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What is the definition of business analysis?

The set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies and operations of an organization, and to recommend end solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.

What is the definition of a business analyst?

Any person who performs business analysis activities no matter what their job title or organizational role may be.

A business analyst performs business analysis in order to do what?
Align the needs of the business units with the capabilities delivered by information technology.
What is the definition of a solution?
A set of changes to the current state of an organization that are made in order to enable that organization to meet a business need, solve a problem, or take advantage of an opportunity.
What is the definition of a requirement?
"A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective
OR
::A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents
::OR
::A documented representation of a condition or capability"
According to the BABOK 2.0, what type of analysis generates BUSINESS requirements?
Enterprise Analysis
What is a BUSINESS requirement, according to the BABOK 2.0?
A high level statement of the goals or objectives or needs of the enterprise
What is a STAKEHOLDER requirement, according to the BABOK 2.0?
A statement of the needs of a particular stakeholder or class of stakeholders
According to the BABOK 2.0, what type of analysis generates STAKEHOLDER requirements?
Requirements Analysis
What is a SOLUTION requirement, according to the BABOK 2.0?
A characteristic of the solution that meets the business requirements and stakeholder requirements.
SOLUTION Requirements are comprised of what two types of requirements?
Functional and Non-functional requirements
According to the BABOK 2.0, when are SOLUTION requirements gathered?
Requirements Analysis
What is a TRANSITION requirement, according to the BABOK 2.0?
A requirement that describes the capabilities the solution must have to facilitate the transition from current to future state of the enterprise, but will not be needed after the transition
According to the BABOK 2.0, when are TRANSITION requirements gathered?
Solution Assessment and Validation
What is the definition of a knowledge area?
They define what a practitioner of business analysis needs to understand and the tasks that a practitioner must be able to perform
How many Knowledge Areas are identified in the BABOK 2.0 and what are they?
"There are 7:
::Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
::Requirements Analysis
::Requirements Management and Communication
::Underlying Competencies"
What is the objective of the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
To show how the BA determines which activities are necessary in order to complete a business analysis effort
What is the objective of the Elicitation knowledge area?
To show how the BA works with stakeholders to identify and understand their needs and concerns, and understand the environment in which they work
What is the purpose of elicitation?
To ensure that the stakeholders’ underlying needs are understood, rather than their stated or superficial desires
What is the objective of the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
To define how a BA manages conflict, issues and changes in order to ensure the stakeholders and the project team remain in agreement on the solution scope
What is the objective of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
To define how a BA identifies a business need, refines and clarifies the need and defines the solution scope that can be feasibly implemented
What is the objective of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
To define how a BA prioritizes and progressively elaborates stakeholder and solution requirements in order to enable the project team to implement a solution
What is the objective of the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
To define how the BA assesses proposed solutions to determine which solution fits best the business need, indentifies gaps in solutions, determines necessary workarounds or changes to the solution
What is the objective of the Underlying Competencies knowledge area?
To describe the behaviors, knowledge and other characteristics that support the effective performance of business analysis
What are the characteristics of a task?
"::Accomplishes a result that creates value
::Is complete
::Is a necessary part of the purpose of the knowledge area"
"True or False
::The BA is a stakeholder in all business analysis activities?"
TRUE
What is the definition of a Domain Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Any individual with in-depth knowledge of a topic relevant to the business need or solution scope
What is the definition of a customer?
A stakeholder outside the boundary of a given organization/unit who makes use of products/services delivered by the organization
What is the definition of an end user?
A stakeholder who interacts directly with the solution
What is an Implementation Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Individuals responsible for designing and implementing potential solutions and of providing expertise in design and construction of the solution
What do Organizational Change Professionals do, according to the BABOK 2.0?
They are responsible for facilitating acceptance and adoption of new solutions and overcoming resistance to change
What's a usability professional do?
A usability professional is responsible for external interaction design of technological solutions and for making the design as simple to use as feasible
An output is the necessary result of the work described in a WHAT?
Task
What is a technique?
It provides additional information on different ways that a task may be performed or forms the output of the task may take
How many underlying competencies are there and what are they?
"There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications"
What are the tasks associated with the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan BA Approach
::Plan BA Activities
::Plan BA Communication
::Plan Requirements Mgmt Process
::Manage BA Performance"
What are the inputs to the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area tasks?
"There are 5
::Analysis performance metrics
::Business Needs
::Enterprise Architecture
::Expert Judgment
::Organizational process assets"
What are the inputs to plan the Business Analysis Approach?
"::Business Need
::Organizational Process Assets
::Expert Judgment"
The understanding of the business need in planning the Business Analysis approach helps to determine which approach to take. What are the two types of approaches?
"::Plan-driven
::Change-driven"
What are the differences between plan and change-driven analysis approaches?
"::Plan-driven focuses on minimizing up-front uncertainty (risk reduction), fully defined requirements, fully detailed documentation and controlled change.
::Change-driven focuses rapid delivery of functionality in iterations, higher risk, prioritized high-level requirements that reside in a backlog, detailed documentation only as necessary and later in the process usually after implementation, enhanced collaboration"
What are some factors that impact project complexity?
"::Number of stakeholders
::Number of business areas affected
::Amount and type of risk
::Uniqueness of requirements
::Number of tech resources required"
What are the recommended techniques to assist in planning the business analysis approach?
"There are 3
::Decision Analysis
::Process Modeling
::Structured Walk-thrus"
What is the definition of the business analysis approach?
A definition of the approach that will be taken for business analysis in a given initiative.
A business analysis approach specifies what?

Roles, deliverables, analysis techniques, timing/frequency of stakeholder interaction

Stakeholder Analysis is part of what knowledge area?
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
What does enterprise architecture do?
Describes the organizational units that exist and their interactions with other organizational units
What are organizational process assets?
Policies and procedures, suggested methodologies, templates and guidelines
Can change-driven analysis approaches eliminate risk? Why?
No, because late identification of stakeholders or needs can alter the previous outcomes
What is the definition of a milestone?
A significant event that measures the progress of a project and compares actual progress to earlier estimates
Decomposition of the project tasks often using a WBS is the definition of what?
Functional Decomposition
What is the purpose of Planning Business Analysis Communication?
To describe the proposed structure and schedule for Communications re: business analysis activities
Appropriate audience, appropriate delivery method, approach and physical location are all considerations of what?
Planning the BA Communication
One of the most recommended on approaches to requirements Communication is what?
Structured Walk-thru
What describes how, when and why the business analyst will work with stakeholders?
The Business Analysis Communication Plan
What is the purpose of planning the Requirements Management Process?
To describe the approach that will be used to approve requirements for implementation and manage changes to the solution scope
A method of storing requirements that are approved, under development, and under review describes what term?
Repository
What provides information about requirements?
An attribute
What focuses on what requirements should be investigated first?
Requirements Prioritization
Requirements prioritization assesses priority based on what?
Risk
Regarding quality assurance, should the BA find defects in the system or provide input into how to test the system?
The Quality Assurance process includes development of a test plan/strategy for the solution, execution of the test plan, and incident (defect) tracking of problems. The Business Analyst will assist these activities by providing detailed business knowledge and helping to find the cause of any problems
What is the benefit of feature list decomposition?
A feature is a service that the solution provides to fulfill one or more stakeholder needs. Features are high-level abstractions of the solution that must later be expanded into fully described functional and supplemental requirements. They allow for early priority and scope management and for validating the stakeholders’ view of the solution.
Functional decomposition identifies what?
Functional decomposition identifies the high-level functions of an organization or proposed solution and then breaks down those processes into sub-processes and activities. This can be done as part of a systems development or business process analysis project. The goal is to break functions down into smaller pieces to allow for analysis of the detail processes and to ensure coverage of all significant processes
In the Business Architecture planning endeavor the BA should determine what?
Appropriate framework and approach
Who are the primary consumers of requirements?
The project team, who will use them in the design and development of the system
Functional requirements can be expressed in what forms?
Use cases and text
The business domain can be described with what types of diagrams?
Activity Diagrams, Data Flow Diagrams, Flowcharts, Sequences Diagrams, State Machine Diagrams
The Component Business Model describes what?
Component Business Model identifies a basic building block of the business, and includes the people, processes and technology needed by the component to deliver value to the customer.
Enterprise architecture encompasses what 3 elements?
People, processes, technology
What do the letters of the CRUD Matrix stand for?
Create read, update delete rights to users and groups. Good in software system development. Not applicable to business process analysis.
When a conflict arises between stakeholders on one or more documented requirements, the first thing that needs to take place is what?
....to record the conflict in the Requirements Issues Log.
What are the Components of an ERD?
"An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a visual representation of a data structure.
Because they describe things that are significant to the enterprise (e.g., Customers, Products, Employees, Invoices, etc.), ERDs are useful in describing the structure of the business itself, and many of the rules by which it is governed."
What is described in the Enterprise Architecture people processes?
Each model identifies a basic building block of the business, and includes the people, processes and technology needed by the component to deliver value to the customer.
What are the measures on a balanced scorecard?
The balanced scorecard (Robert Kaplan and David Norton 1996) provides an effective technique to frame strategic goals. In this model, goals are partitioned into four dimensions: financial, customer, internal operations, and learning and innovation.
What does the abbreviation PLC stand for?
Project Life Cycle
What is the ISO 9241-11 definition of usability?
The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
What does a logical model represent?
Entities that are in the problem domain and the relationships between them
When are logical models used by BAs?
To represent requirements of a business area
What is the difference between a view and a model decomposition?
A view is not exclusive and its requirements may be referenced in all views that are relevant
What is a view with regard to modeling?
The capture of requirements from a specific perspective
What is the definition of a model?
A template for expressing requirements that may combine textual elements, matrices, and diagrams
Authorization resources, process identification, impact assessment and correct wording are all aspects of what?
Change Management
What does a Change Control Board do?
Considers requested changes and decides on the merits of the request prior to approving or declining it.
What major methodology utilizes a project/product backlog?
Agile or Scrum
Organizational culture, Stakeholder preference, complexity, organizational maturity and availability of resources are all factors used to do what?
Perform tailoring exercises
What is the output of planning requirements management activities?
The Requirements Management Plan
Metrics are used to do what?
Measure business analysis performance throughout the lifecycle.
The Manage BA Performance activity is part of what knowledge area?
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
The BA Performance Assessment is used by what downstream task as an input?
Plan BA Activities
The BA Process Assets are children of what?
Organizational Process Assets
What does the Plan BA Activities task consume as an input?
BA Performance Assessment
What are performance measures used for?
To set expectations regarding what constitutes effective business analysis work in the context of an organization or project
The business analyst should assess the performance measures to determine what?
Where problems in execution of business analysis activities are occurring or opportunities for improvement exist
What is root cause analysis?
An investigation into the underlying cause of a failure or problem
What is Variance Analysis?
A technique used to analyze discrepancies between planned and actual performance and to determine the magnitude of the differences
What knowledge are is Variance Analysis used in and why?
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring. It is used as part of the Manage Business Analysis Performance activity to manage performance in an ongoing project
What is a KPI?
"Key Performance Indicator
These are metrics used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term organizational goals"
Define elicit.
To draw forth, call forth or bring out
What phases of the SDLC are requirements elicited in?
Throughout the SDLC
What is the purpose of preparing for elicitation?
To ensure that all resources are organized and scheduled for conducting the elicitation exercise
What are two things used to capture elicitation knowledge?
Data Dictionary & Glossary
What does a glossary typically contain?
Key Domain terminology and business definitions
What is metadata?
Data about data
What is the input to the Document Elicitation Results activity?
The elicited requirements
According to the BABOK 2.0, elicited requirements may undergo analysis directly with prototyping, without documentation. True or False
True. Prototyping may be used to perform analysis on requirements without the need to document
What else does elicitation produce?
Stakeholder concerns
What are some examples of stakeholder concerns?
Risk, assumptions, constraints, etc.
What is the purpose of confirming elicitation results?
To validate that the stated concerns that are expressed by the stakeholder match the stakeholders' understanding of the problem and needs
What are the inputs to the Confirm Elicitation Results task?
Requirements and Stakeholder Concerns, both unconfirmed
What are two techniques that are used to confirm elicitation results?
Interviews and Observation
What are the outputs of the Confirm Elicitation Results task?
Requirements and Stakeholder Concerns, both confirmed
What does the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area describe?
The activities and considerations for managing and expressing requirements to a broad audience
Communication of requirements does what for stakeholders?
Brings them to a Communication on understanding
Performance of all Requirements Management and Communication activities is governed by what?
Business Analysis plan
What is the purpose of the Manage Solution Scope and Requirements task/activity?
To obtain consensus among stakeholders on overall solutions scope
What occurs during the Manage Solution Scope and Requirements task/activity?
"::Securing approval of requirements
::Management of issues from elicitation"
What is base lining?
In essence, the approval of a set of requirements (in this context) that allows no change to occur to the set without a way to control change
What should the requirements do in order to be approved?
Support the solution scope
Why is the solution scope carried forward into the Requirement Management and Communication knowledge area?
To ensure that the requirements conform to the approved solution scope
How is the solution scope used to manage change in the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
All requested changes to requirements are assessed against the solution scope to ensure of alignment
The Requirements Management Plan is an input to the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area. Why?
It is used to define the process to be followed in managing the solution scope and the requirements
What's the difference between a formal and informal requirements presentation to stakeholders?
One is formal written specification with possible walk-thru and the other is possibly verbal or email Communication
What are the techniques used to Manage Solution Scope and requirements?
Base lining and Signoff
What is the purpose of managing requirements traceability?
To create and maintain relationships between business objectives, requirements, other deliverables
What does requirements traceability define?
Lineage of requirements, including backwards and forwards traceability.
What is derivation?
Backwards traceability
What is allocation?
Forward traceability
What is the value of traceability?
It helps ensure conformation to the overall solution for each individual requirements and assists is scope and change Management
What is used to potentially find missing functionality or identify unrequested functionality?
Requirements traceability
What is the overall goal of requirements traceability?
To requirements, solution components are linked directly or indirectly back to the original business objectives
What are the inputs to the Manage Requirements Traceability task/activity?
Requirements and the Requirements Management Plan
What task/activity consumes traced requirements?
Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
Why are relationships an element of Manage Requirements Traceability?
Knowing dependent relationships between requirements can help determine the sequence of when each will be addressed
What are the 5 type of relationships between requirements?
"::Necessity
::Effort
::Subset
::Cover
::Value"
What is an example of an ongoing requirement?
"::Contractual obligations (SLAs)
::Quality standards
::Business rules/standards"
What are some reasons for creating a requirements package?
"::early assessment of quality and planning
::evaluation of possible alternatives
::formal reviews and approvals
::inputs to solution design
::conformance to contractual and regulatory obligations
::maintenance for re-use"
What are the forms of requirements packages?
"There are 3:
::Formal Documentation
::Presentation
::Models"
What are the inputs to the Prepare Requirements Package task?
"There are 4:
::Business Analysis Communication Plan
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Structure"
What are the elements of Prepare Requirements Package?
"There are 2:
::Work Products and Deliverables
::Format"
What are examples of work products?
"::Meeting agendas and minutes
::Interview questions and notes
::Facilitation session agendas and notes
::Issues log
::Work plan, status reports
::Presentation slides used during the project
::Traceability matrices"
What must the analyst understand when deciding whether to use a deliverable or requirements deliverable?
"::Needs of the audience
::Level of detail that needs to be communicated
::Which deliverables to include in each presentation package"
What are the techniques of the Prepare Requirements Package task?
"There are 2:
::Requirements Documentation
::Requirements for Vendor Selection"
What are some common forms of requirements documentation?
"::BRD
::Product Roadmap
::SRS
::Supplementary Requirements Spec
::Vision Document"
What are the typical forms of documentation when presenting requirements to vendors?
"There are 2:
::Request for Information (RFI)
::Request for Quote (RFQ) / Request for Proposal (RFP)."
What are the inputs to the Communicate Requirements task?
"There are 3:
::BA Communication Plan
::Requirements
::Requirements Package"
With regards to communicating the requirements, what does the BA Communication Plan provide?
"::What requirements should be communicated
::Which stakeholders should receive the communication
::When communication should occur
::What the form of the communication should be"
What are the elements of the Communicate Requirements task?
"There are 2:
::General Communication
::Presentations"
What are so common areas that lead to the creation of additional requirements as a result of communication?
"::Enterprise analysis
::Elicitation
::Requirements Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation"
What are the techniques of the Communicate Requirements?
"There are 2:
::Requirements Workshops
:: Structured Walkthrough"
What is an RFQ/RFP?
Used when the issuing organization understands the nature of the solution options available to it and is seeking vendors who can implement an option. An RFQ generally follows a less formal review and selection process than an RFP.
What is the Cover type of requirement relationship?
When a requirement completely includes another requirement. It is a subset in which the top-level requirement is the sum of the sub-requirements
What is the Value type of requirement relationship?
When including a requirement affects the desirability of a related requirement (increase or decrease)
Why is traceability useful in performing impact analysis?
Because when requirements change and they are linked to other requirements, the related items are identified as a result of the link, as well as potential changes in the relationship
What is a Configuration Management System
A specialized tools that is generally used to trace large volumes of requirements
What is a coverage matrix?
A table or spreadsheet used to manage tracing. Also called a trace matrix. Used when there are few requirements.
What is the purpose of the Maintain requirements for Re-Use task/activity?
To manage the knowledge of requirements following their implementation
What occurs in the Maintain Requirements for Re-Use task/activity?
To identify requirements that are good candidates for long-term usage
What are the two inputs to Maintain Requirements for Re-Use task/activity?
Organizational process assets and Requirements
Reusable requirements are consumable where?
Enterprise Architecture and Future Initiatives
How are reusable requirements used by Enterprise Architecture and Future Initiatives
Enterprise Architecture would typically include term requirement types into a data dictionary. Other requirement types can be used across projects in future initiatives to replicate portions of functionality that is Communication on to multiple areas
What are ongoing requirements?
Those requirements that an organizational unit is required to be able to meet on a continuous basis
What is the purpose of Prepare Requirements Package?
To select and structure a set of requirements in an appropriate fashion to ensure that the requirements are effectively communicated to, understood by, and usable by a stakeholder group or groups
What is the proper level of detail to present for requirements in a requirements package
That which is needed for the team to understand the content, and no more
The Prepare Requirements Package task is part of what knowledge area?
Requirements Management & Communication
Misunderstanding of requirements will adversely affect what?
Solution Implementation
What is the value of the Business Analysis Communication Plan as an input to Prepare Requirements Package?
It will describe the stakeholder groups, their communication needs, and define whether a single requirements package or multiple requirements packages are required.
What task consumes the requirements package?
Communicate Requirements
What is the definition of a work product?
A document or collection of notes or diagrams used by the business analyst during the requirements development process
Format considerations in the requirements package are for what purpose?
Delivery of a cohesive, effective message to one or more audiences who will participate in the requirements review process
What is the definition of a deliverable?
A deliverable is a specific output of the business analysis process that the business analyst has agreed to produce
Format considerations in the requirements package are for what purpose?
Delivery of a cohesive, effective message to one or more audiences who will participate in the requirements review process
What is an RFI?
Generally used when the issuing organization is open to a number of alternative solutions and is seeking information to evaluate possible options
Business analysts must develop what based on the business requirements before looking at available products?
Evaluation Criteria
What is the purpose of the Communicate Requirements task?
Communicating requirements is essential for bringing stakeholders to a common un­derstanding of requirements.
Does the analyst utilize soft, technical or both types of communication skills when communicating requirements?
Both
The Requirements Package is the output of what task?
Prepare Requirements Package
What is the output of the Communicate Requirements task?
Requirements - Communicated
Which task or tasks consume communicated requirements?
Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
What knowledge area does the Communicate Requirements task reside in?
Requirements Mgmt and Communication
When does requirements communication typically occur?
It occurs throughout the project on an iterative basis
Must all project requirements communication be formal?
No, informal communication is also valuable and may lead to the creation of additional requirements
The formality of presentations used to communicate requirements is driven by what factors?
Stakeholder needs and objectives of the communication
A presentation may be used:
to ensure that internal project quality standards have been adhered to
What is the difference between a structured walk through and a requirements workshop?
"A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator

A structured walkthrough is an organized peer review of a deliverable with the objective of finding errors and omissions. It is considered a form of quality assurance"
Structured Walk Through
A structured walkthrough is an organized peer review of a deliverable with the objective of finding errors and omissions. It is considered a form of quality assurance"
Communicated Requirements mean what to stakeholders?
That they understand them and the current state the requirements are in
What does the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area describe?
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
Enterprise Analysis outputs provide context to what?
Requirements analysis and solution identification
Is enterprise the starting point or a result of creating a new project?
The starting point?
What is the difference between a requirements defined during enterprise analysis and requirements analysis?
The requirements that are outputs of enterprise analysis are higher level requirements that must be in place to achieve the business goals and objectives.
What is the purpose of the Define Business Need task?
Identify and define why a change to organizational systems or capabilities is required
Why is the definition of the business need so critical?
"It defines the problem that the business analyst is trying to find a solution for.

The way the business need is defined determines which alternative solutions will be considered, which stakeholders will be consulted, and which solution approaches will be evaluated"
A common test for assessing objectives is to ensure that they are SMART. What do the letters in this acronym stand for?
"::Specific – describing something that has an observable outcome
::Measurable – tracking and measuring the outcome
::Achievable – testing the feasibility of the effort
::Relevant – in alignment with the organization’s key vision, mission, goals
::Time-bounded –the objective has a defined timeframe that is consistent with the business need"
When investigating the business, the analyst should consider what?
":: Adverse impacts the problem is causing
:: Expected benefits from any potential solution
:: How quickly the problem could potentially be resolved
::The underlying source of the problem"
What are the techniques of the Define Business Need task?
"::Benchmarking
:: Brainstorming
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Focus Groups
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Root Cause Analysis"
What are the inputs of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
"::Business Needs
::Enterprise Assessment
::Solution Performance Assessment"
What are the tasks that consume Required Capabilities?
"::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
"There are 3:
::Current Capability Analysis
::Assessment of New Capability Requirements
::Assumptions"
What must occur for the solution approach to be defined?
"::identify possible approaches
::determine the means by which the solution may be delivered (including the methodology and lifecycle to be used)
::assess whether the organization is capable of implementing and effectively using a solution of that nature"
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Approach task?
"There are 3
::Business
::Organization Process Assets
::Required Capabilities"
What are the elements of the Define Solution Approach task?
"There are 3
::Alternative Generation
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Ranking Selection of Approaches"
What are the techniques of the Define Solution Approach task?
"There are 2
::General Techniques (includes benchmarking, brainstorming, decision analysis, estimation, SWOT analysis)
::Feasibility Analysis"
What does the solution scope include?
"::The scope of analysis (the organizational unit or process for which requirements are being developed) which provides the context in which the solution is implemented
:: capabilities supported by solution components
:: capabilities to be supported by individual releases or iterations
:: enabling capabilities that are required in order for the organization to develop the capabilities required to meet the business need"
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Scope task?
"There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach"
The Solution Scope is consumed by what task or tasks?
"::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Org Readiness
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements of the Define Solution Scope task?
"There are 3
::Solution Scope Definition
::Implementation Approach
::Dependencies"
What is included in the Solution Scope Definition?
"::Major features and functions that are to be included, and the interactions that the solution will have with people and systems outside of its scope
::. Differentiation of the in-scope and out-of-scope components of the solution"
What are the techniques for the Define Solution Scope task?
"There are 2
::General Techniques (includes Functional Decomposition, Interface Analysis, Scope Modeling, User Stories)
::Problem or Vision Statement"
What are the inputs to the Define Business Case task?
"There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns"
The business case is consumed by what tasks?
"::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements of the Define Business Case task?
"There are 4
::Benefits
::Costs"
In estimating the total net cost of a proposed solution, what is included in the calculation?
"::capital expenditures for the new investment
::costs of developing and implementing the change
::opportunity costs of not investing in other options, costs related to changing the work and practices of the organization
::total cost of ownership to support the new solution and consequential costs borne by others"
Initial risk assessment includes what factors?
"::technical risks (whether the chosen technology and suppliers can deliver the required functionality)
::financial risks (whether costs may exceed levels that make the solution viable or potential benefits may disappear)
::business change and organizational risks (whether the organization will make the changes necessary to benefit from the new solution)."
What are the techniques used in the Define Business Case task?
"There are 6
::Decision Analysis
::Estimation
::Metrics and KPIs
::Risk Analysis
::SWOT Analysis
::Vendor Assessment"
What are the inputs to the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 8
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Stakeholder List
::Solution Scope"
What are the tasks of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements"
What are the outputs of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements Structure
::Requirements [prioritized]
::Requirements [validated]
:: Requirements [verified]
::Stakeholder Concerns"
What are the inputs to the Prioritize Requirements task?
"There are 5
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder List"
What are the elements for the Prioritize Requirements task?
"There are 2
::Basis of Prioritization
::Challenges"
What are the factors considered as part as the basis for prioritization?
"::Business Value
::Business or Technical Risk
::Implementation Difficulty
::Likelihood of Success
::Regulatory or Policy Compliance
::Relationship to Other Requirements
::Stakeholder Agreements"
What are the techniques used in the Prioritize Requirements task?
"There are 4
::General techniques (Risk and Decision analysis)
::Moscow Analysis (Must, Should, Could, and Won’t)
::Timeboxing/Budgeting
::Voting"
Business goals and objectives describe what?
The ends that the organization is seeking to achieve. Goals and objectives can relate to changes that the organization wants to accomplish, or current conditions that it wants to maintain
Goals are defined as what?
Longer-term, ongoing, and qualitative statements of a state or condition that the organization is seeking to establish and maintain
High-level goals can be decomposed to break down what?
General strategy into distinct focus areas that may lead to desired results, such as increased customer satisfaction, operational excellence and/or business growth
In order to define a business need, what must occur?
An issue must be investigated to ensure that there is in fact an opportunity for improvement if the issue is resolved
As a possible solution, what should always be considered?
Doing nothing
What is a desired outcome?
"It describes the business benefits that will result from meeting the business need and the end state desired by stakeholders.

Proposed solutions must be evaluated against desired outcomes to ensure that they can deliver those outcomes"
What is Benchmarking?
Understanding what competing organizations and peers are doing allows the organization to remain at a comparable level of service or identify opportunities to increase efficiency
What is the purpose of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
To identify new capabilities required by the enterprise to meet the business need
Why should capability gaps be identified?
They that prevent it from meeting business needs and achieving desired outcomes
The Assess Capability Gaps task is part of what knowledge area?
Enterprise Analysis
What is the output of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
Required Capabilities
What does a Solution Performance Assessment define?
Shortcomings, problems or limitations of an existing solution
What is the goal of the Current Capability analysis exercise?
To understand the organization’s business and how the business and technology architecture are supporting that business
What must be done if current capability data is not available?
The analyst must model and other descriptive information about the area of the enterprise that is under review.
What must the current capabilities be assessed against in order to identify gaps?
The desired objectives of the stakeholders
If current capabilities are insufficient to meet the business need, the business analyst must identify what?
The capabilities that the organization must add
A comparison of the current and desired future states will identify what?
Gaps in organizational capabilities that need to be filled to support the business vision, strategy, goals and objectives.
Why is it important to identify assumptions during the Assess Capability Gaps task?
So that appropriate decisions can be made if the assumption later proves invalid
What are the techniques used in the Assess Capability Gaps task?
"Document Analysis and SWOT Analysis"
What is SWOT Analysis?
Identify how current capabilities and limitations (Strengths and Weaknesses) match up against the influencing factors (Opportunities and Threats)
What is the definition of Required Capabilities?
An understanding of the current capabilities of the organization and the new capabilities (processes, staff, features in an application, etc.) that may be required to meet the business need
What is the purpose of the Determine Solution Approach task in Enterprise Analysis?
To determine the most viable solution approach to meet the business need in enough detail to allow for definition of solution scope and prepare the business case
The solution approach describes what?
The general approach that will be taken to create or acquire the new capabilities required to meet the business need
The Solution Approach is consumed by what task or tasks?
Define Solution Scope
What is involved in the generation of alternatives?
Identify as many potential options as possible to meet the business objectives and fill identified gaps in capabilities
In relation to a solution, what is the impact of an assumption or constraint?
Either might impact whether the solution is a viable option
What is a feasibility study?
A preliminary analysis of solution alternatives or options to determine whether and how each option can provide an expected business benefit
What is the definition of a solution approach?
A description of the approach that will be taken to implement a new set of capabilities. Solution approaches describe the types of solution components that will be delivered (new processes, a new software application, etc.) and may also describe the methodology that will be used to deliver those components
What is the purpose of the Define Solution Scope task?
To define which new capabilities a project or iteration will deliver in order to conceptualize the recommended solution in enough detail to enable stakeholders to understand which new business capabilities an initiative will deliver
The Define Solution Scope task produces what output?
Solution Scope
What does the Implementation Approach define?
How the chosen solution approach will deliver the solution scope. The implementation approach may break delivery down into specific releases or provide a roadmap that indicates the timeframe in which a capability can be expected
The Solution Approach is defined in what knowledge area?
Enterprise Analysis
The Solution Scope defines what?
What must be delivered in order to meet the business need, and the effect of the proposed change initiative on the business and technology operations and infrastructure
The business case describes what?
The justification for the project in terms of the value to be added to the business as a result of the deployed solution, as compared to the cost to develop and operate the solution
With regard to the business, typically what do the assumptions refer to that are identified?
Assumptions about the revenue generated or retained by the solution or non-financial improvements it will deliver
What are the two types of benefits collected in the Define Business Case task?
Qualitative and Quantitative
Benefits collected in the Define Business Case task should relate back to what?
Strategic objectives and goals of the organization
The initial risk assessment focuses on what?
Solution feasibility risks that the organization is willing to or able to bear
What types of results are articulated in the business case?
Cost and Benefits to be realized and how each will be measured
Why is vendor assessment a technique in the Define Business Case task?
In the case in which a purchase or outsourcing to a third party is in consideration, the organization must know whether the vendor is capable of delivering the solution
Who is the primary stakeholder in the Define Business Case task?
The Sponsor
The business case presents data in order to support what?
A go or no-go decision on whether to fund the effort
The Requirements Analysis knowledge area describes what?
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.
What are stakeholder requirements?
They describe what a solution must be capable of doing to meet the needs of one or more stakeholder groups
What are solution requirements?
They describe the behavior of solution components in enough detail to allow them to be constructed
The performance of all requirements analysis activities is governed by what?
Business Analysis Plan
What is the purpose of the Prioritize Requirements task?
Prioritization of requirements ensures that analysis and implementation efforts focus on the most critical requirements.
What is Requirement prioritization?
It is a decision process used to determine the relative importance of requirements, based on value, risk, difficulty of implementation, or on other criteria
Prioritization determines what?
Which requirements should be targets for further analysis and to determine which requirements should be implemented first
Prioritized requirements are consumed by what tasks?
Assess Proposed Solution
What does the business case, as an input, provide to the prioritization of requirements process?
It provides key goals and measures of success for a project or organization, and priorities should be aligned with those goals and objectives.
Why is a business need and business case needed?
It’s not. The business need serves as an alternative if the business case has not been provided
How does business value impact prioritization of requirements?
It prioritizes requirements based on cost-benefit analysis of their relative value to the organization. The most valuable requirements will be targeted for development first.
Why is the relationship to other requirements a factor for the basis of prioritization?
A requirement may not be high value in and of itself, but may support other high-priority requirements and as such may be a candidate for early implementation.
What are two types of challenges with regard to requirements prioritization?
Non-negotiable demands from stakeholders and Unrealistic tradeoffs
What is considered an unrealistic tradeoff?
The solution development team may intentionally or uninten­tionally try to influence the result of the prioritization process by overestimating the difficulty or complexity of implementing certain requirements
What is Timeboxing/Budgeting?
Prioritization of requirements for investigation and implementation based on allocation of a fixed resource.
What must be determined in order to use Timeboxing/Budgeting?
The solution approach
Timeboxing prioritizes requirements based on what?
The amount of work that the project team is capable of delivering in a set period of time
Budgeting is used when?
When the project team has been allocated a fixed amount of money.
What are the elements of stakeholder analysis?
"There are 4
::Identification
::Complexity
::Attitude and Influence
::Authority Levels for BA Work"
What are the complexity factors regarding stakeholder groups?
"::Number and variety of stakeholder groups
::Number of interfacing business processes and automated systems"
What are the factors of stakeholder attitude directed at?
"There are 5
::Business goals approach
::Business Analysis
::Collaboration
::Sponsor
::Team members"
Stakeholder authority over business analysis takes what forms?
"::Approval of deliverables
::Inspection/Approval of requirements
::Approval of requirements process
::Traceability
::Veto of proposed requirements or solutions"
What do the initials RACI stand for?
"::Responsible
::Accountable
::Consulted
::Informed"
What is the purpose of planning analysis activities?
"::Determining activities to be performed
::Estimation
::Identify Management tools to measure progress"
What are the inputs to planning the business analysis activities?
"There are 4
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Performance Assessment
::Organizational process assets
::Stakeholder List"
What are the elements of planning business analysis activities?
"There are 3
::Geographic Distribution of Stakeholders
::Type of Project
::Analysis Deliverables"
What are the two types of geographic distribution of stakeholders?
"::Collocated
::Dispersed"
Name 2 of the 7 project/initiative types
"::Feasibility studies
::Process improvement
::Organizational change:
::New software dev
::Outsourced new software dev
::Software Maintenance or enhancement
::Software package selection"
What are the methods for identifying analysis deliverables?
"There are 3
::Interviews/facilitated session with stakeholders
::Review of project docs
::Review of organizational assets"
What 3 tasks consume the Define Business Analysis Plan task?
"::Planning the BA Communication
::Planning Requirement Management Process
::Manage BA Performance"
What 5 knowledge areas consume the Business Analysis Plan?
"::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Requirement Management and Communication
::Requirement Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation"
The BA Communication Plan is consumed by what 2 tasks?
"::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communicate Requirements"
What are the elements of planning the Business Analysis Communication Plan?
"::Time
::Task Completion
::Contracts
::Formal/Informal Authority"
What are the factors that can increase or decrease the need for formal Communications on a project?
"::Project Size
::Domain Complexity
::Inclusion of new technologies
::Delivery to external vendors/suppliers
::Regulatory Concerns
::Stakeholder Request"
The Requirements Management Process includes what factors?
"::Approving stakeholders
::Requirements traceability
::Change process
::Requirement Attributes"
What are the inputs to planning the Requirements Management Process?
"There are 3
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Process Assets"
What tasks consume the Requirements Management Plan?
"There are 5:
::Manage BA Performance
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Conduct Elicitation
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Prioritize Requirements"
"What is the Final task in requirements Communication?
::A. answer questions from requirements final review,
::B. make a requirements final review
::C. present the requirements to senior management
::D. obtain requirements signoff"
D. obtain requirements signoff
What is the minimum structural set of requirements of a presentation whether it is formal or informal?
"Introduction of parties attending presentation
::Statement of presentation objectives
:: Project background
::Presentation/review of deliverable
::Agreement of actions/changes required
::Review of deliverable status (e.g., signed off, not signed off, etc.)"
Modeling benefits are?
"::Simplification of reality to allow focus
::Comprehension of complexity
::Explanation from varying perspectives
::Ensures all aspects are considered
::Translate easily into solution design"
Modeling is often used when?
"::When the problem domain is well known
::When the solution is easy to construct
::When there is little collaboration needed
::When there is little need for ongoing maintenance
::When the scope is unlikely to grow"
What are the aspects to a change request that are important?
"::Cost and time to implement
::Benefits and Risk
::Course of action and alternate solutions
::Coordinated prioritization"
What are the techniques used in planning requirements management?
"There are 3
::Decision analysis
::Problem tracking
::Risk analysis"
What does the Requirements Management Plan describe?
"::Traceability approach
::Definition of requirement attributes
::Requirement prioritization process
::Requirement change process"
There are 4 inputs to the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
"::Business Analysis Performance Metrics
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Performance Standards
::Requirements Management Plan"
What are the 6 activities that occur within the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
"::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan Business Analysis Communication
::Plan Requirements Management Process
::Manage Business Analysis Performance"
What are the 4 activities that occur within the Elicitation knowledge area?
"::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results"
What are the activities that occur within the Requirements Management & Communication knowledge area?
"There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Maintain Requirements for Re-use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication of Requirements"
What are the activities that are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 5
::Define the Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case"
What are the activities contained within the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements"
What are the activities that are part of the Solutions Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance"
What are the Underlying Competencies described in the BABOK?
"There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications"
There are several elements of the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
"::Performance Measures
::Performance Reporting
::Preventive and Correction Action"
What are some performance measures?
"::Deliverable due date deliverables
::Frequency of change
::Number of review cycles"
There are several techniques defined for use in the Manage Business Analysis Performance activity. What are they?
"There are 7
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned
::Metrics and KPIs
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Root Cause Analysis
::Survey/Questionnaire"
What are the tasks described in the Elicitation knowledge area?
"There are 4
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation Activity
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results"
What are the inputs to Elicitation?
"::Business Case
::Business Need
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List"
What are the outputs of Elicitation?
"There are 4
::Elicitation Results
::Scheduled Resources
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Supporting Materials"
What are the three elements of elicitation discussed in the BABOK?
"::Tracing requirements
::Capturing Requirements Attributes
::Metrics"
What tasks consume the documented elicited requirements?
"There are 5
::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Prioritize Requirements
::Define the Business Need
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements"
What tasks consume stakeholder concerns?
"::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Org Readiness"
What tasks consume CONFIRMED requirements?
"There are 4
::Define Business Need
::Prioritize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements"
What tasks consume CONFIRMED stakeholder concerns?
"There are 3
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Organizational Readiness"
What are the tasks/activities of the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
"There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope
::Manage Requirements traceability
::Manage Requirements for Re-Use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication Requirements"
What are the inputs into the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area tasks/activities?
"There are 6
::BA Communication Plan
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List/Responsibilities"
What are the outputs from the tasks/activities in the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
"There are 5
::Approved Requirements
::Traced Requirements
::Communicated Requirements
::Maintained and Reusable Requirements
::Requirements Package"
What are the elements of the Manage Solution Scope & Requirements task/activity?
"::Solution Scope Management
::Conflict and Issue Management
::Presenting Requirements for Review
::Approval"
The Enterprise Analysis knowledge area describes what types of activities for organizations?
"::To analyze the business situation in order to fully understand business problems and opportunities.
::To assess the capabilities of the enterprise in order to understand the change needed to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals.
::To determine the most feasible business solution approach.
::To define the solution scope and develop the business case for a proposed solution.
::To define and document business requirements (including the business need, required capabilities, solution scope, and business case)."
There are 7 inputs to the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area. What are they?
"::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Goals and Objectives
::Enterprise Architecture
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Performance Assessment
::Stakeholder Concerns"
How many tasks are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 5. They are:
::Define Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case"
What are the outputs of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
"There are 5:
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach
::Solution Scope"
What are the inputs needed to define the business need?
"::Business Goals and Objectives
::Requirements [Stated]"
The business need is consumed by what task or tasks?
"::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication Knowledge Area"
What are the four ways to generate a business need during Enterprise Analysis?
"::From Top Down
::From Bottom Up
::From Middle Mgmt
::From External Drivers"
What are the three approaches to Timeboxing/budgeting?
"::All In - Begin with all the eligible requirements with assigned Duration or Cost. Remove the requirements in order to meet the calendar dates or budget limit.
::All Out - Begin with adding the requirement(s) with assigned duration or cost to the calendar or budget. Stop when the calendar dates are met or budget limit is reached.
::Selective - Begin by identifying high priority requirements added to the calendar or budget. Add or remove requirements in order to meet the calendar date or budget limit."
What are the two key objectives when organizing requirements?
"::Understand which models are appropriate for the business domain and solution scope
:: Identify model interrelationships and dependencies"
What are the inputs to the Organize Requirements task?
"There are 3:
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Scope"
What are the elements of the Organize Requirements task?
"There are two
Levels of Abstraction
Model Selection"
What are the common concepts when using models?
"::User Classes, profiles, Roles
::Concepts and Relationships
::Events
::Processes
::Rules"
User Classes, Profiles, or Roles are categorizations that are often found in what models?
"::organization models
::process models
::use cases"
Events serve as the basis for scope models but can be described in what other types of models?
"::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models"
Process information can be found in what types of models?
"::Process Models
::Org Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models"
What types of models might contain rule information?
"::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models"
What are the techniques used in the Organize Requirements task?
"There are 9
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Functional Decomposition
::Organizational Modeling
::Process Modeling
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::User Stories"
What are the inputs to the Specify and Model Requirements task?
"There are 2
::Requirements [stated]
::Requirements Structure"
What tasks consume the Stakeholder or Solution Requirements?
"There are 3
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements of the Specify and Model Requirements task?
"::Text
::Matrix Documentation
::Models
::Capture Requirements Attributes
::Improvement Opportunities"
What aspects of requirements are often expressed in tabular form?
"::Attributes
::Data Dictionaries
::Traceability
::Prioritization data"
What is the difference between an informal model and a formal model?
"An informal model does not have a formal semantic definition and instead connects elements in ways that are meaningful for the analyst and the audience

A formal model follows semantics and iconography that are defined in a standard to indicate the meaning of each model element"
What are some potential improvement opportunities that might be identified and captured during the Specify and Model Requirements task?
":: Automate Or Simplify The Work People Perform
:: Improve Access To Information
:: Reduce Complexity Of Interfaces
:: Increase Consistency Of Behavior
:: Eliminate Redundancy"
What are the techniques used in the Specify and Model Requirements task?
"There are several techniques that are part of the general techniques category:
Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
Business Rules Analysis
Data Dictionary and Glossary
Data Flow Diagrams
Data Modeling
Functional Decomposition
Interface Analysis
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
Non-functional Requirements Analysis
Organization Modeling
Process Modeling
Prototyping
Scenarios and Use Cases
Sequence Diagrams
State Diagrams
User Stories"
What are the elements used in the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
"There are 3
::Assumptions
::Business Constraints
::Technical Constraints"
Business Constraints can reflect what type of information?
"::budgetary restrictions
::time restrictions
::limits on the number of resources available
::restrictions based on the skills of the project team and the stakeholders
::a requirement that certain stakeholders not be affected by the implementation of the solution
::or any other organizational restriction"
Technical constraints may also describe restrictions such as what?
":: resource utilization
::message size
::timing
::software size
::maximum number of and size of files
::records and data elements"
What tasks consume Assumptions and Constraints?
"There are 4
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What tasks consume verified requirements?
"::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements used in the Verify Requirements task?
"There are 2:
::Characteristics of Requirements Quality
::Verification Activities"
A high quality requirement exhibits what characteristics?
"::Cohesive
::Complete
::Consistent
::Correct
::Feasible
::Modifiable
::Unambiguous
::Testable"
Verification activities include what?
"::Check for completeness within each requirements model
::Compare each prepared requirements model (textual or graphical) against all other prepared requirements models
:: Variations to the documented processes have been identified and documented
:: All triggers and outcomes have been accounted for in all variations
:: Terminology used in expressing the requirement is understandable to stakeholders and consistent
:: Examples are added where appropriate for clarification"
What are the techniques used in the Verify Requirements task?
"There are 2:
::General techniques (includes Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Problem Tracking, Structured Walkthrough)
:: Checklists"
What are the inputs to the Validate Requirements task?
"There are 2
::Business Case
::Stakeholder Solution or Transition Requirements [verified]"
Validated requirements are consumed by what tasks?
"::Validate Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements of the Validate Requirements task?
"There are 5
::identify Assumptions
::Define Measurable Criteria
::Determine Business Value
::Determine Dependencies for Benefit Realization
::Evaluate Alignment with Business Case and Opportunity Cost"
True or False: Besides the Business Case, it is possible to assess individual requirements or features to determine business value
TRUE
True or False: Business value can be delivered through requirements that support compliance with regulatory or other standards, alignment with internal standards or policies of the organization, or increased satisfaction for stakeholders, even if those things do not have a direct measurable financial benefit.
TRUE
True or False: All requirements contribute directly to the end result desired by the organization and described in the business case
FALSE
What are the techniques in the Validate Requirements task?
"There are 5:
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
:: Prototyping
:: Risk Analysis
:: Structured Walkthrough"
What are the tasks in the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
"There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance"
What are the inputs to the Assess Proposed Solution task?
"There are 3
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution Option(s)"
What are the elements of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
"::Ranking of Solution Options
::Identification of Additional Potential Capabilities"
What are the techniques of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
"There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Decision Analysis
:: Vendor Assessment"
What are the inputs of the Allocate Requirements task?
"There are 3:
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope"
Allocated Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
"::Requirements Mgt. and Communication
::Solution Selection or Design"
Requirements may be allocated between or over what?
"::Organizational units
::between job functions
::between people and software
::software application components
::releases of a solution."
What are the elements of the Allocate Requirements task?
"There are 2
::Solution Components
::Release Planning"
What are some examples of solution components?
"::Business policies and business rules
::Business processes to be performed and managed
::People who operate and maintain the solution, including their job functions and responsibilities
::Software applications and application components used in the solution.
::Structure of the organization, including interactions between the organization, its customers, and its suppliers"
Analyst assessment of whether the allocation represents the most effective tradeoffs between delivery options involves what considerations?
"::Available resources
::Constraints on the Solution
::Dependencies Between Requirements"
What types of factors are considerations of release planning?
"::overall project budget
::the need to implement a solution or parts of the solution by a certain date
::resource constraints
::training schedule
::ability for the business to absorb changes within a defined timeframe."
What are the techniques used in the Allocate Requirements task?
"There are 6
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Decision Analysis
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Process Modeling
:: Scenarios and Use Cases"
What should the business analyst understand to assess organizational readiness?
"::what changes will occur in the business area
::technical infrastructure or processes
::how these affect other business units or operations"
What are the inputs to the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
"There are 4
::Enterprise Architecture
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns"
What are the elements used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
"There are 3
::Cultural Assessment
::Operational or Technical Assessment
::Stakeholder Impact Analysis"
What are some of the considerations of stakeholder impact analysis?
":Stakeholder Group functions
::Geographic Location of Stakeholder Groups
::Tasks performed by specific stakeholders
::Concerns about the stakeholder group’s usability requirements, preferences, and their proficiency level regarding interaction with computer systems"
What are the techniques used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
"::General Techniques (including Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Data Flow Diagrams, Process Models, Focus Groups, Interviews, Survey/Questionnaire, Organization Modeling, Problem Tracking, Risk Analysis, SWOT Analysis)
:: Force Field Analysis"
What are the inputs to the Define Transition Requirements task?
"There are 4:
::Organizational Readiness Assessment
::Requirements [stated]
::Solution [deployed]
::Solution [designed]"
Transition Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
"::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area"
What are the elements used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
"There are 3
::Data
::Ongoing Work
::Organizational Change"
What are the techniques used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
"There are 3
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams, Process Modeling, Organizational Modeling
::Data Modeling"
What are the outputs of the Validate Solution task?
"There are 3
::Identified Defects
::Mitigating Actions
::Solution Validation Assessment"
What are the elements of the Validate Solution task?
"There are 2
::Investigate Defective Solution Outputs
::Assess Defects and Issues"
Defects are reviewed with what considerations in mind?
"::determining the severity of the defect, the probability of the occurrence of the defect
::the severity of the business impact
::the capacity of the business to absorb the impact of the defects"
What are the techniques used in the Validate Solution task?
"There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Root Cause Analysis
:: Problem Tracking"
What are the inputs to the Evaluate Solution performance task?
"There are 4+B20Business Requirements
::Identified Defects
::Solution Performance Metrics
::Solution [deployed]"
What are the elements of the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
"There are 3:
::Understand Value Delivered by Solution
::Validate Solution Metrics
::Solution Replacement or Elimination"
What are issues that impact the decision about replacing a solution?
":: Ongoing Cost versus Initial Investment
:: Opportunity Cost
:: Necessity
:: Sunk Cost"
What are the techniques used in the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
"There are 4:
::Decision Analysis
::Focus Groups
::Observation
::Survey/Questionnaire"
What are the types of Underlying Competencies?
"There are 6:
:: Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
:: Behavioral Characteristics
:: Business Knowledge
:: Communication Skills
:: Interaction Skills
:: Software Applications"
What are the various forms of the Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving underlying competency?
"There are 5:
::Creative Thinking
::Decision Making
::Learning
::Problem Solving
::Systems Thinking"
What are the measures of effectiveness of creative thinking?
"::Successful generation and productive consideration of new ideas.
::Application of new ideas to resolve existing problems.
::Willingness of stakeholders to accept new approaches."
Decision Analysis includes what?
"::gathering information relevant to a decision
::breaking down the information relevant to a decision
::making comparisons and tradeoffs between similar and dissimilar options
::identifying the option that is most desirable."
When making decisions or analyzing options for a decision, business analysts must be aware of what kind of traps?
"::those that can impede successful decision-making, including the tendency to accept the initial framing of a problem
::the sunk cost fallacy
::the tendency to place greater weight on evidence that confirms existing impressions."
What are the effectiveness measures of learning?
"::Agreement by stakeholders that analysis models effectively and completely describe the domain
::Identification of related problems or issues from multiple areas in the domain
::Rapid absorption of new information or new domains."
What is voting in relation to requirement prioritization?
Voting methods allocate a fixed amount of resources (votes, play money, or other tokens) to each participant for them to distribute among proposed features or requirements. The requirements that receive the most resources are the ones that will be investigated or developed first
A prioritized requirement has an attribute that describes what?
Its relative importance to stakeholders and the organization
What is the purpose of the Organize Requirements task?
To create a set of views of the requirements for the new business solution that are comprehensive, complete, consistent, and understood from all stakeholder perspectives
Why is it important to understand model interdependencies when organizing requirements?
Because it is the relationships and interdependencies among requirements that adds the element of complexity
What task or tasks consume the Requirements Structure?
Prepare Requirements Package and Specify and Model Requirements
According to the BABOK 2.0, which of the following describes LESSENING abstraction of requirements?
::business requirements, stakeholder requirements, and solution requirements
What is the objective of creating a model of requirements?
To simplify reality in a way that is useful
Must modeling be performed in a specific order with a specific hierarchy?
No. There is not hierarchy when using models
Organization models, process models and use cases are generally created in what task
Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
What corresponds to something in the real world; a place, a person, a thing, an organization
A concept
What do concepts define?
They define the objects, entities or facts that are relevant to the business domain and what relationships they have with other concepts
The attributes of a concept are found in what type of model
Data Model
A request to a business system or organization to do something, such as a customer placing an order, or a manager requesting a report, can be described as what?
An Event
Events can serve as the basis for what type of model?
Scope Model
A sequence of repeatable activities executed within an organization is known as a what?
Process
Processes describe what?
Who and what has to be involved in fully responding to an event, or how people in the enterprise collaborate to achieve a goal
What are used by the enterprise to enforce goals and guide decision-making?
Rules
What do rules determine?
When information associated with an entity may change, what values of information are valid, how decisions are made in a process, and what the organization’s priorities are
Who are the primary stakeholders in the Organize Requirements task?
Domain SME, End User, Implementation SME, and Sponsor: They Affected by analysis techniques used to organize requirements since they need to verify and validate the requirements.
What is the purpose of the Specify and Model Requirements task?
To analyze expressed stakeholder desires and/or the current state of the organization using a combination of textual statements, matrices, diagrams and formal models
Specifications and models are created to do what?
Analyze the functioning of an organization and provide insight into opportunities for improvement
Specifications and models also support what?
Development and implementation of solutions, facilitating communication among stakeholders, supporting training activities and knowledge management, and ensuring compliance with contracts and regulations
What is the output of the Specify and Model Requirements task?
Stakeholder or Solution Requirements
The Text element must describe what?
Te capabilities of the solution, any conditions that must exist for the requirement to operate, and any constraints that may prevent the solution from fulfilling the requirement
A table or matrix is used to document requirements when?
When business analyst is looking to convey a set of requirements that have a complex but uniform structure which can be broken down into elements that apply to every entry in the table
A WHAT is any simplified representation of a complex reality that is useful for understanding that reality and making decisions regarding it?
A model
What are two things that help determine which type of model to use?
The people that make up the receiving audience and the type of information being communicated
What is the purpose of the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
Identify factors other than requirements that may affect which solutions are viable.
Assumptions are defined as what?
Assumptions are factors that are believed to be true, but have not been confirmed
What is associated with assumptions that must be validated by the analyst?
Risk
Constraints are defined as what?
Constraints are defined as restrictions or limitations on possible solutions.
Solution constraints describe what?
Aspects of the current state, or planned future state that may not be changed
What are the inputs to the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
Stakeholder Concerns
Technical constraints include what?
Any architecture decisions that are made that may impact the design of the solution
What is the output of the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
Assumptions and Constraints
What is the purpose of the Verify Requirements task?
Requirements verification ensures that requirements specifications and models meet the necessary standard of quality to allow them to be used effectively to guide further work
Verifying requirements ensures what?
The requirements have been defined correctly and are of acceptable quality
Requirements verification constitutes a final check by the business analyst and key stakeholders to determine that the requirements are what?
Ready for formal review and validation by the customers and users and provide all the information needed for further work based on the requirements to be performed
What are the inputs to the Verify Requirements task?
Requirements [Any Except Stated]
The Verify Requirements task produces what output?
Requirements [Verified]
The feasibility of a requirement is concerned with what?
That the requirement must be implementable within the existing infrastructure, with the existing budget, timeline and resources available to the team or the project must develop the capability to implement the requirement
Are verification activities of requirements performed in a singular fashion or iteratively?
Iteratively throughout the requirements analysis process
What is the purpose of a checklist?
The purpose of a checklist is to ensure that items that the organization or project team has determined are important are included in the final requirements deliverable(s)
What is the purpose of the Validate Requirements task?
To ensure that all requir+B16ements support the delivery of value to the business, fulfill its goals and objectives, and meet a stakeholder need.
Does Requirements Validation once or throughout the life of the project?
Throughout in an ongoing basis
To be a valid requirement, it must do what?
Contribute directly or indirectly to the business case
Assumptions must be identified to manage what?
Risk
Evaluation Criteria are used to do what during Validate Requirements?
They are create and used to measure the solution following deployment against the forecasted benefits from the start of the project
A requirement that does not deliver direct or indirect value to a stakeholder is a strong candidate for what?
Elimination
Can a requirement hold value for a stakeholder yet not be part of a delivered solution.
Yes, but if it is not aligned with the business case should be defined and approved in a separate business case, or considered for removal from the solution scope
Each requirement must be traceable to what?
The objectives in the business case
At the project level, opportunity cost refers to what?
The benefits that could have been achieved with an alternative investment rather than this one.
The opportunity cost of any decision is equal to what?
The value of the best alternative use of those resources
The Solution Assessment and Validation Knowledge Area describes what?
The tasks that are performed in order to ensure that solutions meet the business need and to facilitate their successful implementation
What is the responsibility of the business analyst during Solution Assessment and Validation?
Ensuring that stakeholders fully understand the solution requirements and that implementation decisions are aligned with the relevant requirements
What is the purpose of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
To assess proposed solutions in order to determine how closely they meet stakeholder and solution requirements
Is Solution Assessment performed on a single or multiple solutions?
Both. It may be used to compare multiple solutions or to assess a single solution
What is the output of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
Assessment of Proposed Solution
What tasks consume the Assessment of Proposed Solution?
Solution Selection or Design
Why is vendor assessment a technique as part of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
To ensure that all parties will be able to develop and maintain a healthy working relationship
What is a potential suggestion as part of the Solution Assessment if no solution delivers appropriate value?
To terminate the initiative or do nothing.
What is the purpose of the Allocate Requirements task?
Allocate stakeholder and solution requirements among solution components and releases in order to maximize the possible business value given the options and alterna­tives generated by the design team.
Requirements allocation is defined as what?
Te process of assigning stakeholder and solution requirements to solution components and to releases
Allocation is performed after assessing what?
Assessment tradeoffs between alternatives in order to maximize benefits and minimize costs
To prevent scope revision, what must the allocation of requirements match?
The associated stakeholder and solution requirements
The allocation of requirements to solution components will be a primary driver of what?
The cost to implement the solution and the benefits delivered by it.
During solution design, why might it become necessary to revisit the initial allocation of functionality between components as defined in the solution scope?
The cost to implement each component becomes better understood, and to determine which allocations have the best cost/benefit ratio.
Why would process modeling be a part of allocation of requirements?
Activities in the process model may be allocated to different roles, or outsourced to a supplier. A solution can be developed that incrementally supports some sub-processes or activities
What is the involvement of the Implementation SME during the Allocate Requirements task?
The role is responsible for the design and construction of some or all solution components and the estimation of the work required. It will also make recommendations regarding the allocation of requirement
Allocated requirements are associated with what?
A solution component that will implement them.
What is the purpose of the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
Assess whether the organization is ready to make effective use of a new solution.
An organizational readiness assessment describes what?
The effect a new solution will have on an organization and whether the organization is prepared for the organizational change that the solution implementation will cause
What is the output of the Organizational Readiness Assessment?
Duh! The organizational readiness assessment
What tasks consume the Organizational Readiness Assessment?
Define Transition Requirements
Why is the Enterprise Architecture an important input into the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
It describes the current state of the enterprise, including the organizational structure, business processes, systems, information, etc.
What occurs in a cultural assessment?
A determination is made of the stakeholders’ attitudes, beliefs, willingness to change and other factors that could pose potential obstacles to solution implementation.
What occurs in a Operational or Technical Assessment?
A determination of whether the organization is able to take advantage of the capabilities provided by the new solution is made. There is also an evaluation of whether stakeholders are prepared to make use of the new solution and whether there must be training/policy/process changes to accompany the new solution
What is Force Field Analysis?
A graphical method for depicting the forces that support and oppose a change by identifying the forces that support and oppose a change, depicting them on opposite sides of a line, and then estimating the strength of each force in order to assess which set of forces are stronger
What does the Organizational Change Management SME do during the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
Assists organizations with communicating change to their stakeholders and creating support among those stakeholders for the change.
In general, the Organizational Readiness Assessment describes what?
Whether stakeholders are prepared to accept the change associated with a solution and are able to use it effectively. May lead to revisions in solution or project scope
What is the purpose of the Define Transition Requirements task?
To define requirements for capabilities needed to transition from an existing solution to a new solution
Why couldn’t the project just utilize the normal requirement set, instead of developing transition requirements?
During the transition period (the time when both the old and new solutions are operational), the enterprise may need to operate both solutions in parallel, move information between the new and old solution, conduct training to enable stakeholders to effectively operate the new solution, and so forth.
Transition requirements cannot be defined until what occurs?
The solution has been designed
Transition requirements remain relevant for how long?
Only during the transition period between the existing and new solutions. They are then discarded
Are transition requirements developed using other methods that normal requirements are not?
No Transition requirements are elicited, analyzed, managed, and communicated by performing the same tasks as for other requirements.
Why is the deployed solution an input to defining transition requirements?
The deployed (or existing) solution will be investigated to understand what needs to be transitioned to the new solution
Why must the data element be evaluated during creation of transition requirements?
There must be a determination of whether the data must be migrated and/or converted for the new solution to function
Organizational change management generally refers to what?
To a process and set of tools for managing change at an organizational level.
Why is the analysis of organizational change necessary when creating transition requirements?
Organizational units may be significantly impacted by the new solution and will need to have processes changed to be able to take advantage of the new solution
What stakeholder receives noticeable negative impact if information is incorrectly transferred from the old to new solution?
The customer
Transition requirements describe what?
Capabilities that must be developed in order for an organization to successfully transition between solutions.
What is the purpose of the Validate Solution task?
Validate that a solution meets the business need and determine the most appropriate response to identified defects
Solution validation is required to do what?
Ensure that a delivered solution meets the business needs on an ongoing basis
Identified defects that are an output of the Validate Solution task are consumed by what task?
Evaluate Solution Performance
Mitigating Actions and Solution Performance Assessments that are outputs of the Validate Solution tasks are consumed by what task?
Solution Implementation
When it can be determined that the solution is consistently producing defective outputs, it’s time to utilize what technique?
Root Cause Analysis
When performing root cause analysis as part of the Validate Solution task, what stakeholder may be involved?
Implementation SME
What is the definition of a mitigating action?
Steps that can be taken, or processes that can be followed, to reduce or eliminate the effect an identified defect has on a stakeholder or stakeholder group.
What is the purpose of the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
Evaluate functioning solutions to understand the value they deliver and identify opportunities for improvement
Solution evaluation involves what?
Investigating how a solution is actually used after it is deployed, and assessing the effect it has had, both positive and negative
When performed immediately following the completion of a project, Solution evaluation is also known as what?
Post-implementation assessment
What is the role that business requirements play when evaluating solution performance?
They form the baseline for functionality to compare against what the system is actually doing
Solution Performance Metrics represent what?
The criteria by which the performance of the solution is to be assessed
There are two types of solution performance metrics. What are they?
Qualitative and Quantitative
What are examples of Qualitative solution performance metrics?
Measures of time, volume, revenue, errors found
What are examples of Quantitative solution performance metrics?
User or customer satisfaction, recommendations
The Evaluate Solution performance task cannot be performed until what occurs?
The solution has been deployed
What does the element Understand Value Delivered by Solution consist of?
The analyst must gather the actual metrics that describe the performance of the solution in order to determine whether the system is performing optimally, under-performing or over-performing
Why is an additional validation of the metrics that are used to validate the solution necessary?
There are occasions in which the metrics are not properly defined or aligned with the solution; thus the reporting of the metric data becomes skewed
Why might the solution be a candidate for elimination?
This may occur because an IT system or other technology component has reached the end of its useful life, services are being insourced or outsourced, the solution is not fulfilling the business goals set for it
What is sunk cost?
It describes the money and effort already committed to an initiative
Sunk Cost is irrelevant when considering future action why?
Because the cost cannot be recovered
What is an example of Necessity with regard to making a decision about solution replacement?
Obsolescence. There are occasions where the cost of maintaining a current solution is too high or the capability to do so is impossible
What is Opportunity Cost?
It represents the potential value that could be realized by pursuing alternative courses of action
How is the Operational Support stakeholder utilized in the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
This person will be involved in monitoring the performance and effectiveness of a solution or its components.
What is the purpose of the Underlying Competencies knowledge area?
It provides a description of the behaviors, characteristics, knowledge and personal qualities that support the practice of business analysis
What is the purpose of creative thinking?
To be effective in generating new ideas for approaches to problem solving and in generating alternative solutions
What is the purpose of decision making?
Business analysts must be effective in understanding the criteria involved in making a decision, in making decisions, and in assisting others to make better decisions
When is a decision necessary?
Whenever it becomes necessary to select an alternative or approach from two or more options
What is the purpose of learning?
Business analysts must be effective at learning about business domains and how they function, and then translate that learning into an understanding of how to benefit an organization.
What is the official definition of learning, according to the BABOK 2.0?
The process of gaining knowledge or skills.
With regard to business analysis, a business analyst must be able to describe what?
Level of understanding of the business domain and be capable of applying that level of understanding to determine which analysis activities need to be performed in a given situation
Once learning about a domain, the business analyst must be able to do what?
Be able to synthesize the information to identify opportunities to create new solutions and evaluate those solutions to ensure that they are effective.
What is the purpose of problem solving?
Business analysts must be effective at defining and solving problems in order to ensure that the real, underlying problem is understood and that solutions actually address that problem
Defining a problem involves what?
Ensuring that the nature of the problem is clearly understood by all parties and that underlying issues are visible
How does an analyst ensure all parties understand the nature of a problem that is to be solved?
"::Articulate and address conflicts between goals and objectives
::Identify and test underlying assumptions"
What are the measures of effectiveness of problem solving?
"::Confidence of the participants in the problem-solving process that a selected solution is correct
::New solution options can be evaluated effectively using the problem solving framework
::Selected solutions meet the defined objectives and solve the underlying problem.
::The problem-solving process avoids making decisions based on preconceived notions, organizational politics, or other traps that may cause a sub-optimal solution to be selected."
The term system includes what factors?
":: the people involved
::the interactions between them
::the external forces affecting their behavior
::all other relevant elements and factors"
What are the measures of effectiveness of system thinking?
"::Understanding of how a change to a component affects the system as a whole
::Identification of reinforcing and compensating feedback loops
::Understanding of how systems adapt to external pressures and changes"
What are the types of the underlying competency behavioral characteristics?
"There are 3:
::Ethics
::Personal organization
::Trustworthiness"
Ethics requires an understanding of what?
"::moral and immoral behavior
::the standards that should govern one’s behavior
::the willingness to act to ensure that one’s behavior is moral or meets those standards"
Fair treatment requires what?
"::that the affected stakeholders understand the reasons for the decision
::that they are not deceived about the outcome
::that decisions which are made are made in the best interest of the organization"
What are the measures of effectiveness of ethics?
"::Decisions are made with due consideration to the interests of all stakeholders
::Reasons for a decision are clearly articulated and understood
::Prompt and full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
::Honesty regarding one’s abilities, the performance of one’s work, and accepting responsibility for failures or errors."
Personal organization involves what?
"::the ability to readily find files or information
::timeliness
::management of outstanding tasks
::appropriate handling of priorities"
Effective time management requires what characteristics?
"::effective time management requires effective prioritization
::elimination of procrastination
::clarity of goals and expectations"
What are some common approaches toward good time management?
"::action plans
::to-do lists
::setting priorities"
What are the effectiveness measures of personal organization?
"::Ability of the business analyst to find information
::Regular on-time completion of tasks
::Efficiency in the completion of work
::The ability to easily identify all outstanding work and the status of each work item."
What are the measures of effectiveness of trustworthiness?
"::Stakeholders involving the business analyst in decision-making
::Stakeholder acceptance of the business analyst’s recommendations
::Willingness of stakeholders to discuss difficult or controversial topics with the business analyst
::Willingness of stakeholders to support or defend the business analyst when problems occur."
What are the forms of the Business Knowledge underlying competency?
"There are 3:
::Business Principles and Practices
::Industry Knowledge
::Organization Knowledge"
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
"::Human Resources
::Finance
:Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt"
What must a business analyst understand to have an effective industry knowledge base?
"::various customer segments that the industry services
::demographic or other characteristics common to that segment
::common industry trends"
Organization Knowledge includes what factors?
"::understanding of the business models that the organization (that is, how the organization generates profits or otherwise accomplishes its goals)
::the organizational structure that is in place,
::the relationships that exist between business units
::and the persons who occupy key stakeholder positions
::informal lines of communication and authority"
What are the effectiveness measures of solution knowledge?
"::Reduced time or cost to implement a required change
::Shortened time on requirements analysis and/or solution design
::Understanding when a larger change is justified based on business benefit
::Understanding how additional capabilities present, but not currently used, in a solution can be deployed to provide business value."
What are the various types of Communication Skills?
"There are 3:
::Oral Communication
::Teaching
::Written Communication"
What are the effectiveness measures of oral communication?
"::Effectively paraphrasing statements to ensure understanding
::Effectively facilitating sessions, ensuring success through preparedness and coordination
::Developing and delivering powerful presentations by positioning content and objectives appropriately (i.e. positive verses negative tone)
::Can communicate the criticality or urgency of a situation in a calm, rational manner with proposed solutions."
What are the three types of learning?
"::auditory
::visual
::kinesthetic"
What are the effectiveness measures of teaching?
"::Verifying that learners have acquired information that has been imparted to them
::Ability of learners to use new skills or demonstrate new knowledge."
What are the effectiveness measures of written communication?
"::Ability to adjust the style of writing for the needs of the audience
::Proper use of grammar and style
::Appropriate choice of words
::Ability of the reader to paraphrase and describe the content of the written communication."
What are the various types of Interaction Skills?
"There are 3:
::Facilitation and Negotiation
::Leadership and Influencing
::Teamwork"
What are the effectiveness measures of Leadership and Influencing?
"::Reduced resistance to necessary changes
::Team members and stakeholders demonstrating a willingness to set aside personal objectives when necessary
::Articulation of a clear and inspiring vision of a desired future state."
What are the effectiveness measures of teamwork?
"::Fostering a collaborative working environment
::Effective resolution of conflict
::Developing trust among team members
::Support among the team for shared high standards of achievement
::Team members have a shared sense of ownership of the team goals."
What are the types of Software Applications?
"There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized"
What are some examples of collaboration tools?
"::document repositories (which integrate with office productivity software)
::wikis (which allow easy creation and link­ing of web pages)
::discussion forums."
What are the effectiveness measures of general purpose applications?
"::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them."
What are the effectiveness measures of specialized software?
"::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them.
::Able to track changes to the requirements made through the tools."
What are the elements of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
"There are 2:
::Testability
::Determine Rank and Scoring"
What are the advantages of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
"::Agile methodologies may require that all requirements be expressed in the form of testable acceptance criteria.
::Acceptance criteria are also necessary when the requirements express contractual obligations."
What are the disadvantages of benchmarking?
":: time consuming
::must have experience performing
::cannot produce innovative ideas"
What are the elements of brainstorming?
"There are 3:
::Preparation
::Session
::Wrap-up"
What kind of preparation is needed for a brainstorming session?
"::Develop a clear and concise definition of the area of interest
::Determine a time limit for the group to generate ideas; the larger the group, the more time required. Identify facilitator and participants in session
::Aim for participants (ideally 6 to 8) who represent a range of background and experience with the topic.
::Set expectations with participants and get their buy in to the process
::Establish criteria for evaluating and rating the ideas"
What are the things that are important to the session element for brainstorming?
"::Share new ideas without any discussion, criticism or evaluation
::Visibly record all ideas
::Encourage participants to be creative, share exaggerated ideas, and build on the ideas of others.
::Don’t limit the number of ideas as the goal is to elicit as many as possible within the time period."
What occurs in a brainstorming session wrap-up?
"::Once the time limit is reached, using the pre-determined evaluation criteria, discuss and evaluate the ideas
::Create a condensed list of ideas, combine ideas where appropriate, and eliminate duplicates
::Rate the ideas. Distribute the final list of ideas to appropriate parties."
What are the disadvantages of a brainstorming session?
"::Dependent on participants’ creativity and willingness to participate. Organizational and interpersonal politics may also limit participation
::Group participants must agree to avoid debating the ideas raised during brainstorming."
What are the measures of effectiveness for Business Principles and Practices?
"::Understanding of business environments, operations, process and practices relating to Common business management and decision making concepts, principles activities and practices; typical organization structures, job functions and work activities; complex business functions and operations
::Understanding of relevant regulatory, compliance, and governance frameworks
::Understanding of auditing and security issues"
What are the effectiveness measures of industry knowledge?
"::Understanding of industry related material and keeps abreast of what is taking place in the industry
::The ability to identify key trends shaping the industry
::Knowledge of major competitors and partners for the organization
::Knowledge of major customer segments
::Knowledge of common products and product types
::Knowledge of sources of information about the industry, including relevant trade organizations or journals
::Understanding of industry-specific resource and process documents
::Understanding of industry standard processes and methodologies
::Understanding of the industry regulatory environment."
What are the three types of specialized tools mentioned in the BABOK 2.0?
"::Diagramming
::Modeling
::Requirements Management"
Name all 34 techniques in the BABOK 2.0
"::Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
::Benchmarking
::Brainstorming
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Dictionary and Glossary

::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Decision Analysis
::Document Analysis
::Estimation
::Focus Groups
::Functional Decomposition
::Interface Analysis
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned Process
::Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
::Non-functional Requirements Analysis
::Observation
::Organization Modeling
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Prototyping
::Requirements Workshops
::Risk Analysis
::Root Cause Analysis
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::Sequence Diagrams
::State Diagrams
::Structured Walkthrough
::Survey/Questionnaire
::SWOT Analysis
::User Stories
::Vendor Assessment"
What are the advantages of a brainstorming session?
"::Ability to elicit many ideas in a short time period
::Non-judgmental environment enables creative thinking
::Can be useful during a workshop to reduce tension between participants"
What are characteristics of good business rules?
"::Stated in appropriate terminology to enable domain SMEs to validate the rules.
::Documented independently of how they will be enforced
::Stated at the atomic level and in declarative format
::Separated from processes that the rule supports or constrains.
::Maintained in a manner that enables the organization to monitor and adapt the rules as the business policies change."
What are the elements of Business Rules Analysis?
"There are 2:
::Operative Rules
::Structural Rules"
Data dictionaries include what?
"::standard definitions of data elements and their meanings
::allowable values.
::definitions of each primitive data element and indications of how those elements combine into composite data elements"
What is a primitive data element?
"The basic unit of data that includes information about an element:
::Name
::Alias
::Values/Meanings
::Description"
What are some examples of composite structures?
"::Sequences
::Repetitions
::Optional Elements"
What do data flow diagrams show?
"::External Entities that provide data to, or receive data from, a system
::The Processes of the system that transform data
::The Data Stores in which data is collected for some period of time
::The Data Flows by which data moves between External Entities, Processes and Data Stores"
What are the elements of data flow diagrams?
"There are 4:
::External Entities
::Data Store
::Data Process
::Data Flow"
What are the strengths of data flow diagrams?
"::May be used as a discovery technique for processes and data, or as a technique for verification of a Functional Decomposition or Data Model that have already been completed.
::Most users find these diagrams quite easy to understand
::Generally considered a useful analysis deliverable to developers in a structured programming environment."
Data models visually present what information?
"::types of people
::places
::things
::concepts that are important to the business, attributes associated with them
::significant business relationships among all of the above"
What two techniques often support the Data Model technique?
"::Data Dictionaries and Glossaries
::Business Rules Analysis"
What are the elements of the Data Model technique?
"There are 4:
::Concept
::Attributes
::Relationship
::Metadata"
What are the advantages of data modeling?
"::flexibility of different levels of description
:: consistent modeling approach that supports the transition through planning, analysis, design and implementation
::supported by rigorous rules for correctness and completeness which encourages accuracy"
What are the disadvantages of data modeling?
"::can be complex
::deal with concepts that may be unfamiliar to people without a background in data modeling"
For effective decision analysis, the business analyst must understand what?
"::The values, goals and objectives that are relevant to the decision problem
::The nature of the decision that must be made
::The areas of uncertainty that affect the decision and the consequences of each possible decision"
What are the elements of the Decision Analysis technique?
"There are 3:
::Outcomes
::Uncertainty
::Trade-offs"
What are the two types of outcomes?
"::Financial
::Non-Financial"
What are the examples of financial outcomes of Decision Analysis?
"::Discounted Cash Flow: future value on a specific data
::Net Present Value: future view of costs and benefits converted to today’s value
::Internal Rate of Return: the interest rate (or discount) when the net present value is equal to zero
::Average Rate of Return: estimate of rate of return on an investment
::Pay Back Period: the amount of time it takes for an investment to pay for itself
::Cost-Benefit Analysis: quantification of costs and benefits for a proposed new solution::"
What are two common methods of making tradeoff decisions?
"::Elimination of dominated alternatives
:: Ranking objectives on a similar scale"
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
"::Human Resources
::Finance
::Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt"
Solution Assessment activities may be performed to assess and validate what?
"::business processes
::organizational structures
::outsourcing agreements
::software applications"
What are the types of Software Applications?
"There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized"
The business analyst must do what in benchmark studies?
"::Identify the area to be studied
::Identify organizations that are leaders in the sector
::Conduct a survey of selected organizations to understand their practices
::Arrange for visits to best-in-class organizations
::Develop a project proposal to implement the best practices"
What are the advantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
":: provides an effective way to determine the expected value of an alternative scenario
:: uses consistent financial justification techniques with quantitative measures
:: may force stakeholders to honestly assess the importance placed on options"
What are the disadvantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
"::requires specialized knowledge and skills, including mathematical knowledge, an understanding of probability, and similar concepts
::results may be treated as more certain than they actually are
:: decision-makers may be reluctant to revisit decisions"
Document analysis is used if the objective is to gather details of what items that need to be included in a new solution or need to be updated for the current solution
"::existing solutions
::including business rules
::entities
::attributes"
What are the elements of the Document Analysis technique?
"There are 3:
::Preparation
::Document Review
::Wrap-up"
What is involved with the wrap-up of the Document Analysis technique?
"::Review and confirm the selected details with subject matter experts
::Organize information into requirements format
::Obtain answers to follow-up questions."
What are the advantages of the Document Analysis technique?
"::Not starting from a blank page
::Leveraging existing materials to discover and/or confirm requirements
::A means to cross-check requirements from other elicitation techniques such as interviews, job shadowing, surveys or focus groups"
What are the elements of the Estimation technique?
"There are 8:
::Analogous Estimation
::Parametric Estimation
::Bottom-up Estimation
::Rolling Wave Estimation
::Three-point Estimation
::Historic Analysis
::Expert Judgment
::Delphi Estimation"
What are some common examples of parametric estimation?
"::COCOMOII
::Function Points
::Use Case Points
::Story Points"
Three-point estimation functions how?
"It uses three scenarios:
::The most optimistic estimate, or best-case scenario
::The most pessimistic estimate, or worst-case scenario
::The most likely estimate."
What are the disadvantages of the estimation technique?
"::Stakeholders frequently treat estimates as commitments, and expect that once an esti¬mate is given the solution team will meet the time and cost estimate
:: Estimates are often consciously or unconsciously altered to match the desires of influential stakeholders"
What are the elements of the Focus Group technique?
"::Preparation
::Run the Focus Group Session
::Produce Report"
Preparation for focus groups involves four basic steps. What are they?
"::Recruit Participants
::Assign Moderator and Recorder
::Create Discussion Guide
::Reserve Site and Services"
What are the advantages of focus groups?
"::Ability to elicit data from a group of people in a single session saves time and cost as compared to conducting individual interviews with the same number of people.
::Effective for learning people’s attitudes, experiences and desires
::Active discussion and the ability to ask others questions creates an environment where participants can consider their personal view in relation to other perspectives."
What are the disadvantages of focus groups?
":: participants may be concerned about issues of trust
:: unwilling to discuss sensitive or personal topics
:: Data collected (what people say) may not be consistent with how people actually behave
:: responses may not represent the complete set of requirements
:: skilled moderator is needed
:: difficult to schedule
:: not an effective way to evaluate usability."
What is the purpose of Systems Thinking?
Business analysts must be effective at understanding how the people, processes and technology within an organization interact in relationships and patterns to create a system as a whole
Systems theory and systems thinking suggest what?
That the system as a whole will have properties, behaviors and characteristics that emerge from the interaction of the components of the system, and which are not predictable from an understanding of the components alone
What is the purpose of ethics?
A business analyst must be able to behave ethically in order to earn the trust and respect of stakeholders, and be able to recognize when a proposed solution or requirement may present ethical difficulties.
Why are ethics an important part of an analyst’s underlying competencies?
Business analysts need to consider the impact that a proposed solution will have on all stakeholder groups and work to ensure that those groups are treated fairly
What is the purpose of personal organization?
Personal organization skills assist the business analyst in effectively managing tasks and information.
What is the purpose of trustworthiness?
Earning the trust of key stakeholders is necessary to ensure that the business analyst is able to elicit requirements around sensitive issues and to ensure that recommendations are evaluated properly.
What is the purpose of Business Principles and Practices?
Business analysts require an understanding of fundamental business principles and best practices, in order to ensure that they are incorporated into and supported by solutions.
Business principles are what?
Business principles are those characteristics that are common to all organizations with a similar purpose and structure, whether or not they are in the same industry. They typically apply to many common areas in an organization.
What is the purpose of Industry Knowledge?
Business analysts should have an understanding of the industry that their organization is in so that they may understand new challenges that may be posed by competitive moves, and which solutions have proven effective elsewhere.
Industry Knowledge is defined as what?
The understanding of the competitive forces that shape an industry
What is the purpose of Organization Knowledge?
Business analysis is significantly assisted by an understanding of the organization for which it is being performed.
Organization Knowledge is defined how?
Organization knowledge is an understanding of the business architecture of the organization that is being analyzed
What is the purpose of Solution Knowledge?
Business analysts can use their understanding of existing solutions in order to identify the most effective means of implementing a change.
Why is solution knowledge important for a business analyst?
A business analyst who is familiar with the workings of a solution may be able to more easily identify and recommend changes that can be implemented easily while still providing concrete benefits. Familiarity with the range of commercially available solutions or suppliers can assist with the identification of possible alternatives
What is the purpose of Oral Communication?
Oral communication skills enable business analysts to effectively express ideas in ways that are appropriate to the target audience.
Oral communication skills are used to do what?
Verbally express ideas, information, or other matters
Effective oral communication skills include what?
The ability to make oneself understood and the active listening skills that ensure that the statements of others are accurately understood.
What is the purpose of teaching?
Teaching skills are required to ensure that business analysts can effectively communicate issues and requirements and to ensure that the information communicated is understood and retained
Teaching requires an understanding of what?
How people learn and the ability to use this understanding to effectively facilitate the learning experience
What is the purpose of written communication?
Written communication skills are necessary for business analysts to document elicitation results, requirements, and other information for which medium-to-long term records are required.
Written communication involves the use of what?
Symbols to communicate information. It includes the ability to write effectively for various contexts and audiences
Written communication is required when?
When information will be used at a time or place that is remote from the time and place it was created
Leadership involves motivating people to do what?
Act in ways that enable them to work together to achieve shared goals and objectives
Effective leadership therefore requires that the business analyst be able to do what?
Develop a vision of a desired future state that people can be motivated to work towards and the interpersonal skills necessary to encourage them to do so
What is the purpose of teamwork?
Business analysts must be able to work closely with other team members to effectively support their work so that solutions can be effectively implemented
Communications and trust can also be enhanced through understanding and awareness of facets such as?
The process of setting of rules for the team, team decision-making, formal and informal team leadership and management roles.
What are the two types of conflict?
The basic types of conflict are emotional and cognitive.
Emotional conflict stems from what?
Personal interactions, while cognitive conflicts are based upon disagreements on matters of substantive value or impact on the project or organization
Resolution of cognitive conflict requires the team to focus on what?
Examining the premises, assumptions, observations and expectations of the team members
What are general purpose applications?
Business analysts use office productivity applications to document and track requirements.
What are the three categories of general purpose applications?
These applications generally consist of three components in a suite of tools: word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software.
What is the purpose of collaboration and knowledge management tools?
Collaboration and knowledge management tools are used to support the capturing of knowledge distributed throughout an organization and make it as widely available as possible.
Diagramming tools are designed to do what?
Support the rapid drawing and documentation of a model, typically by providing a set of templates for a particular notation which are used to develop diagrams based on it
Modeling tools facilitate the conversion of the model into a what?
Executable form, either by use of a proprietary engine for executing the model or by generating application code which can be enhanced by a developer.
What is the primary function of requirements management tools?
Requirements management tools are used to support change control, traceability, and configuration management of requirements and requirements artifacts.
According to the BABOK 2.0, techniques offer what to the business analyst?
Techniques alter the way a business analysis task is performed or describe a specific form the output of a task may take.
What is the purpose of the Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria technique?
To define the requirements that must be met in order for a solution to be considered acceptable to key stakeholders.
Acceptance Criteria is defined as what?
Acceptance criteria describe the minimal set of requirements that must be met in order for a particular solution to be worth implementing
Evaluation criteria are what?
Evaluation criteria are the set of requirements that will be used to choose between multiple solutions.
When are acceptance criteria used?
Acceptance criteria are typically used when only one possible solution is being evaluated and are generally expressed as a pass or fail.
When are evaluation criteria used?
Evaluation criteria are used to compare multiple solutions or solution components and allow for a range of possible scores
What does testability mean?
That the requirements are able to be tested and are expressed in a testable form
What is ranking?
Ranking is the process of determining the order of importance for all requirements
What technique is commonly used for ranking?
Moscow
What is scoring?
Scoring is the process of determining how well a solution meets a requirement
In ranking and scoring, who must agree not only on the criteria, but how the solution will be rated against them?
All stakeholders
What are the disadvantages of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
Acceptance and evaluation criteria may express contractual obligations and as such may be difficult to change for legal or political reasons
What is the purpose of benchmarking?
Benchmark studies are performed to compare the strengths and weaknesses of an organization against its peers and competitors
Benchmark studies compare what?
Organizational practices against the best-in-class practices that exist within competitor enterprises in government or industry.
The objective of benchmark studies is to determine what?
How companies achieve their superior performance levels and use that information to design projects to improve operations of the enterprise
Benchmarking is usually focused on what three things?
strategies, operations and processes
What is an advantage of benchmarking?
Benchmarking provides organizations with information about new and different methods, ideas, and tools to improve organizational performance
What is the purpose of the Brainstorming technique?
Brainstorming is an excellent way to foster creative thinking about a problem. The aim of brainstorming is to produce numerous new ideas, and to derive from them themes for further analysis.
What is the purpose of the Business Rules Analysis technique?
To define the rules that govern decisions in an organization and that define, constrain, or enable organizational operations
What is a business policy?
A business policy is a non-actionable directive that supports a business goal
What occurs in business rules analysis?
Policies and rules direct and constrain the organization and operation of an organization
What is the definition of a business rule?
A business rule is a specific, actionable, testable directive that is under the control of an organization and that supports a business policy
A decision table or decision tree is used for what?
Expression and display of complex rules, rule sets and their interdependencies
What are Operative Rules?
Operative rules are rules that the organization chooses to enforce as a matter of policy
Operative Rules oblige people to do what?
To take certain actions, prevent people from taking actions, or prescribe the conditions under which an action may be taken
True or False: it must be possible for people to violate an operative rule, even if there are no circumstances under which the organization would approve of them doing so?
TRUE
Structural rules are intended to do what?
Help determine when something is or is not true, or when things fall into a specific category.
Because they structure the knowledge of the organization, rather than the behavior of persons, structural rules cannot be what?
Violated
Structural Rules also describe what?
How information may be inferred or calculated based on other data available to the business
Clearly defining and structuring rules allows organizations to do what?
Make changes to policy without altering processes.
True or False: The impact of changes to business rules can be assessed more easily when they are documented as part of the processes they detail or the means used to enforce the rules.
FALSE
"The following is an example of an Operational or Structural rule?
“An order must have one and only one associated payment method”"
Structural
"The following is an example of an operative or structural rule?
“An order must not be placed when the billing address provided by the customer does not match the address on file with the credit card provider”"
Operative
What is a weakness of large amounts of business rules?
Business rules can contradict one another or produce unanticipated results when combined
What is the purpose of the Data Dictionary and Glossary technique?
A data dictionary or glossary defines key terms and data relevant to a business domain
Data dictionaries or glossaries are used to formally identify and define what?
All terminology used by the organization or organizational unit
What are the elements of the technique?
Data Dictionary and Glossary
Why is a glossary created?
To ensure that all stakeholders understood what is meant when certain words are used
What does a glossary consist of?
A glossary consists of a term relevant to the domain and a unique definition for each, as well as cross-referencing aliases
What is a composite data element?
Composite data is assembled from primitive data elements
What do sequences do with regard to data?
Show primitive data in a specific order
What do repetitions do?
Show primitive data elements that occur more than once in a composite structure
What are glossaries and data dictionaries useful for?
A data dictionary or glossary is useful for ensuring that all stakeholders are in agreement on the format and content of relevant information
What is the purpose of the Data Flow Diagrams technique?
To show how information is input, processed, stored, and output from a system.
The Data Flow Diagram (DFD) provides a visual representation of what?
How information is moved through a system
What is an external entity?
An external entity is a source or a destination of data. It is represented as a labeled rectangle.
What is a data store?
A data store represents a location where data is not moving or transforming, but is being stored passively for future use
What is a data process?
A data process is a process that transforms the data in some way, either combining the data, reordering the data, converting the data, filtering the data or other such activities.
What is a data flow?
A data flow identifies where data is being moved between a data process and an external entity, a data store or another data process
What are the weaknesses of data flow diagrams?
They cannot easily show who is responsible for performing the work. They cannot show alternative paths through the same process.
What is the purpose of the Data Modeling technique?
The purpose of a data model is to describe the concepts relevant to a domain, the relationships between those concepts, and information associated with them.
What are the two most common data models?
Entity-relationship diagram (ERD) and the class diagram
When working with relational databases, what is the preferred data model type?
Entity-relationship diagram (ERD)
Class Diagrams are typically used when performing what?
Object-oriented design and development
What is the definition of a concept?
Something of significance to the domain being described, about which the organization needs data. Concepts are referred to as entities in ERDs and as classes in class diagrams
What is an attribute?
A particular piece of information associated with a concept
What are relationships with regard to data modeling?
Relationships are significant business associations between concepts and define how information is used in the operation of the business, and indicate the important linkages that need to be managed and maintained in the solution
What is the definition of metadata?
Data about data that describes the context, use, and validity of business information and is generally used to determine when and why information stored in a system was changed
What is the purpose of the Decision Analysis technique?
To support decision-making when dealing with complex, difficult, or uncertain situations.
Decision analysis examines and models what?
The possible consequences of different decisions in order to in make an optimal decision under conditions of uncertainty
When does uncertainty becomes relative to a decision problem?
When it is impossible to know which outcome will occur.
What is a common way to handle uncertainty?
To calculate the expected value of the outcomes. This involves estimating the percentage chance of each outcome occurring and them multiplying the numeric value associated with that outcome by that percentage
What is a method to assess preferred outcome when multiple sources of uncertainty exist?
Decision tree
When do trade-offs become relevant to a problem decision?
Whenever a decision problem involves multiple, possibly conflicting, objectives
What is the purpose of Organization Knowledge?
Business analysis is significantly assisted by an understanding of the organization for which it is being performed.
If a defect cannot be resolved in a timeframe that is acceptable from a business and stakeholders cannot accept the defect, what must the analyst do?
The business analyst may investigate options for mitigating the effects
What is a dominated alternative?
A dominated alternative is any option that is clearly inferior to some other option. If an option is equal to or worse than some other option when rated against the objectives, the other option can be said to dominate it
What method is commonly used to convert rankings to a similar scale?
Proportional scoring
What is Proportional scoring?
Options are assigned values between 1 and 100 and then weighted for relevance. Score are assigned to options and a decision tree is used
What is the purpose of the Document Analysis technique?
Document analysis is a means to elicit requirements by studying available documentation on existing and comparable solutions and identifying relevant information.
Sources of documentation must be what to enhance requirements coverage?
up to date.
What is the purpose of the Estimation technique?
Estimating techniques forecast the cost and effort involved in pursuing a course of action.
Estimation techniques are used to develop a better understanding of what?
The possible range of costs and effort associated with any initiative
True or False: Estimation eliminates all uncertainty
False. The purpose of estimation is to get a reasonable assessment of likely costs or effort required.
True or False: Estimate should be conducted at the start of the project and the results should be used throughout the project
False. Estimates should be revisited as more information becomes available. Many estimation techniques rely on historic performance records from the organization to calibrate them against actual performance
What is Analogous Estimation and when is it used?
It is used when little is known. Analogous estimating is often used to develop a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate, and is also known as “top-down” estimating
What is Parametric Estimation and when is it used?
Parametric Estimation uses parameters, multiplied by the number of hours. For parametric estimating to be useable, enough history has to be available to be used as a basis of comparison
What must the analyst do for parametric estimation to be useful?
Determine which parameters can be used and how many there will be
To use bottom-up estimation, the business analyst must have done what?
Collected the deliverables, activities, tasks, and estimates from all the involved stakeholders and rolls them up to get a total for all the activities and tasks
How does rolling wave estimation work?
Estimate the details for activities in the current iteration or increment and provide an analogous estimate for the entire scope of work. As the end of the iteration approaches, estimates for the next iteration can be made and the initial estimate for all activities is refined
If a Subject Matter Expert is no longer with an organization to provide background on solutions, what is a common method used to learn the material?
Document Analysis
Which type of analysis is similar to analogous estimation, but is used not only for the top-down estimate, but for the detailed tasks as well.
Historic analysis, which uses a history of project records as a basis for estimating.
Expert Judgment estimation relies on what?
The expertise of those who have performed the work in the past.
Delphi Estimation combines what two methods?
Expert judgment and history
How does Delphi Estimation work?
All variations of Delphi include individual estimates, sharing the estimates with experts, and having several rounds until consensus is reached. An average of the three estimates is used. Sometimes the estimates are weighted.
What are the advantages of the estimation technique?
Can help stakeholders make better decisions
What is the purpose of Focus Groups?
A focus group is a means to elicit ideas and attitudes about a specific product, service or opportunity in an interactive group environment. The participants share their impressions, preferences and needs, guided by a moderator.
A focus group is composed of what type of participants?
Pre-qualified individuals whose objective is to discuss and comment on a topic
Focus Groups are an elicitation technique considered to be a form of what?
Qualitative Research. Session results are analyzed and reported as themes and perspectives, rather than numerical findings
There are two basic types of focus groups. What are they?
Homogenous and Heterogeneous
When a moderator guides a focus group, what typically occurs?
The Moderator follows a preplanned script of specific issues to ensure objectives are met.
What is the purpose of the Functional Decomposition technique?
To decompose processes, functional areas, or deliverables into their component parts and allow each part to be analyzed independently.
Functional decomposition involves what?
Breaking down a large problem into smaller functions or deliverables.
The primary goal of functional decomposition is to ensure that the problem is what?
Separated into sub-problems that are as independent as possible, so that work can be assigned to different groups
What are the elements of the Functional Decomposition technique?
The breakdown of high-level components into clearly defined sub-components
Business Analysis Planning & Monitoring
How Business Analysts plan the tasks and activities for Business Analysis
2.1.5 Plan Business Analysis Approach
describes how to select an approach to performing business analysis, which stakeholders need to be involved in the decision, who will be consulted regarding and informed of the approach, and the rationale for using it
2.2.5 Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
This task covers the identification of stakeholders who may be affected by a proposed initiative or who share a common business need, identifying appropriate stakeholders for the project or project phase, and determining stakeholder influence and/or authority regarding the approval of project deliverables
2.3.5 Plan Business Analysis Activities
Determine the activities that must be performed and the deliverables that must be produced, estimate the effort required to perform that work, and identify the management tools required to measure the progress of those activities and deliverables.
2.4.5 Plan Business Analysis Communication
describes the proposed structure and schedule for communications regarding business analysis activities
2.5.5 Plan Requirements Management Process
Define the process that will be used to approve requirements for implementation and manage changes to the solution or requirements scope
2.6.5 Manage Business Analysis Performance
To manage the performance of business analysis activities to ensure that they are executed as effectively as possible
Elicitation
How Business Analysts work with stakeholders to help them understand their requirements within the scope of a project
3.1.5 Prepare for Elicitation
Ensure all needed resources are organized and scheduled for conducting the elicitation activities.
3.2.5 Conduct Elicitation Activity
Meet with stakeholder(s) to elicit information regarding their needs
3.3.5 Document Elicitation Results
Record the information provided by stakeholders for use in analysis
3.4.5 Confirm Elicitation Results
Validate that the stated requirements expressed by the stakeholder match the stakeholder’s understanding of the problem and the stakeholder’s needs
Requirements Management & Communication
How Business Analysts ensure that the project team and stakeholders stay in agreement on project scope.
Requirements Management & Communication
It covers communicating requirements; resolving conflicts; gaining formal approval; baselining and tracking requirements through to implementation.
4.1.5 Manage Solution Scope & Requirements
Obtain and maintain consensus among key stakeholders regarding the overall solution scope and the requirements that will be implemented
4.2.5 Manage Requirements Traceability
Create and maintain relationships between business objectives, requirements, other team deliverables, and solution components to support business analysis or other activities
4.3.5 Maintain Requirements for Re-use
To manage knowledge of requirements following their implementation
4.4.5 Prepare Requirements Package
To select and structure a set of requirements in an appropriate fashion to ensure that the requirements are effectively communicated to, understood by, and usable by a stakeholder group or groups
4.5.5 Communicate Requirements
____ is essential for bringing stakeholders to a common understanding of requirements.
Enterprise Analysis
How Business Analysts take a business need: define that need; identify gaps in current capabilities that stop that need being met; then if change is required, to propose an approach and scope for finding a solution and building the case to justify the work
5.1.5 Define Business Need
Identify and define why a change to organizational systems or capabilities is required
5.2.5 Assess Capability Gaps
To identify new capabilities required by the enterprise to meet the business need
5.3.5 Determine Solution Approach
To determine the most viable solution approach to meet the business need in enough detail to allow for definition of solution scope and prepare the business case
5.4.5 Define Solution Scope
To define which new capabilities a project or iteration will deliver
5.5.5 Define Business Case
To determine if an organization can justify the investment required to deliver a proposed solution
Requirements Analysis
How Business Analysts work with the whole project team towards defining a solution that should meet the agreed requirements.
6.1.5 Prioritize Requirements
is a decision process used to determine the relative importance of requirements. The importance of requirements may be based on their relative value, risk, difficulty of implementation, or on other criteria
6.2.5 Organize Requirements
The purpose of ______ is to create a set of views of the requirements for the new business solution that are comprehensive, complete, consistent, and understood from all stakeholder perspectives
6.3.5 Specify and Model Requirements
To analyze expressed stakeholder desires and/or the current state of the organization using a combination of textual statements, matrices, diagrams and formal models
6.4.5 Define Assumptions and Constraints
Identify factors other than requirements that may affect which solutions are viable
6.5.5 Verify Requirements
___ ensures that requirements specifications and models meet the necessary standard of quality to allow them to be used effectively to guide further work
6.6.5 Validate Requirements
The purpose of _____ is to ensure that all requirements support the delivery of value to the business, fulfill its goals and objectives, and meet a stakeholder need.
Solution Assessment and Validation
How Business Analysts assess proposed solutions to help the stakeholders select the solution which best fits their requirements, and once selected how the business should prove that the solution meets those requirements and ultimately whether the project has met its objectives.
7.1.5 Assess Proposed Solution
to determine how closely they meet stakeholder and solution requirements
7.2.5 Allocate Requirements
is the process of assigning stakeholder and solution requirements to solution components and to releases. _____ is supported by assessing the tradeoffs between alternatives in order to maximize benefits and minimize costs
7.3.5 Assess Organizational Readiness
Determine whether the organization is ready to make effective use of a new solution
7.4.5 Define Transition Requirements
To define requirements for capabilities needed to transition from an existing solution to a new solution
7.5.5 Validate Solution
____ that a solution meets the business need and determine the most appropriate response to identified defects
7.6.5 Evaluate Solution Performance
____ to understand the value they deliver and identify opportunities for improvement.
Underlying Competencies
Covers the leadership, problem solving, and communication skills; business and technical knowledge that support effective business analysis.
What is the definition of a requirement?
A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective
OR
::A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents
::OR
::A documented representation of a condition or capability
How many Knowledge Areas are identified in the BABOK 2.0 and what are they?
There are 7:
::Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
::Requirements Analysis
::Requirements Management and Communication
::Underlying Competencies
What are the characteristics of a task?
::Accomplishes a result that creates value
::Is complete
::Is a necessary part of the purpose of the knowledge area
True or False
::The BA is a stakeholder in all business analysis activities?
TRUE
How many underlying competencies are there and what are they?
There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications
What are the tasks associated with the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
There are 6
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan BA Approach
::Plan BA Activities
::Plan BA Communication
::Plan Requirements Mgmt Process
::Manage BA Performance
What are the inputs to the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area tasks?
There are 5
::Analysis performance metrics
::Business Needs
::Enterprise Architecture
::Expert Judgment
::Organizational process assets
What are the inputs to plan the Business Analysis Approach?
::Business Need
::Organizational Process Assets
::Expert Judgment
The understanding of the business need in planning the Business Analysis approach helps to determine which approach to take. What are the two types of approaches?
::Plan-driven
::Change-driven
What are the differences between plan and change-driven analysis approaches?
::Plan-driven focuses on minimizing up-front uncertainty (risk reduction), fully defined requirements, fully detailed documentation and controlled change.
::Change-driven focuses rapid delivery of functionality in iterations, higher risk, prioritized high-level requirements that reside in a backlog, detailed documentation only as necessary and later in the process usually after implementation, enhanced collaboration
What are some factors that impact project complexity?
::Number of stakeholders
::Number of business areas affected
::Amount and type of risk
::Uniqueness of requirements
::Number of tech resources required
What are the recommended techniques to assist in planning the business analysis approach?
There are 3
::Decision Analysis
::Process Modeling
::Structured Walk-thrus
What are the elements of stakeholder analysis?
There are 4
::Identification
::Complexity
::Attitude and Influence
::Authority Levels for BA Work
What are the complexity factors regarding stakeholder groups?
::Number and variety of stakeholder groups
::Number of interfacing business processes and automated systems
What are the factors of stakeholder attitude directed at?
There are 5
::Business goals approach
::Business Analysis
::Collaboration
::Sponsor
::Team members
Stakeholder authority over business analysis takes what forms?
::Approval of deliverables
::Inspection/Approval of requirements
::Approval of requirements process
::Traceability
::Veto of proposed requirements or solutions
What do the initials RACI stand for?
::Responsible
::Accountable
::Consulted
::Informed
What is the purpose of planning analysis activities?
::Determining activities to be performed
::Estimation
::Identify Management tools to measure progress
What are the inputs to planning the business analysis activities?
There are 4
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Performance Assessment
::Organizational process assets
::Stakeholder List
What are the elements of planning business analysis activities?
There are 3
::Geographic Distribution of Stakeholders
::Type of Project
::Analysis Deliverables
What are the two types of geographic distribution of stakeholders?
::Collocated
::Dispersed
Name 2 of the 7 project/initiative types
::Feasibility studies
::Process improvement
::Organizational change:
::New software dev
::Outsourced new software dev
::Software Maintenance or enhancement
::Software package selection
What are the methods for identifying analysis deliverables?
There are 3
::Interviews/facilitated session with stakeholders
::Review of project docs
::Review of organizational assets
What 3 tasks consume the Define Business Analysis Plan task?
::Planning the BA Communication
::Planning Requirement Management Process
::Manage BA Performance
What 5 knowledge areas consume the Business Analysis Plan?
::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Requirement Management and Communication
::Requirement Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
The BA Communication Plan is consumed by what 2 tasks?
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communicate Requirements
What are the elements of planning the Business Analysis Communication Plan?
::Time
::Task Completion
::Contracts
::Formal/Informal Authority
What are the factors that can increase or decrease the need for formal Communications on a project?
::Project Size
::Domain Complexity
::Inclusion of new technologies
::Delivery to external vendors/suppliers
::Regulatory Concerns
::Stakeholder Request
The Requirements Management Process includes what factors?
::Approving stakeholders
::Requirements traceability
::Change process
::Requirement Attributes
What are the inputs to planning the Requirements Management Process?
There are 3
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Process Assets
What tasks consume the Requirements Management Plan?
There are 5:
::Manage BA Performance
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Conduct Elicitation
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Prioritize Requirements
Is a component Communication on, cardinal, optional or an attribute?
An Entity Relationship Diagram has four main components:
::Entities: an entity represents a group of uniquely identifiable people, places, things or concepts about which a business area needs information. (e.g., Customers, Products, Employees, Invoices, etc.).
::Attributes: an attribute is one of the individual pieces of information that describes an entity (e.g., Customer Name, Product Price, Employee Number, and Invoice Date). Unique Identifiers: a unique identifier is an attribute, or a combination of attributes, that will uniquely identify each separate occurrence of an entity (e.g., Customer Number, Invoice Number, and Social Insurance Number).
::Relationships: a relationship is a significant business association between two entities. It reflects how data from one entity needs to be used in conjunction with data from another entity. It also reflects a business rule of the enterprise.
::At each end of a relationship line, a notation indicates the minimum and maximum number of occurrences of one entity that may be associated with the other entity. This notation is known as the cardinality of the relationship. A variety of notations are in popular use, all expressing the same general concept.
::The possible permutations of minimum and maximum cardinality are:
::Zero or one
::Zero or more
::One and only one
::One or more
What is the Final task in requirements Communication?
::A. answer questions from requirements final review,
::B. make a requirements final review
::C. present the requirements to senior management
::D. obtain requirements signoff
D. obtain requirements signoff
Who are the primary consumers of requirements?
The project team, who will use them in the design and development of the system
What are the Components of an ERD?
An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a visual representation of a data structure.
::Because they describe things that are significant to the enterprise (e.g., Customers, Products, Employees, Invoices, etc.), ERDs are useful in describing the structure of the business itself, and many of the rules by which it is governed.
What is the minimum structural set of requirements of a presentation whether it is formal or informal?
Introduction of parties attending presentation
::Statement of presentation objectives
:: Project background
::Presentation/review of deliverable
::Agreement of actions/changes required
::Review of deliverable status (e.g., signed off, not signed off, etc.)
Modeling benefits are?
::Simplification of reality to allow focus
::Comprehension of complexity
::Explanation from varying perspectives
::Ensures all aspects are considered
::Translate easily into solution design
Modeling is often used when?
::When the problem domain is well known
::When the solution is easy to construct
::When there is little collaboration needed
::When there is little need for ongoing maintenance
::When the scope is unlikely to grow
What are the aspects to a change request that are important?
::Cost and time to implement
::Benefits and Risk
::Course of action and alternate solutions
::Coordinated prioritization
What are the techniques used in planning requirements management?
There are 3
::Decision analysis
::Problem tracking
::Risk analysis
What does the Requirements Management Plan describe?
::Traceability approach
::Definition of requirement attributes
::Requirement prioritization process
::Requirement change process
There are 4 inputs to the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
::Business Analysis Performance Metrics
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Performance Standards
::Requirements Management Plan
What are the 6 activities that occur within the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan Business Analysis Communication
::Plan Requirements Management Process
::Manage Business Analysis Performance
What are the 4 activities that occur within the Elicitation knowledge area?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results
What are the activities that occur within the Requirements Management & Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Maintain Requirements for Re-use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication of Requirements
What are the activities that are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5
::Define the Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
What are the activities contained within the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
What are the activities that are part of the Solutions Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance
What are the Underlying Competencies described in the BABOK?
There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications
How many different techniques does the BABOK 2.0 describe?
34
There are several elements of the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
::Performance Measures
::Performance Reporting
::Preventive and Correction Action
What are some performance measures?
::Deliverable due date deliverables
::Frequency of change
::Number of review cycles
There are several techniques defined for use in the Manage Business Analysis Performance activity. What are they?
There are 7
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned
::Metrics and KPIs
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Root Cause Analysis
::Survey/Questionnaire
What is a KPI?
Key Performance Indicator
::These are metrics used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term organizational goals
What are the tasks described in the Elicitation knowledge area?
There are 4
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation Activity
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results
What are the inputs to Elicitation?
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List
What are the outputs of Elicitation?
There are 4
::Elicitation Results
::Scheduled Resources
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Supporting Materials
What are the three elements of elicitation discussed in the BABOK?
::Tracing requirements
::Capturing Requirements Attributes
::Metrics
What tasks consume the documented elicited requirements?
There are 5
::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Prioritize Requirements
::Define the Business Need
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements
What tasks consume stakeholder concerns?
::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Org Readiness
What tasks consume CONFIRMED requirements?
There are 4
::Define Business Need
::Prioritize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements
What tasks consume CONFIRMED stakeholder concerns?
There are 3
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Organizational Readiness
What are the tasks/activities of the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope
::Manage Requirements traceability
::Manage Requirements for Re-Use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication Requirements
What are the inputs into the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area tasks/activities?
There are 6
::BA Communication Plan
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List/Responsibilities
What are the outputs from the tasks/activities in the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Approved Requirements
::Traced Requirements
::Communicated Requirements
::Maintained and Reusable Requirements
::Requirements Package
What occurs during the Manage Solution Scope and Requirements task/activity?
::Securing approval of requirements
::Management of issues from elicitation
What are the elements of the Manage Solution Scope & Requirements task/activity?
::Solution Scope Management
::Conflict and Issue Management
::Presenting Requirements for Review
::Approval
What are the 5 type of relationships between requirements?
::Necessity
::Effort
::Subset
::Cover
::Value
What is an example of an ongoing requirement?
::Contractual obligations (SLAs)
::Quality standards
::Business rules/standards
What are some reasons for creating a requirements package?
::early assessment of quality and planning
::evaluation of possible alternatives
::formal reviews and approvals
::inputs to solution design
::conformance to contractual and regulatory obligations
::maintenance for re-use
What are the forms of requirements packages?
There are 3:
::Formal Documentation
::Presentation
::Models
What are the inputs to the Prepare Requirements Package task?
There are 4:
::Business Analysis Communication Plan
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Structure
What are the elements of Prepare Requirements Package?
There are 2:
::Work Products and Deliverables
::Format
What are examples of work products?
::Meeting agendas and minutes
::Interview questions and notes
::Facilitation session agendas and notes
::Issues log
::Work plan, status reports
::Presentation slides used during the project
::Traceability matrices
What must the analyst understand when deciding whether to use a deliverable or requirements deliverable?
::Needs of the audience
::Level of detail that needs to be communicated
::Which deliverables to include in each presentation package
What are the techniques of the Prepare Requirements Package task?
There are 2:
::Requirements Documentation
::Requirements for Vendor Selection
What are some common forms of requirements documentation?
::BRD
::Product Roadmap
::SRS
::Supplementary Requirements Spec
::Vision Document
What are the typical forms of documentation when presenting requirements to vendors?
There are 2:
::Request for Information (RFI)
::Request for Quote (RFQ) / Request for Proposal (RFP).
What are the inputs to the Communicate Requirements task?
There are 3:
::BA Communication Plan
::Requirements
::Requirements Package
With regards to communicating the requirements, what does the BA Communication Plan provide?
::What requirements should be communicated
::Which stakeholders should receive the communication
::When communication should occur
::What the form of the communication should be
What are the elements of the Communicate Requirements task?
There are 2:
::General Communication
::Presentations
What are so common areas that lead to the creation of additional requirements as a result of communication?
::Enterprise analysis
::Elicitation
::Requirements Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
What are the techniques of the Communicate Requirements?
There are 2:
::Requirements Workshops
:: Structured Walkthrough
What is the difference between a structured walk through and a requirements workshop?
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator

A structured walkthrough is an organized peer review of a deliverable with the objective of finding errors and omissions. It is considered a form of quality assurance
The Enterprise Analysis knowledge area describes what types of activities for organizations?
::To analyze the business situation in order to fully understand business problems and opportunities.
::To assess the capabilities of the enterprise in order to understand the change needed to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals.
::To determine the most feasible business solution approach.
::To define the solution scope and develop the business case for a proposed solution.
::To define and document business requirements (including the business need, required capabilities, solution scope, and business case).
There are 7 inputs to the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area. What are they?
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Goals and Objectives
::Enterprise Architecture
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Performance Assessment
::Stakeholder Concerns
How many tasks are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5. They are:
::Define Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
What are the outputs of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5:
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach
::Solution Scope
Why is the definition of the business need so critical?
It defines the problem that the business analyst is trying to find a solution for.

The way the business need is defined determines which alternative solutions will be considered, which stakeholders will be consulted, and which solution approaches will be evaluated
What are the inputs needed to define the business need?
::Business Goals and Objectives
::Requirements [Stated]
The business need is consumed by what task or tasks?
::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication Knowledge Area
What are the four ways to generate a business need during Enterprise Analysis?
::From Top Down
::From Bottom Up
::From Middle Mgmt
::From External Drivers
A common test for assessing objectives is to ensure that they are SMART. What do the letters in this acronym stand for?
::Specific – describing something that has an observable outcome
::Measurable – tracking and measuring the outcome
::Achievable – testing the feasibility of the effort
::Relevant – in alignment with the organization’s key vision, mission, goals
::Time-bounded –the objective has a defined timeframe that is consistent with the business need
When investigating the business, the analyst should consider what?
:: Adverse impacts the problem is causing
:: Expected benefits from any potential solution
:: How quickly the problem could potentially be resolved
::The underlying source of the problem
What are the techniques of the Define Business Need task?
::Benchmarking
:: Brainstorming
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Focus Groups
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Root Cause Analysis
What are the inputs of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
::Business Needs
::Enterprise Assessment
::Solution Performance Assessment
What are the tasks that consume Required Capabilities?
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
There are 3:
::Current Capability Analysis
::Assessment of New Capability Requirements
::Assumptions
What are the techniques used in the Assess Capability Gaps task?
::Document Analysis
::SWOT Analysis
What must occur for the solution approach to be defined?
::identify possible approaches
::determine the means by which the solution may be delivered (including the methodology and lifecycle to be used)
::assess whether the organization is capable of implementing and effectively using a solution of that nature
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 3
::Business
::Organization Process Assets
::Required Capabilities
What are the elements of the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 3
::Alternative Generation
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Ranking Selection of Approaches
What are the techniques of the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 2
::General Techniques (includes benchmarking, brainstorming, decision analysis, estimation, SWOT analysis)
::Feasibility Analysis
What does the solution scope include?
::The scope of analysis (the organizational unit or process for which requirements are being developed) which provides the context in which the solution is implemented
:: capabilities supported by solution components
:: capabilities to be supported by individual releases or iterations
:: enabling capabilities that are required in order for the organization to develop the capabilities required to meet the business need
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach
The Solution Scope is consumed by what task or tasks?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Org Readiness
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 3
::Solution Scope Definition
::Implementation Approach
::Dependencies
What is included in the Solution Scope Definition?
::Major features and functions that are to be included, and the interactions that the solution will have with people and systems outside of its scope
::. Differentiation of the in-scope and out-of-scope components of the solution
What are the techniques for the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 2
::General Techniques (includes Functional Decomposition, Interface Analysis, Scope Modeling, User Stories)
::Problem or Vision Statement
What are the inputs to the Define Business Case task?
There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns
The business case is consumed by what tasks?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Define Business Case task?
There are 4
::Benefits
::Costs
In estimating the total net cost of a proposed solution, what is included in the calculation?
::capital expenditures for the new investment
::costs of developing and implementing the change
::opportunity costs of not investing in other options, costs related to changing the work and practices of the organization
::total cost of ownership to support the new solution and consequential costs borne by others
Initial risk assessment includes what factors?
::technical risks (whether the chosen technology and suppliers can deliver the required functionality)
::financial risks (whether costs may exceed levels that make the solution viable or potential benefits may disappear)
::business change and organizational risks (whether the organization will make the changes necessary to benefit from the new solution).
What are the techniques used in the Define Business Case task?
There are 6
::Decision Analysis
::Estimation
::Metrics and KPIs
::Risk Analysis
::SWOT Analysis
::Vendor Assessment
What are the inputs to the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 8
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Stakeholder List
::Solution Scope
What are the tasks of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
What are the outputs of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements Structure
::Requirements [prioritized]
::Requirements [validated]
:: Requirements [verified]
::Stakeholder Concerns
What are the inputs to the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 5
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder List
What are the elements for the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 2
::Basis of Prioritization
::Challenges
What are the factors considered as part as the basis for prioritization?
::Business Value
::Business or Technical Risk
::Implementation Difficulty
::Likelihood of Success
::Regulatory or Policy Compliance
::Relationship to Other Requirements
::Stakeholder Agreements
What are the techniques used in the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 4
::General techniques (Risk and Decision analysis)
::Moscow Analysis (Must, Should, Could, and Won’t)
::Timeboxing/Budgeting
::Voting
What are the three approaches to Timeboxing/budgeting?
::All In - Begin with all the eligible requirements with assigned Duration or Cost. Remove the requirements in order to meet the calendar dates or budget limit.
::All Out - Begin with adding the requirement(s) with assigned duration or cost to the calendar or budget. Stop when the calendar dates are met or budget limit is reached.
::Selective - Begin by identifying high priority requirements added to the calendar or budget. Add or remove requirements in order to meet the calendar date or budget limit.
What are the two key objectives when organizing requirements?
::Understand which models are appropriate for the business domain and solution scope
:: Identify model interrelationships and dependencies
What are the inputs to the Organize Requirements task?
There are 3:
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Scope
What are the elements of the Organize Requirements task?
There are two
::Levels of Abstraction
What are the common concepts when using models?
::User Classes, profiles, Roles
::Concepts and Relationships
::Events
::Processes
::Rules
User Classes, Profiles, or Roles are categorizations that are often found in what models?
::organization models
::process models
::use cases
Events serve as the basis for scope models but can be described in what other types of models?
::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
Process information can be found in what types of models?
::Process Models
::Org Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
What types of models might contain rule information?
::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
What are the techniques used in the Organize Requirements task?
There are 9
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Functional Decomposition
::Organizational Modeling
::Process Modeling
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::User Stories
What are the inputs to the Specify and Model Requirements task?
There are 2
::Requirements [stated]
::Requirements Structure
What tasks consume the Stakeholder or Solution Requirements?
There are 3
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Specify and Model Requirements task?
::Text
::Matrix Documentation
::Models
::Capture Requirements Attributes
::Improvement Opportunities
What aspects of requirements are often expressed in tabular form?
::Attributes
::Data Dictionaries
::Traceability
::Prioritization data
What are some potential improvement opportunities that might be identified and captured during the Specify and Model Requirements task?
:: Automate Or Simplify The Work People Perform
:: Improve Access To Information
:: Reduce Complexity Of Interfaces
:: Increase Consistency Of Behavior
:: Eliminate Redundancy
What are the techniques used in the Specify and Model Requirements task?
There are several techniques that are part of the general techniques category:
Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
Business Rules Analysis
Data Dictionary and Glossary
Data Flow Diagrams
Data Modeling
Functional Decomposition
Interface Analysis
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
Non-functional Requirements Analysis
Organization Modeling
Process Modeling
Prototyping
Scenarios and Use Cases
Sequence Diagrams
State Diagrams
User Stories
What are the elements used in the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
There are 3
::Assumptions
::Business Constraints
::Technical Constraints
Business Constraints can reflect what type of information?
::budgetary restrictions
::time restrictions
::limits on the number of resources available
::restrictions based on the skills of the project team and the stakeholders
::a requirement that certain stakeholders not be affected by the implementation of the solution
::or any other organizational restriction
Technical constraints may also describe restrictions such as what?
:: resource utilization
::message size
::timing
::software size
::maximum number of and size of files
::records and data elements
What is the output of the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
Assumptions and Constraints
What tasks consume Assumptions and Constraints?
There are 4
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What tasks consume verified requirements?
::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements used in the Verify Requirements task?
There are 2:
::Characteristics of Requirements Quality
::Verification Activities
A high quality requirement exhibits what characteristics?
::Cohesive
::Complete
::Consistent
::Correct
::Feasible
::Modifiable
::Unambiguous
::Testable
Verification activities include what?
::Check for completeness within each requirements model
::Compare each prepared requirements model (textual or graphical) against all other prepared requirements models
:: Variations to the documented processes have been identified and documented
:: All triggers and outcomes have been accounted for in all variations
:: Terminology used in expressing the requirement is understandable to stakeholders and consistent
:: Examples are added where appropriate for clarification
What are the techniques used in the Verify Requirements task?
There are 2:
::General techniques (includes Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Problem Tracking, Structured Walkthrough)
:: Checklists
What are the inputs to the Validate Requirements task?
There are 2
::Business Case
::Stakeholder Solution or Transition Requirements [verified]
Validated requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Validate Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Validate Requirements task?
There are 5
::identify Assumptions
::Define Measurable Criteria
::Determine Business Value
::Determine Dependencies for Benefit Realization
::Evaluate Alignment with Business Case and Opportunity Cost
True or False: Besides the Business Case, it is possible to assess individual requirements or features to determine business value
TRUE
True or False: Business value can be delivered through requirements that support compliance with regulatory or other standards, alignment with internal standards or policies of the organization, or increased satisfaction for stakeholders, even if those things do not have a direct measurable financial benefit.
TRUE
True or False: All requirements contribute directly to the end result desired by the organization and described in the business case
FALSE
What are the techniques in the Validate Requirements task?
There are 5:
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
:: Prototyping
:: Risk Analysis
:: Structured Walkthrough
What are the tasks in the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance
What are the inputs to the Assess Proposed Solution task?
There are 3
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution Option(s)
What are the elements of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
::Ranking of Solution Options
::Identification of Additional Potential Capabilities
What are the techniques of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Decision Analysis
:: Vendor Assessment
What are the inputs of the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 3:
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope
Allocated Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Requirements Mgt. and Communication
::Solution Selection or Design
Requirements may be allocated between or over what?
::Organizational units
::between job functions
::between people and software
::software application components
::releases of a solution.
What are the elements of the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 2
::Solution Components
::Release Planning
What are some examples of solution components?
::Business policies and business rules
::Business processes to be performed and managed
::People who operate and maintain the solution, including their job functions and responsibilities
::Software applications and application components used in the solution.
::Structure of the organization, including interactions between the organization, its customers, and its suppliers
Analyst assessment of whether the allocation represents the most effective tradeoffs between delivery options involves what considerations?
::Available resources
::Constraints on the Solution
::Dependencies Between Requirements
What types of factors are considerations of release planning?
::overall project budget
::the need to implement a solution or parts of the solution by a certain date
::resource constraints
::training schedule
::ability for the business to absorb changes within a defined timeframe.
What are the techniques used in the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 6
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Decision Analysis
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Process Modeling
:: Scenarios and Use Cases
What should the business analyst understand to assess organizational readiness?
::what changes will occur in the business area
::technical infrastructure or processes
::how these affect other business units or operations
What are the inputs to the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
There are 4
::Enterprise Architecture
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns
What are the elements used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
There are 3
::Cultural Assessment
::Operational or Technical Assessment
::Stakeholder Impact Analysis
What are some of the considerations of stakeholder impact analysis?
:Stakeholder Group functions
::Geographic Location of Stakeholder Groups
::Tasks performed by specific stakeholders
::Concerns about the stakeholder group’s usability requirements, preferences, and their proficiency level regarding interaction with computer systems
What are the techniques used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
::General Techniques (including Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Data Flow Diagrams, Process Models, Focus Groups, Interviews, Survey/Questionnaire, Organization Modeling, Problem Tracking, Risk Analysis, SWOT Analysis)
:: Force Field Analysis
What are the inputs to the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 4:
::Organizational Readiness Assessment
::Requirements [stated]
::Solution [deployed]
::Solution [designed]
Transition Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 3
::Data
::Ongoing Work
::Organizational Change
What are the techniques used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 3
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams, Process Modeling, Organizational Modeling
::Data Modeling
What are the outputs of the Validate Solution task?
There are 3
::Identified Defects
::Mitigating Actions
::Solution Validation Assessment
What are the elements of the Validate Solution task?
There are 2
::Investigate Defective Solution Outputs
::Assess Defects and Issues
Defects are reviewed with what considerations in mind?
::determining the severity of the defect, the probability of the occurrence of the defect
::the severity of the business impact
::the capacity of the business to absorb the impact of the defects
What are the techniques used in the Validate Solution task?
There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Root Cause Analysis
:: Problem Tracking
What are the inputs to the Evaluate Solution performance task?
There are 4+B20Business Requirements
::Identified Defects
::Solution Performance Metrics
::Solution [deployed]
What are the elements of the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
There are 3:
::Understand Value Delivered by Solution
::Validate Solution Metrics
::Solution Replacement or Elimination
What are issues that impact the decision about replacing a solution?
:: Ongoing Cost versus Initial Investment
:: Opportunity Cost
:: Necessity
:: Sunk Cost
What are the techniques used in the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
There are 4:
::Decision Analysis
::Focus Groups
::Observation
::Survey/Questionnaire
What are the types of Underlying Competencies?
There are 6:
:: Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
:: Behavioral Characteristics
:: Business Knowledge
:: Communication Skills
:: Interaction Skills
:: Software Applications
What are the various forms of the Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving underlying competency?
There are 5:
::Creative Thinking
::Decision Making
::Learning
::Problem Solving
::Systems Thinking
What are the measures of effectiveness of creative thinking?
::Successful generation and productive consideration of new ideas.
::Application of new ideas to resolve existing problems.
::Willingness of stakeholders to accept new approaches.
Decision Analysis includes what?
::gathering information relevant to a decision
::breaking down the information relevant to a decision
::making comparisons and tradeoffs between similar and dissimilar options
::identifying the option that is most desirable.
When making decisions or analyzing options for a decision, business analysts must be aware of what kind of traps?
::those that can impede successful decision-making, including the tendency to accept the initial framing of a problem
::the sunk cost fallacy
::the tendency to place greater weight on evidence that confirms existing impressions.
What are the effectiveness measures of learning?
::Agreement by stakeholders that analysis models effectively and completely describe the domain
::Identification of related problems or issues from multiple areas in the domain
::Rapid absorption of new information or new domains.
How does an analyst ensure all parties understand the nature of a problem that is to be solved?
::Articulate and address conflicts between goals and objectives
::Identify and test underlying assumptions
What are the measures of effectiveness of problem solving?
::Confidence of the participants in the problem-solving process that a selected solution is correct
::New solution options can be evaluated effectively using the problem solving framework
::Selected solutions meet the defined objectives and solve the underlying problem.
::The problem-solving process avoids making decisions based on preconceived notions, organizational politics, or other traps that may cause a sub-optimal solution to be selected.
The term system includes what factors?
:: the people involved
::the interactions between them
::the external forces affecting their behavior
::all other relevant elements and factors
What are the measures of effectiveness of system thinking?
::Understanding of how a change to a component affects the system as a whole
::Identification of reinforcing and compensating feedback loops
::Understanding of how systems adapt to external pressures and changes
What are the types of the underlying competency behavioral characteristics?
There are 3:
::Ethics
::Personal organization
::Trustworthiness
Ethics requires an understanding of what?
::moral and immoral behavior
::the standards that should govern one’s behavior
::the willingness to act to ensure that one’s behavior is moral or meets those standards
Fair treatment requires what?
::that the affected stakeholders understand the reasons for the decision
::that they are not deceived about the outcome
::that decisions which are made are made in the best interest of the organization
What are the measures of effectiveness of ethics?
::Decisions are made with due consideration to the interests of all stakeholders
::Reasons for a decision are clearly articulated and understood
::Prompt and full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
::Honesty regarding one’s abilities, the performance of one’s work, and accepting responsibility for failures or errors.
Personal organization involves what?
::the ability to readily find files or information
::timeliness
::management of outstanding tasks
::appropriate handling of priorities
Effective time management requires what characteristics?
::effective time management requires effective prioritization
::elimination of procrastination
::clarity of goals and expectations
What are some common approaches toward good time management?
::action plans
::to-do lists
::setting priorities
What are the effectiveness measures of personal organization?
::Ability of the business analyst to find information
::Regular on-time completion of tasks
::Efficiency in the completion of work
::The ability to easily identify all outstanding work and the status of each work item.
What are the measures of effectiveness of trustworthiness?
::Stakeholders involving the business analyst in decision-making
::Stakeholder acceptance of the business analyst’s recommendations
::Willingness of stakeholders to discuss difficult or controversial topics with the business analyst
::Willingness of stakeholders to support or defend the business analyst when problems occur.
What are the forms of the Business Knowledge underlying competency?
There are 3:
::Business Principles and Practices
::Industry Knowledge
::Organization Knowledge
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
::Human Resources
::Finance
:Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt
What must a business analyst understand to have an effective industry knowledge base?
::various customer segments that the industry services
::demographic or other characteristics common to that segment
::common industry trends
Organization Knowledge includes what factors?
::understanding of the business models that the organization (that is, how the organization generates profits or otherwise accomplishes its goals)
::the organizational structure that is in place,
::the relationships that exist between business units
::and the persons who occupy key stakeholder positions
::informal lines of communication and authority
What are the effectiveness measures of solution knowledge?
::Reduced time or cost to implement a required change
::Shortened time on requirements analysis and/or solution design
::Understanding when a larger change is justified based on business benefit
::Understanding how additional capabilities present, but not currently used, in a solution can be deployed to provide business value.
What are the various types of Communication Skills?
There are 3:
::Oral Communication
::Teaching
::Written Communication
What are the effectiveness measures of oral communication?
::Effectively paraphrasing statements to ensure understanding
::Effectively facilitating sessions, ensuring success through preparedness and coordination
::Developing and delivering powerful presentations by positioning content and objectives appropriately (i.e. positive verses negative tone)
::Can communicate the criticality or urgency of a situation in a calm, rational manner with proposed solutions.
What are the three types of learning?
::auditory
::visual
::kinesthetic
What are the effectiveness measures of teaching?
::Verifying that learners have acquired information that has been imparted to them
::Ability of learners to use new skills or demonstrate new knowledge.
What are the effectiveness measures of written communication?
::Ability to adjust the style of writing for the needs of the audience
::Proper use of grammar and style
::Appropriate choice of words
::Ability of the reader to paraphrase and describe the content of the written communication.
What are the various types of Interaction Skills?
There are 3:
::Facilitation and Negotiation
::Leadership and Influencing
::Teamwork
What are the effectiveness measures of Leadership and Influencing?
::Reduced resistance to necessary changes
::Team members and stakeholders demonstrating a willingness to set aside personal objectives when necessary
::Articulation of a clear and inspiring vision of a desired future state.
What are the effectiveness measures of teamwork?
::Fostering a collaborative working environment
::Effective resolution of conflict
::Developing trust among team members
::Support among the team for shared high standards of achievement
::Team members have a shared sense of ownership of the team goals.
What are the types of Software Applications?
There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized
What are some examples of collaboration tools?
::document repositories (which integrate with office productivity software)
::wikis (which allow easy creation and link­ing of web pages)
::discussion forums.
What are the effectiveness measures of general purpose applications?
::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them.
What are the effectiveness measures of specialized software?
::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them.
::Able to track changes to the requirements made through the tools.
What are the elements of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
There are 2:
::Testability
::Determine Rank and Scoring
What are the advantages of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
::Agile methodologies may require that all requirements be expressed in the form of testable acceptance criteria.
::Acceptance criteria are also necessary when the requirements express contractual obligations.
What are the disadvantages of benchmarking?
:: time consuming
::must have experience performing
::cannot produce innovative ideas
What are the elements of brainstorming?
There are 3:
::Preparation
::Session
::Wrap-up
What kind of preparation is needed for a brainstorming session?
::Develop a clear and concise definition of the area of interest
::Determine a time limit for the group to generate ideas; the larger the group, the more time required. Identify facilitator and participants in session
::Aim for participants (ideally 6 to 8) who represent a range of background and experience with the topic.
::Set expectations with participants and get their buy in to the process
::Establish criteria for evaluating and rating the ideas
What are the things that are important to the session element for brainstorming?
::Share new ideas without any discussion, criticism or evaluation
::Visibly record all ideas
::Encourage participants to be creative, share exaggerated ideas, and build on the ideas of others.
::Don’t limit the number of ideas as the goal is to elicit as many as possible within the time period.
What occurs in a brainstorming session wrap-up?
::Once the time limit is reached, using the pre-determined evaluation criteria, discuss and evaluate the ideas
::Create a condensed list of ideas, combine ideas where appropriate, and eliminate duplicates
::Rate the ideas. Distribute the final list of ideas to appropriate parties.
What are the disadvantages of a brainstorming session?
::Dependent on participants’ creativity and willingness to participate. Organizational and interpersonal politics may also limit participation
::Group participants must agree to avoid debating the ideas raised during brainstorming.
What are the measures of effectiveness for Business Principles and Practices?
::Understanding of business environments, operations, process and practices relating to Common business management and decision making concepts, principles activities and practices; typical organization structures, job functions and work activities; complex business functions and operations
::Understanding of relevant regulatory, compliance, and governance frameworks
::Understanding of auditing and security issues
What are the effectiveness measures of industry knowledge?
::Understanding of industry related material and keeps abreast of what is taking place in the industry
::The ability to identify key trends shaping the industry
::Knowledge of major competitors and partners for the organization
::Knowledge of major customer segments
::Knowledge of common products and product types
::Knowledge of sources of information about the industry, including relevant trade organizations or journals
::Understanding of industry-specific resource and process documents
::Understanding of industry standard processes and methodologies
::Understanding of the industry regulatory environment.
What are the three types of specialized tools mentioned in the BABOK 2.0?
::Diagramming
::Modeling
::Requirements Management
Name all 34 techniques in the BABOK 2.0
::Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
::Benchmarking
::Brainstorming
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Dictionary and Glossary

::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Decision Analysis
::Document Analysis
::Estimation
::Focus Groups
::Functional Decomposition
::Interface Analysis
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned Process
::Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
::Non-functional Requirements Analysis
::Observation
::Organization Modeling
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Prototyping
::Requirements Workshops
::Risk Analysis
::Root Cause Analysis
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::Sequence Diagrams
::State Diagrams
::Structured Walkthrough
::Survey/Questionnaire
::SWOT Analysis
::User Stories
::Vendor Assessment
What are the advantages of a brainstorming session?
::Ability to elicit many ideas in a short time period
::Non-judgmental environment enables creative thinking
::Can be useful during a workshop to reduce tension between participants
What are characteristics of good business rules?
::Stated in appropriate terminology to enable domain SMEs to validate the rules.
::Documented independently of how they will be enforced
::Stated at the atomic level and in declarative format
::Separated from processes that the rule supports or constrains.
::Maintained in a manner that enables the organization to monitor and adapt the rules as the business policies change.
What are the elements of Business Rules Analysis?
There are 2:
::Operative Rules
::Structural Rules
True or False: it must be possible for people to violate an operative rule, even if there are no circumstances under which the organization would approve of them doing so?
TRUE
True or False: The impact of changes to business rules can be assessed more easily when they are documented as part of the processes they detail or the means used to enforce the rules.
FALSE
The following is an example of an Operational or Structural rule?
“An order must have one and only one associated payment method”
Structural
The following is an example of an operative or structural rule?
“An order must not be placed when the billing address provided by the customer does not match the address on file with the credit card provider”
Operative
Data dictionaries include what?
::standard definitions of data elements and their meanings
::allowable values.
::definitions of each primitive data element and indications of how those elements combine into composite data elements
What is a primitive data element?
The basic unit of data that includes information about an element:
::Name
::Alias
::Values/Meanings
::Description
What are some examples of composite structures?
::Sequences
::Repetitions
::Optional Elements
What do data flow diagrams show?
::External Entities that provide data to, or receive data from, a system
::The Processes of the system that transform data
::The Data Stores in which data is collected for some period of time
::The Data Flows by which data moves between External Entities, Processes and Data Stores
What are the elements of data flow diagrams?
There are 4:
::External Entities
::Data Store
::Data Process
::Data Flow
What are the strengths of data flow diagrams?
::May be used as a discovery technique for processes and data, or as a technique for verification of a Functional Decomposition or Data Model that have already been completed.
::Most users find these diagrams quite easy to understand
::Generally considered a useful analysis deliverable to developers in a structured programming environment.
Data models visually present what information?
::types of people
::places
::things
::concepts that are important to the business, attributes associated with them
::significant business relationships among all of the above
What two techniques often support the Data Model technique?
::Data Dictionaries and Glossaries
::Business Rules Analysis
What are the elements of the Data Model technique?
There are 4:
::Concept
::Attributes
::Relationship
::Metadata
What are the advantages of data modeling?
::flexibility of different levels of description
:: consistent modeling approach that supports the transition through planning, analysis, design and implementation
::supported by rigorous rules for correctness and completeness which encourages accuracy
What are the disadvantages of data modeling?
::can be complex
::deal with concepts that may be unfamiliar to people without a background in data modeling
For effective decision analysis, the business analyst must understand what?
::The values, goals and objectives that are relevant to the decision problem
::The nature of the decision that must be made
::The areas of uncertainty that affect the decision and the consequences of each possible decision
What are the elements of the Decision Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Outcomes
::Uncertainty
::Trade-offs
What are the two types of outcomes?
::Financial
::Non-Financial
What are the examples of financial outcomes of Decision Analysis?
::Discounted Cash Flow: future value on a specific data
::Net Present Value: future view of costs and benefits converted to today’s value
::Internal Rate of Return: the interest rate (or discount) when the net present value is equal to zero
::Average Rate of Return: estimate of rate of return on an investment
::Pay Back Period: the amount of time it takes for an investment to pay for itself
::Cost-Benefit Analysis: quantification of costs and benefits for a proposed new solution::
What are two common methods of making tradeoff decisions?
::Elimination of dominated alternatives
:: Ranking objectives on a similar scale
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
::Human Resources
::Finance
::Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt
Solution Assessment activities may be performed to assess and validate what?
::business processes
::organizational structures
::outsourcing agreements
::software applications
What are the types of Software Applications?
There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized
The business analyst must do what in benchmark studies?
::Identify the area to be studied
::Identify organizations that are leaders in the sector
::Conduct a survey of selected organizations to understand their practices
::Arrange for visits to best-in-class organizations
::Develop a project proposal to implement the best practices
What are the advantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
:: provides an effective way to determine the expected value of an alternative scenario
:: uses consistent financial justification techniques with quantitative measures
:: may force stakeholders to honestly assess the importance placed on options
What are the disadvantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
::requires specialized knowledge and skills, including mathematical knowledge, an understanding of probability, and similar concepts
::results may be treated as more certain than they actually are
:: decision-makers may be reluctant to revisit decisions
Document analysis is used if the objective is to gather details of what items that need to be included in a new solution or need to be updated for the current solution
::existing solutions
::including business rules
::entities
::attributes
What are the elements of the Document Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Preparation
::Document Review
::Wrap-up
What is involved with the wrap-up of the Document Analysis technique?
::Review and confirm the selected details with subject matter experts
::Organize information into requirements format
::Obtain answers to follow-up questions.
What are the advantages of the Document Analysis technique?
::Not starting from a blank page
::Leveraging existing materials to discover and/or confirm requirements
::A means to cross-check requirements from other elicitation techniques such as interviews, job shadowing, surveys or focus groups
What are the elements of the Estimation technique?
There are 8:
::Analogous Estimation
::Parametric Estimation
::Bottom-up Estimation
::Rolling Wave Estimation
::Three-point Estimation
::Historic Analysis
::Expert Judgment
::Delphi Estimation
What are some common examples of parametric estimation?
::COCOMOII
::Function Points
::Use Case Points
::Story Points
Three-point estimation functions how?
It uses three scenarios:
::The most optimistic estimate, or best-case scenario
::The most pessimistic estimate, or worst-case scenario
::The most likely estimate.
What are the disadvantages of the estimation technique?
::Stakeholders frequently treat estimates as commitments, and expect that once an esti¬mate is given the solution team will meet the time and cost estimate
:: Estimates are often consciously or unconsciously altered to match the desires of influential stakeholders
What are the elements of the Focus Group technique?
::Preparation
::Run the Focus Group Session
::Produce Report
Preparation for focus groups involves four basic steps. What are they?
::Recruit Participants
::Assign Moderator and Recorder
::Create Discussion Guide
::Reserve Site and Services
What are the advantages of focus groups?
::Ability to elicit data from a group of people in a single session saves time and cost as compared to conducting individual interviews with the same number of people.
::Effective for learning people’s attitudes, experiences and desires
::Active discussion and the ability to ask others questions creates an environment where participants can consider their personal view in relation to other perspectives.
What are the disadvantages of focus groups?
:: participants may be concerned about issues of trust
:: unwilling to discuss sensitive or personal topics
:: Data collected (what people say) may not be consistent with how people actually behave
:: responses may not represent the complete set of requirements
:: skilled moderator is needed
:: difficult to schedule
:: not an effective way to evaluate usability.
What are the advantages of the Functional Decomposition technique?
::Creates a conceptual model of the work that needs to be completed to deliver the new business solution
::Provides all stakeholders with a consistent view of the scope of the effort
::Assists estimating in that estimates can be made for smaller, and therefore more readily understandable, subsets of the whole.
What are the disadvantages of the Functional Decomposition technique?
::There is no way to be certain that all components have been captured.
::Decomposing a problem without fully understanding the relationship between pieces of the problem may create an inappropriate structure that impedes analysis.
What are some common interface types?
::User
::Those to and from external applications
:: Those to and from external hardware devices
What are the elements used in the Interface Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Interface Identification
::Conduct Interface Identification
::Define Interfaces
What are the three things that should be identified for each stakeholder or system interaction?
:: purpose of the interface
:: type of interface
:: high-level details about the interface
Requirements for an interface are primarily focused on describing what?
::inputs and outputs from that interface
::any validation rules that govern those inputs and outputs
::events that might trigger interactions.
What are the advantages of the Interface Analysis technique?
::Positive impact on delivery date….enables more accurate project planning and potential savings in time and cost
::Clarity on collaboration with other systems or projects
:: prevention of difficulties in integrating multiple components.
What are the two types of interviews?
::Structured (pre-defined set of questions )
:: Unstructured (discuss topics of interest in an open-ended way)
What are the elements used in the Interview technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for the Interview/Design Interview
::Conduct Interview
::Post Interview Follow-up
Why types of factors are considered when preparing for an interview?
::Who holds the most authentic and the most current information on the subject of interest?
::What is their stake in the initiative
::What is the relative importance of information held by one person relative to that held by another person?
Designing an interview considers what types of factors?
Question type
::Location of Interviewee
::Question Organization
::Interview Time and Place
What are the advantages of the Interview technique?
::Encourages participation and establishes rapport
::Simple, direct technique
::Allows the interviewer and participant to have full discussions
::Enables observations of non-verbal behavior
::The interviewer can ask follow-up and probing questions
::Maintains focus through the use of clear objectives
::Allows interviewees to express opinions in private
What are the disadvantages of the Interview technique?
::Not an ideal means of reaching consensus
::Requires considerable commitment
::Training is required to conduct
::Depth of follow-on questions may be dependent on the interviewer’s knowledge of the business domain.
::Transcription / analysis is complex and expensive
::Resulting documentation may be subject to interpretation.
::Risk of unintentionally leading the interviewee.
What types of items are reviewed in a lessons learned session?
::BA analysis and deliverables
::Process
::Final Deliverable
::issues/Concerns
::Performance
::Root Cause
::Variances
What are the advantages of the Lessons Learned technique?
::Helps to build morale
::Identifies opportunities for improvement
What are the disadvantages of the Lessons Learned technique?
::Must avoid blaming
::Possible reluctance to discussion
::Lack of follow-up leads to neglect
What are the elements of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
There are 4:
::Indicators
::Metrics
::Structure
::Reporting
A good indicator has five characteristics. What are they?
::Clear: precise and unambiguous
::Relevant: appropriate to the factor
::Economical: available at reasonable cost
::Adequate: provides a sufficient basis to assess performance
::Quantifiable: can be independently validated
What are the factors to consider when creating indicators?
::source
::method of collection
::collector and cost
::frequency and difficulty of collection
When setting a metric, what are some considerations?
::baseline starting point
::resources that can be devoted to improving the factors covered by the indicator
::political concerns
Establishing a monitoring and evaluation system requires what?
::data collection procedure
::data analysis procedure
::reporting procedure
::collection of baseline data
The data collection procedure for metrics describes what factors?
::units of analysis
::sampling procedures
::data collection instruments to use
::collection frequency
::responsibility for collection.
The analysis method of metrics specifies what?
::procedures for conducting the analysis
::the data consumer
The procedures for metrics reporting describe what?
::report templates
::recipients
::frequency
::means of communication
What is baseline data?
::data provided immediately before or at the begin¬ning of a period to measure
::data that’s used to learn about recent performance and to measure progress from that point forward
::data that needs to be collected for each indicator, analyzed and reported.
What are the three key factors in assessing the quality of indicators and their metrics?
::reliability
::validity
::timeliness
What are the advantages of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
::allows stakeholders to understand the extent to which a solution meets an objective
::defines how effective the inputs and activities of developing the solution (output) were
What are the disadvantages of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
::Gathering excessive amounts of data beyond what is needed
::May fail due to collecting too much data and not generating useful reports that will allow timely responsive action
:: When metrics are used to assess performance, the individuals being measured are likely to act to increase their performance on those metrics
What is the purpose of the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
The purpose of non-functional requirements is to describe the required qualities of a system, such as its usability and performance characteristics
Non-functional requirements document the qualities of a system that are important to who?
:: the user community, such as usability, learnability, reliability
:: the development community, such as scalability, maintainability, reusability
What are the elements used in the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Category
::Measurement
::Documentation
What are the categories in the ISO 9126 schema?
::Reliability
::Performance Efficiency
::Operability
::Security
::Compatibility
::Maintainability
::Transferability
What are the disadvantages of the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
::Non-functional requirements are often more difficult to define than functional requirements.
::Overly stringent non-functional requirements may significantly impact the cost of developing a software application.
What are the elements used in the Observation technique?
::Prepare for Observation
::Observe
::Post Observation Wrap-up
During the actual observation, what does the observer do?
::Reassures the user that their work is not being questioned
:: Informs the user that the observer is present only to study their processes
:: Explains to the user that they may stop the observation process at any time if they believe that it is interfering with their work
:: Suggests to the user that they may “think aloud” while they are working as a way to share their intentions, challenges, and concerns
::takes detailed notes and asks questions
What are the advantages of the Observation technique?
::Provides realistic and practical insight into the business
::Elicits details of informal communication and ways people actually work around the system that
What are the disadvantages of the Observation technique?
::Only possible for existing processes
:: time-consuming
:: May be disruptive
:: May not well work if the current process is not easily observable.
What does the organizational model describe about organizational structure?
::the scope of the organizational unit
::the formal relationships between the people who are members of that unit
::the roles those people fill
::the interfaces between that unit and other units or stakeholders
What are the elements of the Organizational Modeling technique?
There are 4:
::Organizational Purpose and Structure
::Roles
::Interfaces
::Org Charts
What are the three facets of Organizational Purpose and Structure?
::Functions
::Market
::Matrix
A “market-oriented” organization may be organized around
::customer groups
::geographical areas
::projects
::processes
What are the three main things that org charts display?
::Org Units
::Relationships
::Roles and People
What are the disadvantages of the Organizational Modeling technique?
::Organizational redesigns are likely to be highly contentious and require significant executive support in order to be successful.
::Informal lines of authority and communication that are not reflected in the org chart are almost certain to exist within the organization.
For each problem, the tracking tool may include an identification of what attributes?
::problem
::status updates
::assigning of related actions
::tracking expected resolution dates
::resolution results
::actions
::decisions taken
::priority
::impacts
Problem tracking should lead to what?
::Resolution of problems in a timely manner that eliminate or minimize negative impacts.
::Allocation of resources to resolve problems.
::Identification of root causes of problems.
What are the elements used in the Problem Tracking technique?
There are 3:
::Problem Record
::Problem management
What types of KPIs are valuable for problem tracking?
::Number of problems by status and priority
::Cycle time for each problem (number of days it took from Date Identified to Resolution Date).
What are the advantages of the Problem Tracking technique?
::provides an organized method for tracking and resolving risks, issues and defects
::mechanism to communicate problems across the team
::helps to maintain focus on open problems until they are resolved.
What are the disadvantages of the Problem Tracking technique?
::If regular prioritization and management of problems is not done, the list becomes outdated and irrelevant.
::If key team members are not available on a regular basis to discuss the lists of problems and to determine actions to be taken, then progress to resolve them may become very slow to non-existent.
::If there is a strict deadline to deliver the solution, then problem management may become a lower priority. Often, root cause analysis of the problems can take more time and resources than are available.
What are the elements of the Process Modeling technique?
There are 2:
::Notation Elements
::Process Improvement
What are three of the common notations used in process modeling?
::Flowcharts
::UML Activity Diagrams
::BPMN
What are the key elements commonly found in process models?
::Activities
::Decisions
::Events
::Flow
::Roles
::Swimlanes and Pools
::Terminal Points
What are some common changes made to process in order to improve them?
::Analysis of a process to identify and remove activities that do not add value
:: Reduction of the time required to complete a process
:: Improving interfaces or handoffs between roles and organizational units
:: Reduction or elimination of bottlenecks and backlogs
What are the advantages of the Process Modeling technique?
:: stakeholders are comfortable with the basic elements
:: effective at showing how to handle a large number of scenarios
::models will be used by business stakeholders for training and co-ordination of activities.
What are the disadvantages of the Process Modeling technique?
::can become extremely complex and unwieldy if not structured carefully
:: problems in a process cannot always be identified by looking at the model
What are the two types of prototyping categories?
::Functional Scope
::Usage throughout SDLC
What are the elements of the prototyping technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Prototyping
::Prototyping
::Evaluation of Prototyping
What are the advantages of the Prototyping technique?
:: Supports users who are more comfortable and effective at articulating their needs by using pictures
:: allows for early user interaction and feedback.
:: can be an inexpensive means to quickly uncover and confirm a variety of requirements
:: vertical prototype can demonstrate what is feasible with existing technology, and where there may be technology gaps
:: evolutionary / functional prototype provides a vehicle for designers and developers to learn about the users’ interface needs and to evolve system requirements
What are the disadvantages of the Prototyping technique?
::can take considerable time if the process gets bogged down by the “how’s” rather than “what’s”
:: Assumptions about the underlying technology may need to be made
:: may lead users to develop unrealistic expectations regarding the delivered system’s performance, completion date, reliability and usability characteristics
:: Users may focus on the design specifications of the solution rather than the requirements
Why is the requirements workshop considered to be a very effective technique?
::promotes trust, mutual understanding, and strong communications among the project stakeholders and project team
::produces deliverables that structure and guide future analysis
What are the elements of the Requirements Workshop technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Workshop
::Conduct Workshop
::Post Workshop Wrap-up
What is the role of the facilitator in the requirements workshop?
::Establish a professional and objective tone for the meeting
::Introduce the goals and agenda for the meeting
::Enforce discipline, structure and ground rules for the meeting
::Manage the meeting and keep the team on track.
:: Facilitate a process for decision-making and build consensus, but avoid participating in the content of the discussion.
::Ensure that all stakeholders participate and have their input heard
::Ask the right questions. This includes analyzing the information being provided, and following up with probing questions, if necessary.
What are the advantages of the Requirements Workshop technique?
:: can be a means to elicit detailed requirements in a relatively short period of time
:: provides a means for stakeholders to collaborate, make decisions and gain a mutual understanding of requirements
:: costs are often lower
:: enables the participants to work together to reach consensus.
:: feedback is immediate
What are the disadvantages of the Requirements Workshop technique?
::Stakeholder availability may make it difficult to schedule
:: success of the requirements workshop is highly dependent on the expertise of the facilitator and knowledge of the participants
:: too many participants can slow down the workshop process.
What are the elements of the Risk Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Risk Tolerance
::Assessment
::Response
What are the three categories of risk tolerance?
::Risk Aversion
::Neutrality
::Risk Seeking
What are the strategies to respond to negative risk?
::Acceptance
::Transfer
::Avoidance
::Mitigation
What are the strategies to respond to positive risk?
::Acceptance
::Share
::Enhance
::Exploit
What are the elements of Root Cause Analysis?
::Fishbone Diagram
::Five Whys
What are the elements of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
There are 6:
::Name
::Actor
::Preconditions
::Flow of Events
::Post-conditions
::Relationships
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the base use case to make use of functionality present in another use case
Includes
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the insertion of additional behavior into a use case
Extends
What are the disadvantages of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
:: business analysts are frequently tempted to describe most or all system behavior using use cases
:: there is frequently a temptation to use them to capture all requirements
What are the elements of the Scope Modeling technique?
There are 5:
::Context Diagram
::Events
::Features
::Use Case Diagram
::Business Process
What is the difference between and external event and a temporal event?
::External events happen in an External Entity. They are external to the boundaries of the system being studied (a customer makes a request, a partner sends a message).
::Temporal events are driven by time (e.g. monthly or annual reports). The time is deter¬mined by time-related business rules (e.g. produce this report at the end of every day, or prepare a tax return at the end of each tax period).
A sequence diagram shows what?
::how classes and objects interact during a scenario.
::how objects used in the scenario interact but not how they are related to one another
::how user interface components or software components interact
:: the stimuli flowing between objects
What is the difference between Procedural and Asynchronous message flow?
::Procedural Flow transfers to the receiving object. The sender cannot act until a return message is received
::Asynchronous Flow (also known as a signal) allows the object to continue with its own processing after sending the signal. The object may send many signals simultaneously, but may only accept one signal at a time.
What are the disadvantages of the Sequence Diagram technique?
::must be defined for each possible scenario
:: requires a fully defined class model
Transitions are triggered by what?
::activities completed
::events
::other stimuli
What are the elements of the Structured Walkthrough technique?
There are 3:
::Prerequisites
::Process
::Rules to Followed During the Review
There are five prerequisites to the structured walkthrough. What are they?
::A complete requirements package
::A List of appropriate reviewers
::A meeting vehicle
::Compile Notes and results of Review
::Re-Review
There are three facets of the Process element of a structured walkthrough. What are they?
::Review Scope
::Organize and Schedule review
::Conduct the Review
What are the advantages of the structured walkthrough technique?
::Promotes discussion of the requirements among stakeholders
::Effective at identifying possible ambiguities and areas of misunderstanding.
What are the elements of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare
::Distribute
::Document Results
There are several components to survey preparation. What are they?
::Define the purpose and the target survey group
::Choose appropriate survey type
::Select sample group
::Select distribution and collection methods
::Project desired level of response
::Determine if survey should be supported with interviews
::Write survey questions
:: Test Survey
Individual interviews, in addition to survey results, may be helpful for what?
Pre-survey interviews with key individuals may provide ideas for survey questions.
::Post-survey interviews can target specific survey responses or themes to elicit a greater level of detail.
Distribution of a survey should take in account what?
::Organizational policies
::Urgency of obtaining the results
::Level of security required
::Geographic distribution of the respondents
What are the advantages of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
::When using closed-ended questions, surveys can be effective for obtaining quantitative data for use in statistical analysis.
::When using open-ended questions, survey results may yield insights and opinions not easily obtainable through other elicitation techniques
::Does not typically require significant time from the responders.
:: Effective and efficient when stakeholders are not located in one location
::May result in large number of responses
::Quick and relatively inexpensive to administer
What are the disadvantages of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
::Use of open-ended questions requires more analysis
::To achieve unbiased results, specialized skills in statistical sampling methods are needed when the decision has been made to survey a subset of potential respondents.
::Some questions may be left unanswered or answered incorrectly due to their ambiguous nature
::May require follow up questions or more survey iterations depending on the answers provided
::Not well suited for collecting information on actual behaviors
::The response rates for surveys are often too low for statistical significance. The use of incentives or enforcement means may be used to alleviate this.
SWOT analysis is a framework for what?
::strategic planning
::opportunity analysis
::competitive analysis
::business and product development.
User stories are typically a sentence or two that describes what?
::who uses the story
::the goal they are trying to accomplish
::any additional information that may be critical to understanding the scope of the story
A user story includes what three things?
::Actor
::Description
::Benefit
What are the advantages of the User Stories technique?
:: create an environment of customer ownership of features and prioritizations in an incremental, iterative development environment
::may eliminate the need to provide functional requirements in some environments
::require that the value delivered by the story be clearly articulated
What are the disadvantages of the User Stories technique?
::may not be the best technique for some environments with regulatory restrictions or when an organization mandates documentation
::may not be effective when participants are not co-located
::does not explicitly address how to document non-functional requirements.
What are the elements of the Vendor Assessment technique?
There are 6:
::Knowledge and Expertise
::Licensing and Pricing Models
::Product Reputation and Market Position
::Terms and Conditions
::Vendor Experience and Reputation
::Vendor Stability
What are the advantages of the Vendor Assessment technique?
::reduces the risk of the organization developing a relationship with an unsuitable vendor
::likely to improve long-term satisfaction with the decision.
What are the disadvantages of the Vendor Assessment technique?
::time-consuming
:: information may not be readily available
:: new and innovative products may score poorly because they do not have a significant history in the market
Requirement
1. A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective.
2. A condition or capability that must be met of possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents.
3. A documented representation of a condition or capability as in 1) or 2).
Requirements Quality
1. The work done to ensure that the stated requirements support and are aligned with the goals and objectives of the business. [See requirements validation]
2. The work done to evaluate requirements to ensure they are defined correctly and are at an acceptable level of quality. It ensures the requirements are sufficiently defined and structured so that the solution development team can use them in the design, development and implementation of the solution. [See requirements verification.]
What is the definition of a requirement?
A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective
OR
::A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents
::OR
::A documented representation of a condition or capability
How many Knowledge Areas are identified in the BABOK 2.0 and what are they?
There are 7:
::Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
::Requirements Analysis
::Requirements Management and Communication
::Underlying Competencies
What are the characteristics of a task?
::Accomplishes a result that creates value
::Is complete
::Is a necessary part of the purpose of the knowledge area
True or False
::The BA is a stakeholder in all business analysis activities?
TRUE
How many underlying competencies are there and what are they?
There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications
What are the tasks associated with the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
There are 6
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan BA Approach
::Plan BA Activities
::Plan BA Communication
::Plan Requirements Mgmt Process
::Manage BA Performance
What are the inputs to the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area tasks?
There are 5
::Analysis performance metrics
::Business Needs
::Enterprise Architecture
::Expert Judgment
::Organizational process assets
What are the inputs to plan the Business Analysis Approach?
::Business Need
::Organizational Process Assets
::Expert Judgment
The understanding of the business need in planning the Business Analysis approach helps to determine which approach to take. What are the two types of approaches?
::Plan-driven
::Change-driven
What are the differences between plan and change-driven analysis approaches?
::Plan-driven focuses on minimizing up-front uncertainty (risk reduction), fully defined requirements, fully detailed documentation and controlled change.
::Change-driven focuses rapid delivery of functionality in iterations, higher risk, prioritized high-level requirements that reside in a backlog, detailed documentation only as necessary and later in the process usually after implementation, enhanced collaboration
What are some factors that impact project complexity?
::Number of stakeholders
::Number of business areas affected
::Amount and type of risk
::Uniqueness of requirements
::Number of tech resources required
What are the recommended techniques to assist in planning the business analysis approach?
There are 3
::Decision Analysis
::Process Modeling
::Structured Walk-thrus
What are the elements of stakeholder analysis?
There are 4
::Identification
::Complexity
::Attitude and Influence
::Authority Levels for BA Work
What are the complexity factors regarding stakeholder groups?
::Number and variety of stakeholder groups
::Number of interfacing business processes and automated systems
What are the factors of stakeholder attitude directed at?
There are 5
::Business goals approach
::Business Analysis
::Collaboration
::Sponsor
::Team members
Stakeholder authority over business analysis takes what forms?
::Approval of deliverables
::Inspection/Approval of requirements
::Approval of requirements process
::Traceability
::Veto of proposed requirements or solutions
What do the initials RACI stand for?
::Responsible
::Accountable
::Consulted
::Informed
What is the purpose of planning analysis activities?
::Determining activities to be performed
::Estimation
::Identify Management tools to measure progress
What are the inputs to planning the business analysis activities?
There are 4
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Performance Assessment
::Organizational process assets
::Stakeholder List
What are the elements of planning business analysis activities?
There are 3
::Geographic Distribution of Stakeholders
::Type of Project
::Analysis Deliverables
What are the two types of geographic distribution of stakeholders?
::Collocated
::Dispersed
Name 2 of the 7 project/initiative types
::Feasibility studies
::Process improvement
::Organizational change:
::New software dev
::Outsourced new software dev
::Software Maintenance or enhancement
::Software package selection
What are the methods for identifying analysis deliverables?
There are 3
::Interviews/facilitated session with stakeholders
::Review of project docs
::Review of organizational assets
What 3 tasks consume the Define Business Analysis Plan task?
::Planning the BA Communication
::Planning Requirement Management Process
::Manage BA Performance
What 5 knowledge areas consume the Business Analysis Plan?
::Elicitation
::Enterprise Analysis
::Requirement Management and Communication
::Requirement Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
The BA Communication Plan is consumed by what 2 tasks?
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communicate Requirements
What are the elements of planning the Business Analysis Communication Plan?
::Time
::Task Completion
::Contracts
::Formal/Informal Authority
What are the factors that can increase or decrease the need for formal Communications on a project?
::Project Size
::Domain Complexity
::Inclusion of new technologies
::Delivery to external vendors/suppliers
::Regulatory Concerns
::Stakeholder Request
The Requirements Management Process includes what factors?
::Approving stakeholders
::Requirements traceability
::Change process
::Requirement Attributes
What are the inputs to planning the Requirements Management Process?
There are 3
::Business Analysis Approach
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Process Assets
What tasks consume the Requirements Management Plan?
There are 5:
::Manage BA Performance
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Conduct Elicitation
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Prioritize Requirements
Is a component Communication on, cardinal, optional or an attribute?
An Entity Relationship Diagram has four main components:
::Entities: an entity represents a group of uniquely identifiable people, places, things or concepts about which a business area needs information. (e.g., Customers, Products, Employees, Invoices, etc.).
::Attributes: an attribute is one of the individual pieces of information that describes an entity (e.g., Customer Name, Product Price, Employee Number, and Invoice Date). Unique Identifiers: a unique identifier is an attribute, or a combination of attributes, that will uniquely identify each separate occurrence of an entity (e.g., Customer Number, Invoice Number, and Social Insurance Number).
::Relationships: a relationship is a significant business association between two entities. It reflects how data from one entity needs to be used in conjunction with data from another entity. It also reflects a business rule of the enterprise.
::At each end of a relationship line, a notation indicates the minimum and maximum number of occurrences of one entity that may be associated with the other entity. This notation is known as the cardinality of the relationship. A variety of notations are in popular use, all expressing the same general concept.
::The possible permutations of minimum and maximum cardinality are:
::Zero or one
::Zero or more
::One and only one
::One or more
What is the Final task in requirements Communication?
::A. answer questions from requirements final review,
::B. make a requirements final review
::C. present the requirements to senior management
::D. obtain requirements signoff
D. obtain requirements signoff
What are the Components of an ERD?
An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a visual representation of a data structure.
::Because they describe things that are significant to the enterprise (e.g., Customers, Products, Employees, Invoices, etc.), ERDs are useful in describing the structure of the business itself, and many of the rules by which it is governed.
What is the minimum structural set of requirements of a presentation whether it is formal or informal?
Introduction of parties attending presentation
::Statement of presentation objectives
:: Project background
::Presentation/review of deliverable
::Agreement of actions/changes required
::Review of deliverable status (e.g., signed off, not signed off, etc.)
Modeling benefits are?
::Simplification of reality to allow focus
::Comprehension of complexity
::Explanation from varying perspectives
::Ensures all aspects are considered
::Translate easily into solution design
Modeling is often used when?
::When the problem domain is well known
::When the solution is easy to construct
::When there is little collaboration needed
::When there is little need for ongoing maintenance
::When the scope is unlikely to grow
What are the aspects to a change request that are important?
::Cost and time to implement
::Benefits and Risk
::Course of action and alternate solutions
::Coordinated prioritization
What are the techniques used in planning requirements management?
There are 3
::Decision analysis
::Problem tracking
::Risk analysis
What does the Requirements Management Plan describe?
::Traceability approach
::Definition of requirement attributes
::Requirement prioritization process
::Requirement change process
There are 4 inputs to the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
::Business Analysis Performance Metrics
::Business Analysis Plan
::Organizational Performance Standards
::Requirements Management Plan
What are the 6 activities that occur within the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area?
::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Plan Business Analysis Communication
::Plan Requirements Management Process
::Manage Business Analysis Performance
What are the 4 activities that occur within the Elicitation knowledge area?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results
What are the activities that occur within the Requirements Management & Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope and Requirements
::Manage Requirements Traceability
::Maintain Requirements for Re-use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication of Requirements
What are the activities that are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5
::Define the Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
What are the activities contained within the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
What are the activities that are part of the Solutions Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance
What are the Underlying Competencies described in the BABOK?
There are 6
::Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
::Behavioral Characteristics
::Business Knowledge
::Communication Skills
::Interaction Skills
::Software Applications
There are several elements of the Manage BA Performance activity. What are they?
::Performance Measures
::Performance Reporting
::Preventive and Correction Action
What are some performance measures?
::Deliverable due date deliverables
::Frequency of change
::Number of review cycles
There are several techniques defined for use in the Manage Business Analysis Performance activity. What are they?
There are 7
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned
::Metrics and KPIs
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Root Cause Analysis
::Survey/Questionnaire
What is a KPI?
Key Performance Indicator
::These are metrics used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term organizational goals
Name 3 of the 9 elicitation techniques.
3 of the following:
Brainstorming
Document Analysis
Focus Groups
Interface analysis
Interviews
Observations
Prototyping
Requirements Workshop
Survey/Questionnaire
What are the tasks described in the Elicitation knowledge area?
There are 4
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation Activity
::Document Elicitation Results
::Confirm Elicitation Results
What are the inputs to Elicitation?
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List
What are the outputs of Elicitation?
There are 4
::Elicitation Results
::Scheduled Resources
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Supporting Materials
What are the three elements of elicitation discussed in the BABOK?
::Tracing requirements
::Capturing Requirements Attributes
::Metrics
What tasks consume the documented elicited requirements?
There are 5
::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Prioritize Requirements
::Define the Business Need
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements
What tasks consume stakeholder concerns?
::Confirm Elicitation Results
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Org Readiness
What tasks consume CONFIRMED requirements?
There are 4
::Define Business Need
::Prioritize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Transition Requirements
What tasks consume CONFIRMED stakeholder concerns?
There are 3
::Define Business Case
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Assess Organizational Readiness
What are the tasks/activities of the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Manage Solution Scope
::Manage Requirements traceability
::Manage Requirements for Re-Use
::Prepare Requirements Package
::Communication Requirements
What are the inputs into the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area tasks/activities?
There are 6
::BA Communication Plan
::Organizational process assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Management Plan
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder List/Responsibilities
What are the outputs from the tasks/activities in the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area?
There are 5
::Approved Requirements
::Traced Requirements
::Communicated Requirements
::Maintained and Reusable Requirements
::Requirements Package
What occurs during the Manage Solution Scope and Requirements task/activity?
::Securing approval of requirements
::Management of issues from elicitation
What are the elements of the Manage Solution Scope & Requirements task/activity?
::Solution Scope Management
::Conflict and Issue Management
::Presenting Requirements for Review
::Approval
What are the 5 type of relationships between requirements?
::Necessity
::Effort
::Subset
::Cover
::Value
What is an example of an ongoing requirement?
::Contractual obligations (SLAs)
::Quality standards
::Business rules/standards
What are some reasons for creating a requirements package?
::early assessment of quality and planning
::evaluation of possible alternatives
::formal reviews and approvals
::inputs to solution design
::conformance to contractual and regulatory obligations
::maintenance for re-use
What are the forms of requirements packages?
There are 3:
::Formal Documentation
::Presentation
::Models
What are the inputs to the Prepare Requirements Package task?
There are 4:
::Business Analysis Communication Plan
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements
::Requirements Structure
What are the elements of Prepare Requirements Package?
There are 2:
::Work Products and Deliverables
::Format
What are examples of work products?
::Meeting agendas and minutes
::Interview questions and notes
::Facilitation session agendas and notes
::Issues log
::Work plan, status reports
::Presentation slides used during the project
::Traceability matrices
What must the analyst understand when deciding whether to use a deliverable or requirements deliverable?
::Needs of the audience
::Level of detail that needs to be communicated
::Which deliverables to include in each presentation package
What are the techniques of the Prepare Requirements Package task?
There are 2:
::Requirements Documentation
::Requirements for Vendor Selection
What are some common forms of requirements documentation?
::BRD
::Product Roadmap
::SRS
::Supplementary Requirements Spec
::Vision Document
What are the typical forms of documentation when presenting requirements to vendors?
There are 2:
::Request for Information (RFI)
::Request for Quote (RFQ) / Request for Proposal (RFP).
What are the inputs to the Communicate Requirements task?
There are 3:
::BA Communication Plan
::Requirements
::Requirements Package
With regards to communicating the requirements, what does the BA Communication Plan provide?
::What requirements should be communicated
::Which stakeholders should receive the communication
::When communication should occur
::What the form of the communication should be
What are the elements of the Communicate Requirements task?
There are 2:
::General Communication
::Presentations
What are so common areas that lead to the creation of additional requirements as a result of communication?
::Enterprise analysis
::Elicitation
::Requirements Analysis
::Solution Assessment and Validation
What are the techniques of the Communicate Requirements?
There are 2:
::Requirements Workshops
:: Structured Walkthrough
What is the difference between a structured walk through and a requirements workshop?
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator

A structured walkthrough is an organized peer review of a deliverable with the objective of finding errors and omissions. It is considered a form of quality assurance
The Enterprise Analysis knowledge area describes what types of activities for organizations?
::To analyze the business situation in order to fully understand business problems and opportunities.
::To assess the capabilities of the enterprise in order to understand the change needed to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals.
::To determine the most feasible business solution approach.
::To define the solution scope and develop the business case for a proposed solution.
::To define and document business requirements (including the business need, required capabilities, solution scope, and business case).
There are 7 inputs to the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area. What are they?
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Goals and Objectives
::Enterprise Architecture
::Org Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Performance Assessment
::Stakeholder Concerns
How many tasks are part of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5. They are:
::Define Business Need
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
What are the outputs of the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area?
There are 5:
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach
::Solution Scope
Why is the definition of the business need so critical?
It defines the problem that the business analyst is trying to find a solution for.

The way the business need is defined determines which alternative solutions will be considered, which stakeholders will be consulted, and which solution approaches will be evaluated
What are the inputs needed to define the business need?
::Business Goals and Objectives
::Requirements [Stated]
The business need is consumed by what task or tasks?
::Plan Business Analysis Approach
::Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Assess Capability Gaps
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication Knowledge Area
What are the four ways to generate a business need during Enterprise Analysis?
::From Top Down
::From Bottom Up
::From Middle Mgmt
::From External Drivers
A common test for assessing objectives is to ensure that they are SMART. What do the letters in this acronym stand for?
::Specific – describing something that has an observable outcome
::Measurable – tracking and measuring the outcome
::Achievable – testing the feasibility of the effort
::Relevant – in alignment with the organization’s key vision, mission, goals
::Time-bounded –the objective has a defined timeframe that is consistent with the business need
In order to define a business need, what must occur?
An issue must be investigated to ensure that there is in fact an opportunity for improvement if the issue is resolved
When investigating the business, the analyst should consider what?
:: Adverse impacts the problem is causing
:: Expected benefits from any potential solution
:: How quickly the problem could potentially be resolved
::The underlying source of the problem
What is a desired outcome?
It describes the business benefits that will result from meeting the business need and the end state desired by stakeholders.

Proposed solutions must be evaluated against desired outcomes to ensure that they can deliver those outcomes
What are the techniques of the Define Business Need task?
::Benchmarking
:: Brainstorming
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Focus Groups
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Root Cause Analysis
What are the inputs of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
::Business Needs
::Enterprise Assessment
::Solution Performance Assessment
What are the tasks that consume Required Capabilities?
::Determine Solution Approach
::Define Solution Scope
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Assess Capability Gaps task?
There are 3:
::Current Capability Analysis
::Assessment of New Capability Requirements
::Assumptions
What are the techniques used in the Assess Capability Gaps task?
::Document Analysis
::SWOT Analysis
What must occur for the solution approach to be defined?
::identify possible approaches
::determine the means by which the solution may be delivered (including the methodology and lifecycle to be used)
::assess whether the organization is capable of implementing and effectively using a solution of that nature
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 3
::Business
::Organization Process Assets
::Required Capabilities
What are the elements of the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 3
::Alternative Generation
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Ranking Selection of Approaches
What are the techniques of the Define Solution Approach task?
There are 2
::General Techniques (includes benchmarking, brainstorming, decision analysis, estimation, SWOT analysis)
::Feasibility Analysis
What does the solution scope include?
::The scope of analysis (the organizational unit or process for which requirements are being developed) which provides the context in which the solution is implemented
:: capabilities supported by solution components
:: capabilities to be supported by individual releases or iterations
:: enabling capabilities that are required in order for the organization to develop the capabilities required to meet the business need
What are the inputs to the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Required Capabilities
::Solution Approach
The Solution Scope is consumed by what task or tasks?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Define Business Case
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Org Readiness
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 3
::Solution Scope Definition
::Implementation Approach
::Dependencies
What is included in the Solution Scope Definition?
::Major features and functions that are to be included, and the interactions that the solution will have with people and systems outside of its scope
::. Differentiation of the in-scope and out-of-scope components of the solution
What are the techniques for the Define Solution Scope task?
There are 2
::General Techniques (includes Functional Decomposition, Interface Analysis, Scope Modeling, User Stories)
::Problem or Vision Statement
What are the inputs to the Define Business Case task?
There are 4
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Business Needs
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns
The business case is consumed by what tasks?
::Prepare for Elicitation
::Conduct Elicitation
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Define Business Case task?
There are 4
::Benefits
::Costs
In estimating the total net cost of a proposed solution, what is included in the calculation?
::capital expenditures for the new investment
::costs of developing and implementing the change
::opportunity costs of not investing in other options, costs related to changing the work and practices of the organization
::total cost of ownership to support the new solution and consequential costs borne by others
Initial risk assessment includes what factors?
::technical risks (whether the chosen technology and suppliers can deliver the required functionality)
::financial risks (whether costs may exceed levels that make the solution viable or potential benefits may disappear)
::business change and organizational risks (whether the organization will make the changes necessary to benefit from the new solution).
What are the techniques used in the Define Business Case task?
There are 6
::Decision Analysis
::Estimation
::Metrics and KPIs
::Risk Analysis
::SWOT Analysis
::Vendor Assessment
What are the inputs to the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 8
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder Concerns
::Stakeholder List
::Solution Scope
What are the tasks of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Prioritize Requirements
::Organize Requirements
::Specify and Model Requirements
::Define Assumptions and Constraints
::Verify Requirements
::Validate Requirements
What are the outputs of the Requirements Analysis knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements Structure
::Requirements [prioritized]
::Requirements [validated]
:: Requirements [verified]
::Stakeholder Concerns
What are the inputs to the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 5
::Business Case
::Business Need
::Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt Plan
::Stakeholder List
What are the elements for the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 2
::Basis of Prioritization
::Challenges
What are the factors considered as part as the basis for prioritization?
::Business Value
::Business or Technical Risk
::Implementation Difficulty
::Likelihood of Success
::Regulatory or Policy Compliance
::Relationship to Other Requirements
::Stakeholder Agreements
What are the techniques used in the Prioritize Requirements task?
There are 4
::General techniques (Risk and Decision analysis)
::Moscow Analysis (Must, Should, Could, and Won’t)
::Timeboxing/Budgeting
::Voting
What are the three approaches to Timeboxing/budgeting?
::All In - Begin with all the eligible requirements with assigned Duration or Cost. Remove the requirements in order to meet the calendar dates or budget limit.
::All Out - Begin with adding the requirement(s) with assigned duration or cost to the calendar or budget. Stop when the calendar dates are met or budget limit is reached.
::Selective - Begin by identifying high priority requirements added to the calendar or budget. Add or remove requirements in order to meet the calendar date or budget limit.
What are the two key objectives when organizing requirements?
::Understand which models are appropriate for the business domain and solution scope
:: Identify model interrelationships and dependencies
What are the inputs to the Organize Requirements task?
There are 3:
::Organizational Process Assets
::Requirements [Stated]
::Solution Scope
What are the elements of the Organize Requirements task?
There are two
::Levels of Abstraction
What are the common concepts when using models?
::User Classes, profiles, Roles
::Concepts and Relationships
::Events
::Processes
::Rules
User Classes, Profiles, or Roles are categorizations that are often found in what models?
::organization models
::process models
::use cases
Events serve as the basis for scope models but can be described in what other types of models?
::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
Process information can be found in what types of models?
::Process Models
::Org Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
What types of models might contain rule information?
::Process Models
::State Diagrams
::Use Cases/Models
What are the techniques used in the Organize Requirements task?
There are 9
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Functional Decomposition
::Organizational Modeling
::Process Modeling
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::User Stories
What are the inputs to the Specify and Model Requirements task?
There are 2
::Requirements [stated]
::Requirements Structure
What tasks consume the Stakeholder or Solution Requirements?
There are 3
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Specify and Model Requirements task?
::Text
::Matrix Documentation
::Models
::Capture Requirements Attributes
::Improvement Opportunities
What aspects of requirements are often expressed in tabular form?
::Attributes
::Data Dictionaries
::Traceability
::Prioritization data
What is the difference between an informal model and a formal model?
An informal model does not have a formal semantic definition and instead connects elements in ways that are meaningful for the analyst and the audience

A formal model follows semantics and iconography that are defined in a standard to indicate the meaning of each model element
What are some potential improvement opportunities that might be identified and captured during the Specify and Model Requirements task?
:: Automate Or Simplify The Work People Perform
:: Improve Access To Information
:: Reduce Complexity Of Interfaces
:: Increase Consistency Of Behavior
:: Eliminate Redundancy
What are the techniques used in the Specify and Model Requirements task?
There are several techniques that are part of the general techniques category:
Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
Business Rules Analysis
Data Dictionary and Glossary
Data Flow Diagrams
Data Modeling
Functional Decomposition
Interface Analysis
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
Non-functional Requirements Analysis
Organization Modeling
Process Modeling
Prototyping
Scenarios and Use Cases
Sequence Diagrams
State Diagrams
User Stories
What are the elements used in the Define Assumptions and Constraints task?
There are 3
::Assumptions
::Business Constraints
::Technical Constraints
Business Constraints can reflect what type of information?
::budgetary restrictions
::time restrictions
::limits on the number of resources available
::restrictions based on the skills of the project team and the stakeholders
::a requirement that certain stakeholders not be affected by the implementation of the solution
::or any other organizational restriction
Technical constraints may also describe restrictions such as what?
:: resource utilization
::message size
::timing
::software size
::maximum number of and size of files
::records and data elements
What tasks consume Assumptions and Constraints?
There are 4
::Define Solution Scope
::Define Business Case
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What tasks consume verified requirements?
::Validate Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements used in the Verify Requirements task?
There are 2:
::Characteristics of Requirements Quality
::Verification Activities
A high quality requirement exhibits what characteristics?
::Cohesive
::Complete
::Consistent
::Correct
::Feasible
::Modifiable
::Unambiguous
::Testable
Verification activities include what?
::Check for completeness within each requirements model
::Compare each prepared requirements model (textual or graphical) against all other prepared requirements models
:: Variations to the documented processes have been identified and documented
:: All triggers and outcomes have been accounted for in all variations
:: Terminology used in expressing the requirement is understandable to stakeholders and consistent
:: Examples are added where appropriate for clarification
What are the techniques used in the Verify Requirements task?
There are 2:
::General techniques (includes Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Problem Tracking, Structured Walkthrough)
:: Checklists
What are the inputs to the Validate Requirements task?
There are 2
::Business Case
::Stakeholder Solution or Transition Requirements [verified]
Validated requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Validate Solution
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements of the Validate Requirements task?
There are 5
::identify Assumptions
::Define Measurable Criteria
::Determine Business Value
::Determine Dependencies for Benefit Realization
::Evaluate Alignment with Business Case and Opportunity Cost
True or False: Besides the Business Case, it is possible to assess individual requirements or features to determine business value
TRUE
True or False: Business value can be delivered through requirements that support compliance with regulatory or other standards, alignment with internal standards or policies of the organization, or increased satisfaction for stakeholders, even if those things do not have a direct measurable financial benefit.
TRUE
True or False: All requirements contribute directly to the end result desired by the organization and described in the business case
FALSE
What are the techniques in the Validate Requirements task?
There are 5:
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
:: Prototyping
:: Risk Analysis
:: Structured Walkthrough
What are the tasks in the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area?
There are 6
::Assess Proposed Solution
::Allocate Requirements
::Assess Organizational Readiness
::Define Transition Requirements
::Validate Solution
::Evaluate Solution Performance
What are the inputs to the Assess Proposed Solution task?
There are 3
::Assumptions and Constraints
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution Option(s)
What are the elements of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
::Ranking of Solution Options
::Identification of Additional Potential Capabilities
What are the techniques of the Assess Proposed Solution task?
There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Decision Analysis
:: Vendor Assessment
What are the inputs of the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 3:
::Requirements [prioritized and approved]
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope
Allocated Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Requirements Mgt. and Communication
::Solution Selection or Design
Requirements may be allocated between or over what?
::Organizational units
::between job functions
::between people and software
::software application components
::releases of a solution.
What are the elements of the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 2
::Solution Components
::Release Planning
What are some examples of solution components?
::Business policies and business rules
::Business processes to be performed and managed
::People who operate and maintain the solution, including their job functions and responsibilities
::Software applications and application components used in the solution.
::Structure of the organization, including interactions between the organization, its customers, and its suppliers
Analyst assessment of whether the allocation represents the most effective tradeoffs between delivery options involves what considerations?
::Available resources
::Constraints on the Solution
::Dependencies Between Requirements
What types of factors are considerations of release planning?
::overall project budget
::the need to implement a solution or parts of the solution by a certain date
::resource constraints
::training schedule
::ability for the business to absorb changes within a defined timeframe.
What are the techniques used in the Allocate Requirements task?
There are 6
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Business Rules Analysis
:: Decision Analysis
:: Functional Decomposition
:: Process Modeling
:: Scenarios and Use Cases
What should the business analyst understand to assess organizational readiness?
::what changes will occur in the business area
::technical infrastructure or processes
::how these affect other business units or operations
What are the inputs to the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
There are 4
::Enterprise Architecture
::Solution [designed]
::Solution Scope
::Stakeholder Concerns
What are the elements used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
There are 3
::Cultural Assessment
::Operational or Technical Assessment
::Stakeholder Impact Analysis
What are some of the considerations of stakeholder impact analysis?
:Stakeholder Group functions
::Geographic Location of Stakeholder Groups
::Tasks performed by specific stakeholders
::Concerns about the stakeholder group’s usability requirements, preferences, and their proficiency level regarding interaction with computer systems
What are the techniques used in the Assess Organizational Readiness task?
::General Techniques (including Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Data Flow Diagrams, Process Models, Focus Groups, Interviews, Survey/Questionnaire, Organization Modeling, Problem Tracking, Risk Analysis, SWOT Analysis)
:: Force Field Analysis
What are the inputs to the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 4:
::Organizational Readiness Assessment
::Requirements [stated]
::Solution [deployed]
::Solution [designed]
Transition Requirements are consumed by what tasks?
::Prioritize Requirements
::Verify Requirements
::Requirements Mgmt and Communication knowledge area
What are the elements used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 3
::Data
::Ongoing Work
::Organizational Change
What are the techniques used in the Define Transition Requirements task?
There are 3
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Flow Diagrams, Process Modeling, Organizational Modeling
::Data Modeling
What are the outputs of the Validate Solution task?
There are 3
::Identified Defects
::Mitigating Actions
::Solution Validation Assessment
What are the elements of the Validate Solution task?
There are 2
::Investigate Defective Solution Outputs
::Assess Defects and Issues
Defects are reviewed with what considerations in mind?
::determining the severity of the defect, the probability of the occurrence of the defect
::the severity of the business impact
::the capacity of the business to absorb the impact of the defects
What are the techniques used in the Validate Solution task?
There are 3
:: Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
:: Root Cause Analysis
:: Problem Tracking
What are the inputs to the Evaluate Solution performance task?
There are 4+B20Business Requirements
::Identified Defects
::Solution Performance Metrics
::Solution [deployed]
What are the elements of the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
There are 3:
::Understand Value Delivered by Solution
::Validate Solution Metrics
::Solution Replacement or Elimination
What are issues that impact the decision about replacing a solution?
:: Ongoing Cost versus Initial Investment
:: Opportunity Cost
:: Necessity
:: Sunk Cost
What are the techniques used in the Evaluate Solution Performance task?
There are 4:
::Decision Analysis
::Focus Groups
::Observation
::Survey/Questionnaire
What are the types of Underlying Competencies?
There are 6:
:: Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
:: Behavioral Characteristics
:: Business Knowledge
:: Communication Skills
:: Interaction Skills
:: Software Applications
What are the various forms of the Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving underlying competency?
There are 5:
::Creative Thinking
::Decision Making
::Learning
::Problem Solving
::Systems Thinking
What are the measures of effectiveness of creative thinking?
::Successful generation and productive consideration of new ideas.
::Application of new ideas to resolve existing problems.
::Willingness of stakeholders to accept new approaches.
Decision Analysis includes what?
::gathering information relevant to a decision
::breaking down the information relevant to a decision
::making comparisons and tradeoffs between similar and dissimilar options
::identifying the option that is most desirable.
When making decisions or analyzing options for a decision, business analysts must be aware of what kind of traps?
::those that can impede successful decision-making, including the tendency to accept the initial framing of a problem
::the sunk cost fallacy
::the tendency to place greater weight on evidence that confirms existing impressions.
What are the effectiveness measures of learning?
::Agreement by stakeholders that analysis models effectively and completely describe the domain
::Identification of related problems or issues from multiple areas in the domain
::Rapid absorption of new information or new domains.
What is the purpose of problem solving?
Business analysts must be effective at defining and solving problems in order to ensure that the real, underlying problem is understood and that solutions actually address that problem
How does an analyst ensure all parties understand the nature of a problem that is to be solved?
::Articulate and address conflicts between goals and objectives
::Identify and test underlying assumptions
What are the measures of effectiveness of problem solving?
::Confidence of the participants in the problem-solving process that a selected solution is correct
::New solution options can be evaluated effectively using the problem solving framework
::Selected solutions meet the defined objectives and solve the underlying problem.
::The problem-solving process avoids making decisions based on preconceived notions, organizational politics, or other traps that may cause a sub-optimal solution to be selected.
The term system includes what factors?
:: the people involved
::the interactions between them
::the external forces affecting their behavior
::all other relevant elements and factors
What are the measures of effectiveness of system thinking?
::Understanding of how a change to a component affects the system as a whole
::Identification of reinforcing and compensating feedback loops
::Understanding of how systems adapt to external pressures and changes
What are the types of the underlying competency behavioral characteristics?
There are 3:
::Ethics
::Personal organization
::Trustworthiness
Ethics requires an understanding of what?
::moral and immoral behavior
::the standards that should govern one’s behavior
::the willingness to act to ensure that one’s behavior is moral or meets those standards
Fair treatment requires what?
::that the affected stakeholders understand the reasons for the decision
::that they are not deceived about the outcome
::that decisions which are made are made in the best interest of the organization
What are the measures of effectiveness of ethics?
::Decisions are made with due consideration to the interests of all stakeholders
::Reasons for a decision are clearly articulated and understood
::Prompt and full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
::Honesty regarding one’s abilities, the performance of one’s work, and accepting responsibility for failures or errors.
Personal organization involves what?
::the ability to readily find files or information
::timeliness
::management of outstanding tasks
::appropriate handling of priorities
Effective time management requires what characteristics?
::effective time management requires effective prioritization
::elimination of procrastination
::clarity of goals and expectations
What are some common approaches toward good time management?
::action plans
::to-do lists
::setting priorities
What are the effectiveness measures of personal organization?
::Ability of the business analyst to find information
::Regular on-time completion of tasks
::Efficiency in the completion of work
::The ability to easily identify all outstanding work and the status of each work item.
What are the measures of effectiveness of trustworthiness?
::Stakeholders involving the business analyst in decision-making
::Stakeholder acceptance of the business analyst’s recommendations
::Willingness of stakeholders to discuss difficult or controversial topics with the business analyst
::Willingness of stakeholders to support or defend the business analyst when problems occur.
What are the forms of the Business Knowledge underlying competency?
There are 3:
::Business Principles and Practices
::Industry Knowledge
::Organization Knowledge
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
::Human Resources
::Finance
:Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt
What must a business analyst understand to have an effective industry knowledge base?
::various customer segments that the industry services
::demographic or other characteristics common to that segment
::common industry trends
Organization Knowledge includes what factors?
::understanding of the business models that the organization (that is, how the organization generates profits or otherwise accomplishes its goals)
::the organizational structure that is in place,
::the relationships that exist between business units
::and the persons who occupy key stakeholder positions
::informal lines of communication and authority
What are the effectiveness measures of solution knowledge?
::Reduced time or cost to implement a required change
::Shortened time on requirements analysis and/or solution design
::Understanding when a larger change is justified based on business benefit
::Understanding how additional capabilities present, but not currently used, in a solution can be deployed to provide business value.
What are the various types of Communication Skills?
There are 3:
::Oral Communication
::Teaching
::Written Communication
What are the effectiveness measures of oral communication?
::Effectively paraphrasing statements to ensure understanding
::Effectively facilitating sessions, ensuring success through preparedness and coordination
::Developing and delivering powerful presentations by positioning content and objectives appropriately (i.e. positive verses negative tone)
::Can communicate the criticality or urgency of a situation in a calm, rational manner with proposed solutions.
What are the three types of learning?
::auditory
::visual
::kinesthetic
What are the effectiveness measures of teaching?
::Verifying that learners have acquired information that has been imparted to them
::Ability of learners to use new skills or demonstrate new knowledge.
What are the effectiveness measures of written communication?
::Ability to adjust the style of writing for the needs of the audience
::Proper use of grammar and style
::Appropriate choice of words
::Ability of the reader to paraphrase and describe the content of the written communication.
What are the various types of Interaction Skills?
There are 3:
::Facilitation and Negotiation
::Leadership and Influencing
::Teamwork
What are the effectiveness measures of Leadership and Influencing?
::Reduced resistance to necessary changes
::Team members and stakeholders demonstrating a willingness to set aside personal objectives when necessary
::Articulation of a clear and inspiring vision of a desired future state.
What are the effectiveness measures of teamwork?
::Fostering a collaborative working environment
::Effective resolution of conflict
::Developing trust among team members
::Support among the team for shared high standards of achievement
::Team members have a shared sense of ownership of the team goals.
What are the types of Software Applications?
There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized
What are some examples of collaboration tools?
::document repositories (which integrate with office productivity software)
::wikis (which allow easy creation and link­ing of web pages)
::discussion forums.
What are the effectiveness measures of general purpose applications?
::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them.
What are the effectiveness measures of specialized software?
::Ability to apply an understanding of one tool to other similar tools
::Able to identify major tools in the marketplace and describe how they are used in any given situation.
::Understands and is able to use most of the major features of the tool
::Able to use the tools to complete requirements-related activities more rapidly than is possible without them.
::Able to track changes to the requirements made through the tools.
What are the elements of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
There are 2:
::Testability
::Determine Rank and Scoring
What are the advantages of acceptance and evaluation criteria?
::Agile methodologies may require that all requirements be expressed in the form of testable acceptance criteria.
::Acceptance criteria are also necessary when the requirements express contractual obligations.
What are the disadvantages of benchmarking?
:: time consuming
::must have experience performing
::cannot produce innovative ideas
What are the elements of brainstorming?
There are 3:
::Preparation
::Session
::Wrap-up
What kind of preparation is needed for a brainstorming session?
::Develop a clear and concise definition of the area of interest
::Determine a time limit for the group to generate ideas; the larger the group, the more time required. Identify facilitator and participants in session
::Aim for participants (ideally 6 to 8) who represent a range of background and experience with the topic.
::Set expectations with participants and get their buy in to the process
::Establish criteria for evaluating and rating the ideas
What are the things that are important to the session element for brainstorming?
::Share new ideas without any discussion, criticism or evaluation
::Visibly record all ideas
::Encourage participants to be creative, share exaggerated ideas, and build on the ideas of others.
::Don’t limit the number of ideas as the goal is to elicit as many as possible within the time period.
What occurs in a brainstorming session wrap-up?
::Once the time limit is reached, using the pre-determined evaluation criteria, discuss and evaluate the ideas
::Create a condensed list of ideas, combine ideas where appropriate, and eliminate duplicates
::Rate the ideas. Distribute the final list of ideas to appropriate parties.
What are the disadvantages of a brainstorming session?
::Dependent on participants’ creativity and willingness to participate. Organizational and interpersonal politics may also limit participation
::Group participants must agree to avoid debating the ideas raised during brainstorming.
What are the measures of effectiveness for Business Principles and Practices?
::Understanding of business environments, operations, process and practices relating to Common business management and decision making concepts, principles activities and practices; typical organization structures, job functions and work activities; complex business functions and operations
::Understanding of relevant regulatory, compliance, and governance frameworks
::Understanding of auditing and security issues
What are the effectiveness measures of industry knowledge?
::Understanding of industry related material and keeps abreast of what is taking place in the industry
::The ability to identify key trends shaping the industry
::Knowledge of major competitors and partners for the organization
::Knowledge of major customer segments
::Knowledge of common products and product types
::Knowledge of sources of information about the industry, including relevant trade organizations or journals
::Understanding of industry-specific resource and process documents
::Understanding of industry standard processes and methodologies
::Understanding of the industry regulatory environment.
What are the three types of specialized tools mentioned in the BABOK 2.0?
::Diagramming
::Modeling
::Requirements Management
Name all 34 techniques in the BABOK 2.0
::Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition
::Benchmarking
::Brainstorming
::Business Rules Analysis
::Data Dictionary and Glossary
::Data Flow Diagrams
::Data Modeling
::Decision Analysis
::Document Analysis
::Estimation
::Focus Groups
::Functional Decomposition
::Interface Analysis
::Interviews
::Lessons Learned Process
::Metrics and Key Performance Indicators
::Non-functional Requirements Analysis
::Observation
::Organization Modeling
::Problem Tracking
::Process Modeling
::Prototyping
::Requirements Workshops
::Risk Analysis
::Root Cause Analysis
::Scenarios and Use Cases
::Scope Modeling
::Sequence Diagrams
::State Diagrams
::Structured Walkthrough
::Survey/Questionnaire
::SWOT Analysis
::User Stories
::Vendor Assessment
What are the advantages of a brainstorming session?
::Ability to elicit many ideas in a short time period
::Non-judgmental environment enables creative thinking
::Can be useful during a workshop to reduce tension between participants
What are characteristics of good business rules?
::Stated in appropriate terminology to enable domain SMEs to validate the rules.
::Documented independently of how they will be enforced
::Stated at the atomic level and in declarative format
::Separated from processes that the rule supports or constrains.
::Maintained in a manner that enables the organization to monitor and adapt the rules as the business policies change.
What are the elements of Business Rules Analysis?
There are 2:
::Operative Rules
::Structural Rules
What are Operative Rules?
Operative rules are rules that the organization chooses to enforce as a matter of policy
Operative Rules oblige people to do what?
To take certain actions, prevent people from taking actions, or prescribe the conditions under which an action may be taken
True or False: it must be possible for people to violate an operative rule, even if there are no circumstances under which the organization would approve of them doing so?
TRUE
True or False: The impact of changes to business rules can be assessed more easily when they are documented as part of the processes they detail or the means used to enforce the rules.
FALSE
The following is an example of an Operational or Structural rule?
“An order must have one and only one associated payment method”
Structural
The following is an example of an operative or structural rule?
“An order must not be placed when the billing address provided by the customer does not match the address on file with the credit card provider”
Operative
Data dictionaries include what?
::standard definitions of data elements and their meanings
::allowable values.
::definitions of each primitive data element and indications of how those elements combine into composite data elements
What is a primitive data element?
The basic unit of data that includes information about an element:
::Name
::Alias
::Values/Meanings
::Description
What are some examples of composite structures?
::Sequences
::Repetitions
::Optional Elements
What do data flow diagrams show?
::External Entities that provide data to, or receive data from, a system
::The Processes of the system that transform data
::The Data Stores in which data is collected for some period of time
::The Data Flows by which data moves between External Entities, Processes and Data Stores
What are the elements of data flow diagrams?
There are 4:
::External Entities
::Data Store
::Data Process
::Data Flow
What are the strengths of data flow diagrams?
::May be used as a discovery technique for processes and data, or as a technique for verification of a Functional Decomposition or Data Model that have already been completed.
::Most users find these diagrams quite easy to understand
::Generally considered a useful analysis deliverable to developers in a structured programming environment.
Data models visually present what information?
::types of people
::places
::things
::concepts that are important to the business, attributes associated with them
::significant business relationships among all of the above
What two techniques often support the Data Model technique?
::Data Dictionaries and Glossaries
::Business Rules Analysis
What are the elements of the Data Model technique?
There are 4:
::Concept
::Attributes
::Relationship
::Metadata
What are the advantages of data modeling?
::flexibility of different levels of description
:: consistent modeling approach that supports the transition through planning, analysis, design and implementation
::supported by rigorous rules for correctness and completeness which encourages accuracy
What are the disadvantages of data modeling?
::can be complex
::deal with concepts that may be unfamiliar to people without a background in data modeling
For effective decision analysis, the business analyst must understand what?
::The values, goals and objectives that are relevant to the decision problem
::The nature of the decision that must be made
::The areas of uncertainty that affect the decision and the consequences of each possible decision
What are the elements of the Decision Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Outcomes
::Uncertainty
::Trade-offs
What are the two types of outcomes?
::Financial
::Non-Financial
What are the examples of financial outcomes of Decision Analysis?
::Discounted Cash Flow: future value on a specific data
::Net Present Value: future view of costs and benefits converted to today’s value
::Internal Rate of Return: the interest rate (or discount) when the net present value is equal to zero
::Average Rate of Return: estimate of rate of return on an investment
::Pay Back Period: the amount of time it takes for an investment to pay for itself
::Cost-Benefit Analysis: quantification of costs and benefits for a proposed new solution::
What are two common methods of making tradeoff decisions?
::Elimination of dominated alternatives
:: Ranking objectives on a similar scale
What are some of the common functional areas in an organization?
::Human Resources
::Finance
::Information Technology
::Supply Chain Mgmt
Solution Assessment activities may be performed to assess and validate what?
::business processes
::organizational structures
::outsourcing agreements
::software applications
What are the types of Software Applications?
There are 2:
::General Purpose
::Specialized
The business analyst must do what in benchmark studies?
::Identify the area to be studied
::Identify organizations that are leaders in the sector
::Conduct a survey of selected organizations to understand their practices
::Arrange for visits to best-in-class organizations
::Develop a project proposal to implement the best practices
What are the advantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
:: provides an effective way to determine the expected value of an alternative scenario
:: uses consistent financial justification techniques with quantitative measures
:: may force stakeholders to honestly assess the importance placed on options
What are the disadvantages of the Decision Analysis technique?
::requires specialized knowledge and skills, including mathematical knowledge, an understanding of probability, and similar concepts
::results may be treated as more certain than they actually are
:: decision-makers may be reluctant to revisit decisions
Document analysis is used if the objective is to gather details of what items that need to be included in a new solution or need to be updated for the current solution
::existing solutions
::including business rules
::entities
::attributes
What are the elements of the Document Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Preparation
::Document Review
::Wrap-up
What is involved with the wrap-up of the Document Analysis technique?
::Review and confirm the selected details with subject matter experts
::Organize information into requirements format
::Obtain answers to follow-up questions.
What are the advantages of the Document Analysis technique?
::Not starting from a blank page
::Leveraging existing materials to discover and/or confirm requirements
::A means to cross-check requirements from other elicitation techniques such as interviews, job shadowing, surveys or focus groups
What are the elements of the Estimation technique?
There are 8:
::Analogous Estimation
::Parametric Estimation
::Bottom-up Estimation
::Rolling Wave Estimation
::Three-point Estimation
::Historic Analysis
::Expert Judgment
::Delphi Estimation
What are some common examples of parametric estimation?
::COCOMOII
::Function Points
::Use Case Points
::Story Points
Three-point estimation functions how?
It uses three scenarios:
::The most optimistic estimate, or best-case scenario
::The most pessimistic estimate, or worst-case scenario
::The most likely estimate.
What are the disadvantages of the estimation technique?
::Stakeholders frequently treat estimates as commitments, and expect that once an esti¬mate is given the solution team will meet the time and cost estimate
:: Estimates are often consciously or unconsciously altered to match the desires of influential stakeholders
What are the elements of the Focus Group technique?
::Preparation
::Run the Focus Group Session
::Produce Report
Preparation for focus groups involves four basic steps. What are they?
::Recruit Participants
::Assign Moderator and Recorder
::Create Discussion Guide
::Reserve Site and Services
What are the advantages of focus groups?
::Ability to elicit data from a group of people in a single session saves time and cost as compared to conducting individual interviews with the same number of people.
::Effective for learning people’s attitudes, experiences and desires
::Active discussion and the ability to ask others questions creates an environment where participants can consider their personal view in relation to other perspectives.
What are the disadvantages of focus groups?
:: participants may be concerned about issues of trust
:: unwilling to discuss sensitive or personal topics
:: Data collected (what people say) may not be consistent with how people actually behave
:: responses may not represent the complete set of requirements
:: skilled moderator is needed
:: difficult to schedule
:: not an effective way to evaluate usability.
What are the advantages of the Functional Decomposition technique?
::Creates a conceptual model of the work that needs to be completed to deliver the new business solution
::Provides all stakeholders with a consistent view of the scope of the effort
::Assists estimating in that estimates can be made for smaller, and therefore more readily understandable, subsets of the whole.
What are the disadvantages of the Functional Decomposition technique?
::There is no way to be certain that all components have been captured.
::Decomposing a problem without fully understanding the relationship between pieces of the problem may create an inappropriate structure that impedes analysis.
What are some common interface types?
::User
::Those to and from external applications
:: Those to and from external hardware devices
What are the elements used in the Interface Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Interface Identification
::Conduct Interface Identification
::Define Interfaces
What are the three things that should be identified for each stakeholder or system interaction?
:: purpose of the interface
:: type of interface
:: high-level details about the interface
Requirements for an interface are primarily focused on describing what?
::inputs and outputs from that interface
::any validation rules that govern those inputs and outputs
::events that might trigger interactions.
What are the advantages of the Interface Analysis technique?
::Positive impact on delivery date….enables more accurate project planning and potential savings in time and cost
::Clarity on collaboration with other systems or projects
:: prevention of difficulties in integrating multiple components.
What are the two types of interviews?
::Structured (pre-defined set of questions )
:: Unstructured (discuss topics of interest in an open-ended way)
What are the elements used in the Interview technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for the Interview/Design Interview
::Conduct Interview
::Post Interview Follow-up
Why types of factors are considered when preparing for an interview?
::Who holds the most authentic and the most current information on the subject of interest?
::What is their stake in the initiative
::What is the relative importance of information held by one person relative to that held by another person?
Designing an interview considers what types of factors?
Question type
::Location of Interviewee
::Question Organization
::Interview Time and Place
What are the advantages of the Interview technique?
::Encourages participation and establishes rapport
::Simple, direct technique
::Allows the interviewer and participant to have full discussions
::Enables observations of non-verbal behavior
::The interviewer can ask follow-up and probing questions
::Maintains focus through the use of clear objectives
::Allows interviewees to express opinions in private
What are the disadvantages of the Interview technique?
::Not an ideal means of reaching consensus
::Requires considerable commitment
::Training is required to conduct
::Depth of follow-on questions may be dependent on the interviewer’s knowledge of the business domain.
::Transcription / analysis is complex and expensive
::Resulting documentation may be subject to interpretation.
::Risk of unintentionally leading the interviewee.
What types of items are reviewed in a lessons learned session?
::BA analysis and deliverables
::Process
::Final Deliverable
::issues/Concerns
::Performance
::Root Cause
::Variances
What are the advantages of the Lessons Learned technique?
::Helps to build morale
::Identifies opportunities for improvement
What are the disadvantages of the Lessons Learned technique?
::Must avoid blaming
::Possible reluctance to discussion
::Lack of follow-up leads to neglect
What are the elements of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
There are 4:
::Indicators
::Metrics
::Structure
::Reporting
A good indicator has five characteristics. What are they?
::Clear: precise and unambiguous
::Relevant: appropriate to the factor
::Economical: available at reasonable cost
::Adequate: provides a sufficient basis to assess performance
::Quantifiable: can be independently validated
What are the factors to consider when creating indicators?
::source
::method of collection
::collector and cost
::frequency and difficulty of collection
When setting a metric, what are some considerations?
::baseline starting point
::resources that can be devoted to improving the factors covered by the indicator
::political concerns
Establishing a monitoring and evaluation system requires what?
::data collection procedure
::data analysis procedure
::reporting procedure
::collection of baseline data
The data collection procedure for metrics describes what factors?
::units of analysis
::sampling procedures
::data collection instruments to use
::collection frequency
::responsibility for collection.
The analysis method of metrics specifies what?
::procedures for conducting the analysis
::the data consumer
The procedures for metrics reporting describe what?
::report templates
::recipients
::frequency
::means of communication
What is baseline data?
::data provided immediately before or at the begin¬ning of a period to measure
::data that’s used to learn about recent performance and to measure progress from that point forward
::data that needs to be collected for each indicator, analyzed and reported.
What are the three key factors in assessing the quality of indicators and their metrics?
::reliability
::validity
::timeliness
What are the advantages of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
::allows stakeholders to understand the extent to which a solution meets an objective
::defines how effective the inputs and activities of developing the solution (output) were
What are the disadvantages of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
::Gathering excessive amounts of data beyond what is needed
::May fail due to collecting too much data and not generating useful reports that will allow timely responsive action
:: When metrics are used to assess performance, the individuals being measured are likely to act to increase their performance on those metrics
Non-functional requirements document the qualities of a system that are important to who?
:: the user community, such as usability, learnability, reliability
:: the development community, such as scalability, maintainability, reusability
What are the elements used in the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Category
::Measurement
::Documentation
What are the categories in the ISO 9126 schema?
::Reliability
::Performance Efficiency
::Operability
::Security
::Compatibility
::Maintainability
::Transferability
What are the disadvantages of the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
::Non-functional requirements are often more difficult to define than functional requirements.
::Overly stringent non-functional requirements may significantly impact the cost of developing a software application.
What is the purpose of the Observation technique?
Observation is a means of eliciting requirements by conducting an assessment of the stakeholder’s work environment
What are the elements used in the Observation technique?
::Prepare for Observation
::Observe
::Post Observation Wrap-up
During the actual observation, what does the observer do?
::Reassures the user that their work is not being questioned
:: Informs the user that the observer is present only to study their processes
:: Explains to the user that they may stop the observation process at any time if they believe that it is interfering with their work
:: Suggests to the user that they may “think aloud” while they are working as a way to share their intentions, challenges, and concerns
::takes detailed notes and asks questions
What are the advantages of the Observation technique?
::Provides realistic and practical insight into the business
::Elicits details of informal communication and ways people actually work around the system that
What are the disadvantages of the Observation technique?
::Only possible for existing processes
:: time-consuming
:: May be disruptive
:: May not well work if the current process is not easily observable.
What does the organizational model describe about organizational structure?
::the scope of the organizational unit
::the formal relationships between the people who are members of that unit
::the roles those people fill
::the interfaces between that unit and other units or stakeholders
What are the elements of the Organizational Modeling technique?
There are 4:
::Organizational Purpose and Structure
::Roles
::Interfaces
::Org Charts
What are the three facets of Organizational Purpose and Structure?
::Functions
::Market
::Matrix
A “market-oriented” organization may be organized around
::customer groups
::geographical areas
::projects
::processes
What are the three main things that org charts display?
::Org Units
::Relationships
::Roles and People
What are the disadvantages of the Organizational Modeling technique?
::Organizational redesigns are likely to be highly contentious and require significant executive support in order to be successful.
::Informal lines of authority and communication that are not reflected in the org chart are almost certain to exist within the organization.
For each problem, the tracking tool may include an identification of what attributes?
::problem
::status updates
::assigning of related actions
::tracking expected resolution dates
::resolution results
::actions
::decisions taken
::priority
::impacts
Problem tracking should lead to what?
::Resolution of problems in a timely manner that eliminate or minimize negative impacts.
::Allocation of resources to resolve problems.
::Identification of root causes of problems.
What are the elements used in the Problem Tracking technique?
There are 3:
::Problem Record
::Problem management
What types of KPIs are valuable for problem tracking?
::Number of problems by status and priority
::Cycle time for each problem (number of days it took from Date Identified to Resolution Date).
What are the advantages of the Problem Tracking technique?
::provides an organized method for tracking and resolving risks, issues and defects
::mechanism to communicate problems across the team
::helps to maintain focus on open problems until they are resolved.
What are the disadvantages of the Problem Tracking technique?
::If regular prioritization and management of problems is not done, the list becomes outdated and irrelevant.
::If key team members are not available on a regular basis to discuss the lists of problems and to determine actions to be taken, then progress to resolve them may become very slow to non-existent.
::If there is a strict deadline to deliver the solution, then problem management may become a lower priority. Often, root cause analysis of the problems can take more time and resources than are available.
What are the elements of the Process Modeling technique?
There are 2:
::Notation Elements
::Process Improvement
What are three of the common notations used in process modeling?
::Flowcharts
::UML Activity Diagrams
::BPMN
What are the key elements commonly found in process models?
::Activities
::Decisions
::Events
::Flow
::Roles
::Swimlanes and Pools
::Terminal Points
What are some common changes made to process in order to improve them?
::Analysis of a process to identify and remove activities that do not add value
:: Reduction of the time required to complete a process
:: Improving interfaces or handoffs between roles and organizational units
:: Reduction or elimination of bottlenecks and backlogs
What are the advantages of the Process Modeling technique?
:: stakeholders are comfortable with the basic elements
:: effective at showing how to handle a large number of scenarios
::models will be used by business stakeholders for training and co-ordination of activities.
What are the disadvantages of the Process Modeling technique?
::can become extremely complex and unwieldy if not structured carefully
:: problems in a process cannot always be identified by looking at the model
What are the two types of prototyping categories?
::Functional Scope
::Usage throughout SDLC
What are the elements of the prototyping technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Prototyping
::Prototyping
::Evaluation of Prototyping
What are the advantages of the Prototyping technique?
:: Supports users who are more comfortable and effective at articulating their needs by using pictures
:: allows for early user interaction and feedback.
:: can be an inexpensive means to quickly uncover and confirm a variety of requirements
:: vertical prototype can demonstrate what is feasible with existing technology, and where there may be technology gaps
:: evolutionary / functional prototype provides a vehicle for designers and developers to learn about the users’ interface needs and to evolve system requirements
What are the disadvantages of the Prototyping technique?
::can take considerable time if the process gets bogged down by the “how’s” rather than “what’s”
:: Assumptions about the underlying technology may need to be made
:: may lead users to develop unrealistic expectations regarding the delivered system’s performance, completion date, reliability and usability characteristics
:: Users may focus on the design specifications of the solution rather than the requirements
Why is the requirements workshop considered to be a very effective technique?
::promotes trust, mutual understanding, and strong communications among the project stakeholders and project team
::produces deliverables that structure and guide future analysis
What are the elements of the Requirements Workshop technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare for Workshop
::Conduct Workshop
::Post Workshop Wrap-up
What is the role of the facilitator in the requirements workshop?
::Establish a professional and objective tone for the meeting
::Introduce the goals and agenda for the meeting
::Enforce discipline, structure and ground rules for the meeting
::Manage the meeting and keep the team on track.
:: Facilitate a process for decision-making and build consensus, but avoid participating in the content of the discussion.
::Ensure that all stakeholders participate and have their input heard
::Ask the right questions. This includes analyzing the information being provided, and following up with probing questions, if necessary.
What are the advantages of the Requirements Workshop technique?
:: can be a means to elicit detailed requirements in a relatively short period of time
:: provides a means for stakeholders to collaborate, make decisions and gain a mutual understanding of requirements
:: costs are often lower
:: enables the participants to work together to reach consensus.
:: feedback is immediate
What are the disadvantages of the Requirements Workshop technique?
::Stakeholder availability may make it difficult to schedule
:: success of the requirements workshop is highly dependent on the expertise of the facilitator and knowledge of the participants
:: too many participants can slow down the workshop process.
What are the elements of the Risk Analysis technique?
There are 3:
::Risk Tolerance
::Assessment
::Response
What are the three categories of risk tolerance?
::Risk Aversion
::Neutrality
::Risk Seeking
What are the strategies to respond to negative risk?
::Acceptance
::Transfer
::Avoidance
::Mitigation
What are the strategies to respond to positive risk?
::Acceptance
::Share
::Enhance
::Exploit
What are the elements of Root Cause Analysis?
::Fishbone Diagram
::Five Whys
What are the elements of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
There are 6:
::Name
::Actor
::Preconditions
::Flow of Events
::Post-conditions
::Relationships
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the base use case to make use of functionality present in another use case
Includes
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the insertion of additional behavior into a use case
Extends
What are the disadvantages of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
:: business analysts are frequently tempted to describe most or all system behavior using use cases
:: there is frequently a temptation to use them to capture all requirements
What are the elements of the Scope Modeling technique?
There are 5:
::Context Diagram
::Events
::Features
::Use Case Diagram
::Business Process
What is the difference between and external event and a temporal event?
::External events happen in an External Entity. They are external to the boundaries of the system being studied (a customer makes a request, a partner sends a message).
::Temporal events are driven by time (e.g. monthly or annual reports). The time is deter¬mined by time-related business rules (e.g. produce this report at the end of every day, or prepare a tax return at the end of each tax period).
A sequence diagram shows what?
::how classes and objects interact during a scenario.
::how objects used in the scenario interact but not how they are related to one another
::how user interface components or software components interact
:: the stimuli flowing between objects
What is the difference between Procedural and Asynchronous message flow?
::Procedural Flow transfers to the receiving object. The sender cannot act until a return message is received
::Asynchronous Flow (also known as a signal) allows the object to continue with its own processing after sending the signal. The object may send many signals simultaneously, but may only accept one signal at a time.
What are the disadvantages of the Sequence Diagram technique?
::must be defined for each possible scenario
:: requires a fully defined class model
Transitions are triggered by what?
::activities completed
::events
::other stimuli
What are the elements of the Structured Walkthrough technique?
There are 3:
::Prerequisites
::Process
::Rules to Followed During the Review
There are five prerequisites to the structured walkthrough. What are they?
::A complete requirements package
::A List of appropriate reviewers
::A meeting vehicle
::Compile Notes and results of Review
::Re-Review
There are three facets of the Process element of a structured walkthrough. What are they?
::Review Scope
::Organize and Schedule review
::Conduct the Review
What are the advantages of the structured walkthrough technique?
::Promotes discussion of the requirements among stakeholders
::Effective at identifying possible ambiguities and areas of misunderstanding.
What are the elements of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
There are 3:
::Prepare
::Distribute
::Document Results
There are several components to survey preparation. What are they?
::Define the purpose and the target survey group
::Choose appropriate survey type
::Select sample group
::Select distribution and collection methods
::Project desired level of response
::Determine if survey should be supported with interviews
::Write survey questions
:: Test Survey
Individual interviews, in addition to survey results, may be helpful for what?
Pre-survey interviews with key individuals may provide ideas for survey questions.
::Post-survey interviews can target specific survey responses or themes to elicit a greater level of detail.
Distribution of a survey should take in account what?
::Organizational policies
::Urgency of obtaining the results
::Level of security required
::Geographic distribution of the respondents
What are the advantages of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
::When using closed-ended questions, surveys can be effective for obtaining quantitative data for use in statistical analysis.
::When using open-ended questions, survey results may yield insights and opinions not easily obtainable through other elicitation techniques
::Does not typically require significant time from the responders.
:: Effective and efficient when stakeholders are not located in one location
::May result in large number of responses
::Quick and relatively inexpensive to administer
What are the disadvantages of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
::Use of open-ended questions requires more analysis
::To achieve unbiased results, specialized skills in statistical sampling methods are needed when the decision has been made to survey a subset of potential respondents.
::Some questions may be left unanswered or answered incorrectly due to their ambiguous nature
::May require follow up questions or more survey iterations depending on the answers provided
::Not well suited for collecting information on actual behaviors
::The response rates for surveys are often too low for statistical significance. The use of incentives or enforcement means may be used to alleviate this.
SWOT analysis is a framework for what?
::strategic planning
::opportunity analysis
::competitive analysis
::business and product development.
User stories are typically a sentence or two that describes what?
::who uses the story
::the goal they are trying to accomplish
::any additional information that may be critical to understanding the scope of the story
A user story includes what three things?
::Actor
::Description
::Benefit
What are the advantages of the User Stories technique?
:: create an environment of customer ownership of features and prioritizations in an incremental, iterative development environment
::may eliminate the need to provide functional requirements in some environments
::require that the value delivered by the story be clearly articulated
What are the disadvantages of the User Stories technique?
::may not be the best technique for some environments with regulatory restrictions or when an organization mandates documentation
::may not be effective when participants are not co-located
::does not explicitly address how to document non-functional requirements.
What are the elements of the Vendor Assessment technique?
There are 6:
::Knowledge and Expertise
::Licensing and Pricing Models
::Product Reputation and Market Position
::Terms and Conditions
::Vendor Experience and Reputation
::Vendor Stability
What are the advantages of the Vendor Assessment technique?
::reduces the risk of the organization developing a relationship with an unsuitable vendor
::likely to improve long-term satisfaction with the decision.
What are the disadvantages of the Vendor Assessment technique?
::time-consuming
:: information may not be readily available
:: new and innovative products may score poorly because they do not have a significant history in the market
What is the purpose of the Interface Analysis technique?
To identify interfaces between solutions and/or solution components and define requirements that describe how they will interact.
Interface analysis helps to clarify what?
The boundaries of the interfacing applications. It distinguishes which application provides specific functionality along with the input and output data needs
A basis for successful interoperability is established b y doing what?
Clearly and carefully separating the requirements for each application while defining the shared interface requirements
What type of diagram provides useful information in determining potential interfaces to and from external parties?
Context Diagram
An interface for each what?
Each stakeholder or system that interacts with the system in question
Prototyping is typically used to model what type of interface?
User-to-system
What are the disadvantages of the Interface Analysis technique?
Does not provide insight into other aspects of the solution since the analysis does not assess the internal components
What is the purpose of the Interview technique?
An interview is a systematic approach designed to elicit information from a person or group of people in an informal or formal setting by talking to an interviewee, asking relevant questions and documenting the responses.
The answers obtained in an interview are used for what purpose?
Creation of requirements
What are closed-ended questions?
Questions that are used to elicit a single response such as: yes, no, or a specific number. Example: How many hours does it take for the claim process to be completed?
What are open-ended questions?
Questions that are used to elicit a dialog or series of steps and cannot be answered in a yes or no fashion but need explaining. Example: What does a claim processor do on receipt of a claim form?
What is the purpose of the Lessons Learned technique?
The purpose of the lessons learned process is to compile and document successes, opportunities for improvement, failures, and recommendations for improving the performance of future projects or project phases.
What is the purpose of the Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) technique?
The purpose of metrics and key performance indicators are to measure the performance of solutions, solution components, and other matters of interest to stakeholders.
What is the definition of a metric?
A metric is a quantifiable level of an indicator that an organization uses to measure progress
What does an indicator, that which is measured by a metric, do?
An indicator identifies a specific numerical measurement that represents the degree of progress toward achieving a goal, objective, output, activity or further input.
What specifically does a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) do?
A Key Performance Indicator is one that measures progress towards a strategic goal or objective.
What is involved with reporting with regard to metrics?
Reporting is the process of informing stakeholders of metrics of indicators in specified formats at specified intervals
Metrics and reporting are key components of what?
monitoring and evaluation
What is the definition of monitoring in the BABOK 2.0?
A continuous process of collecting data to determine how well a solution has been implemented compared to expected results
What is the definition of evaluation in the BABOK 2.0?
The systematic and objective assessment of a solution to determine its status and efficacy in meeting objectives over time, and to identify ways to improve the solution to better meet objectives
What is the key driver of a monitoring, evaluation and reporting a system’s cost with regard to the Metric and KPI technique?
The method of data collection
What must a target metric do?
Reach an objective within a specific time period
The reliability factor of metrics is described as what?
The extent to which the data collection approach is stable and consistent across time and space
The validity factor of metrics is described as what?
The extent to which data clearly and directly measure the performance the organization intends to mea¬sure
The Timeliness factor of metrics is describes as what?
The fit of the frequency and latency of data to management’s need for it
What does metric reporting do?
Compares the baseline, current metrics and target metrics to each other, with calculations of the differences presented in both absolute and relative terms
What is the purpose of the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
The purpose of non-functional requirements is to describe the required qualities of a system, such as its usability and performance characteristics
What is the non-functional requirement schema used in the BABOK 2.0?
ISO 9126
In order to test a non-functional requirement, what must be included in its description?
How to measure its success
What are the advantages of the Non-Functional Requirements Analysis technique?
Success in meeting non-functional requirements will have a strong influence on whether or not a system is accepted by its users
What is the purpose of the Observation technique?
Observation is a means of eliciting requirements by conducting an assessment of the stakeholder’s work environment
What are the two approaches of observation?
Passive/invisible and Active/visible
What is the purpose of the Organizational Modeling technique?
Organization Modeling is used to describe the roles, responsibilities and reporting structures that exist within an organization and to align those structures with the organization’s goals
An organizational model defines what?
How an organization or organizational unit is structured
What do organizational units do?
Organizational units bring together a group of people to fulfill a common purpose or goal
Functionally-oriented organizations group together staff based on what?
shared skills or areas of expertise.
Functionally-oriented organizations facilitate cost management and reduce duplication of work, but are prone to develop what?
communication and cross-functional co-ordination problems (known informally as “silos”).
Market-oriented structures enable the organization to be better oriented with the needs of its customers, but are prone to develop what?
inconsistencies in how work is performed and to duplicate work in multiple divisions
In a matrix modeled organization, there are separate WHAT for each functional area and for each product, service, or customer group
Managers
Work packages and communication comprise what between organizational units?
Interfaces
What are the advantages of the Organizational Modeling technique?
Organizational models are one of the few types of models any organization is almost certain to have defined.
What is the purpose of the Problem Solving technique?
Problem tracking provides an organized approach to tracking, management, and resolution of defects, issues, problems, and risks throughout business analysis activities.
If problems cannot be resolved in a reasonable period of time, what type of action is necessary?
Escalation
What is the purpose of the Process Modeling technique?
To understand how work that involves multiple roles and departments is performed within an organization
A process describes what?
How multiple people or groups collaborate over a period of time to perform work
How is a process initiated?
A process is initiated by an event in the business domain
What is an event?
Events may be actions taken by a person, rules which cause action to be taken, or simply the passage of a period of time
Is a process model always a model of automation?
No. It may be a combination of manual and automation or completely manual.
When is a process considered complete?
The process is complete when the objective or the goal of the process is completed.
What is a swimlane?
Swimlanes are horizontal or vertical sections of a process model that show which activities are performed by a particular role
What is an event in a process model?
Events occur outside the scope of a process and may be the result of actions taken, messages received, or the passage of time. Events may create, interrupt, or terminate processes.
What is a pool in a process model?
A pool represents an organizational boundary. It may include a number of swimlanes. Commonly, a process will include one pool for the customer and a second pool for the organization, although it is possible for a process to include any number of pools.
Six Sigma and Lean are examples of what?
Process Improvement methodologies
What is the purpose of the Prototyping technique?
Prototyping details user interface requirements and integrates them with other requirements such as use cases, scenarios, data and business rules.
Stakeholders use prototyping to do what?
Stakeholders often find prototyping to be a concrete means of identifying, describing and validating their interface needs
What is the difference between a horizontal and vertical functional prototype?
A horizontal prototype models a shallow, and possibly wide view of the system’s functionality. It typically does not have any business logic running behind the visualization. A vertical prototype models a deep, and usually narrow slice of the entire system’s functionality
True or False: A prototype is built in a singular fashion and then reviewed
False. Prototyping is an iterative process
What are the other names for Storyboarding?
Dialog Map, Dialog Hierarchy, Navigation Flow
What is the difference between a screen prototype and a screen layout?
Screen prototypes provide data attributes, selection criteria and supporting business rules, while a screen layout or mockup provides a graphical representation of the elements. At this detailed level, one would apply any organizational standards or style guides.
What is the purpose of the Requirements Workshop technique?
A requirements workshop is a structured way to capture scope, discover, define, prioritize and reach closure on requirements for the target system.
Why is the role of the business analyst a topic of concern in the requirements workshop?
The BA may serve as the facilitator, scribe or SME and the stakeholders may have concerns that the BA is biased as to the outcome
During workshop preparation, what is the purpose of the interviews?
To meet with stakeholders to ensure that the purpose of the requirements workshop is understood and aligned with the needs of each attendee, and to ensure that any preparation needed for the session by that attendee is understood.
What is the role of the scribe in the requirements workshop?
To document the requirements in the format determined prior to the workshop and keep track of any items or issues that are deferred during the session itself.
What is the purpose of the Risk Analysis technique?
To identify and manage areas of uncertainty that can impact an initiative, solution, or organization
A risk describes what?
An uncertain event or occurrence that may have an effect on the ability of the business analyst, project team, or organization to achieve an objective.
True of False: Risks are always negative in nature
False. Risks can be positive or negative in nature
What is risk tolerance?
How much risk an organization can effectively deal with
Risk aversion seeks to do what?
Reduce or avoid risk in trade-off for reduction in potential benefits in return for a more certain outcome
A neutral approach to risk means that the probable benefits gained from the risk response must be what?
Must equal to or outweigh the costs in order to justify action
A risk-seeking organization or individual is one that do what with regard to risk?
Accept relatively high risks in order to maximize the potential benefit. Risk-seekers may accept low chances of success
Assessment of risk involves what?
Determining the probability that the risk will occur and the impact if it does occur
Risk response strategies determine what?
How the organization will deal with a risk
What are the advantages of the Risk Analysis technique?
Enables an organization to prepare for the likelihood that at least some things will not go as planned
What are the disadvantages of the Risk Analysis technique?
It may only be possible to manage a subset of potential risks.
What is the purpose of the Root Cause Analysis technique?
The purpose of root cause analysis is to determine the underlying source of a problem
What is root cause analysis?
Root cause analysis is a structured examination of the aspects of a situation to establish the root causes and resulting effects of the problem
What is the critical element of effective root cause analysis?
A challenge to current organizational thinking and processes
The fishbone diagram is also known as what two other names?
Ishikawa or cause-and-effect diagram
A fishbone diagram is used to do what?
Identify and organize the possible causes of a problem
What is the five whys?
A question-asking process to explore the nature and cause of a problem by repeatedly asking questions in an attempt to get to the root cause of the problem
What are the advantages of the Root Cause Analysis technique?
Root cause analysis provides a structured method to identify the root causes of identified problems, thus ensuring a complete understanding of the problem under review
What are the disadvantages of the Root Cause Analysis technique?
Root cause analysis works best when someone who has formal training or extensive experience facilitates a team of experts. The primary concern revolves around the ability of the facilitator to remain objective, a critical element to effective root cause analysis.
What is the purpose of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
Scenarios and use cases are written to describe how an actor interacts with a solution to accomplish one or more of that actor’s goals, or to respond to an event
What is the difference between a scenario and a use case?
A scenario is generally understood to describe just one way that an actor can accomplish a particular goal, while a use case describes all the possible outcomes
Scenarios are written as what?
A series of steps performed by actors or by the solution that enable an actor to achieve a goal
A use case describes what?
Several scenarios in the form of primary and alternate flows
Regarding use cases and scenarios, what is an actor?
An actor is any person, system, or event external to the system under design that interacts with that system through a use case
The name of the actor represents what?
The role tha actor plays interfacing with the system
What is the definition of a precondition?
A precondition is any fact that the solution can assume to be true when the use case begins
What is the definition of a post-condition?
Any fact that must be true when the use case is complete. The post conditions must be true for all possible flows through the use case
Relationships between actors and use cases are called what?
Associations. An association line only indicates that an actor has access (of some kind) to the functionality represented by the use case
Relationships between use cases are known as what?
Stereotypes.
What are the two common types of stereotypes?
Includes and extends
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the base use case to make use of functionality present in another use case
Includes
This type of relationship is known as what?
….allows for the insertion of additional behavior into a use case
Extends
The use case that is being extended must be what?
completely functional in its own right
The extending use case does not need to be what?
complete without reference to the base use case
The included use case does not need to be a complete use case in its own right when.
If it is not directly triggered by an actor
The Includes relationship is most often used when?
When some shared functionality is required by several use cases
What are the advantages of the Scenarios and Use Case technique?
Good at clarifying scope and providing a high-level understanding of user behavioral goals, normal situations, alternatives or exception paths through an activity or business process
What is the purpose of the Scope Modeling technique?
Scope models are used to describe the scope of analysis or the scope of a solution
Scope models serve as what?
A basis for defining and delimiting the scope of business analysis and project work
What does a context diagram do?
It uses a single data process to describe the scope and shows the external entities and data stores that provide data to and receive data from the system
What is the definition of a feature?
A feature is a service that the solution provides to fulfill one or more stakeholder needs.
What are the advantages of the Scope Modeling technique?
A scope model will make it easier to determine what should be in and out of scope for a solution, even when new requirements are identified or requirements change.
What are the disadvantages of the Scope Modeling technique?
A scope model will usually leave much of the detailed scope still needing to be investigated and detailed
What is the purpose of the Sequence Diagram technique?
Sequence diagrams are used to model the logic of usage scenarios, by showing the information passed between objects in the system through the execution of the scenario.
What is a stimulus?
A message and the arrival of the stimulus at the object is called an event
How are messages depicted in a sequence diagram?
A message is shown as an arrow pointing from the lifeline of the object sending the message to the lifeline of the object receiving it
What is message flow?
It describes the types of messages sent between objects
What are the two types of message flow?
Procedural and Asynchronous
Sequence diagrams are used to validate what other type of diagrams?
Class Diagrams against Use Case Diagrams
What is the purpose of the State Diagram technique?
A state diagram shows how the behavior of a concept, entity or object changes in response to events
A state diagram specifies what?
A sequence of states that an object goes through during its lifetime, and defines which events cause a transition between those states
Current state of an object controls what?
The object’s allowable behavior
What are the other names of a State Diagram?
State Machine Diagram, State Transition Diagram, and Entity Life Cycle Diagram
What are the elements of the State Diagram technique?
States and Transitions
A state represents what?
A unique condition that an object can be in or status that it may have
What defines the meaning of the state?
The meaning of state is definable within the context of the business area being analyzed
A transition represents what?
Dynamic behavior that moves an item from one state to another.
An event may only cause a transition when?
If the object is affected by the event in its current state.
With regard to transitions, what determines if objects respond to events?
Business rules
What are the advantages of the State Diagram technique?
Helping Domain SMEs list and describe the states and then draw the allowable transitions between states often uncovers missing data, control and behavioral requirements and may be helpful to clarify confusing or even conflicting requirements
What are the disadvantages of the State Diagram technique?
There may be actual states an object goes through as part of its life cycle that do not have relevance to the domain and these should not be modeled
What is the purpose of the Structured Walkthrough technique?
Structured walkthroughs are performed to communicate, verify and validate requirements.
What is a structured walkthrough?
A structured walkthrough is a working session where invited participants review and discuss a set of requirements
A walkthrough may result in what?
Revised requirements as well as issues that require investigation
What is the difference between a structured walkthrough and an inspection?
The inspection is more formal and uses checklists and other tools
What is the deliverable of the structured walkthrough session?
The deliverable of a structured walkthrough is a list of questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions that are compiled during the working session
What are the disadvantages of the structured walkthrough technique?
Review sessions can lead to repeated revisions if changes are not carefully managed. The length of the revision and review cycle can result in a lengthy approval process.
What is the purpose of the Survey/Questionnaire technique?
A survey is a means of eliciting information from many people, sometimes anonymously, in a relatively short period of time
A survey can collect information about what?
customers, products, work practices and attitudes
There are two types of surveys. What are they?
Open-ended and closed
In a closed survey, what happens?
The respondent is asked to select from available responses
When are closed surveys used?
When the range of user’s responses is fairly well understood, but the strength of each response category needs to be determined.
Why are responses to closed questions are easier to analyze than those gained from open-ended questions?
Because they can be tied to numerical coefficients.
What happens in open-ended surveys?
The respondent is free to answer the questions as they wish
When are open-ended surveys used?
When the issues are known but the range of user responses to them is not
Open-ended questions may provide more detail and a wider range of responses than those gained from closed-ended questions, but are more difficult to quantify and summarize why?
They often include qualitative, rather than quantitative, language.
A survey requires detailed preparation to ensure what?
The needed information is obtained while minimizing the respondent’s time to complete it.
Initial steps of a survey are the same as for an interview keeping in mind that semi-structured interviews are similar to what other technique?
open-ended surveys.
Initial steps of a survey are the same as for an interview (9.14), keeping in mind that structured interviews are similar to what other technique?
closed-ended surveys
Variation in geographic distribution, regulatory differences or lack of standardization in job function or business process may prompt what to occur?
The need to survey all members of a large group
What is the purpose of the SWOT Analysis technique?
A SWOT analysis is a valuable tool to quickly analyze various aspects of the current state of the business process undergoing change
SWOT is an acronym for what?
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
In SWOT Analysis, a strength is what?
Anything that the assessed group does well
In SWOT Analysis, a weakness is what?
Those things that the assessed group does poorly or not at all. Weaknesses are also internal.
In SWOT Analysis, an opportunity is what?
External factors that the assessed group may be able to take advantage of.
In SWOT Analysis, a threat is what?
External factors that can negatively affect the assessed group
What are the advantages of the SWOT Analysis technique?
Helps to quickly analyze various aspects of the current state of the organization and its environment prior to identifying potential solution options
What are the disadvantages of the SWOT Analysis technique?
Very high-level view; more detailed analysis is almost always needed
What is the purpose of User Stories technique?
User Stories are a brief description of functionality that users need from a solution to meet a business objective.
A user story is a what?
A textual description of things that the solution needs to allow users to do
A user story should have defined what?
Acceptance and Evaluation criteria
What is the purpose of the Vendor Assessment technique?
To assess the ability of a potential vendor to meet commitments regarding a product or service.
Service levels expected of a third party can be defined in this technique using what?
Non-functional requirements
What is a common reason for using third-party vendors?
They can provide knowledge and expertise not available within the organization
Why should the analyst review the terms and condition of the vendor third party?
To evaluate whether the vendor’s licensing terms and technology infrastructure are likely to present challenges
In addition to experience, the vendor can also be assessed for what other external factors?
The vendor can also be evaluated for conformance and compliance with external relevant standards for quality, security, and professionalism
Activity Diagram
A model that illustrates the flow of processes and/or complex use cases by showing each activity along with information flows and concurrent activities. Steps can be superimposed onto horizontal swimlanes for the roles that perform the steps.
Activity
A unit of work performed as part of an initiative or process.
Actor(s)
The human and nonhuman roles that interact with the system.
Allocation
The process of apportioning requirements to subsystems and components (i.e., people, hardware, and software). [See requirements allocation.]
Analyst
A generic name for a role with the responsibilities of developing and managing requirements. Other names include business analyst, business integrator, requirements analyst, requirements engineer, and systems analyst.
Association
A link between two elements or objects in a diagram.
Assumption
Assumptions are influencing factors that are believed to be true but have not been confirmed to be accurate.
Attribute
A data element with a specified data type that describes information associated with a concept or entity.
Baseline
A point-in-time view of requirements that have been reviewed and agreed upon to serve as a basis for further development.
Benchmarking
A comparison of a process or system’s cost, time, quality, or other metrics to those of leading peer organizations to identify opportunities for improvement.
Black Box Tests
Tests written without regard to how the software is implemented. These tests show only what the expected input and outputs will be.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a team activity that seeks to produce a broad or diverse set of options through the rapid and uncritical generation of ideas.
Business Analysis
Business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies and operations of an organization, and recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.
Business Analysis Approach
The set of processes, templates, and activities that will be used to perform business analysis in a specific context.
Business Analysis Communication Plan
A description of the types of communication the business analyst will perform during business analysis, the recipients of those communications, and the form in which communication should occur.
Business Analysis Plan
A description of the planned activities that the business analyst will execute in order to perform the business analysis work involved in a specific initiative.
Business Analyst
A practitioner of business analysis.
Business Architecture
A subset of the enterprise architecture that defines an organization’s current and future state, including its strategy, its goals and objectives, the internal environment through a process or functional view, the external environment in which the business operates, and the stakeholders affected by the organization’s activities.
Business Case
An assessment of the costs and benefits associated with a proposed initiative.
Business Constraint(s)
Business constraints are limitations placed on the solution design by the organization that needs the solution. Business constraints describe limitations on available solutions, or an aspect of the current state that cannot be changed by the deployment of the new solution. See also technical constraint.
Business Domain
The problem area undergoing analysis. [See domain.]
Business Domain Model
A conceptual view of all or part of an enterprise focusing on products, deliverables and events that are important to the mission of the organization. The domain model is useful to validate the solution scope with the business and technical stakeholders. See also model.
Business Event
A system trigger that is initiated by humans.
Business Goal
A state or condition the business must satisfy to reach its vision.
Business Need(s)
A type of high-level business requirement that is a statement of a business objective, or an impact the solution should have on its environment.
Business Policy
A business policy is a non-actionable directive that supports a business goal.
Business Process
A set of defined ad-hoc or sequenced collaborative activities performed in a repeatable fashion by an organization. Processes are triggered by events and may have multiple possible outcomes. A successful outcome of a process will deliver value to one or more stakeholders.
Business Requirement
A higher level business rationale that, when addressed, will permit the organization to increase revenue, avoid costs, improve service, or meet regulatory requirements.
Business Requirements Document
A Business Requirements Document is a requirements package that describes business requirements and stakeholder requirements (it documents requirements of interest to the business, rather than documenting business requirements).
Business Rule(s)
A business rule is a specific, actionable, testable directive that is under the control of the business and supports a business policy.
Capability
A function of an organization that enables it to achieve a business goal or objective.
Cardinality
The number of occurrences of one entity in a data model that are linked to a second entity. Cardinality is shown on a data model with a special notation, number (e.g., 1), or letter (e.g., M for many).
Cause and Effect Diagram
A diagramming technique used in root cause analysis to identify underlying causes of an observed problem, and the relationships that exist between those causes. [See fishbone diagram.]
Change Control Board (CCB)
A small group of stakeholders who will make decisions regarding the disposition and treatment of changing requirements.
Change-driven Methodology
A methodology that focuses on rapid delivery of solution capabilities in an incremental fashion and direct involvement of stakeholders to gather feedback on the solution’s performance.
Checklist
A quality control technique. They may include a standard set of quality elements that reviewers use for requirements verification and requirements validation or be specifically developed to capture issues of concern to the project.
Class
A descriptor for a set of system objects that share the same attributes, operations, relationships, and behavior. A class represents a concept in the system under design. When used as an analysis model, a class will generally also correspond to a real-world entity.
Class Model
A type of data model that depicts information groups as classes.
Code
A system of programming statements, symbols, and rules used to represent instructions to a computer.
Commercial-off-the-Shelf Software (COTS)
Software developed and sold for a particular market.
Competitive Analysis
A structured process which captures the key characteristics of an industry to predict the long-term profitability prospects and to determine the practices of the most significant competitors.
Constraint
A constraint describes any limitations imposed on the solution that do not support the business or stakeholder needs.
Context Diagram
An analysis model that illustrates product scope by showing the system in its environment with the external entities (people and systems) that give to and receive from the system.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Analysis done to compare and quantify the financial and non-financial costs of making a change or implementing a solution compared to the benefits gained.
Customer
A stakeholder who uses products or services delivered by an organization.
Data Dictionary
An analysis model describing the data structures and attributes needed by the system.
Data Entity
A group of related information to be stored by the system. Entities can be people, roles, places, things, organizations, occurrences in time, concepts, or documents.
Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
An analysis model that illustrates processes that occur, along with the flows of data to and from those processes.
Data Model
An analysis model that depicts the logical structure of data, independent of the data design or data storage mechanisms.
Decision Analysis
An approach to decision-making that examines and models the possible consequences of different decisions. Decision analysis assists in making an optimal decision under conditions of uncertainty.
Decision Tables
An analysis model that specifies complex business rules or logic concisely in an easy-to-read tabular format, specifying all of the possible conditions and actions that need to be accounted for in business rules.
Decision Tree
An analysis model that provides a graphical alternative to decision tables by illustrating conditions and actions in sequence.
Decomposition
A technique that subdivides a problem into its component parts in order to facilitate analysis and understanding of those components.
Defect
A deficiency in a product or service that reduces its quality or varies from a desired attribute, state, or functionality. See also requirements defect.
Deliverable
Any unique and verifiable work product or service that a party has agreed to deliver.
Design Constraints
Software requirements that limit the options available to the system designer.
Desired Outcome
The business benefits that will result from meeting the business need and the end state desired by stakeholders.
Developer
Developers are responsible for the construction of software applications. Areas of expertise include development languages, development practices and application components.
Dialog Hierarchy
An analysis model that shows user interface dialogs arranged as hierarchies.
Dialog Map
An analysis model that illustrates the architecture of the system’s user interface.
Discovery Session
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator. [See requirements workshop.]
Document Analysis
Document analysis is a means to elicit requirements of an existing system by studying available documentation and identifying relevant information.
Domain
The problem area undergoing analysis.
Domain Subject Matter Expert (SME)
A person with specific expertise in an area or domain under investigation.
Elicitation
An activity within requirements development that identifies sources for requirements and then uses elicitation techniques (e.g., interviews, prototypes, facilitated workshops, documentation studies) to gather requirements from those sources.
Elicitation Workshop
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator. [See requirements workshop.]
End User
A person or system that directly interacts with the solution. End users can be humans who interface with the system, or systems that send or receive data files to or from the system.
Enterprise
An organizational unit, organization, or collection of organizations that share a set of common goals and collaborate to provide specific products or services to customers.
Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise architecture is a description of an organization’s business processes, IT software and hardware, people, operations and projects, and the relationships between them.
Entity-Relationship Diagram
An entity-relationship diagram is a graphical representation of the entities relevant to a chosen problem domain, the relationships between them, and their attributes.
Evaluation
The systematic and objective assessment of a solution to determine its status and efficacy in meeting objectives over time, and to identify ways to improve the solution to better meet objectives. See also metric, indicator and monitoring.
Event
An event is something that occurs to which an organizational unit, system, or process must respond.
Event Response Table
An analysis model in table format that defines the events (i.e., the input stimuli that trigger the system to carry out some function) and their responses.
Evolutionary Prototype
A prototype that is continuously modified and updated in response to feedback from users.
Exploratory Prototype
A prototype developed to explore or verify requirements.
External Interfaces
Interfaces with other systems (hardware, software, and human) that a proposed system will interact with.
Feasibility Analysis
An evaluation of proposed alternatives to determine if they are technically possible within the constraints of the organization and whether they will deliver the desired benefits to the organization. [See feasibility study.]
Feasibility Study
An evaluation of proposed alternatives to determine if they are technically possible within the constraints of the organization and whether they will deliver the desired benefits to the organization.
Feature
A cohesive bundle of externally visible functionality that should align with business goals and objectives. Each feature is a logically related grouping of functional requirements or non-functional requirements described in broad strokes.
Fishbone Diagram
A diagramming technique used in root cause analysis to identify underlying causes of an observed problem, and the relationships that exist between those causes.
Focus Group
A focus group is a means to elicit ideas and attitudes about a specific product, service or opportunity in an interactive group environment. The participants share their impressions, preferences and needs, guided by a moderator.
Force Field Analysis
A graphical method for depicting the forces that support and oppose a change. Involves identifying the forces, depicting them on opposite sides of a line (supporting and opposing forces) and then estimating the strength of each set of forces.
Functional Requirement(s)
The product capabilities, or things the product must do for its users.
Gap Analysis
A comparison of the current state and desired future state of an organization in order to identify differences that need to be addressed.
Glossary
A list and definition of the business terms and concepts relevant to the solution being built or enhanced.
Goal
A state or condition the business must satisfy to reach its vision. [See business goal.]
Horizontal Prototype
A prototype that shows a shallow, and possibly wide, view of the system’s functionality, but which does not generally support any actual use or interaction.
Impact Analysis
An impact analysis assesses the effects that a proposed change will have on a stakeholder or stakeholder group, project, or system.
Implementation Subject Matter Expert (SME)
A stakeholder who will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the change described in the requirements and have specialized knowledge regarding the construction of one or more solution components.
Included Use Cases
A use case composed of a common set of steps used by multiple use cases.
Incremental Delivery
Creating working software in multiple releases so the entire product is delivered in portions over time.
Indicator
An indicator identifies a specific numerical measurement that indicates progress toward achieving an impact, output, activity or input. See also metric.
Initiative
Any effort undertaken with a defined goal or objective.
Inspection
A formal type of peer review that utilizes a predefined and documented process, specific participant roles, and the capture of defect and process metrics. See also structured walkthrough.
Interface
A shared boundary between any two persons and/ or systems through which information is communicated.
Interoperability
Ability of systems to communicate by exchanging data or services.
Interview
A systematic approach to elicit information from a person or group of people in an informal or formal setting by asking relevant questions and documenting the responses.
Iteration
A process in which a deliverable (or the solution overall) is progressively elaborated upon. Each iteration is a self-contained “mini-project” in which a set of activities are undertaken, resulting in the development of a subset of project deliverables. For each iteration, the team plans its work, does the work, and checks it for quality and completeness. (Iterations can occur within other iterations as well. For example, an iteration of requirements development would include elicitation, analysis, specification, and validation activities.)
Knowledge Area
A group of related tasks that support a key function of business analysis.
Lessons Learned Process
A process improvement technique used to learn about and improve on a process or project. A lessons learned session involves a special meeting in which the team explores what worked, what didn’t work, what could be learned from the just-completed iteration, and how to adapt processes and techniques before continuing or starting anew.
Metadata
Metadata is information that is used to understand the context and validity of information recorded in a system.
Methodology
A set of processes, rules, templates, and working methods that prescribe how business analysis, solution development and implementation is performed in a particular context.
Metric
A metric is a quantifiable level of an indicator that an organization wants to accomplish at a specific point in time.
Model(s)
A representation and simplification of reality developed to convey information to a specific audience to support analysis, communication and understanding.
Monitoring
Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting data to determine how well a solution is implemented compared to expected results. See also metric and indicator.
Need(s)
A type of high-level business requirement that is a statement of a business objective, or an impact the solution should have on its environment. [See business need.]
Non-functional Requirement(s)
The quality attributes, design and implementation constraints, and external interfaces that the product must have.
Objective
A target or metric that a person or organization seeks to meet in order to progress towards a goal.
Object Oriented Modeling
An approach to software engineering where software is comprised of components that are encapsulated groups of data and functions which can inherit behavior and attributes from other components; and whose components communicate via messages with one another. In some organizations, the same approach is used for business engineering to describe and package the logical components of the business.
Observation
Observation is a means to elicit requirements by conducting an assessment of the stakeholder’s work environment.
Operational Support
A stakeholder who helps to keep the solution functioning, either by providing support to end users (trainers, help desk) or by keeping the solution operational on a day-to-day basis (network and other tech support).
Operative Rule(s)
The business rules an organization chooses to enforce as a matter of policy. They are intended to guide the actions of people working within the business. They may oblige people to take certain actions, prevent people from taking actions, or prescribe the conditions under which an action may be taken.
Opportunity Analysis
The process of examining new business opportunities to improve organizational performance.
Optionality
Defining whether or not a relationship between entities in a data model is mandatory. Optionality is shown on a data model with a special notation.
Organization
An autonomous unit within an enterprise under the management of a single individual or board, with a clearly defined boundary that works towards common goals and objectives. Organizations operate on a continuous basis, as opposed to an organizational unit or project team, which may be disbanded once its objectives are achieved.
Organization Modeling
The analysis technique used to describe roles, responsibilities and reporting structures that exist within an organization.
Organizational Process Asset
All materials used by groups within an organization to define, tailor, implement, and maintain their processes.
Organizational Readiness Assessment
An assessment that describes whether stakeholders are prepared to accept the change associated with a solution and are able to use it effectively.
Organizational Unit
Any recognized association of people in the context of an organization or enterprise.
Peer Review
A validation technique in which a small group of stakeholders evaluates a portion of a work product to find errors to improve its quality.
Plan-driven Methodology
Any methodology that emphasizes planning and formal documentation of the processes used to accomplish a project and of the results of the project. Plan-driven methodologies emphasize the reduction of risk and control over outcomes over the rapid delivery of a solution.
Prioritization
The process of determining the relative importance of a set of items in order to determine the order in which they will be addressed.
Problem Statement
A brief statement or paragraph that describes the problems in the current state and clarifies what a successful solution will look like.
Process
A set of defined ad-hoc or sequenced collaborative activities performed in a repeatable fashion by an organization. Processes are triggered by events and may have multiple possible outcomes. A successful outcome of a process will deliver value to one or more stakeholders. [See business process.]
Process Map
A business model that shows a business process in terms of the steps and input and output flows across multiple functions, organizations, or job roles.
Process Model
A visual model or representation of the sequential flow and control logic of a set of related activities or actions.
Product
A solution or component of a solution that is the result of a project.
Product Backlog
A set of user stories, requirements or features that have been identified as candidates for potential implementation, prioritized, and estimated.
Product Scope
The features and functions that characterize a product, service or result.
Project
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
Project Charter
A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project, and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.
Project Manager
The stakeholder assigned by the performing organization to manage the work required to achieve the project objectives.
Project Scope
The work that must be performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions. See also scope.
Prototype
A partial or preliminary version of the system.
Quality
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.
Quality Assurance
Activities performed to ensure that a process will deliver products that meet an appropriate level of quality.
Quality Attributes
The subset of nonfunctional requirements that describes properties of the software’s operation, development, and deployment (e.g., performance, security, usability, portability, and testability).
Questionnaire
A survey administers a set of written questions to stakeholders in order to collect responses from a large group in a relatively short period of time. [See survey.]
Regulator
A stakeholder with legal or governance authority over the solution or the process used to develop it.
Relationship
A defined association between concepts, classes or entities. Relationships are usually named and include the cardinality of the association.
Relationship Map
A business model that shows the organizational context in terms of the relationships that exist among the organization, external customers, and providers.
Repository
A real or virtual facility where all information on a specific topic is stored and is available for retrieval.
Request For Information (RFI)
A requirements document issued to solicit vendor input on a proposed process or product. An RFI is used when the issuing organization seeks to compare different alternatives or is uncertain regarding the available options
Request For Proposal (RFP)
A requirements document issued when an organization is seeking a formal proposal from vendors. An RFP typically requires that the proposals be submitted following a specific process and using sealed bids which will be evaluated against a formal evaluation methodology.
Request For Quote (RFQ)
An informal solicitation of proposals from vendors.
Requirement
A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective.
A condition or capability that must be met of possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents.
A documented representation of a condition or capability as in 1) or 2).
Requirement(s) Attribute
Metadata related to a requirement used to assist with requirements development and management.
Requirement(s) Defect
An error in requirements caused by incorrect, incomplete, missing, or conflicting requirements.
Requirements Allocation
The process of apportioning requirements to subsystems and components (i.e., people, hardware, and software).
Requirements Discovery Session
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator. [See requirements workshop.]
Requirements Document
A requirements package is a set of requirements grouped together in a document or presentation for communication to stakeholders. [See requirements package.]
Requirements Iteration
An iteration that defines requirements for a subset of the solution scope. For example, an iteration of requirements would include identifying a part of the overall product scope to focus upon, identifying requirements sources for that portion of the product, analyzing stakeholders and planning how to elicit requirements from them, conducting elicitation techniques, documenting the requirements, and validating the requirements.
Requirements Management
The activities that control requirements development, including requirements change control, requirements attributes definition, and requirements traceability.
Requirements Management Plan
A description of the requirements management process.
Requirements Management Tool
A software tool that stores requirements information in a database, captures requirements attributes and associations, and facilitates requirements reporting.
Requirements Model
A representation of requirements using text and diagrams. Requirements models can also be called user requirements models or analysis models and can supplement textual requirements specifications.
Requirements Package
A requirements package is a set of requirements grouped together in a document or presentation for communication to stakeholders.
Requirements Risk Mitigation Strategy
An analysis of requirements-related risks that ranks risks and identifies actions to avoid or minimize those risks.
Requirements Signoff
Formal approval of a set of requirements by a sponsor or other decision maker.
Requirements Trace Matrix
A matrix used to track requirements’ relationships. Each column in the matrix provides requirements information and associated project or software development components.
Requirements Traceability
The ability to identify and document the lineage of each requirement, including its derivation (backward traceability), its allocation (forward traceability), and its relationship to other requirements.
Requirements Validation
The work done to ensure that the stated requirements support and are aligned with the goals and objectives of the business.
Requirements Verification
The work done to evaluate requirements to ensure they are defined correctly and are at an acceptable level of quality. It ensures the requirements are sufficiently defined and structured so that the solution development team can use them in the design, development and implementation of the solution.
Requirements Workshop
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator.
Retrospective
A process improvement technique used to learn about and improve on a process or project. A lessons learned session involves a special meeting in which the team explores what worked, what didn’t work, what could be learned from the just-completed iteration, and how to adapt processes and techniques before continuing or starting anew. [See lessons learned process.]
Return on Investment
A measure of the profitability of a project or investment.
Risk
An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, will affect the goals or objectives of a proposed change.
Risk Mitigation Strategy
An analysis of requirements-related risks that ranks risks and identifies actions to avoid or minimize those risks. [See requirements risk mitigation strategy.]
Root Cause Analysis
Root cause analysis is a structured examination of an identified problem to understand the underlying causes.
Scenario
An analysis model that describes a series of actions or tasks that respond to an event. Each scenario is an instance of a use case.
Scope
The area covered by a particular activity or topic of interest. See also project scope and solution scope.
Scope Model
A model that defines the boundaries of a business domain or solution.
Secondary Actor
An actor who participates in but does not initiate a use case.
Sequence Diagram
A type of diagram that shows objects participating in interactions and the messages exchanged between them.
Service
Work carried out or on behalf of others.
Software Engineer
Developers are responsible for the construction of software applications. Areas of expertise include development languages, development practices and application components. [See developer.]
Software/Systems Requirements Specification
A requirements document written primarily for Implementation SMEs describing functional and nonfunctional requirements.
Solution
A solution meets a business need by resolving a problem or allowing an organization to take advantage of an opportunity.
Solution Requirement
A characteristic of a solution that meets the business and stakeholder requirements. May be subdivided into functional and non-functional requirements.
Solution Scope
The set of capabilities a solution must deliver in order to meet the business need. See also scope.
Span of Control
Span of control is the number of employees a manger is directly (or indirectly) responsible for.
Sponsor
A stakeholder who authorizes or legitimizes the product development effort by contracting for or paying for the project.
Stakeholder
A group or person who has interests that may be affected by an initiative or influence over it.
Stakeholder Analysis
The work to identify the stakeholders who may be impacted by a proposed initiative and assess their interests and likely participation.
Stakeholder List, Roles, and Responsibility Designation
A listing of the stakeholders affected by a business need or proposed solution and a description of their participation in a project or other initiative.
Stakeholder Requirement
Stakeholder requirements are statements of the needs of a particular stakeholder or class of stakeholders. They describe the needs that a given stakeholder has and how that stakeholder will interact with a solution. Stakeholder requirements serve as a bridge between business requirements and the various categories of solution requirements.
State Diagram
An analysis model showing the life cycle of a data entity or class.
State Machine Diagram
An analysis model showing the life cycle of a data entity or class. [See state diagram.]
State Transition Diagram
An analysis model showing the life cycle of a data entity or class. [See state diagram.]
Stated Requirements
A requirement articulated by a stakeholder that has not been analyzed, verified, or validated. Stated requirements frequently reflect the desires of a stakeholder rather than the actual need.
Structural Rule
Structural rules determine when something is or is not true or when things fall into a certain category. They describe categorizations that may change over time.