Free IIBA CCBA Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 9

Stakeholder analysis is a technique to identify the stakeholders who have an interest or influence on the project, and to determine their needs, expectations, and level of involvement. Stakeholder analysis is critical for communications planning, as it helps to tailor the communication content, frequency, and format to suit the preferences and requirements of each stakeholder group. Stakeholder analysis also helps to identify potential risks, issues, and conflicts that may arise from different stakeholder perspectives and expectations. Stakeholder analysis is usually performed at the beginning of the project and updated throughout the project lifecycle as new stakeholders emerge or existing ones change their roles or interests. References:

CCBA Handbook, page 16

[BABOK Guide], page 30

[Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide], page 39

[Business Analysis: The Question and Answer Book], page 25

 The BA should ensure buy-in from key stakeholders before using “Product Box” as a collaboration game to prioritize the list of features. Buy-in is the agreement and support of the stakeholders for a proposed solution, approach, or decision. Buy-in is important for the success of any business analysis activity, as it helps to build trust, commitment, and collaboration among the stakeholders. Buy-in can be achieved by involving the stakeholders in the planning, elicitation, analysis, and validation of the requirements, as well as by addressing their needs, expectations, and concerns. The BA should ensure buy-in from key stakeholders for using “Product Box” as a collaboration game, as it may be a new or unfamiliar technique for some stakeholders, or they may have different preferences or opinions on how to prioritize the features. The BA should explain the benefits and purpose of the game, as well as the rules and expectations, and seek feedback and agreement from the stakeholders before conducting the game. The BA should also ensure that the game is aligned with the business objectives and the stakeholder requirements.

References:

CCBA Handbook, page 16

[BABOK Guide], page 30

[Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide], page 39

[Business Analysis: The Question and Answer Book], page 25

The creative thinking process is a technique that involves generating and evaluating new and original ideas to address a problem or an opportunity. The creative thinking process has three values to determine the effectiveness of the process: 12

Willingness of stakeholders to accept new approaches: This value measures the degree to which the stakeholders are open and supportive of the creative thinking process and its outcomes. It reflects the level of trust, collaboration, and feedback among the stakeholders, as well as the alignment of the creative ideas with the stakeholder needs and expectations. A high willingness of stakeholders to accept new approaches indicates a positive and conducive environment for creativity and innovation.

Application of new ideas to resolve existing problems: This value measures the degree to which the creative ideas are relevant and feasible for solving the current problem or seizing the current opportunity. It reflects the level of understanding, analysis, and validation of the problem or opportunity, as well as the alignment of the creative ideas with the project objectives and constraints. A high application of new ideas to resolve existing problems indicates a practical and effective outcome of the creative thinking process.

The successful generation and productive consideration of new ideas: This value measures the degree to which the creative ideas are novel and diverse for addressing the problem or opportunity. It reflects the level of imagination, exploration, and evaluation of the possible solutions, as well as the alignment of the creative ideas with the organizational goals and strategy. A high successful generation and productive consideration of new ideas indicates a rich and valuable output of the creative thinking process.

Option B is incorrect because generation of a pre-determined number of new ideas for a business solution is not a value to determine the effectiveness of the creative thinking process. While having a goal or a target for the number of ideas can help to motivate and focus the creative thinking process, it is not a measure of the quality, relevance, or feasibility of the ideas. The goal or target should be flexible and realistic, and not compromise the purpose of the creative thinking process. The quantity of the ideas is not as important as the quality, diversity, and applicability of the ideas3 References:

Business Analysis Techniques - ECBA, CCBA, CBAP Endorsed, Section 7.5: Creative Thinking, p. 83-84.

Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn, Module 7: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, Lesson 7.3: Define Design Options, p. 6-7.

Creative Thinking Process - The Peak Performance Center

[How to Choose the Right Business Analysis Approach]

According to the BABOK Guide, the process of defining the business need involves identifying and describing the problem or opportunity that requires a change in the current state of the organization, and articulating the value proposition for the change1. The process of defining the business need uses one output, which is business need. Business need is a statement that describes the problem or opportunity, the desired outcome, the assumptions, constraints, and risks, and the impact on the organization and its stakeholders2. Business need is used as an input for other tasks, such as defining the solution scope, assessing the current state, and conducting stakeholder analysis1.

The other options are not correct outputs of the process of defining the business need:

Feasibility study: A feasibility study is an analysis that evaluates the viability and suitability of a proposed solution based on various criteria, such as technical, operational, economic, legal, and social factors3. A feasibility study is not an output of the process of defining the business need, but rather an output of the task of assessing proposed solutions1.

Solution scope: Solution scope is a description of the boundaries of the solution, including what is in and out of scope, the key assumptions and constraints, and the major features and functions2. Solution scope is not an output of the process of defining the business need, but rather an output of the task of defining the solution scope1.

Capability gaps: Capability gaps are the differences between the current and desired capabilities of the organization, such as processes, skills, systems, or resources2. Capability gaps are not an output of the process of defining the business need, but rather an output of the task of assessing the current state1. References:

1: BABOK Guide, section 5.1 Define the Business Need, page 94

2: BABOK Guide, section 3.8 Glossary, page 516-524

3: CBAP/CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, 2nd Edition, by Susan Weese and Terri Wagner, Wiley, 2011, page 297

Allocating requirements is the process of assigning stakeholder and solution requirements to solution components, releases, and organizational areas. The purpose of this process is to maximize the business value delivered by the solution, by ensuring that each requirement is addressed by the most appropriate component, release, or area. Allocating requirements also helps to manage dependencies, risks, and priorities among requirements. References:

Business Analysis Expert Certification, CCBA® | IIBA®, section “Who can Become a CCBA?”

A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide), version 3, section 6.4 “Allocate Requirements”

According to the BABOK Guide, the task of assessing organizational readiness involves analyzing the readiness, willingness, and ability of the stakeholders and the organization to accept, adopt, and use the solution1. This task requires inputs from various sources that provide information on the current and desired state of the organization, the solution scope and objectives, the stakeholder roles and responsibilities, and the potential impacts and risks of the change. Among the inputs listed in the question, the one that is not an input to the task of assessing organizational readiness is risk register. A risk register is an output of the task of identifying risks, which involves identifying and documenting the uncertainties that may affect the business analysis work or the solution2. A risk register is not an input to the task of assessing organizational readiness, but rather an input to the task of managing risks, which involves planning and implementing responses to the identified risks2.

The other options are all correct inputs to the task of assessing organizational readiness:

Enterprise architecture: Enterprise architecture is a description of the current and future structure and behavior of an organization’s processes, information systems, personnel, and organizational sub-units3. It provides an input to the task of assessing organizational readiness, as it helps to understand the alignment, dependencies, and gaps between the current and future state of the organization and the solution1.

Solution scope: Solution scope is a description of the boundaries of the solution, including what is in and out of scope, the key assumptions and constraints, and the major features and functions3. It provides an input to the task of assessing organizational readiness, as it helps to define the scope and objectives of the change, and the expected benefits and outcomes of the solution1.

Stakeholder concern: Stakeholder concern is a statement of a need, expectation, problem, or opportunity that is relevant to one or more stakeholders3. It provides an input to the task of assessing organizational readiness, as it helps to identify and analyze the stakeholder needs, expectations, interests, and attitudes towards the change, and the potential impacts and issues that may arise from the solution1. References:

1: BABOK Guide, section 6.2 Assess Organizational Readiness, page 116

2: BABOK Guide, section 4.7 Identify Risks, page 126; section 4.8 Manage Risks, page 130

3: BABOK Guide, section 3.8 Glossary, page 516-524

 Positive risk ranking is a basis for prioritization that allows the project team to work initially with lower-risk requirements first. Positive risk ranking is a technique that assigns a score to each requirement based on the level of risk associated with it, where a higher score indicates a lower risk and a lower score indicates a higher risk. The requirements are then prioritized in descending order of their scores, so that the project team can focus on the requirements that have the least uncertainty, complexity, or volatility first, and defer the requirements that have the most uncertainty, complexity, or volatility later. Positive risk ranking helps to reduce the likelihood and impact of potential problems, issues, or changes that may affect the requirements or the solution12

Option A is incorrect because quantitative ranking is not a basis for prioritization that allows the project team to work initially with lower-risk requirements first, but a technique that uses numerical values to compare and rank the requirements based on multiple criteria, such as value, cost, risk, urgency, dependency, etc. Quantitative ranking does not necessarily prioritize the lower-risk requirements first, but the requirements that have the highest overall score based on the weighted criteria34

Option C is incorrect because relationship to other requirements is not a basis for prioritization that allows the project team to work initially with lower-risk requirements first, but a factor that considers the dependencies and interdependencies among the requirements, such as prerequisite, co-requisite, or conflicting requirements. Relationship to other requirements does not necessarily prioritize the lower-risk requirements first, but the requirements that have the most influence or impact on the other requirements.

Option D is incorrect because implementation difficulty is not a basis for prioritization that allows the project team to work initially with lower-risk requirements first, but a factor that considers the effort, time, resources, and skills required to implement the requirements. Implementation difficulty does not necessarily prioritize the lower-risk requirements first, but the requirements that have the least difficulty or complexity to implement.

References:

Business Analysis Techniques - ECBA, CCBA, CBAP Endorsed, Section 8.5: Prioritization, p. 101-102.

Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn, Module 7: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, Lesson 7.5: Define Transition Requirements, p. 6-7.

Business Analysis Techniques - ECBA, CCBA, CBAP Endorsed, Section 8.5: Prioritization, p. 102-103.

Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn, Module 7: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, Lesson 7.5: Define Transition Requirements, p. 8-9.

[Business Analysis Techniques - ECBA, CCBA, CBAP Endorsed], Section 8.5: Prioritization, p. 100-101.

[Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn], Module 7: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, Lesson 7.5: Define Transition Requirements, p. 10-11.

[Business Analysis Techniques - ECBA, CCBA, CBAP Endorsed], Section 8.5: Prioritization, p. 100.

[Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn], Module 7: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, Lesson 7.5: Define Transition Requirements, p. 12-13.

Project scope defines all of the required work to satisfy the requirements of the project, including the deliverables, activities, tasks, and resources needed. Project scope is usually documented in a project scope statement or a project charter. Project scope is different from product scope, which defines the features and functions of the product, service, or result that the project intends to deliver. Requirements envisioning is a technique to create a shared vision of the desired outcome among the stakeholders. Requirements foundation is a term used by some authors to describe the core concepts and principles of business analysis. References:

CCBA Handbook, page 11

[BABOK Guide], page 28

[Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide], page 36

[Business Analysis: The Question and Answer Book], page 23

Requirements traceability is the process of linking requirements to other related artifacts, such as design elements, test cases, or issues, throughout the project life cycle. Requirements traceability helps to ensure that the requirements are aligned with the project objectives, validated by the stakeholders, and verified by the testers. Requirements traceability also supports change management, impact analysis, and quality assurance.

There are different tools and techniques that can be used to implement requirements traceability, depending on the size, complexity, and nature of the project. One of the simplest and most common tools is a spreadsheet, which can be used to create a requirements traceability matrix (RTM). An RTM is a table that lists the requirements in one axis and the related artifacts in another axis, and shows the relationships between them using symbols, colors, or codes. An RTM can be used when there is a relatively low amount of requirements that need to be traced, and when the project team is familiar with the spreadsheet software.

A spreadsheet-based RTM has some advantages, such as being easy to create, update, and share, and being flexible and customizable. However, it also has some limitations, such as being prone to errors, inconsistencies, and duplication, and being difficult to maintain, scale, and integrate with other tools. Therefore, for larger or more complex projects, it may be more suitable to use a dedicated requirements management tool that supports traceability features, such as SpiraTeam1, codeBeamer2, or Modern Requirements3

When there are relatively few criteria involved in assessing the solution options, it is best to focus on the differences of the solutions, as they are likely to have the most impact on the decision. Focusing on the commonalities, the life cycle costs, or the implementation costs may not provide enough information to distinguish the solutions and select the best one for the business need. References: BABOK Guide v3, section 10.4.3.2; CCBA Handbook, section 5.4.4.3.

A weighted scoring model is a technique that assigns weights to different criteria and rates each vendor’s performance against them. The total score for each vendor is calculated by multiplying the weight and the rating for each criterion and summing them up. The vendor with the highest score is selected as the best option. A weighted scoring model is one of the tools and techniques of the Evaluate Potential Value and Recommend Solution task, which is part of the Strategy Analysis knowledge area. A weighted scoring model is different from a scoring model, which does not assign weights to the criteria and uses a simple sum of the ratings. A vendor profile assessment scale is a tool that defines the characteristics and requirements of a vendor and assigns a score based on how well they match them. A screening system is a process that filters out vendors that do not meet the minimum requirements or standards. References: Business Analysis Expert Certification, CCBA® | IIBA®, CERTIFICATION OF CAPABILITY IN BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Expert judgment is a technique that involves consulting with individuals or groups who have specialized knowledge, skills, or experience in a relevant domain or discipline. Henry can use expert judgment to determine the optimal business analysis approach, which is the set of processes, activities, tasks, deliverables, roles, responsibilities, and governance that will be used to conduct the business analysis work. By asking an expert to help him define the business analysis duties, Henry can benefit from the expert’s insights, opinions, recommendations, and best practices, and apply them to his specific project context and objectives. Expert judgment can help Henry to select themost suitable and effective business analysis approach for his project, and to ensure the quality and alignment of the business analysis outputs and outcomes12

Option A is incorrect because Henry being a new business analyst is not the reason why he would ask an expert to help him define the business analysis duties. While being a new business analyst may imply that Henry has less experience or confidence in defining the business analysis duties, it does not necessarily mean that he needs to consult with an expert. Henry may have other sources of information or guidance, such as the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), the organizational standards and policies, or the project manager and sponsor. Moreover, even if Henry is an experienced business analyst, he may still benefit from using expert judgment, as each project may have different challenges, complexities, and uncertainties that require expert input3

Option B is incorrect because Henry should not always use expert judgment to confer on the business analysis approach, but only when it is appropriate and feasible. Expert judgment is not the only technique that Henry can use to define the business analysis approach, but one of the many techniques that are available and applicable. Henry should consider the advantages and disadvantages of using expert judgment, such as the availability, reliability, and credibility of the experts, the cost and time of consulting with them, and the potential bias or conflict of interest that may arise from their involvement. Henry should also consider the other factors that may influence the business analysis approach, such as the stakeholder needs and expectations, the project objectives and constraints, and the organizational culture and environment4

Option C is incorrect because Henry using an expert to help save time is not the reason why he would ask an expert to help him define the business analysis duties. While using an expert may help Henry to save time by providing him with quick and ready answers, it may also introduce some risks or challenges, such as the accuracy, validity, and applicability of the expert’s advice, the dependency and accountability of Henry on the expert’s input, and the communication and coordination issues that may occur between Henry and the expert. Henry should not use expert judgment as a shortcut or a substitute for his own analysis and judgment, but as a supplement or a support for his decision making5

References:

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), Version 3, Chapter 2: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Section 2.1: Plan Business Analysis Approach, p. 31-32.

Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn, Module 5: Planning and Monitoring, Lesson 5.1: Plan Business Analysis Approach, p. 6-7.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), Version 3, Chapter 1: Introduction, Section 1.2: What is Business Analysis?, p. 5-6.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), Version 3, Chapter 10: Techniques, Section 10.14: Expert Judgment, p. 347-348.

Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA®) - Simplilearn, Module 5: Planning and Monitoring, Lesson 5.2: Plan Stakeholder Engagement, p. 6-7.

Positive risk is not a concern for Jason when defining the business case and associated risks, because positive risk is also known as opportunity, which is a potential benefit or gain for the organization. The other risks are potential threats or losses that could negatively affect the solution or the organization. According to the BABOK® Guide, a business case should include an assessment of the risks, costs, benefits, and impacts of the proposed solution, as well as the alternatives. References: BABOK® Guide, section 3.4.5.1; CCBA® Handbook, section 4.5.

 Prototyping is a business analysis technique that allows a business analyst (BA) to create a preliminary version of a solution, enabling stakeholders to visualize and interact with its appearance and capabilities before the final product is developed. This helps in clarifying requirements and can lead to more accurate and user-centered solutions.

References: The information is verified as per the Capability in Business Analysis™ (CCBA®) Learning documents, specifically the CCBA Handbook and the IIBA website, which outline the use of prototyping as a technique to model business processes and identify opportunities for better business outcomes

 In this scenario, the stakeholders are actually defining solutions, not business requirements. Solutions are the specific ways of satisfying one or more business needs in the context of a specific project or initiative. Solutions include the products, services, or results that are delivered to the stakeholders, as well as the changes to the organization, processes, and capabilities that are required to enable the delivery. Solutions are different from business requirements, which are the higher-level statements of the goals, objectives, or needs of the enterprise. Business requirements are not solution-specific and do not include any details of how the needs will be met. Business requirements are also different from perceived problems, which are the negative aspects of the current state that the stakeholders want to resolve; perceived needs, which are the positive aspects of the desired state that the stakeholders want to achieve; and longevity, which is the expected lifespan of the solution or the business need. References:

CCBA Handbook, page 10

[BABOK Guide], page 10

[Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide], page 14

[Business Analysis: The Question and Answer Book], page 9