Comparative analysis is not a valid BABOK term, so this choice is incorrect.
Answer. B is incorrect. Market analysis is not a valid BABOK term, so this choice is incorrect.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you and your staff are creating as many solutions as possible to an identified problem in the solution approach process.
What is this activity element called?
- A . Alternative generation
- B . Brainstorming
- C . Prototyping
- D . Lateral thinking
A
Explanation:
When the business analyst and stakeholders are generating as many potential options as possible for a solution, it’s called alternative generation.
Answer. B is incorrect. Brainstorming is not used as an element for the solution approach process.
Answer. D is incorrect. Lateral thinking is not an element used in the solution approach process.
Answer. C is incorrect. Prototyping creates models and mockups of a solution.
What type of requirements elicitation technique is the Delphi Technique?
- A . Survey
- B . Workshop
- C . Prototyping
- D . Round table
A
Explanation:
The Delphi Technique uses rounds of anonymous surveys to build consensus among the stakeholders.
Answer. B is incorrect. The workshop is not an example of the Delphi Technique.
Answer. D is incorrect. The round table is a discussion of a topic, not a requirements elicitation technique.
Answer. C is incorrect. Prototyping is not the equivalent of the Delphi Technique.
Which one of the following is not an event-based elicitation technique?
- A . Focus group
- B . Interface analysis
- C . Interview
- D . Workshop
B
Explanation:
Interface analysis is not an event-based elicitation technique. It is an elicitation technique that identifies interfaces between solutions and how the interfaces will interact.
Answer. D is incorrect. A workshop is an event-based elicitation technique.
Answer. A is incorrect. A focus group is an event-based elicitation technique.
Answer. C is incorrect. An interview is an event-based elicitation technique.
What do business goals and objectives of enterprise analysis actually describe?
- A . Business goals and objectives describe the increased revenue that the organization is seeking to gain.
- B . Business goals and objectives describe the solution scope that the organization is seeking to accomplish.
- C . Business goals and objectives describe the ends that the organization is seeking to achieve.
- D . Business goals and objectives describe the desired future state of problems.
C
Explanation:
Business goals and objectives describe the ends that the organization is seeking to achieve. It is the assessment of the desired future state of the organization.
Answer. B is incorrect. The best answer is that the ends of the solution are defined, not just the solution scope.
Answer. A is incorrect. Business goals and objectives aren’t always focused on increased revenue so this isn’t the best choice for the question.
Answer. D is incorrect. This answer is close, but it’s not the future state of the problems that is defined, but the future state of the organization.
Which technique consists of review meetings to determine if the stakeholders agree that their needs are being met with the identified requirements?
- A . Risk analysis
- B . Prototyping
- C . Stakeholder management
- D . Structured walkthrough
D
Explanation:
Structured walkthroughs are meetings that help determine if the stakeholders agree that their needs are being met with the identified requirements.
Answer. A is incorrect. Risk analysis reviews identified risks in the requirements to determine the probability and impact of the risk event.
Answer. B is incorrect. Prototyping is used to gain user agreement with the proposed solution and requirements for the solution.
Answer. C is incorrect. Stakeholder management is not a technique that is used as part of validating requirements.
You are a business analyst for your organization and you’re working with the stakeholders to identify the primary inputs to the business analysis approach.
Which of the following are primary inputs of planning the business analysis approach?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution.
- A . Organizational process assets
- B . Penalty of not seizing the opportunity
- C . Expert Judgement
- D . Business need
ACD
Explanation:
These are the primary inputs of planning the business analysis approach. The primary input of planning the business analysis approach is to consider the problem or opportunity faced by the organization. Time allowed for business analysis planning does have an effect on the thoroughness of the business analysis activities. The risk associated with the plan is also considered.
A business analyst needs to prepare the requirements package for her endeavor in a predefined template for her company.
What term can be assigned to this standardized template for packaging the requirements?
- A . Organizational process assets
- B . Derivative adaption
- C . Essential
- D . Enterprise environmental factors
A
Explanation:
Templates for requirements packages are taken from organizational process assets.
Answer. C is incorrect. Essential isn’t a valid explanation for this question.
Answer. D is incorrect. Enterprise environmental factors aren’t where templates originate from for business analyst requirements packages.
Answer. B is incorrect. This isn’t a valid term for organizational process assets or templates needed by the business analyst.
When do change requests generally increase in a project?
- A . Towards the beginning of the project.
- B . During the project scope management processes.
- C . During the project’s launch.
- D . Towards the end of the project.
D
Explanation:
Changes generally increase towards the end of the project. This can be due to a loosely defined scope, lack of requirements, and other reasons.
Answer. B is incorrect. The scope management process happens throughout the project until the scope is completed.
Answer. C is incorrect. Changes are easier to incorporate at the launch of the project but generally do not happen until later in the project.
Answer. A is incorrect. Scope changes generally happen towards the end of the project.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re working with the key stakeholders to validate the requirements. In your review, you have determined the business value of each requirement and you’ve discovered three requirements that do not deliver direct or indirect value to the stakeholders.
What should you do with these requirements?
- A . Determine their purpose in the requirements set.
- B . Justify their existence.
- C . See if the requirements are integrated with other requirements.
- D . Remove them from the requirements set.
D
Explanation:
Requirements that do not add direct or indirect value need to be removed from the requirements set.
Answer. B is incorrect. It’s not best to justify the existence of requirements; requirements must contribute to the business need or solution.
Answer. A is incorrect. If the requirements do not add some type of value, then you don’t need to determine the purpose of the requirements. This answer isn’t valid.
Answer. C is incorrect. If the requirements were integrated or linked to other requirements, then it would already be evident that the requirements offer an indirect value to the requirements, solution, or
stakeholders.
According to ‘A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge’, when should the business analyst and an organization actually start requirements allocation?
- A . As soon as a budget has been created
- B . After approval of the requirements
- C . After the project charter
- D . As soon as the solution approach is determined
D
Explanation:
Requirements allocation typically begins early in the project lifecycle (as soon as the solution approach is determined) and will continue to be performed until all valid requirements are allocated. Allocation typically continues through design and construction of a solution.
Answer. C is incorrect. Requirements allocation doesn’t have to wait until the project has been chartered.
Answer. B is incorrect. Approval of the requirements is good, but the solution scope for the requirements needs to be created to begin allocating the requirements.
Answer. A is incorrect. The budget creation isn’t linked to the requirements allocation process.
You are working with the project stakeholders to analyze and prioritize their requirements for the project. One of the project requirements is to achieve a high-level of customer satisfaction for the project deliverable.
What is the danger in this project requirement?
- A . Achieving customer satisfaction is a risk, as the project manager cannot control how satisfied the customer will be with the project deliverables.
- B . Achieving customer satisfaction is an assumption and should be documented in the project scope.
- C . Achieving customer satisfaction should always map to the quality requirements for the project.
- D . Achieving customer satisfaction is a subjective requirement and entails a high level of risk of being successfully accomplished.
D
Explanation:
While every project manager wants to achieve customer satisfaction, this subjective term is too vague to be measured or accounted for.
What one person deems customer satisfaction may be low compared to another. Requirements need metrics to determine the level of success.
Answer. C is incorrect. The subjective requirements cannot be measured or mapped to quality requirements.
Answer. B is incorrect. This is not an assumption, but a subjective requirement.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is not a risk, but a requirement that needs metric for measurement attached to it.
You are a business analyst in an organization that has recently embraced business analysis as part of its initiative for new projects. In this organization, there is not an organizational standard for tailoring business analysis duties and expectations.
Which one of the following best describes the action you should take to begin business analysis?
- A . Work with the appropriate stakeholders to determine how the business analysis work should be completed.
- B . Define the organizational standard first.
- C . Create a business case for the need of organizational standards for business analysis.
- D . Take charge and begin the business analysis activities, but document your approach to serve as a template for future business analysis initiatives.
A
Explanation:
The best answer is to work with stakeholders to determine what business analysis activities should be done in the present initiative.
Answer. B is incorrect. There’s not a need to define an organizational standard immediately, as this can evolve over time based on projects and business analysis experience in the organization.
Answer. C is incorrect. A business case isn’t needed; the business analyst needs to work with the stakeholders to define the needed activities.
Answer. D is incorrect. While this answer is tempting, it does not address the cooperation and involvement of the stakeholders.
You are the business analyst for your organization and you’re working with the project manager to complete some business analysis activities. The project manager has the authority to approve the requirements based on the short iterations of business analysis activities.
What approach of business analysis are you using in this scenario?
- A . Progressive elaboration
- B . Change-driven
- C . Plan-driven
- D . Iterative
B
Explanation:
Change-driven approaches to business analysis deal with rapid delivery of the business value. The
business value is delivered in short iterations in return for acceptance of a higher degree of uncertainty
regarding the overall delivery of the solution. The change-driven approaches are preferred while taking an
exploratory approach for incremental improvement of an existing solution.
Answer. D is incorrect. Iterative is not a valid business analysis approach.
Answer. C is incorrect. The plan-driven approach defines business analysis activities. This approach is used to focus on minimizing up-front uncertainty and to ensure that the solution is fully defined before implementation begins in order to maximize control and minimize risk. It is preferred when requirements are effectively defined in advance of implementation.
Answer. A is incorrect. Progressive elaboration describes the project management approach of refining requirements and project scope, not the business analysis approach.
In a change-driven environment, what’s more important than formal communications in regard to effective requirements management?
- A . Correct communication
- B . Frequency of communication
- C . Message of communication
- D . Type of communication
B
Explanation:
Change-driven approaches focus more on frequency of communication than on formal documentation.
Official documentation is often in writing, but informal communication takes precedence over more formal
written communication.
Answer. D is incorrect. The best answer is frequency of communication, not the type of communication.
Answer. A is incorrect. The best answer is frequency of communication, not correct communication – which is important, but it’s not the best selection for the question.
Answer. C is incorrect. The best answer is frequency of communication, not message of communication. Having the correct message and correct communication channels are important, but these aren’t the best selection for this question.
When a business analyst performs requirements tracing, he may need to trace the requirements backward through their lineage and may need to trace the requirements forward through their relationship to other requirements.
What is the forward tracing activity called in requirements traceability?
- A . Lineage tracking
- B . Backwards pass
- C . Derivation
- D . Allocation
D
Explanation:
Allocation is the forward tracking of a requirement to future requirements in the set of requirements.
Answer. C is incorrect. Backward tracing of a requirement is called its derivation, as the requirements may be derived from other older requirements.
Answer. A is incorrect. Lineage tracking is not a valid term, so this choice is not valid.
Answer. B is incorrect. Backwards pass isn’t a valid requirements tracing term; it describes a process in schedule management.
You are the business analyst for the NHQ Project. You have identified several stakeholders that need different types of information related to the requirements.
Which stakeholder would need detailed technical interface requirements?
- A . Project manager
- B . Testers
- C . Implementation subject matter experts
- D . Regulators
C
Explanation:
The implementation subject matter experts will need requirements that provide detailed interface requirements, so that they may construct the solution. They are responsible for designing and implementing potential solutions. Implementation subject matter experts will provide specialist expertise on the design and construction of the solution components.
Answer. A is incorrect. The project manager will need requirements in an easy to understand format, so that he may create the project scope.
Answer. D is incorrect. Regulators may have specific legal, contractual, or governance requirements regarding what is included in a requirements document.
Answer. B is incorrect. Testers focus on understanding the critical success factors based on the needs of the business users.
As a business analyst, you should be able to identify the characteristics of each business analysis task and domain area.
Which one of the following statements best describes the characteristics of the business analysis knowledge area of requirements analysis?
- A . It describes the activities and considerations for managing and expressing requirements to a broad and diverse audience.
- B . It describes the business analysis activities necessary to identify a business need, problem, or opportunity, define the nature of a solution that meets that need, and justify the investment necessary to deliver that solution.
- C . It describes the tasks and techniques used by a business analyst to analyze stated requirements in order to define the required capabilities of a potential solution that will fulfill stakeholder needs.
- D . It is the act of eliciting business, stakeholder, solution, or transition requirements.
C
Explanation:
This is the only statement that correctly defines the business analysis knowledge area of requirements analysis.
Answer. B is incorrect. This statement describes the enterprise analysis knowledge area.
Answer. A is incorrect. This statement is the definition of the requirements management and communication domain.
Answer. D is incorrect. This statement describes the process for the elicitation of requirements in an organization.
Which of the following is the best definition of the business rules analysis?
- A . To define the historical information that is available for the business analyst to rely on for his research.
- B . To define the rules that govern decisions in and organization and that define, constrain, or enable organizational policies.
- C . To define the people that govern decisions in and organization and that define, constrain, or enable organizational policies.
- D . To define the job functions, roles and responsibilities, and the designation of power among the project stakeholders.
B
Explanation:
The process of the business rules analysis is the documentation and understanding of the enterprise environmental factors that enable the organization to operate while also creating boundaries for the people and processes within the organization.
Answer. A is incorrect. This is a description of the organizational process assets.
Answer. D is incorrect. This is an identification of the stakeholders and their positions and characteristics for the business analysis duties.
Answer. C is incorrect. The identification of the people that create the enterprise environmental factors are not relevant for this business analysis process.
You are the business analyst for your organization. You are currently working with Susan on creating a model as part of the specify and model requirements process. Susan doesn’t understand why you need a model. You explain to Susan that a model is just a simplified representation of a complex reality that is
useful for understanding that reality and making decisions regarding it.
In fact, you tell Susan, model can do all of the following except one option. Choose the option that model cannot do?
- A . Define the resources that will be needed on the project team
- B . Define boundaries for the business domain
- C . Describe a situation or problem
- D . Describe thought processes and action flows
A
Explanation:
Models do not typically address the resources needed for the project team so this choice is incorrect. Models can describe a situation or problem, define boundaries for the business domain, describe thought processes and action flows, categorize and create hierarchies of items, show components and relationships, and show business logic.
Answer. C, B, D are incorrect. These are valid components of a model; so these choices are incorrect.