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PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide with Solutions 2024, Exams of Marketing Business-to-business (B2B)

PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide with Solutions 2024

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Download PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide with Solutions 2024 and more Exams Marketing Business-to-business (B2B) in PDF only on Docsity! 1 The correct answer is: C As you build the requirements traceability matrix, it’s important to investigate and record depen- dencies during the sequencing of business analysis work. Having this information will improve development efforts and walkthroughs, concentrating efforts on those requirements that are man- datory to the project. There are four possible combinations of dependencies for each requirement: (a) mandatory internal, (b) mandatory external, (c) discretionary internal, and (d) discretionary external. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is partially correct. Internal dependencies are most often within the control of the project team and involve predecessor relationships, whereas external dependencies are most often outside the control of the project team and involve interactions between project and non-project activities. However, it is missing mandatory and discretionary. Answer Choice B: This answer choice is partially correct. Mandatory dependencies either are determined to be bound by contractual, legal, or statutory obligations or are essential to deliver- ing the solution, whereas discretionary dependencies are based on leading practice in a particular subject area. They are often referred to as preferred or soft logic. Answer Choice D: This is a distractor and made-up answer choice. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 6.3.2.2, “Dependency Determination.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 2. The correct answer is: C When working on projects, the business analyst and project managers collaborate to deliver a solution that meets the needs of the stakeholders, as established in the business case. From the perspective of the responsibility assignment matrix, the assigned project manager is responsible PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide with Solutions 2024 1. You are collaborating with Blake on the sequencing of activities for the next generation of air transport that your company is pioneering. As the project manager, she is inquiring about any dependencies that may exist in your product. You describe dependencies that are: a. Internal and external to the proposed solution b. Mandatory and discretionary to the proposed solution c. Mandatory external and discretionary internal to the proposed solution d. Represented by nodes and graphically linked to logical relationships 2. As the business analyst for a company that manufactures fire suppression systems, you’re collabo- rating with a project manager on the development of the project management plan for a new state-of-the-art fire suppressor. It’s the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that requirements- related activities are performed on time and: a. Are completed within budget b. Are within the boundaries of the charter c. Are within budget and deliver value d. Are approved by the project management office (PMO) 2 The correct answer is: D Business processes drive product, quality, and stakeholder requirements, which spell out and articulate a business need or a required capability of a solution. There are four categories of requirements: (a) product, (b) stakeholder, (c) quality, and (d) project. The business analyst will collaborate with the project manager on stakeholder and quality requirements and will have the lead on product requirements. The project manager will solicit input from the business analyst on project requirements but will have ultimate accountability. Table 1.5: Requirement Types (page 12) and Table 1.6: Requirement Examples (page 13) further explain the categories that are likely to appear on the exam. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is partially correct; however, it omits stakeholder, solution, transition, and requirements. Answer Choice B: This answer choice is partially correct; the distracter is service quality. This is a confusing topic on the exam—nonfunctional requirements are quality requirements that describe the quality characteristics of the solution, whereas quality of service describes the quality of the delivered product or solution. Answer Choice C: This is a distractor—nonfunctional and quality are synonymous. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 1.7.2, “Requirements Types.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 5. 3. In your role as business analyst for a company that manufactures roller coasters, you are preparing for an elicitation session with your primary stakeholders to discuss changes to an existing model. During these sessions, you will want to cover the following types of requirements: a. Functional and business b. Functional, service quality, solution, and business c. Nonfunctional, transition, business, quality, stakeholder, solution, and functional d. Business, functional, stakeholder, solution, transition, and other requirements that describe conditions or qualities required for the product to be effective. 4. Your colleague, Alice, has asked for help defining objectives and goals that define context, provide direction, and are easily understood. From the samples provided below, which would you recom- mend be included in the business case? a. To meet the organizational goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 10% next year, solar panels will be installed over all the parking lots and all the office buildings. b. To reduce organizational carbon footprint by 10%. for ensuring that requirements-related work is accounted for in the project management plan and that these activities are performed on time, are within budget, and deliver value. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is partially correct; however, it is missing “deliver value,” which is the link to the business case and the value proposition. Answer Choice B: This answer choice is the distractor; the charter is the artifact that authorized the project. Answer Choice D: This answer choice is too generic. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 1.7.1, to review “Responsibility for the Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 5. 5 The correct answer is: D To build consensus and resolve conflict, there are several techniques a well-trained business ana- lyst can use. Often, the most important technique is collaborating or arriving at a win–win solution that satisfies the interests of both parties; this is sometimes referred to as confronting or problem solving. Other conflict management and resolution techniques can include (a) forcing, which is also known as competing; (b) compromising; (c) withdrawing or avoiding; and (d) smoothing, also known as accommodating. Answer Choices A–C: While these are all valid conflict management and resolution techniques, collaborating is crucial to ensuring the success of the project, as all parties have a vested interest in the solution. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.15, “Resolve Requirements-Related Conflicts.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, “Knowledge and Skills,” #7, Conflict Management and Resolution Tolls and Techniques. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. The correct answer is: B Over the life of the project, because change is inevitable, the requirements change management plan will outline and establish how changes to product elements will be evaluated, communicated, 8. You are mediating a session with Delaney, a well-respected customer, and Meilani, the head of the solution team, trying to come to terms on the final requirements. As a well-trained business analyst, you know there are several techniques for conflict resolution, some of which include com- promising, withdrawing, and accommodating, but there can also be others; which one is crucial and most important? a. Accommodating b. Compromising c. Withdrawing d. Collaborating 9. You’ve requested that Charity draft a document outlining how changes to product elements will be completed and communicated over the life of the project. The document is a: a. Requirements management plan b. Requirements change management plan c. Requirements traceability matrix d. Requirements work plan Answer Choice A: When using passive observation, there is absolutely no interruption with the individual performing the process. Answer Choice B: When conducting a participatory observation, the observer would jointly per- form the activities with the individual performing the process. Answer Choice D: When using active observation, the observer would ask questions of the indi- vidual performing the process. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.5.5.6, “Observation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 3. 6 The correct answer is: C The culture of the organization and the formality of approval sessions will influence the required number of signatures. During project planning, the responsibility assignment matrix (RACI) was created, which established accountability for requirements signoff. This matrix was included as part of the requirements management plan and business analysis plan. Some organizations may require physical (aka wet) signatures on the requirements documents, while others will allow for electronic signatures or voting. Remember, formal signoff was outlined during the planning phase of the project. Answer Choices A, B, and D: At a minimum, the business analyst, business owner, and the person responsible for building the solution requirement should sign off on the requirement documents. Answer choice C completely addresses this by including the business analyst, product owner, and head of product development. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.14, “Approval Sessions.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. 10. You are leading an approval session and are asking for formal signoff on the requirements docu- ments. At a minimum, from whom should you seek formal signoff? a. Sponsor, product owner b. Product owner, solution team lead c. Business analyst, product owner, head of product development d. Sponsor, project owner, solution team lead 11. In a meeting with your sponsor, Ellie, she had recommended that you complete a RACI for the two highly visible projects that you’re supporting for the multinational agricultural company. As you complete the RACI, who has accountability for providing input to the current state of the company and identifying any opportunities associated with the project? a. Your sponsor, Ellie b. Your sponsor, Ellie, and you in your role as business analyst c. Your sponsor, Ellie, product management, and you in your role as the business analyst d. Your sponsor, Ellie, product management, project management, and you in your role as busi- ness analyst and addressed. The delivery methodology will influence the level of rigor and formality around the change process. For example, adaptive lifecycle projects anticipate and welcome change, whereas predictive and iterative projects may look for a more formal process. In either case, the change management plan establishes the framework and guidelines for the change process. Answer Choice A: This is a distractor. Although the change management plan is a component of the requirements management plan, answer choice B addresses the question in a more complete manner. Answer Choice C: The traceability matrix is used for tracing and tracking requirements over the duration of the project. Answer Choice D: The work plan establishes the required tasks to deliver the solution; it will not establish how changes to product elements will be completed and communicated over the life of the project. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.14, “Define the Requirements Change Process.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. 7 The correct answer is: C A dependency analysis is a technique used to determine whether a requirement cannot exist with- out the presence of another. Some tools show these relationships visually in the form of ws. There are four possible combinations of dependencies for each requirement: (a) mandatory internal, (b) mandatory external, (c) discretionary internal, and (d) discretionary external. Answer Choice A: This answer choice tests your knowledge of the tools and techniques. Impact assessments are used to evaluate changes. Dependency impact assessment is a made-up tool. Answer Choices B, D: While the requirements traceability matrix will record the dependency, a dependency analysis would first determine whether the requirement could exist without the pres- ence of another. Product documentation and issue management could be used as an input during this assessment. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.3, “Relationships and Dependencies.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 3. 12. What tool or technique can be used to determine if a requirement cannot be satisfied without another requirement being present, and what is a potential outcome? a. Dependency impact assessment, product documentation b. Requirements traceability matrix, issue management c. Dependency analysis, traceability tree d. Requirements traceability matrix, product documentation 13. It’s been requested that you work with Arabella, the head of zipper manufacturing, to address noncon- formance concerns with the product. Upon meeting with Arabella and her team, you recommend: a. Preventative measures, focusing primarily on training b. Preventative measures, addressing the time to manufacture each zipper c. Reviewing the 7QC tools to determine which ones are most appropriate within the context of the Deming Cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act) d. Creating a SIPOC diagram to identify the suppliers, the process inputs and outputs, and the customer’s requirements The correct answer is: A RACI charts, also known as responsibility assignment matrices (RAMs) and linear responsibility charts (LRCs), are incredibly useful tools, with a broad range of applicability. On the exam, you can expect a few questions pertaining to this topic and tool. In this scenario, the sponsor, as the senior executive, would be accountable for providing input to the current state of the company, identifying any opportunities, and overall approving the needs assessment and business case. For each task or deliverable, there can be only ONE person designated as “accountable.” Remember the saying, “Who’s Got the ‘A’?“ Answer Choices B–D: These answer choices offer invalid combinations of roles. The business ana- lyst is responsible for conducting the needs assessment and creating the business case; other team members would be consulted about the current state of the company and identifying any oppor- tunities associated with the project. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.3.1, “Identify Stakeholders.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 4. 10 The correct answer is: C This question tests your knowledge pertaining to interviewing techniques, which can be either formal or informal, to elicit responses from stakeholders. Interviews can be either structured or unstructured, and can be conducted synchronously or asynchronously. This is an example of a synchronous interview, which is conducted in real time, either in person or via audio or video con- ference. With the proliferation of collaboration tools and globalization of our workforce, it’s quite common for synchronous interviews to be held in formats other than in person. However, if pro- vided the opportunity, in-person interviews would be the preferred method. Answer Choice A: Asynchronous interviews are not conducted in real time; they are often recorded or conducted via email. Answer Choice B: Unstructured refers to an interview type in which the interviewer has a list of questions, but it is conducted in a more free-flowing format. Answer Choice D: Structured refers to an interview type in which the interviewer has a defined set of questions, and the elicitation is conducted with the intent of asking all the questions on the list. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.5.5.5, “Interviews.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 1. The correct answer is: B This scenario-based question requires careful reading. From the answer choices provided, which would not be a concern for the global team. With the proliferation of collaborative technology, teams have become stronger and more diverse, as more team members and stakeholders work remotely. It’s therefore more commonplace that 18. Greta is hosting a video conference to elicit information so that she may thoroughly document the solution requirements. Interviews performed in this manner are: a. Asynchronous b. Unstructured c. Synchronous d. Structured 19. Nyla, the business analyst for a hedge fund, has team members located in 12 countries on four continents. Which of the following should not be a concern for her global team? a. Will team members work at locations other than their primary location, and what is a typical work day? b. How will team members contribute to the decision-making process and address conflict? c. What is the approach to documentation analysis? d. How will requirements be elicited, managed, maintained, and approved? Large user stories are known as epics, which are decomposed into manageable pieces. The pre- ferred logic to validate a user story is based on the format given-when-then. Answer choice D is a properly formatted user story. Answer Choices A–C: These are all made-up answer choices. Examination Content Outline Knowledge and Skills, #37, “Validation Tools and Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 8. 11 The correct answer is: A As outlined in PMI’s Pulse of the Profession®, research has shown that to effectively improve busi- ness outcomes, organizations need to focus on culture, people, and processes. This includes skills development, formalization and standardization of processes, and garnering the support of senior leadership. Answer Choice B–D: While these may seem like logical and reasonable answer choices, they don’t properly address the question. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession®, Requirements Management: A Core Competency for Project and Program Success, page 4, “Executive Summary.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 1. The correct answer is: A This question tests your knowledge of both domain orientation and tool selection. The business ana- lyst is assessing whether the delivered solution is fulfilling the established requirements, which means we’re in the Evaluation domain, performing a quality assessment. As structured documents, check- lists can be used to verify that the delivered product is aligned with the customer’s requirements. Also known as checksheets or tally sheets, they are great for simply collecting and tracking data. Once complete, they become project artifacts and are considered organizational process assets. 20. Past projects at Soleil, Aubrey & Hart LLC, a leading management consulting firm, have been tumultuous, resulting in losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In a turnaround effort, the new chief project officer, Garth, recognizes that the organization must focus on key areas to improve the effectiveness of requirements management. As his business analyst, you would suggest: a. Skills development, formalization and standardization of processes, garnering the support of senior leadership b. Implementing the principles of business analysis and requirements management c. Using a business analysis plan, a requirements management plan, and change control d. Following the processes and using the tools and techniques from PMI publications 21. As you verify that the delivered product is fulfilling the outlined requirements, you make note of them, referring to: a. A checklist in your team’s collaboration portal b. The project management plan c. The schedule management plan d. The time management plan business analysts and team members have identified and established the optimal approach to engagement over the lifecycle of the initiative. Answer choice B pertains to addressing conflict and contributing to the decision-making process, both of which are cultural considerations and would be of less concern than the other answer choices provided. Answer Choices A, C, and D: These answer choices pertain more to location and availability and would be areas that require careful attention and planning. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.3.2.6, “Location and Availability.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. 12 The correct answer is: D This scenario-based question tests your knowledge of both the 7QC tools and the cost of quality (COQ). Following the use of an Ishikawa diagram (more commonly referred to as either a fishbone or a cause-and-effect diagram), internal project failures result in rework and scrap. These types of nonconformance costs can be incurred both during the project and after launch as the direct result of failures. Failures found by the project are categorized as internal failure costs. Answer Choices A and C: These are distracters and don’t properly address the question. Answer Choice B: This answer choice describes conformance costs, which can be categorized as either prevention or appraisal costs. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 8.1.2.2, Cost of Quality (COQ) PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 2. The correct answer is: C This is a very wordy question and provides a lot of unnecessary information. On the exam, remem- ber to focus your answer on the question only and weed out the noise. In this scenario, the ques- tion is, “What’s the most effective way to elicit responses on a number of topics from a dispersed group of stakeholders?” Questionnaires and surveys are the most efficient means of polling and 22. You’ve been assigned to work with Genevieve, the supervisor for the pipefitters at a high-rise office building in midtown Manhattan, to understand why the water pipes are losing pressure. Following a walkthrough, you create an Ishikawa diagram and determine the root cause of the problem: a. The journeyman’s apprentice assembled the areas of the pipes at which defects were found. b. Will necessitate spending money to avoid project failures. c. Will result in a claim to the trade union. d. Will be categorized as an internal project failure. 23. Saoirse is the business analyst working in the corporate accounting department of a Fortune 100 multinational company. She is assisting with the deployment of Hyacinth P&L, a software pack- age designed to consolidate financial information from accounting systems in 106 countries. As part of a companion project, she’d like to ask her global colleagues for their input on an assorted number of topics. What is the most efficient way to engage her colleagues? a. Send them an email containing the questions, requesting that they respond in kind. b. Schedule an audio conference at a mutually convenient time for all participants. c. Have your assistant Luna prepare a Survey Monkey. d. Plan a focus group with all participants within the next week. Answer Choice B: The project management plan is the aggregation of all the subsidiary project plans. Answer Choice C: The schedule management plan is a subsidiary component of the overall project management plan. This plan outlines the how and when related to the activities associated with creating, monitoring, and controlling the project schedule. Answer Choice D: Project time management is a knowledge area and is not a suitable answer choice. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 8.3.1.3, “Quality Checklists.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. 15 The correct answer is: B The Delphi is a structured technique used to facilitate informed decision making, designed to allow participants to comment anonymously on a particular subject matter. Commonly used for drafting policies, forecasting, or solutionizing, it relies on a panel of subject matter experts to arrive at a consensus. The panel can consist of individuals both internal and external to an organization and is always moderated by a facilitator. When used properly, all participants remain anonymous, even after the final decision or report is released. The facilitator is commonly an expert and may also hold a particular point of view. When using the Delphi technique, there are no less than two rounds of review; the process typically begins with a questionnaire. The strength of the tool is that it relies on peer pressure to reach consensus. Answer Choices A and D: These are made-up answer choices. Answer Choice C: The nominal group technique is optimally used so that all attendees can partici- pate equally. The tool is also especially helpful in cases in which the team is having difficulty deriv- ing potential solutions. It does not rely on peer pressure. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.15.1, “Delphi.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. 28. Your sponsor, Alessandra, would like to use a tool that is contingent on peer pressure to resolve a conflict. You advise her: a. This sounds a little Machiavellian and should not be a part of any sound method for resolving conflict. b. We can use the Delphi tool. c. The nominal group technique would be an appropriate solution. d. Take a step a back and think this through and evaluate other options, because peer pressure is not part of any sound method of resolving conflict. 29. Your sponsor, Callum, is familiar with the terms quality assurance and quality control. When he suggests that you identify the causes of metal failure in the company’s bolts and recommend cor- rective action, he’s referring to: This is a very wordy question, designed to distract exam candidates, which is quite common on the PMI-PBA® Exam. Remember to focus on exactly what the question is asking—in this case, it’s the last sentence, “On what document would the training requirements be identified?” Transition requirements focus on temporary activities to transition from the as-is to the to-be states. Tasks typically associated with transition requirements are training and data conversion. Answer Choice A: This is a made-up answer choice. Answer Choice B: Business requirements describe the higher-level needs of the enterprise. Typically in the form of a business requirements document (BRD), they describe the purpose/intent of the component and metrics to evaluate its impact on the organization. BRDs contain the com- ponent goals, which are linked to the strategic plan. The BRD focuses on the entire enterprise, not on specific organizational levels. Answer Choice C: Nonfunctional requirements are a subset of solution requirements, which describe the environmental conditions of the component. They are typically characterized as qual- ity or additive requirements and are described as “must haves.” Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.2.”Define Types of Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. 16 The correct answer is: C On the exam, you can expect a number of questions pertaining to both quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). Quality assurance is focused on prevention; with quality control the emphasis is on testing and inspection. Quality control (a) identifies the causes of poor product quality, (b) recommends corrective action, and (c) validates that the deliverables are in line with stakeholder expectations. Answer Choice A: Quality analysis is a term commonly used in software development; it is also concentrated on inspection, ensuring that procedures are followed as established by the project management office. Answer Choice B: Control charts are often used in Six Sigma to visually show how a process changes over time. There are three limits that the business analyst will study: the average, the upper control limit, and the lower control limit. Answer Choice D: A Pareto chart, sometimes called a Pareto diagram, is named after Italian econ- omist Vilfredo Pareto (1895). Data is represented based on an analysis that contends that approx- imately 20% of the causes account for 80% of the work. When you see “Pareto” on the exam, remember the 80/20 rule. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 8.3, “Quality Control.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 2. The correct answer is: D This question tests your knowledge of the observation concept, which allows individuals to gain a greater understanding of the situation under real-world conditions. There are four categories of observation: (a) passive, (b) active, (c) participatory, and (d) simulation. With participatory, the observer simulates or recreates the activities from the perspective of the end user—in this sce- nario, experiencing how the product would be used. Answer Choice A: When using active observation, the observer would ask questions of the individ- ual performing the process. Answer Choice B: When using the simulation technique, the observer mimics or recreates the activ- ities from the perspective of the end user. This can also be performed in test or training facilities. a. Quality analysis b. Control charts c. Quality control d. Pareto Diagrams 30. Paladin is a business analyst for Anwen Foods Inc, a world-class manufacturer of kitchen equip- ment for pizza restaurants. They are planning to expand their products to the Korean barbecue market, and in the process, they would gain a better understanding of how competitors’ products are used. What form of observation would best help them to experience how their product would be used and to ascertain the criteria for acceptance in the marketplace? a. Active b. Simulation c. Passive d. Participatory 17 The correct answer is: A This question is representative of ones you’re likely to find on the exam, introducing several dis- tracting words, in this case names of team members. Remember, the requirements change process can either be documented in one of two places. Either in the business analysis plan or included in the change management plan, which is a subsidiary of the project management plan. The most important consideration is that the approach and plan is agreed to by the project manager and business analyst and that it’s documented and communicated to stakeholders. Answer Choice B: If the project manager were to document the plan, it would become a subsidiary of the project management plan, not the business analysis plan. Answer Choices C & D: These are partially correct answer choices; however, answer choice A is more complete—identifying it will become part of the project management plan. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.14, “Define the Requirements Change Process.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. The correct answer is: C One of the biggest challenges with predictive methodologies (e.g., waterfall) is that each phase (i.e., plan, design, build, test, and deploy) must be completed before the next phase begins, and there are generally established exit criteria for each phase. Leading up to the testing phase, organizations have invested a significant amount of resources. The goal is to introduce the concept of evaluation early on in the process. In the case of adaptive methodologies (such as those covered under the 31. Your sponsor, Zander, requested a meeting with you and the project manager, Carter, to discuss documenting the requirements change management process. As you prepare for the meeting with Zander, you and Carter agree: a. As the business analyst, you’ll take accountability for documenting the plan, and it will become part of the project management plan. b. As the PM, Carter will document the plan as a part of the business analysis plan. c. As the business analyst, you’ll document the process and communicate it to the stakeholders. d. You and Carter will jointly develop the approach and communicate it to all relevant stakeholders. 32. Miriam has just joined the project team in the lead role responsible for coordinating and monitor- ing testing as the third round of system integrated testing commences. The team is planning to conduct ten rounds of testing for this highly complex automatous vehicle. As the team progresses to later rounds of system integrated testing, they are questioning why new issues are emerging. a. New issues are emerging as new functionality is being tested. b. Prior to Miriam’s arrival, the test plan was inadequate. c. Although the team was conducting testing from the start, they were not charting their results. d. Due to the complex nature of the testing, the team needed to purchase a tool to automate the testing, which has uncovered the new issues. Answer Choice C: When using passive observation, there is absolutely no interruption with the individual performing the process. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.5.5.6, “Observation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 3. 270 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: D Functional requirements are a subset of solution requirements, which describe the behaviors or function of the component—a statement of conformity. Described in Yes/No terms, they articulate specific functions that enable stakeholders to complete their goals and intentions. Answer Choice A: Business requirements describe the higher-level needs of the enterprise. Typic- ally in the form of a business requirements document (BRD), they describe the purpose/intent of the component and metrics to evaluate its impact on the organization. BRDs contain the com- ponent goals that are linked to the strategic plan. The BRD focuses on the entire enterprise, not specific organizational levels. Answer Choice B: The button requirement would be identified on the tracker, but it would not describe how it should work. Answer Choice C: Nonfunctional requirements are a subset of solution requirements, which describe the environmental conditions of the component. They are typically characterized as qual- ity or additive requirements and are described as “must haves.” Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, 5.2.2. “Define Types of Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. 36. Your subject matter expert for the order entry team, Preston, is describing how a button should work on a redesigned web page. How should these requirements be classified? a. Business b. Nonfunctional c. On the requirements traceability matrix d. Functional 37. You are the business analyst collaborating with your project manager, Graham, on a project that, when complete, will affect nearly all the residents in a community in Iowa. During your needs assessment, you recommend completing a RACI. Graham asks, what’s a RACI? You explain: a. It stands for Revitalization Assistance for Community Improvement, a document the sponsor requested be included in the charter. b. It stands for Risk-Adjusted Complication Index, an analysis to determine exactly how many residents will be affected by the project. c. It is a type of responsibility assignment matrix. d. It stands for responsible, accountable, consulted, informed. from a holistic perspective. In addition, a dependency analysis could be conducted to determine whether a requirement cannot exist without the presence of another. Some tools show these relationships visually in the form of traceability trees. Answer Choice B: This answer choice doesn’t properly address the situation. Answer Choice C: Changes can be proposed at any point in the project; deferring approval wouldn’t address the problem. Answer Choice D: This an unrealistic answer choice, as changes are inherent to projects. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.8.3, “Impact Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 5. 200-Question Practice Exam 271 ◾ The correct answer is: C As the subject matter experts and technical resources develop specification documents, build models, and execute test cases, changes are inevitable. It’s the business analyst’s responsibility to manage requested changes in accordance with the change control plan, which was produced in the Planning domain, all while managing the interrelated aspect of product delivery. Remember, on a project, change is inevitable, and on adaptive lifecycle projects, change is welcome and expected. Key for the exam: while any stakeholder can verbally suggest a change to the product, it must be documented and submitted to the Change Control Board to be considered. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is misleading, as any stakeholder can request a change. Answer Choice B: While this is an accurate statement, it doesn’t address who can request a change. Answer Choice D: This answer choice is also misleading, as it states, “recommend a change.” A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 4.5, “Perform Integrated Change Control.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 5. The correct answer is: C 38. Your college intern, Maverick, inquires as to who can request a significant change to the approved requirements traceability matrix. You share: a. Once documented, only the customer can request a significant change to the approved product. b. The Change Control Board must review and vote on the change request. c. Any stakeholder can request a significant change to the approved product, provided the request is documented. d. Any team member can recommend a change, provided the request is documented. 39. Your sponsor, Selena, has offered to assist with your efforts to plan for solution evaluation. From the answer choices below, which should not be included as part of your efforts? a. Evaluation criteria, acceptance thresholds, how results will be analyzed and reported b. When and how often evaluation will be performed c. Special measurement tools not used as part of solution evaluation d. Focus groups, observations, surveys, qualitative and quantitative activities The correct answer is: C RACI charts, also known as responsibility assignment matrices (RAMs) and linear responsibility charts (LRCs), are incredibly useful tools with a broad range of applicability. On the exam, you can expect a few questions pertaining to this topic and tool. The responsibility assignment matrix (RACI) was created during project planning, establishing accountability for requirements signoff. This matrix was included as part of the requirements management plan and business analysis plan. They help to clearly identify who’s responsible for completing the work; the one and only person who is accountable; experts who can be consulted; and others who need to be informed. Answer Choices A & B: These are made-up answer choices. Answer Choice D: This answer choice outlines the contents of the RACI. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.3.1,”Identify Stakeholders.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment, Task 4.” 272 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: D Elicitation sessions require the use of a number of skills to extract the most relevant and appropri- ate information. The Practice Guide lists a number of soft skills, including: (a) active listening, (b) empathy, (c) body language, (d) question selection, (e) question sequencing, and (f) influencing. In this scenario, by incorporating a variety of question styles (open-ended, closed-ended, contextual, and context-free), the business analyst is able to accomplish the intended goals and objectives of the focus group. Answer Choice A: Closed-ended questions, also known as forced choice, are best used for confir- mation. While context-free questions are appropriate in most all situations, this is not the correct answer choice because of the limitations associated with closed-ended questions. Answer Choice B: This answer choice lists the three types of questions: (a) contextual, (b) context- free, (c) and closed-ended. Despite neglecting to mention open-ended questions, the phrasing of the answer choice is also not appropriate, as there should be a balance. Answer Choice C: This answer choice is partially correct; however, it is missing contextual and closed-ended questions. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 4.5.2.1, “Types of Questions.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. 40. Aryan is an experienced business analyst and is highly skilled in elicitation. Tobias, a colleague leading a focus group that Aryan is attending, is having difficulty extracting key requirement baseline information from attendees. During a brief 15-minute break, Aryan suggests Tobias try: a. Using only closed-ended and context-free questions b. Primarily using contextual and context-free questions, with the occasional closed-ended question c. Concentrating to use only open-ended and context-free questions d. Using a combination of open-ended, contextual, context-free, and closed-ended questions 41. Collaborating with Rhett, your project manager, you have logically decomposed the total scope of work related to the product in a hierarchical manner. What was the output of your effort? a. Process model b. Work breakdown structure c. Capability table d. Salience diagram Evaluation occurs at multiple points during the project; in the planning phase, the business analyst is identifying these activities, the tools and techniques that will be used, and how the information will be collected and reported. They are essentially the tasks and activities that (a) validate test results, (b) analyze and communicate gaps, (c) fulfill the work with stakeholders to obtain signoff, and (d) conclude with an evaluation of the deployed solution. This question is asking “which should not be included.” Remember to read the questions very carefully. Answer Choices A, B, and D: These all include aspects that should be included as part of the efforts to plan for evaluation. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.15, “Define the Solution Evaluation Process.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 6. 200-Question Practice Exam 275 ◾ The correct answer is: B This is a very wordy question, and it introduces many unnecessary facts. The question is looking to establish the viability of a potential opportunity. To recommend a viable and appropriate solution, the business analyst would conduct an opportunity analysis focused on launching the new product. Answer Choices A & D: These are a made-up answer choices. Answer Choice C: While this might seem like a reasonable answer, prior to developing the business case, the business analyst would first need to determine the value proposition. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.4.4, “Perform Root Cause Analysis on the Situation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. The correct answer is: D To effectively manage stakeholders, especially on large initiatives, adding designations and group- ing them can simplify both the communication and engagement activities. While the Practice Guide offers a few suggestions, it’s ultimately the business analyst’s responsibility to determine the most relevant designations. Answer Choices A & B: A stakeholder interest table (power/interest grid) maps categories for engagement, such as unknown, blocker, neutral, supporter, and champion. While this would be helpful, it would not help in the organization of stakeholders. Answer Choice C: This answer choice is a distractor; while it may seem logical, as a business ana- lyst, you should be familiar with the methodologies as established by the project office. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.3.3, “Techniques for Grouping or Analyzing Stakeholders.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. You think back to business school—is this a “Blue Sky,” “Blue Ocean,” or “Red Ocean” concept? Either way, to assess the viability, you decide to start by: a. Meeting with all internal stakeholders to conduct a rationalized group technique (RGT) session and outline the opportunity. b. Conducting a study of the potential opportunity to determine the viability c. Developing a business case with Ophelia and presenting it your sponsor for consideration d. Conducting a proof of concept using the Monte Carlo technique 46. Crispin is helping you build and maintain the stakeholder register for a highly regulated generic pharmaceutical. As the list is quickly growing, how can the register be organized to simplify the stakeholder communication and engagement activities? a. Crispin should first identify the target audience, then create an interest table. b. Crispin should create an interest table, followed by a power/interest grid. c. You should consult with the project office to determine how they would prefer the stakeholder register to be organized. d. Crispin could add designations and group stakeholders to simplify engagement. 47. In your role as a business analyst for Khaleesi Consulting LLC, you are talking with Jacob about the last iteration of software development. The team has just completed testing, and they are quite satisfied with the results. Who has accountability to document the results? 276 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: A It is the responsibility of the business analyst to thoroughly document test results, decisions, out- comes, and issues at the end of each phase, sprint, iteration, or test cycle. This also includes cus- tomer perception and satisfaction with the delivered solution and creates the basis for knowledge transfer and supporting documentation for lessons learned. Answer Choices B–D: These answer choices are all distractors. While you may welcome the help, absent a test lead, it is the responsibility of the business analyst to thoroughly document the outcomes. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, page 54, Section 9.2.1, “Document, Project, or Phase Closure Activities.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. The correct answer is: C During testing, to validate whether the delivered solution is aligned with stakeholder requirements, business analysts may rely upon analytical techniques to uncover any gaps or issues. In addition to regression analysis, the Practice Guide lists three other techniques: (a) benchmarking, (b) gap analysis, and (c) trend analysis. Answer Choice A: A quantitative analysis produces results that are measurable and actionable; while in the broadest sense this could help to understand relationships, answer choice C is a better option. Answer Choice B: This is a made-up answer choice. Answer Choice D: An organizational analysis can be focused on both internal and external ele- ments and is used to evaluate its resources and potential. A common technique is a SWOT analysis, which focuses on strengths and weaknesses (internal) and opportunities and threats (external). Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 9.3.2, “Analytical Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. a. Jacob should suggest that you document the results and post them to the team’s collaboration site; this is a business analyst’s responsibility. b. As the project manager, Jacob offers to take the lead and document that stakeholders are satis- fied with the results. c. You suggest that Mary, the project coordinator and communication lead, update the informa- tion in the team’s collaboration site. d. Jacob suggests that the subject matter experts who performed the testing have accountability for documenting and posting the results to the team’s collaboration site. 48. Following a test cycle, Camille is working to understand the relationship that may exist between two variables. What type of analysis is Camille conducting? a. Quantitative analysis b. Data capture and logging analysis c. Regression analysis d. Organizational analysis 49. You are working with Yvaine and Fritz to create a presentation to leadership on the key elements of the service- and operational-level agreements. When building this presentation, you want to ensure that: 200-Question Practice Exam 277 ◾ The correct answer is: B When building presentations, you need to make them engaging and relevant; otherwise, you’ll lose your audience. The best approach to building an engaging presentation is to minimize text and bullets and speak to the audience rather than read from a text-packed slide deck. Answer Choices A & C: While these may seem like logical choices, they are distractors and made-up answer choices. Answer Choice D: This is a reasonable choice; however, as an experienced business analyst, you should have an understanding of the organization’s guidelines on presentations. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, “Knowledge and Skills,” #6, Communication Skills. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 8. The correct answer is: D Specification completeness is typically determined by the organization’s project management office and is dependent on the delivery methodology. However, it’s generally accepted that to be considered complete they must meet the following criteria: All aspects of the requirement are documented; inputs and outputs are identified; the document contains labels and references for all figures, tables, and diagrams. Answer Choices A–C: These answer choices are all distractors; the question is focused on what the documents should contain, which is universal to the requirement types. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 4.1.5.1, “Functional Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 7. a. Each slide has one topic, with six bullet points and a maximum of six words per bullet (1-6-6 Rule). b. Each slide is engaging, with text minimized. c. Each slide has one topic, with five bullet points and a maximum of five words per bullet (1-5-5 Rule). d. You consult with your communications department for guidelines on presentations. 50. Rhys believes his requirements documents are complete and is preparing to present them to the Project Steering Committee for review. Before doing so, what should he ensure that they all contain? a. All necessary business requirements b. Requirements identified that produce measurable outcomes, plus all necessary requirements c. All necessary requirements d. Labels and references to all figures; requirements identified that produce all necessary out- comes; responses identified for each input; and all necessary requirements. 51. The project team has a very elaborate SharePoint site to post team documents and to collabo- rate, although it’s referenced infrequently for requirements traceability information, because your spreadsheet has become the single source of truth. In addition, maintaining the SharePoint site is very time consuming, and it’s become stale over the last few months. The Change Control Board (CCB) has just authorized the addition of new attributes that will further categorize business value. At a minimum, what should you do? 280 The correct answer is: D Feasibility is a key characteristic of properly written requirement documents. Solution or product feasibility can only be assessed by taking into account a variety of elements. The Practice Guide describes four categories: (a) operational, (b) technology/system, (c) cost-effectiveness, and (d) time. On the exam, remember feasibility can best be determined by assessing a variety of factors. Answer Choice A: An operational feasibility assessment will determine if the delivered solution will be used and supported by all stakeholders. Answer Choice B: A technology feasibility assessment will evaluate if the proposed solution is via- ble based on current-day knowledge, tools, and equipment. Answer Choice C: A time feasibility assessment will determine if the proposed solution can be delivered within the timeline of the project, whereas a cost feasibility assessment will determine if the proposed solution can be delivered and supported considering the budgetary requirements of the organization. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 4.11.5.1, “Functional Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 7. The correct answer is: A This question leads in with unnecessary information to confuse you and slow down your exam cadence. The question is asking, “What is the change control methodology that is used on agile projects?” Although agile and other adaptive lifecycle projects plan for and anticipate change, the process must first be documented in either the project manager’s change management plan or the business analyst’s plan. In addition to having a clearly documented plan, they must also have the approval of the governing body. Answer Choice B: While it’s true that agile projects must be flexible and anticipate change, the process must be documented. Answer Choice C: This is a distractor, as the process and methodologies are not congruent with waterfall and agile projects. 55. Ace is an expert in business analysis and knows that feasibility is a key characteristic of a properly written requirements document. From the list provided below, what is one factor that can deter- mine the feasibility of a proposed solution? a. Operational feasibility. b. Technology feasibility. c. Time and cost feasibility. d. Feasibility can best be determined by assessing a variety of factors. 56. Working with your project manager, Brooklyn, you have just delivered your fourth project in 36 months using a waterfall delivery method. You’ve now been asked to lead a highly visible project based on scrum with nearly the same project team. In terms of change control, the team has agreed: a. That Brooklyn will document the process in the change management plan b. That they will adapt a flexible approach to change control, because the team anticipates that requirements will evolve as the project progresses c. To use the same process and templates as with all their other projects d. That they will defer to the project management office for guidance on the process The correct answer is: B Prior to meeting with stakeholders, reviewing existing documentation is an excellent approach for gaining insight into the environment. Information gathered can form the basis for productive conver- sations. In this scenario, by referring to the project management system—or even the configuration management system (CMS)—the business analyst could garner useful information to enhance their understanding of the current state. This elicitation technique is known as documentation analysis. Answer Choices A, C, & D: These are all partially correct answer choices, since these plans would provide insight into the organization. However, they would not provide any information about past initiatives. This could only be obtained from the project management information system (PMIS) or the configuration management system (CMS). Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.5.5.2, “Documentation Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 1. The correct answer is: C This question tests your knowledge, understanding, and practical use of a commonly used matrix tool. A quadrant analysis, also referred to as a 2x2 matrix, is a flexible tool that allows teams to categorize viewpoints and interests in a grid comprising four cells. Not showing an example and providing extraneous context adds to the complexity of this question. Answer Choice A: An options analysis technique is used to evaluate an investment decision, often used when creating a business case. Answer Choice B: A decision table is one of the three models used to administer polices. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, “Knowledge and Skills,” #15, “Estimation Tool and Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 4. 57. Sadie has a meeting later in the week to discuss solution requirements for a new line of organic thread at the textile mill. Prior to the meeting, where can Sadie look to gain insight into the orga- nization and prior initiatives? a. The business analysis plan b. The project management information system c. The business analysis plan, requirements management plan, and plan for change control d. The requirements management plan 58. Your project manager, Ciaran, has suggested that the team consider using a tool based on two axes representing opposing viewpoints and interests, essentially creating a table with four cells to enable informed decision making. What tool is Ciaran suggesting the team use? a. An options analysis b. A decision table c. A quadrant analysis d. A strategic table Answer Choice D: For an experienced business analyst, this would not be a logical or appropriate choice, as they should be familiar with the processes, tools, techniques, and methodologies. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.14, “Define the Requirements Change Process.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. 282 The correct answer is: C Although didactic interaction (DI) is the least common of the four group decision-making tech- niques that are likely to appear on the PMI-PBA® Exam, it’s a very useful technique and one that should be in every business analyst’s arsenal. As brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and the Delphi technique are all situationally appropriate, the same is true for didactic interaction. DI is best used when the team is evaluating a Yes/No decision or a pair-based selection (Option 1/ Option 2). For example, you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation; should you go to Europe or Mexico? When using this tool, each team or participant must document the advantages and disadvantages of their position. Answer Choice A: This is a distractor. As a business analyst, you should have a more profound approach to addressing the scenario. Answer Choice B: Modeling languages consist of Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), Requirements Modeling Language (RML), System Modeling Language (SysML), and Unified Modeling Language (UML). This answer choice is not situationally appropriate. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 4.15, “Resolve Requirements-Related Conflicts.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 3. The correct answer is: B This scenario-based question is testing your knowledge of business cases. Business drivers, eco- nomic viability, and success drivers are the foundations of a sound cost–benefit analysis. Once cre- ated, the business case will be updated over the course of the project and used to support effective decision making; furthermore, it serves as a solid reminder of why the initiative was approved. 59. During a focus group at the law firm of Adelaide Nolan LLC, the team is having difficulty arriv- ing at a decision between two options. To help the team evaluate a Yes/No decision based on the option pair, Jane, your subject matter expert in torts, suggests that they should consider using: a. A mediator who can objectively assess each position and provide a recommendation b. The Business Process Modeling Language (BPML) to optimize the process c. A method that will enable the team to reach consensus, whereby each participant will docu- ment the advantages and disadvantages of their position d. The requirements modeling language to visually show the solution requirements linked to the objectives and goals of the organization 60. Rebecca is preparing a project charter for a new line of dehydrated fruit. She has all the infor- mation from the needs assessment that you conducted, but she would also like to include infor- mation pertaining to costs and benefits, as well as to explore many of the aspects related to the recommendation. What should you do? a. Work with a financial analyst to prepare NPV, IRR, and ROI assessments. b. Provide Rebecca with the business drivers, economic viability, and success criteria for the recommendation. c. Provide Rebecca with an impact analysis. d. Work with Rebecca to outline the business goals and objectives. The correct answer is: D In organizations with dual project manager/business analyst roles, the requirements management plan and business analysis plan are often produced by the same person, whereas in larger organi- zations, these documents will be prepared by different individuals, often a project manager and business analyst who are collaborating. The requirements management plan will cover elements of both the project and product—identifying stakeholders and their roles, establishing the framework for communications, and articulating the guidelines for managing requirements—whereas the busi- ness analysis plan focuses solely on the activities and deliverables related to the efforts of business analysis. PMI is a proponent of plans; exam questions will focus on the contents, purpose, and intent of these project artifacts. Answer Choice A: This is a made-up project artifact. Answer Choice B: The scope management plan is a subsidiary of the overall project management plan. The plan elaborates the details of how project scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and verified. Answer Choice C: The change management plan is a subsidiary of the overall project management plan. This plan establishes the ground rules and roles and responsibilities for how stakeholders will propose changes, how these changes will be documented, and when proposed changes will be reviewed and decisions communicated. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.2, “What to Include in the Business Analysis Plan.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 2. 65. Your consultant, George, has inquired if further review or approval is required as the payroll team submits their product documentation. To what artifact can you refer George? a. Product or solution management plan b. Scope management plan c. Change control plan d. Requirements management plan 66. Your subject matter experts, Zane and David, who are both certified public accountants, have a disagreement as to how the core financial management system should be structured. After lengthy discussions, it is determined that they would use the data warehouse for reporting. This is an example of what conflict management technique? a. Compromising b. Smoothing c. Agreeing d. Collaborating who perceive they will be affected by your initiative. Project managers and business analysts should collaborate on the identification and continual update of this information. Answer Choices A–C: These are all distractor answer choices. While they are providing types of stakeholders, they are not addressing the true nature of the question. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.3.1, “Identifying Stakeholders.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment, Task 4.” 286 The correct answer is: A While building the work plan, business analysts can employ a number of techniques to refine task and activity work efforts. Document analysis is an elicitation technique in which material from proj- ects with similar characteristics is reviewed, to gain better understanding of the prior environ- ment. This is most commonly performed before meeting with stakeholders, to form the basis for conversations. Answer Choice B: Alternative analysis is one of the scheduling tools and techniques; it exam- ines various ways to deliver the solution while preserving the iron triangle of quality as con- strained by time, cost, and schedule. Answer Choices C & D: Although interviews and focus groups are also elicitation techniques, like document analysis, they would not provide the required level of detail in this scenario. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.5.2.6, “Estimate the Work.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. 67. Prior to meeting with stakeholders to estimate the work effort for a project, Bailey, an experienced business analyst, decides to review planning information from prior projects of similar size. What elicitation techniques could she rely upon? a. Document analysis b. Alternative analysis c. Interviews d. Focus group 68. Following a very long and sometimes challenging requirements confirmation process, you are now asking for sign-off. You anticipated that this would be a routine process, but subject matter experts Eleni, Fia, Behati, and Delta are unable to provide an opinion to Griffith, the senior VP of consumer plastics. Why are they unable to provide an opinion? The correct answer is: D On the exam, you can expect questions on any of the five conflict management techniques. These techniques are: (a) withdrawing or avoidance, (b) smoothing or accommodating, (c) compro- mising or reconciliation, (d) forcing or directing, and (e) collaborating or problem solving. Conflict often presents opportunities for dialogue; while inevitable on projects, when addressed appropri- ately, stakeholders will appreciate your candor and effectiveness. Collaborating is an example of a win–win conflict management technique and is the preferred method of addressing conflicts and disagreements. Answer Choice A: Compromising or reconciliation to some extent satisfies both parties by bring- ing about a faster result, as both parties have something to gain. Answer Choice B: When using the smoothing technique, one party tends to concede more to the other, attempting to be accommodative. Answer Choice C: This is a made-up conflict management technique. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, Knowledge and Skills, “Conflict Management.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 3. The correct answer is: C This question introduces a number of personas in an attempt to add unnecessary complexity to a relatively easy question. Although requirement documents can be very well written and of high quality, they can meet resistance if key stakeholders have not been involved in their development or had a chance to review them ahead of time. For the exam, and in practice, please remember the nine characteristics of high-quality requirements documentation: unambiguous, precise, consistent, correct, complete, measurable, feasible, traceable, and testable. To ensure that requirements documentation satisfies these characteristics, the business analyst can use checklists to validate that documents meet these criteria. Answer Choice A: There is nothing in the question to confirm or negate whether they signed off on the requirements or their level of participation during the confirmation sessions. Answer Choice B: This is a distractor answer choice and doesn’t completely address the question. RACI charts, also known as responsibility assignment matrices (RAMs) and linear responsibility charts (LRCs), establish accountability for requirements signoff. They help to clearly identify who’s responsible, the one and only person who is accountable, experts who can be consulted, and oth- ers who need to be informed. Answer Choice D: There is nothing in the question that indicates that they participated in a group decision-making session trying to reach consensus on a Yes/No or Option 1/Option 2 decision. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.14, “Approval Sessions.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. The correct answer is: D While this question adds background to the scenario, it’s focusing on your understanding of each of the valuation techniques. The results of this analysis will form the basis for the rough order-of-mag- nitude estimates of costs and benefits. The payback period (PBP) is the amount of time required for the organization to recover the cost of the project, typically represented in months. Projects with longer payback periods represent increased risk to the organization. Answer Choice A: The net present value (NPV) technique estimates the future value of the proj- ect’s expected benefits. Answer Choice B: Return on investment (ROI) is the benefit of a project divided by the cost of the project. Many organizations establish ROI hurdle rates before a project can be considered. a. While they signed off on the requirements, they were not involved in the confirmation sessions. b. They were not listed on the RACI matrix. c. They were not involved in any of the requirements sessions. d. They only participated in didactic interaction sessions. 69. In the development of a business case, you’re working with Daisy, an experienced financial ana- lyst, on the cost–benefit summation. Which financial valuation method addresses the time to recover a project investment? a. Net present value (NPV) b. Return on investment (ROI) c. Internal rate of return (IRR) d. Payback period (PBP) 290 The correct answer is: D This is a complex question, and selection of the correct answer should follow a process of elimina- tion. The question can be restated as, “. . . to ensure that the requirements remain aligned to the evolving needs of the organization, what can you do?” Keep in mind, as the business analyst, what can you control? Virtual teams allow organizations to expand their talent pool and incorporate viewpoints and perspectives from a wider geographic dispersion. The most important factor to consider when working with virtual teams is establishing parameters and guidelines for effective and consistent communication. Answer Choice A: Addressing feelings of isolation should absolutely be addressed; however, it is outside the responsibility of the business analyst. This would be the responsibility of the line manager. Answer Choice B: The project management office would be accountable for the establishment and training on tools that enable effective decision making. Answer Choice C: The IT teams would have accountability to ensure that the appropriate technol- ogy is in place. PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, # 6, “Virtual Teams.” A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Section 9.2.2.4, “Virtual Teams.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 7. The correct answer is: C Rule models, which consist of business rule catalogs, decision trees, and tables, are used to assist with classifying and verifying the business processes, procedures, and frameworks that the initia- tive must support. Answer Choice A: Interrelationship diagrams, one of the tools used in scope modeling, aid in visu- alizing complex problems and relationships. When using the tool, is quite common to find factors that influence each other. In cases in which there is more than one influencing factor, the team needs to determine which factor is stronger, and note only that one. 73. Your team comprises very skilled individuals from 30 countries, all of whom work remotely, except for a semiannual company meeting. As the business analyst, while performing due dili- gence to ensure that the requirements remain aligned to the evolving needs of the organization, you want to focus on one key element: a. Addressing feelings of isolation b. Establishing tools for effective decision making c. Ensuring that the appropriate technology is in place d. Establishing parameters for effective and consistent communication 74. Natalia works as a business analyst for a highly regulated hedge fund, Kinsley & Associates LLC. She’s profoundly aware of the need to link elements of the solution to the organization’s policies and procedures. To do so, what model could Natalia use? a. Interrelationship diagram b. State table c. Decision table d. Entity relationship diagram The correct answer is: B This question tests your knowledge of the problem-solving and opportunity-identification tools and techniques used in the Analysis domain. The only viable answer choice is value engineering assessment. Value engineering (VE) is based on quantitative measures and is focused on improving business value in existing investments. VE focuses on improving the viability and usefulness of the solution while reducing overall costs. Answer Choices A, C, and D: These are all made-up answer choices. Examination Content Outline Knowledge and Skills, #26, “Problem Solving and Opportunity Identification Tools and Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. The correct answer is: A This scenario-based question challenges your understanding of solution approval sessions. While it may seem logical that approval and confirmation sessions are related, in fact they are two com- pletely separate subjects. On the exam, please remember, approval of solution requirements can only occur once the approach to address the problem or opportunity has been confirmed. Answer Choices B, C, & D: These are all made-up answer choices designed to have you second guess your instinct for the correct answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.14, “Approval Sessions.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 5. 75. In an effort to leverage the significant investment in an enterprise software application, uncover pain points, and optimize the business processes, your CFO, Lydia Maxwell, requests that you perform what type of analysis? a. S.A.V.E. assessment b. Value engineering assessment c. Optimum value assessment d. Transformative value assessment 76. Azriel, your summer intern, is helping you plan the requirements approval and confirmation ses- sions. As you create the slide deck, you realize: a. These should be two distinct meetings, with approval occurring only after the solution is confirmed. b. In the interest of time, both topics can be discussed concurrently. c. The slides should be created following the 1-6-6 rule, each slide has one topic, with six bullet points and a maximum of six words per bullet. d. Your sponsor should start the session with a warm opening, setting the stage. Answer Choice B: A state table is a form of data model, which can be used to illustrate informa- tion within the process. It can be used to model the valid states of an object and any transitions between states over their lifecycle. Answer Choice D: An entity relationship diagram is also a form of data model; it is used to uncover objects that are related or that may have dependencies with other objects. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.3, “Categories of Models.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. 292 The correct answer is: A In the question, there is a lengthy back story, crafted with the intent of slowing your cadence, requiring a skilled business analyst to drive to the root of the question. The question is, “In using what valuation technique do you compare the amount of investment versus the future value of the expected benefits?” From the answer choices, the only valid choice is Net Present Value (NPV) analysis. The NPV analysis technique is used for CAPEX projects to calculate the total cash flow (both in and out), which is directly attributed to the initiative over a period of time. The analysis is used to determine the profitability of the capital investment. Answer Choice B: Return on investment (ROI) is the benefit of the project divided by the cost of the project. Many organizations establish ROI hurdle rates before a project can be considered. Answer Choice C: The payback period (PBP) is the amount of time required for the organization to recover the cost of the project, typically represented in months. Projects with longer payback periods represent increased risk to an organization. Answer Choice D: The internal rate of return (IRR) is the projected annual yield of the project. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.5.6.4, “Net Present Value (NPV).” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. The correct answer is: C This scenario-based question introduces a lot of unnecessary information. With this type of ques- tion, first establish roles and the overall situation: Daenerys Electronics is a supplier to Wolf 77. In your business case, you’ve included an analysis outlining the initial and ongoing costs, the pro- jected annual yield of the investment, and an assessment addressing the time to recover the project investment. Prior to returning to meet with your executive sponsor, Hugo, Kate, your financial analyst, suggests that you include a section comparing the amount of the investment to the future value of the expected benefits. You are discussing a: a. Net present value (NPV) analysis b. Return on investment (ROI) analysis c. Payback period (PBP) analysis d. Internal rate of return (IRR) analysis 78. You are a business analyst for Daenerys Electronics Co, a sole-source supplier to Wolf Automotive Ltd, a hypercar company catering to the ultra-wealthy. Wolf has decided to move production from Frankfurt to Düsseldorf, Germany, some 232.2 km via the A3. Your factory is located in Hachenburg, Germany, geographically about halfway been the two factories, but there is an increase in travel time. How should the business analyst for Wolf address Daenerys Electronics’ interests? a. As a project requirement, ensure that all the processes and conditions are met for a successful transition. b. As a component of nonfunctional requirements, ensure that there is no disruption to the just- in-time order process, by suggesting a buffer to the travel time. c. As part of stakeholder requirements, address the quantifiable interests of Daenerys. d. In the transition requirements plan, ensure that Daenerys is aware of the new ship-to address, and the relevant change in travel time. The correct answer is: D This question tests your knowledge of the core project management plans, which can sometimes be confusing, as they are similar in name. In this scenario, communications management plan, which is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management plan, outlines who is accountable, methods for communication, and timing of the communication. Key words for plans are how, when, and by whom. When communicating, remember the six key questions to address: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Answer Choice A: The human resource management plan outlines the project roles, responsibili- ties, reporting relationships, and management of staff over the duration of the project. Answer Choice B: The stakeholder management plan establishes how stakeholders will be effec- tively engaged over the duration of the project. Answer Choice C: This is the abbreviated nomenclature for the human resource management plan described in answer choice A. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.8.3.4, “Impact on Project Management.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. The correct answer is: B The requirements traceability matrix is a critical project artifact that tracks requirements from their origin through Evaluation. Among other items, it can be used to track needs, opportunities, goals, or objectives. If it’s found that something cannot be traced, the business analyst would follow the escalation procedure outlined in the business analysis plan. 82. You’re collaborating with Reese, an experienced project manager, on the business analysis plan. With regard to the section on change management, which of the following plans addresses who will provide information to stakeholders following a meeting of the Change Control Board? a. Human resource management plan b. Stakeholder management plan c. Resource management plan d. Communications management plan 83. You work for a paper mill and have been asked to fill the role of PM/BA on a new self-sealing envelope project. Your lead subject matter expert, Milos, seems to be introducing requirements that are not in line with the paper mill’s business needs. What should you do? a. Review the requirements with your sponsor b. Track the requirements on a matrix c. Ask Milos to provide the business justification d. As the project manager/business analyst, defer to Milos as the subject matter expert Answer Choice D: This is the definition of cardinality: the maximum number of times an instance in one entity can be associated with instances in a related entity. Conversely, ordinality is the minimum number of times an instance in one entity can be associated with an instance in the related entity. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.10.1, “Entity Relationship Diagram.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. 296 The correct answer is: B Although presented as a brief scenario, the question challenges your understanding of the four answer choices—specifically, the tools and techniques for process analysis. To visualize the order and dependency of requirements, business analysts can create a dependency graph, which will also show the order of operation. Answer Choice A: Had the answer choice been process models, this could be a viable choice; how- ever, process flow diagrams are used to describe elements of a solution, process, or project. They are powerful tools for visualizing both current (as-is) and future (to-be) states, often referred to as swim- lane diagrams. This would not be the best technique for visualizing the order and reliance of objects. Answer Choice C: The requirements traceability matrix is used for monitoring and controlling product scope by linking requirements to an organization’s goals and objectives. Answer Choice D: Cause-and-effect diagrams, a variation of which is a fishbone diagram (aka Ishikawa diagram) are used to investigate the high-level causes of occurring problems. Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, #27, “Process Analysis Tools and Techniques.” Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.3, “Relationships and Dependencies.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. 84. In the process of reviewing requirements documents, Caroline uncovers several related objects with her subject matter experts. What is one way to visualize the order and reliance of objects? a. Caroline and her subject matter experts can build a process flow diagram. b. Caroline can create a dependency graph. c. Caroline and her subject matter experts can use a requirements traceability matrix. d. The team can use an Ishikawa/fishbone diagram. 85. Your executive sponsor, Enzo, asked that you collaborate with Cillian, a veteran project manager, on a key document that will outline the need for action, the root causes, and the main contrib- utors of the problems, along with the rank order of the recommendations. Cillian suggests that Enzo is referring to a: a. Business case b. Situation statement c. Project charter d. Capability framework Answer Choice A: A review with the project sponsor could come after the items were added to the requirements traceability matrix, provided that this was the escalation procedure outlined in the business analysis plan. The first step would be to validate your assumptions with the SME by tracing and tracking the requirements to the goals and objectives of the business. Answer Choice C: While this may seem like a logical answer choice, it could result in unwelcomed conflict. The better approach is to add the items to the tracker, then work with the SME to trace and track the requirements to the goals and objectives of the business. Answer Choice D: This is a correct response; however, answer B is the better choice, because it establishes a tangible outcome, adding the items to the requirements traceability matrix. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 5.2.3.2, “Requirements Traceability Matrix.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 2. The correct answer is: C This question tests your knowledge across two continuums, the first being requirement types, the second, the applicability of an organizational records-and-retention policy in a given scenario. Transition requirements focus on temporary activities to move from the as-is to the to-be states. Tasks typically associated with transition requirements are training and data conversion. In this case, the records-and-retention policy would be an input to the data conversion requirements. Answer Choice A: Business requirements describe the higher-level needs of the enterprise; they describe the purpose/intent of the component and metrics to evaluate its impact on the organi- zation. They contain the component goals, which are linked to the strategic plan. The business requirements document (BRD) focuses on the entire enterprise, not specific organizational levels. Answer Choice B: Stakeholder requirements describe the needs of a stakeholder or group of stakeholders and how they will benefit and interact with the component. Answer Choice D: Functional requirements are a subset of solution requirements, which describe the behaviors or function of the component—a statement of conformity (described in Yes/No terms). Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.2. “Define Types of Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. 86. Your data conversion lead, Wolfgang, has just reviewed the requirements traceability matrix and identified all aspects to consider, as per the organizational records and retention policy. Where should these requirements be identified? a. Business requirements document b. Stakeholder requirements document c. Transition requirements document d. Functional requirements document 87. Claire works for ZooZle, a complex internet search and news company. While documenting solu- tion constraints, what might be something she needs to keep in mind? The correct answer is: A This question introduces a lot of unnecessary information and further tests your understanding of the key elements of the value proposition. These, in total, are essentials of the business case, which contains the justification and cost–benefit analysis for the project. It serves as a reminder of why the initiative was approved and will be revisited and updated over the duration of the initiative. Answer Choice B: Situation statements present a complete understanding of the problem to be addressed or the opportunity to be pursued, along with the contributing effects and the overall impacts. They provide enough detail to establish the problem (or opportunity) of “x,” the effect of “y,” with the impact of “z.” Answer Choice C: The charter is a key artifact that formally recognizes and authorizes the project and provides the project manager with the authority to execute the project. Answer Choice D: A capability framework is a simple outline of an organization’s capabilities, which can comprise human, financial, or technological components. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.6, “Assemble the Business Case.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. 300 The correct answer is: C As you approach this question, you recall that there are five types of requirements applicable to business analysts: (a) business requirements, (b) stakeholder requirements, (c) solution require- ments that are either (c1) functional requirements or (c2) nonfunctional requirements; and (d) tran- sition requirements. The Practice Guide also discusses project, program, and quality requirements specific to project management. Transition requirements are temporary in nature and are used to facilitate the passage from current (as-is) to future (to-be) state (most commonly associated with training and data conversion). From the answer choices, C is the only valid option. Answer Choices A, B, & D: Technical, operational, and foundational requirements are not valid requirement types. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 1.7.2, “Requirement Types.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. The correct answer is: D Projects by nature are dynamic, and to be successful, teams need to adapt and adjust course in rapid fashion. To properly address this question, you need to understand the definition of retrospective and know that use of the technique is not limited to the end of sprint iterations. Retrospectives are opportunities to: (a) understand what is working well and should be continued; (b) evaluate what has not worked well; (c) determine the necessary actions the team needs to take to improve the process going forward. 91. You are the subject matter expert representing the distribution logistics center of a textile company. Your business analyst, Nathaniel, is facilitating sessions with technicians Austin and Scarlett on the required training and associated operational changes for a proposed relocation. What type of requirements is Nathaniel eliciting? a. Technical requirements, as the relocation will require moving several servers and phone systems b. Operational requirements, as this is more than an IT initiative—the entire business unit is relocating c. Transition requirements, as the logistics center considers the capabilities needed to migrate to the future state d. Foundational requirements; essentially, the business process drives the training for the proposed operational changes 92. At the request of the operations business lead, the Change Control Board (CCB) approved a $250,000 USD workaround, based on information from the requirements documentation. Once the development team started to review the details of the workaround, their estimate nearly tripled. At an emergency meeting of the CCB, your sponsor, Charles, detailed the issues with the change approval process, asked for the team’s suggestions on how to improve, and inquired whether there was any part that was working well. Why? a. Charles wanted to prevent further cases of improper estimating. b. The business units were exploiting a weakness in the change approval process. c. Charles found the process to be too light and wanted to add additional rigor. d. Charles was conducting a retrospective. The correct answer is: A This is an advanced question, and it presents topics that are very likely to appear on the exam. There is some distracting information, so your focus should be on, “The document contains ser- vice quality, performance, and response guidelines for both new and existing customers.” Once you identify that actual question, there is only one possible answer choice. You’ll recall, there are two types of agreements to manage stakeholder expectations. The first, service-level agreements (SLAs), are contracts between service organizations and customers that establish performance metrics and response times. Once established, these metrics can continually be validated during Evaluation. The second, operational-level agreements, are contracts within the service organization. Answer Choice B: ISO 9004 is a quality management standard, not a contractual obligation or requirement. Answer Choice C: The quality management plan establishes the quality requirements and stan- dards for which the project will be measured. Answer Choice D: The requirements management plan will cover elements of both the project and the product. It provides the overarching direction throughout the project and formally establishes the how and when for all solution development activities. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Section 4.1.1.3, “Agreements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 6. The correct answer is: B It’s common for organizations to have the same resource filling the role of project manager and business analyst. In these situations, the resource needs to ensure that they are not overly focusing 93. You work for an IT service organization that was recently certified as ISO 9004 compliant. As a result, your director, Tuesday, would like to update service quality, performance, and response guidelines for both new and existing customers. What artifact describes these metrics? a. Service-level agreements b. ISO 9004 requirements c. Quality management plan d. Requirements management plan 94. Elise, a senior project manager who is also filling the role of business analyst, is collaborating with Atticus, the subject matter expert from the mayor’s office, on a document that will outline the com- pliance requirements for a new procurement application. What document are they working on? a. Solution requirements b. Quality requirements c. Business requirements d. Stakeholder requirements Answer Choices A, B, & C: These answer choices are all distractors and are not focused on the actual question. PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, #19, “Lessons Learned & Retrospectives.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 5. 302 The correct answer is: B Change can affect the project from many directions; in the broadest sense, they can originate from the top down (leadership) or bottom up (functional or project team member). This is an example of change originating from the Board of Directors, or a top-down change. The first step in this scenario would be to review the change management plan, which is a subsidiary of the project management plan. This project artifact will outline the process for integrated change control. Any changes to the project, including termination or hiatus, would need to follow the process outlined in the plan. Answer Choice A: While this may seem like a logical response, it’s (a) not appropriate to discuss this with anyone else—the information was shared privately; and (b) the change management plan is the first place to look, as it will establish the proper guidelines. Answer Choice C: This may also seem like a logical choice; however, the executive sponsor advised that they didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily on the project. Answer Choice D: Until the project management plan is reviewed, this would be premature. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.4.14, “Define the Requirements Change Process.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. 95. Following a meeting with senior leadership, your executive sponsor, Brennan, shared privately that the company was being acquired by another firm. He expressed concern that this action could have significant implications for your product and didn’t want to spend money unnecessar- ily on the project. As a result of the meeting, you decide to: a. Collaborate with the project manager on ways to inform the team and place the project on hold pending further guidance from your sponsor b. Review the project management plan c. Continue the project until the information is made public d. Convene a meeting of the Change Control Board to discuss the implications 96. You’re facilitating a workshop for Alexandra and several other key stakeholders at QQQ Manu- facturing Incorporated. You’ve just completed outlining all the key stakeholder needs and are now on one aspect versus another, because both proper project management and proper business analysis are critical to ensuring that the project fulfills its value proposition. As you approach this question, you’ll recall that there are five requirement types applicable to business analysis: (a) busi- ness; (b) stakeholder; (c) solution, which can be either (c1) functional or (c2) nonfunctional; and (d) requirements. The Practice Guide also discusses project, program, and quality requirements spe- cific to project management. In this question, the focus is on compliance requirements. The quality requirements document establishes the measures and metrics to ensure project completion, while addressing compliance requirements and standards. Answer Choice A: Solution requirements describe the characteristics of the component (i.e., fea- tures, functions), which are further decomposed to functional and nonfunctional requirements. Answer Choice C: Business requirements describe the higher-level needs of the enterprise. Answer Choice D: Stakeholder requirements describe the needs of a stakeholder or group of stakeholders and how they will benefit from and interact with the component. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.2., “Define Types of Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 1. The correct answer is: C This question tests your understanding and experience with the agile delivery methodology. There are several key concepts within this question: (a) sprint, 15-day iteration; (b) product owner, who is respon- sible for prioritizing the backlog and defining stories; (c) backlog, which is a prioritized list of user sto- ries and features. To manage scope and ensure that the backlog contains appropriate items that are of value to the organization, the product manager will groom the backlog ahead of each sprint. Answer Choices A, B, & D: These are all made-up answer choices. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.6.1, “Benefits of Using the Traceability Matrix to Monitor Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 3. 100. At what appears to be an interval of every 15 days, your product owner reprioritizes the work to be addressed in the next iteration. What do they hope to achieve? a. They are performing a reprioritizing analysis. b. They are performing a backlog reprioritizing analysis. c. They are grooming the backlog to manage scope. d. They are preparing a sprint analysis to manage scope. 101. Aria, the subject matter expert for a new line of autonomous vehicles, is impressed with all the fea- tures and highlighted functionality. However, after the vehicle started, the windows began to roll up and down by themselves and the radio’s volume was acting erratically. When she attempted to turn the car off, the sunroof opened. As the SME, is Aria more concerned about grade or quality? a. Quality: all the defects render the product useless. b. Grade: all the defects render the product useless. c. Quality and grade: all the defects render the product useless. d. Neither: Aria is concerned about precision and accuracy. (b) This is followed by a Kano score—the degree to which stakeholders were satisfied with the items that (1) partially or (2) fully meet expectations. Kano is measured on five dimensions: 1 = dissatisfied; 2 = disappointed; 3 = neutral; 4 = satisfied; and 5 = delighted. The scoring outputs of the evaluation are used to further refine the analysis using techniques such as pair-wise analysis, weighted ranking, and multi-criteria scoring. With the qualitative and quanti- tative analysis complete, the business analyst will use the complete analysis as an input to the busi- ness case. Weighted ranking is an objective technique to determine the preferred option, based on its alignment to the organizational imperatives. Answer Choice B: This is a made-up answer combination, as planning poker does not allow stake- holders to vote and score options. Rather, it’s a consensus-based technique used by agile teams to estimate the product backlog. Planning poker is based on a modified Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, and 100. You’ll note, each number up to 20 is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, 5 is 2 plus 3. Answer Choice C: This is a distractor and doesn’t properly focus the team’s attention. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.5.5.1 Weighted Ranking. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. 306 The correct answer is: A For those business analysts with agile experience, this is a relatively easy question. The emphasis of Kanban projects is on deliverable status, displayed prominently on Kanban boards (aka information radiators). Common categories are (a) ideas/backlog, (b) to do, (c) doing (work-in-progress, WIP), and (d) done. Concentrating on project delivery, burndown charts are used with projects that fol- low an adaptive lifecycle and list the remaining items to be completed. Conversely, burnup charts show how much work has been completed. Answer Choice B: Estimate at completion is the forecasted cost of the final delivered solution, per the requirements documentation. Answer Choice C: Estimate to complete are the anticipated funds required to finish the solution, per the requirements documentation. Answer Choice D: Whereas a variance report will show planned versus actual, it would not be an appropriate mechanism to report the remaining items to be addressed. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 6.5.3.1, “Project Metrics as Input to the Evaluation of the Solution.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 6. 102. Pippin is the business analyst on a Kanban project. What tool can she use to report the remaining items to be addressed? a. Burndown chart b. Estimate at completion c. Estimate to complete d. Variance report 103. Amelie, a recent college graduate, is assisting you in identifying the cardinality and multiplicity of relationships. What is a common manner of displaying these relationships? a. Entity relationship diagram b. Crow’s foot notation c. Context diagram d. Wireframe The correct answer is: A This is a difficult question and tests your understanding of quality management. You’ll recall there are differences between quality and grade. Quality is determined by how closely the product sat- isfies the identified requirements. Grade is commonly associated with features in the delivered solution. In this scenario, a feature-rich product or solution (high grade) with many bugs and poor documentation would be useless due to the poor quality. Answer Choice B: Grade is a measure of features, in some cases low grade may be acceptable, even preferred over low quality. Answer Choice C: This is an incorrect statement; low grade does not render the product useless. Answer Choice D: This answer choice is incorrect; precision is a degree of correctness, whereas accuracy is a measure of exactness. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), “Introduction to Quality Management,” page 228. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. The correct answer is: C On the exam, there will be a number of questions pertaining to the techniques and methods to enable and support group decision making. It’s important to remember that PMI is a proponent of taking action, and working in groups (even virtually) is highly favored to bring items to resolution. Although there are four methods which are likely to appear on the exam (brainstorming, nominal group technique, Delphi technique, and didactic interaction), from the answer choices, MultiVoting is the only option. Synonymous with the nominal group technique, this method is used to quantitatively produce consensus for a particular discussion topic, essentially refining results generated during brain- storming sessions. By using this method, each participant has an opportunity to participate equally. Answer Choice A: While conducting an interview may seem like a reasonable approach, it will not help the team reach consensus. This can only be achieved via a group decision making process. Answer Choice B: Repeating the test would more than likely produce the same the result for Conner; you are not addressing the concern—that others didn’t raise a similar concern. Answer Choice D: This answer choice is a distractor. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 6.8, “Facilitate the Go/No-Go Decision.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 3. 104. Connor, the chief engineer for a microprocessor that will be used in a new line of autonomous bicycles in New York City, documents a problem during the last round of testing prior to go-live. Connor is very outspoken, and many team members defer to his opinion. As the business anal- yst, you: a. Interview each of the stakeholders involved with testing and document their results. b. Repeat the system and integrated testing cycles. c. Facilitate a MultiVoting session. d. Consult with the project manager and escalate the concern to the project sponsor. The correct answer is: B This can be a difficult question if you are not familiar with data modeling techniques to illustrate information within processes. Entity relationship diagrams (ERDs), or business data diagrams, illus- trate business objects and their mutual relationships. Cardinality and multiplicity are both aspects modeled within the ERD; a common means of doing so is via the crow’s foot notation method. Cardinality is the maximum number of times an instance in one entity can be associated with instances in a related entity. Conversely, ordinality is the minimum number of times an instance in one entity can be associated with an instance in the related entity. Multiplicity is the minimum and maximum permitted members in the set, which can include (a) one to one, (b) one to many, (c) many to one, (d) and many to many. Answer Choice A: The crow’s foot notation is a graphical symbol to indicate the cardinality and multiplicity within the entity relationship diagram. Answer Choice C: Context diagrams are created to show all the direct system and human inter- faces within a solution. Answer Choice D: Wireframes are outlines, blue prints, or schematics that illustrate the general look and feel of a proposed solution. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.10.1, “Entity Relationship Diagrams.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. 310 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: A This is a definition-based question, representative of ones that are very likely to appear on the exam. Presented are four answer choices that are reasonable; if you are unsure of the answer, the best approach is through process of elimination. Organizational readiness assessments are used to ensure that the organization is prepared to undertake the initiative. They provide for an understanding of the current state by identifying enablers and constraints and the key goals and objectives as the organization prepares to transform to the desired state. Answer Choice B: Capability refers to the team’s ability to complete the work, whereas capacity addresses factors such as (a) resourcing, (b) financial, and (c) equipment. Answer Choice C: Quadrant analysis is used for plotting and understanding data elements. Although there is no limit to the number of grids, the most common is a 2x2 matrix. This flexible tool allows teams to categorize viewpoints and interests in a grid format. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, #22, “Organizational Assessment.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 1. The correct answer is: A 109. Your organization is considering a major investment in redesigning its manufacturing line. Your sponsors, Emilia and Caroline, have requested that you conduct an assessment to determine the organization’s capability, capacity, willingness, and commitment to the project. What type of analysis will you perform? a. Organizational readiness assessment b. Capability and capacity assessment c. Quadrant analysis assessment d. Organizational factors analysis 110. Alistair, the lead for your time-and-attendance system, hung a whiteboard outside his cubical, with columns representing the project phases. What was the intent? a. To establish a platform on which to base discussions b. To illustrate the requirements lifecycle c. To provide the basis for elicitation d. To provide alternative analysis for satisfying the business need Answer Choices A & C: Mabel’s work effort was not appropriate. Although the module was built in the interest of the customer and status was reported to the PMO, the scenario does not mention that a change request was approved to add the work to the baseline. Answer Choice D: Gold plating implies additional features were added to the product, often done by team members to demonstrate their skills and abilities. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.6.1, “Benefits of Using the Traceability Matrix to Monitor Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 5. 200-Question Practice Exam 311 ◾ The correct answer is: A If you answered D, you need to read this question a little more carefully; it asks how project require- ments are to be prioritized. The requirements management plan will cover elements of both the project and product, outlining the decision-making process, team members’ overall authority, and how project requirements are to be prioritized. Furthermore, it establishes the framework for com- munications and provides the guidelines for managing requirements, whereas the business analysis plan focuses solely on the activities and deliverables related to the efforts of business analysis. From a project perspective, the team would consult the requirements management plan. Answer Choice B: This is a made-up answer choice; on the exam, be very careful of wording—it does not state requirements traceability matrix. Answer Choice C: The project plan is a work plan and would not provide this information. Answer Choice D: If the question focused on the solution or product, the team would look to the business analysis plan. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, #13, “Elements of the Requirements Management Plan.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 3. 111. Aurelia is working with stakeholders to determine which project requirements will be deferred to a future phase of her modernization initiative at the bakery plant. The team cannot agree on the decision-making process, their overall authority, or how project requirements are to be prioritized. To what document can they refer? a. Requirements management plan b. Requirements matrix c. Project plan d. Business analysis plan 112. Wesley works for a consumer electronics company that is focused on building innovative games. Because of the constantly changing dynamic of the industry, Wesley is keenly aware that require- ments can lose relevance overnight. To estimate the effort required to perform due diligence as to the relevance of the solution, where would Wesley not look? This is an example of an information radiator, a concept that is very likely to appear on the exam, and a leading practice for communicating with the organization, not just team members. Communication is paramount in projects, and this is a simple way of sharing information and estab- lishing a platform on which to base discussions. An example of an information radiator is a Kanban board, which is often used in projects with adaptive lifecycles to visually display work in progress (WIP). By using sticky notes, items can easily be adjusted. Common Kanban categories are (a) ideas/backlog, (b) to do, (c) doing (work-in-progress, WIP), and (d) done. However, in this scenario, the idea was adopted for waterfall and iterative delivery. Answer Choice B & D: These are incorrect answer choices and distractors. Answer Choice C: On the exam, remember words have specific meaning. In this case rather than elicitation, the better word is discussion. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.8.3, “Impact Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 4. 312 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: B The obscure nature of wording on PMI exams can add to a further level of complexity. In this scenario, it’s asking, “Where would Wesley not look?” This means that three answer choices state where Wesley would look, so via a process of elimination and grouping by similarities, you’re left with only one choice. The business analysis plan is the how and when; it establishes the overarching direction throughout the project. This would not be a source of information to determine the rele- vance of the solution. Answer Choice A: He could look to published information in a press release to determine product relevance. Answer Choice C: By aggregating lower-level data from the WBS, the business analyst could begin to determine the effort required to perform due diligence as to the relevance of the solution. Answer Choice D: Historical information in the project management information system (PMIS) is an excellent source of information, in addition to the configuration management system. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Section 6.4.2, “Estimate Activity Resources: Tools and Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, Knowledge and Skills, #34, “Scheduling Techniques.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 7. The correct answer is: A According to PMI’s research, the number 2 reason projects fail is poor requirements management (RM). Requirements management is focused on the key tenets of collecting, documenting, analyz- ing, tracing, prioritizing, and agreeing on requirements, while ensuring rigorous change control and communication methods are in place. Answer Choice B: From the perspective of the project manager, they should have expertise in project delivery methodologies; the business analyst should have a strong working understanding of agile, iterative, incremental, lean, and waterfall. Answer Choice C: Although organizational change control is important, it is typically the responsi- bility of the OCM lead, not the business analyst. Answer Choice D: Resource management (human, financial, equipment) is generally the responsi- bility of the project manager. a. A competitor’s press release b. The business analysis plan c. Lower-level components of the work breakdown system d. The project management information system (PMIS) 113. Sam is the chief project officer of a consulting company that is aspiring to achieve greatness and knows that to deliver solutions on time, within budget, and aligned to stakeholder expectations, they need to be really good at business analysis. To be good at business analysis, what else should they have expertise in? a. Requirements management b. Project delivery methodologies c. Organizational change control d. Resource management (human, financial, equipment) 200-Question Practice Exam 315 ◾ The correct answer is: B This scenario challenges the practical instinctive approach against the PMI defined methodology. Although you might want to rush in and commit to a regular cadence of orders, the first step should be to thoroughly and thoughtfully consider the scenario. This would begin by conducting a needs assessment, to fully assess the business problem or opportunities. A needs assessment can be mandated by a sponsoring organization, recommended by a business analyst, or, in this case, for- mally requested by the office manager (a stakeholder). Although typically conducted prior to start of a project or program, external factors influenced by the market or regulations can necessitate a needs assessment. Answer Choices A & C: These answer choices are worded to distract and confuse you from the correct course of action: conducting a needs assessment. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer, introducing the Monte Carlo technique as a distrac- tor. A Monte Carlo analysis is a simulation technique based on random sampling, which generates quantitative data to assist with informed decision making. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 2.2, “Why Perform Needs Assessments?” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. 118. You’re the office manager for a construction company that is six months into a five-planned-year development of a large retirement community. Levi, the district manager for your primary supply company, stops by the site office and offers a substantial discount on material if you can commit to a regular cadence of orders. You determine: a. With four and a half years to go, this is amazing—the money saved can be shared with the team as a bonus. b. A needs assessment should be conducted to analyze the opportunity. c. The discount will amount to over $3 million USD when analyzing the proposal in your job- costing software. d. The results from a Monte Carlo analysis suggest that construction will slow at certain points in time, and you will not be able to maintain the order thresholds and cadence. This question tests your knowledge and understanding of dependencies and relationships. When completing the requirements traceability matrix, it’s quite common to find elements that are related to each other. By using the dependency analysis technique, these relationships can be examined and documented. It’s leading practice to group these dependent elements for appro- priate oversight over the duration of the initiative. The Practice Guide describes the four most common dependencies and relationships: (a) subset, (b) implementation, (c) benefit, and (d) value. The scenario is describing a subset relationship—both family travelers and business travelers are a subset of guests. Answer Choice B: Implementation suggests that before one element can be fulfilled another must be implemented. Answer Choice C: For a given element to be of value, an enabler component would have to be present. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section, “5.3.1 Subset.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 4. 316 PMI-PBA® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide ◾ The correct answer is: D This is an advanced question on a tool that is very likely to appear on the exam. This task focus on evaluating the delivered solution and performance over time. The net promoter survey determines customer’s satisfaction and loyalty. The net promotor score (NPS) is a metric system designed by Fred Reichheld (Reichheld, 2003) to gauge customer loyalty and brand satisfaction. It can be based on a variety of scales; however, the most common is Zero to Ten, based on a single open question, for which the response is Zero, “Not at all,” to Ten, “Extremely.” Common qualifiers are “Satisfied” and “Likely.” Answer Choice A: This is a distractor; the scenario does not call for a technique involving group decisions. Answer Choice B: Acceptance criteria is very broad, and although categorized as a validation tool and technique, it would not be sufficient to quantitatively determine if the delivered solution was providing business value. Acceptance criteria is most commonly used during both testing and solu- tion signoff. Answer Choice C: Service-level agreements (SLA’s) are contracts between service organizations and customers that establish performance metrics and response times. Once established, these metrics can continually be validated during Evaluation. The second, operational-level agreements (OLAs), are contracts within the service organization. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 6.2, to review the “Purpose of Solution Evaluation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, Evaluation, Task 4. The correct answer is: B Solution requirements describe all the characteristics of the component identified by the stakehold- ers; for the exam remember this includes characteristics such as features and functions. Solution requirements are further decomposed into functional (utility) and nonfunctional (warrantee) requirements. They cover both the discrete items that fulfill a business need and the environmental/ quality attributes often associated with service levels. 119. As the project manager for a newly implemented software solution, you are about to commence the close activities. Before doing so, your sponsor, Emmett, has inquired whether the delivered solution is providing business value. In turn, you ask Faye, the project business analyst, to: a. Review the results from the nominal group technique session along with the project signoff documents. b. Review the project’s acceptance criteria. c. Measure and validate the solution referring to SLAs and OLAs. d. Evaluate the delivered solution and conduct a net promoter survey. 120. While assisting you with writing project documentation, your intern from a local community college, Dante, inquired as to the principle behind solution requirements. How would you best respond to his question? a. They encompass all the requirements as identified by the stakeholders. b. They describe the features and functions to fulfill the stakeholder requirements. c. Solution requirements address the foundational needs of the organization. d. Solution requirements address the KPIs to determine a successful outcome. 200-Question Practice Exam 317 ◾ The correct answer is: B This question tests your knowledge of the observation concept, which allows individuals to gain a greater understanding of the situation under real-world conditions. There are four categories of observation: (a) passive, (b) active, (c) participatory, and (d) simulation). When using the active observation technique, the observer actively engages with stakeholders, at times may interrupt the process for clarification, and asks for opinions and feedback in real-time. Answer Choice A: When using the simulation technique, the observer mimics or recreates the activities from the perspective of the end user. Answer Choice C: When using passive observation, there is absolutely no interruption with the individual performing the process. Answer Choice D: When conducting participatory observation, the observer would jointly perform the activities with the individual performing the process. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.5.5.6, “Observation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. 121. You work for Aoibhinn Medical Supply, a manufacturer of equipment for first responders and paramedics. Because your customers have expressed concern with your stretchers, your company is undertaking a complete redesign. In an effort to actively engage with your stakeholders and understand how they are using your products, you offer to participate in a disaster simulation. During this simulation exercise, you seek clarification of their activities, ask what they like about your current product line, and ask how the product can be improved. You are participating in what form of observation? a. Simulation b. Active c. Passive d. Participatory 122. Collaborating with your project manager, Greyson, you’ve defined the business need and solution scope and ensured that the product is aligned with the goals and objectives of the business. What should you do next? a. Understand stakeholders’ interests so that the requirements can be baselined. b. Use valuation techniques such as payback period (PBP), return on investment (ROI), internal rate of return (IRR), or net present value (NPV) as inputs to the business case. c. Develop the solution scope statement based on either the RCA or the opportunity analysis. d. Develop an interrelationship analysis so that stakeholders can visualize the proposed solution scope. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is too general. Within the responsibility of the business analyst, remember there are five categories of requirements: business, stakeholder, functional, nonfunctional, and transition. Answer Choice C: Requirements that address the higher-level needs of the organization are known as business requirements. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.2, “Define Types of Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6. The correct answer is: C This question challenges your understanding of the integrated change control process, adding an additional level of complexity by weaving in statistics, which are presented in an inconsistent format. Regardless of the outcome, it is the business analyst’s responsibility to communicate and record the decisions from all Change Control Board meetings. This should be done in a consistent manner that enables the sharing of knowledge and for future reference. Answer Choice A: This is a distractor answer choice. Although as the business analyst, you would have accountability for communication, it wouldn’t be limited to only those requests that were approved or denied. Answer Choices B & D: Depending on your organization, these may be true statements. However, on the exam you’ll need to put aside some experiences and think like a PMI business analyst. In this scenario, it’s the business analyst’s responsibility to communicate the outcome on all decisions regarding integrated change control. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.8.3.5, “Recommending a Course of Action.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 5. The correct answer is: C This question challenges your experience and understating of root-cause analysis techniques and scope models. Interrelationship diagrams are a form of cause-and-effect diagram, used in circum- stances in which the business analyst would like to illustrate complex problems with nearly unman- ageable relationships among interrelated components. They are optimally used for visualizing 126. Your Change Control Board recently voted on several requests; three were approved, two were denied, and one was deferred pending further information. Upon leaving the room with Finn, your project manager, you both agreed: a. In your role as business analyst, you would only communicate the approved and denied requests. Pending the outcome of the next meeting, you would share the decision on the deferred request. b. Finn, as the project manager, would communicate the decisions on all requests to all stakeholders. c. In your role as business analyst, you would communicate the decisions regarding all requests to all stakeholders. d. Finn, as the project manager, would only communicate the decision regarding the deferred request, as representatives for the five requests were present. 127. Your primary stakeholders are having a difficult time understanding the problems and the com- plex relationships among all the components. To simplify the relationships, your sponsor, Aveline, suggests that you: a. Conduct a 5 Whys analysis to help all stakeholders gain a better understanding of the problem and complex relationships. b. Develop a cause-and-effect diagram to trace the problem to complex relationships among all the components. c. Present the variables in the form of an interrelationship diagram. d. Create an opportunity analysis diagram to simplify the relationships. The correct answer is: A This question tests your knowledge and understanding of the net promotor score (NPS), a metric system designed by Fred Reichheld (Reichheld, 2003) to gauge customer loyalty and brand satis- faction. Although it can be based on a variety of scales, the most common is Zero to Ten, tied to a single open question, the response to which is Zero, “Not at all,” to Ten, “Extremely”; common qualifiers are “Satisfied” and “Likely.” Once respondents complete the questionnaire, scores are tallied and grouped as follows: Grouping Score Description Promoters 9–10 Respondents who are brand loyal and would recommend your product Passive 7–8 Respondents who are satisfied, but would consider other products and brands Detractors 0–6 Respondents who are dissatisfied with your product or brand Answer Choice B: This is a made-up answer choice. Answer Choice C: This answer choice is partially correct—promoters are brand loyal. Unfortunately, it’s missing passive and detractors. Answer Choice D: This answer choice is partially correct. Passive are respondents who are satis- fied. Unfortunately, it’s missing promoters and detractors. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 9.1.2, “Final Customer Acceptance.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, Evaluation, Task 4 128. A key team member, Mira, has recommended that the team conduct a brand-satisfaction and loyalty survey as the team celebrates the one-year anniversary of the product launch. How will participants be grouped? a. Into three categories: promoters, satisfied, and detractors b. Into two categories: those who responded and those who did not c. Into three categories: brand loyal, promoters, and neutral d. Into three categories: neutral, satisfied, and passive 129. Your sponsor, Esmeralda, has requested assistance in preparing an artifact that will contain a list of stakeholders, milestones, assumptions, constraints, and success criteria. You will be assisting with preparation of the: a. Solution scope statement b. Value proposition statement c. Charter d. Product solution and value justification complex problems and relationships. When using the tool, is quite common to find factors that influence each other. Answer Choice A: The 5 Whys technique probes using rephrased and often repeated questions to gain a full understanding of the situation. It would not be appropriate to understand the complex relationship among components. Answer Choice B: This is good answer choice; however, it is too general. Answer choice C is more specific, offering to present the variables in the form of an interrelationship diagram. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide 2.4.4.2, “Cause-and-Effect Diagrams.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. The correct answer is: A This is a difficult scenario if you don’t know the meaning of capriciousness. Remember, on the exam there will be 20 pretest questions, for which your answers (correct or wrong) will not count toward the final score. In all cases, you can’t tell which are pretest questions or those that count toward your score, so it is best to approach difficult questions in a pragmatic manner. Step one: identify what the examiner is asking: “What is one measurement that can be used over the planned lifecycle to gauge X.” Answer Choice B: Monitoring the status of requirements will communicate where they are in the lifecycle: pending functional specifications, pending technical specifications, in development, in testing, et cetera. This is a possible answer, but how does it relate to capriciousness? Answer Choice C: Evaluating the defects and resolution time is only applicable during Evaluation, not the planned lifecycle. This would not be the best answer choice. Answer Choice D: Efficiency is a measure of the output versus the input. Although not a project management earned-value method, the closest comparison is: for every dollar spent, how much directly contributed to the final solution? This would not be the best answer choice. Based on this analysis, we’ve narrowed it down to two answer choices: A and B. Capriciousness is an adjective of impulsiveness, unpredictability, and variability. Therefore, monitoring the items presented at change control can be an indicator of project volatility. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 6.5.3.1, “Project Metrics as Input to the Evaluation of the Solution.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 6. 130. You work in a fairly stable industry, and projects are generally completed on time and within budget. In working with your sponsor, Nala, she’d like to gauge project capriciousness over the planned lifecycle. What is one measurement that can be considered? a. Assessing the items presented at change control b. Monitoring the status of requirements c. Evaluating the defects and resolution time d. Measuring the efficiency of the project The correct answer is: C The charter is a key project artifact that formally authorizes the project. It will be issued by the sponsor, based on value proposition outlined in the business case, to address the problem or opportunity outlined in the scope statement. The charter will also outline, at a high level, the proj- ect requirements, the risks, and the justification for the investment. It will also outline measurable objectives and establish the responsibility and authority of the project manager. Answer Choice A: The solution scope statement establishes the boundary for the initiative, cov- ering elements such as acceptance criteria, assumptions and constraints, deliverables, exclusions, and scope description. Although there is some overlap, the charter is the only document that con- tains a list of stakeholders, milestones, assumptions, constraints, and success criteria. Answer Choice B: A value proposition statement outlines how you intend to address a customer’s needs or improve upon the current state. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 4.1.3.1, “Project Charter.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 5. The correct answer is: A A baseline is a measurement for future comparison; every artifact should be archived and properly notated for version control for analysis over the duration of the project. The scope baseline is a sig- nificant project deliverable and key artifact used in the change control process. It is not one single document, rather it includes the scope statement, the work breakdown structure, and the WBS dictionary. All three elements are required to satisfy the presentation request for the Executive Steering Committee. Answer Choice B: Either the project management information system or the configuration manage- ment system could serve as the repositories for this information. Answer Choices C & D: These are both distractors; neither satisfies any part of the request to review an outline of the scope baseline. Both answer choices are too granular for the question. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 5.4.3.1, “ Scope Baseline.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. The correct answer is: B This is a question of moderate complexity, and not unlike ones you may encounter on the exam. There is some level of ambiguity, and you need to relate the material beyond the Practice Guides. To approach this question correctly, you need to have a comfort level with the key processes asso- ciated with Evaluation: planning, which begins at the onset of the project; validation, to ensure that the solution meets stakeholder requirements; documentation, for auditing and knowledge management; and communication, to ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed. Answer choice C most closely aligns to these key processes. Answer Choice A: This is a partially correct answer; it addresses the documentation and communi- cation aspects but does not fully address planning or validation. 134. Your sponsor, Ansley, has scheduled a meeting for you to present the outline of scope baseline to the Executive Steering Committee for the next generation of high-speed passenger rail cars that will be used in the change control process. What will you present? a. An explanation and tiered decomposition of the scope, including limitations, and a supporting dictionary b. The project management information system and the configuration management system c. The requirements traceability matrix, the business analysis plan, the BA work plan, and the change management plan d. The change management plan, the requirements management plan, and the requirements trace- ability matrix 135. Declan, an intern working on your project, has inquired as to the key processes associated with solution evaluation. You candidly tell Declan, “This isn’t my first time at the rodeo.” They are: a. Tracing and tracking all requirements in the team wiki b. Posting the results to the team wiki, selecting techniques that will be used during the evaluation process, and hosting a demonstration for the key stakeholders c. Hosting a demonstration following each phase or sprint d. Validating frequently and thoroughly The correct answer is: D To answer this question correctly, you need to first understand where you are in the process. The scenario states: “. . . to date only the approach to the initiative has been approved”; this means we are in the Needs Assessment domain. Next, the question is asking “for your help with an assess- ment.” Once the organization understands the initiative and the approach, the next step is to work on the business case, which is a cost–benefit analysis contrasting options, concluding with a recom- mendation. Once the business case is accepted, the project team can approach the other artifacts. Answer Choice A: The solution scope statement establishes the boundary for the initiative, cover- ing elements such as (a) acceptance criteria, (b) assumptions and constraints, (d) deliverables, (e) exclusions, and (f) scope description; it is not considered an assessment. Answer Choice B: The project scope statement contains (a) assumptions/constraints, (b) acceptance criteria, (d) deliverables, (e) exclusions, (f) scope description; it is not considered an assessment. Answer Choice C: The project charter is the document formally authorizes the project, and estab- lishes the boundaries. It contains sections such as (a) approval requirements, (b) assumptions/ constraints, (c) summary budget, (d) high-level description, (e) measurable objectives, (f) justification (or purpose), (g) summary milestones, (h) high-level requirements, (i) high-level risks, (j) stakeholders, (k) sponsor, (l) project manager (outlining responsibility and authority), and (m) success criteria for the project; it is not considered an assessment. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.6, “Assemble the Business Case.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. The correct answer is: D 136. Your executive sponsor, Constance, has asked for your help with an assessment; to date only the approach to the initiative has been approved. What should you begin working on? a. The solution scope statement b. The project scope statement c. The project charter d. A cost–benefit analysis 137. After creating the work breakdown structure (WBS), Oswin is estimating the overall project duration by totaling the estimates of all the lower-level components. What estimating technique is Oswin using? a. Three-point b. Parametric c. Analogous d. Bottom-up Answer Choice C: Although demonstrations are very valuable and enable communication, this answer choice does not address the question. Answer Choice D: This is a distractor and not a complete answer to outline the key processes associated with Evaluation. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide, Section 8.2, “Solution Evaluation Activities.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. The correct answer is: A This is an obscure question, one that challenges your rationalization skills with regard to the stake- holder identification process. A quadrant analysis, also referred to as a 2x2 matrix, is a flexible tool allowing teams to categorize viewpoints and interests in a grid comprising four cells. In terms of stakeholder identification, this can take the form of a power/interest grid. Over the duration of a project, stakeholder interest, influence, impact, and power can change and evolve. Once created, the stakeholder register and associated matrices must be regularly updated and maintained. Answer Choice B: The sponsor’s name would never be removed from the stakeholder artifacts. Answer Choice C: This is a distractor, although it does contain a valid point of providing proper care for the register to ensure that the content is adequately secured. Answer Choice D: This is an incorrect answer. Although sharing the register can foster collabora- tion, the company’s intranet is a very broad suggestion. Had the answer choice suggested the team page on the intranet, this answer choice could warrant additional consideration. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 2.3.1,”Identify Stakeholders.” A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 13.1.2.1, “Stakeholder Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment, Task 4.” 138. Collaborating with your project manager, Marcus, you’ve completed a thorough and complex stakeholder identification process. Your sponsor, Garrett, is quite impressed and suggests: a. A regular review of the quadrant analysis. b. His name can be removed, because Marcus will be leading the project once approved. c. The stakeholder register not be shared with others, because it contains confidential information and should not be updated beyond this point. d. The stakeholder register be published to the company intranet to foster collaboration among team members. 139. Your project director, Beatrice, completed a project RACI and noted that Soren, the project man- ager, was responsible for managing quality requirements and scope. Is this correct? Estimating is a vital competency for business analysts, and this question tests your knowledge of the four techniques that can be used to estimate activity durations. The bottom-up estimating technique totals the estimates of all lower-level components within the work breakdown structure to approximate project duration. Because estimating is an iterative process, over time, these esti- mates become further refined. Answer Choice A: Three-point estimating relies on three factors to establish an approximation for the activities duration: most likely (M), optimistic (O), and pessimistic (P). Answer Choice B: Parametric estimating considers the relationships among variables for estimat- ing cost and duration. Answer Choice C: The analogous estimation technique uses data from prior projects of similar size to estimate work effort and cost when there is minimal information available. Because estimating is an iterative process, over time, these estimates are further refined. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 6.4.2.4, “Bottom-Up Estimating.” Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.5.2.6, “Estimate the Work.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. The correct answer is: C Scheduling and coordinating activities within the business analysis work plan is an essential task to ensure that everything fits within the allotted time and to validate that nothing was overlooked. This question tests your hands-on experience with building and maintaining work plans, along with the concepts of reserves. While planning business analysis activities within projects, it’s quite com- mon that not all information is known at the onset. To establish a baseline (measurement for future comparison), duration estimates may include buffers or contingency reserves for known activities where it’s difficult to precisely estimate. For unknown activities, management reserves can be used to allocate time that may influence a project. Answer Choice A: To properly address both known and unknown activities, the business ana- lyst would use a combination of contingency and management reserves. This answer choice is incomplete. Answer Choice B: This is a distractor and not the correct answer choice. Answer Choice D: Although management reserves is partially correct, the explanation offered is incorrect. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 6.5.2.6, “Reserve Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. The correct answer is: D While building out the requirements traceability matrix, it’s common to find elements that are not anchored to the business goals and objectives. The best way to approach these elements is to conduct an analysis to determine the relevance of the requirement to the product and organiza- tion. All requirements must be traced and tracked to business goals and objectives to help control product scope, ensure that the delivered solution meets stakeholder expectations, and adds value. In this case, the business analyst needs to trust their judgment and not accept the sponsor’s casual comment. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is a distractor; although the sponsor may have offered the comment, it is not an appropriate response for a business analyst. b. Collaborate with your project manager and use a consistent approach across the project. c. Add a contingency reserve for the known activities and a management reserve for those activi- ties that are unknown at this time. d. Use a management reserve at the activity level for estimating both the work effort and the unknown activities that are not known at this time, then update the work plan as more infor- mation becomes available. 143. You are conducting a focus group to build out the requirements traceability matrix. While doing so, you are having difficulty tracing a few items to business goals and objectives. Your sponsor, Jacob, is not concerned and suggests that they are all relevant. What should you do? a. Add a short textual description, stating “requirement provided by sponsor.” b. Allow the project manager to manage these items, as they pertain to project management. c. In some circumstances, it is acceptable not to track requirements to business goals and objectives. d. Ask Jackson, your associate, to conduct an analysis to determine the relevance of the requirement. The correct answer is: D Because there is little information provided in this scenario, the first step in approaching this ques- tion is to establish where we are in the process. Upon careful review, we can determine that we’re in the Needs Assessment domain, because we are going to complete a “feasibility study for a pro- posed recommendation.” There are five types of feasibility studies that explore the viability of the proposed initiatives and often consider the influence of political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) factors and help determine the extent to which the proposed solution addresses the identified opportunity or problem, in an effort to ensure that the correct solution is implemented. Answer Choice A: This answer choice closely resembles answer choice D and is very close to being correct. However, inserting the word project verses solution or product invalidates this answer choice. Answer Choice B: Feasibility studies often consider (a) operational, (b) technology/system, (c) cost-effectiveness, and (d) time constraints associated with each option. The results produced would not help to determine the extent to which the proposed solution addresses the identified opportunity. Answer Choice C: Feasibility studies do not outline potential alternatives. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.5, “Recommend Action to Address Business Needs.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. 144. Agnes, the VP of the project management office (PMO), requests that you complete a feasibility study for the proposed recommendation. Why? a. A feasibility study will help determine the extent to which the proposed solution addresses the identified opportunity or problem in an effort to ensure that the correct project is implemented. b. A feasibility study will help determine the extent to which the proposed solution addresses the identified opportunity. c. A feasibility study will outline potential alternatives. d. A feasibility study will help determine the extent to which the proposed solution addresses the identified opportunity or problem in an effort to ensure that the correct solution is implemented. 145. Carson is creating screen mockups to classify page elements and their associated functions. As the mockup is decomposed to user interface elements, how are they described? a. As unique development objects b. As individual requirement objects c. From the standpoint of displays and behaviors d. From the perspective of a wireframe and relationship to requirement Answer Choice B: It’s the business analyst, not the project manager, who has accountability for tracing and tracking requirements. Answer Choice C: This is an incorrect answer choice; all requirements must be traced and tracked to business goals and objectives. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.2, “Benefits of Tracing Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 2. The correct answer is: D On the exam, you can expect a number of questions pertaining to both quality and grade. This question challenges your understanding of both concepts. Based on the information provided in the scenario, the solution meets the higher-level needs of the organization, and Phoebe is voicing concern with regard to the low grade: “It is missing some features.” A low-grade software solution is one that contains a limited number of features and functions. It may often be preferable to the conversely feature-rich software solution (high-grade), which could have number of problems and software bugs. Answer Choice A: This is an incorrect choice; there is nothing to suggest the delivered solution does not meet the business requirements. Answer Choice B: This is a distractor and not the correct answer choice. Answer Choice C: This is not the correct answer choice. Low quality would suggest there were defects with the delivered solution. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), “Introduction to Quality Management,” page 228. PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Evaluation,” Task 1. The correct answer is: D 146. During user acceptance testing, your subject matter expert, Phoebe, signs off that there are no defects with the program and the documentation is acceptable. However, she is not satisfied with the software application as delivered, commenting that it is missing some features. As a result, you: a. Agree, the software does not fully meet the business requirements. b. Suggest Phoebe review the business requirements documents. c. Advise that the software meets the business requirements; she is concerned with the low quality. d. Advise that the software meets the business requirements; she is concerned with the low grade. 147. Trinity, VP of human resources and head of your Executive Steering Committee, asked that, in collaboration with Ivor, your project manager, you present artifacts that can influence scope man- agement for the new human capital management system. What will you present? a. Scope management plan, requirements management plan, quality management plan b. Work breakdown structure and work breakdown structure dictionary c. Scope management plan, scope baseline, and requirements traceability matrix d. On-boarding, transfer, promotion, and off-boarding procedures; travel reimbursement policies and detailed information on the applicant portal The correct answer is: C This question is testing your understanding of and experience with Interface models. Screen mock- ups (or wireframes) are used to classify page elements and their associated functions. Once out- lined, the mockup is decomposed to user interface elements from the perspective of displays and behaviors. Answer Choices A, B, & D: These are all made up and incorrect answer choices. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.11.4, “Wireframes and Display-Action-Response.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. The correct answer is: A Business analysts can further assist stakeholders by incorporating the use of multi-criteria weighted ranking models to objectively compare solution options. When using this tool, proposed solutions are ranked based on pre-established measures. Selection preference order is then calculated as an average of the ranking. Answer Choice B: Originally developed by Andre Delbecq and Andrew H. Van de Ven, the nominal group technique (also referred to as NGT or MultiVoting) is used to quantitatively produce con- sensus for a particular discussion topic, essentially refining results generated during brainstorming sessions Answer Choice C: Business process modeling notation is used to model business processes to evaluate potential changes and optimizations. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice, although it’s worded similarly to requirements modeling language. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.15.3, “Weighted Ranking.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 3. 152. Isla, a skilled business analyst, would like to use a tool that can objectively compare solution options for her subject matter experts. What can you recommend? a. Multi-criteria weighted ranking b. Nominal group technique c. Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) d. Requirements modeling technique 153. The Executive Steering Committee for your project has just approved your business plan. Unfortunately, they’ve only provided you with four months to complete the requirements eval- uation process and solution development. As the business analyst, how do you approach this constraint? a. Perform a MoSCoW analysis to determine the features for the release window. b. Work with the time window provided to complete the requirements and development efforts; as needed, request more time in the form of a change request. Estimating is a vital competency for business analysts, and this question tests your knowledge of the four techniques that can be used to estimate activity durations. Parametric estimating uses algorithms based on historical data to forecast duration or cost for a current initiative. Because estimating is an iterative process, overtime, these estimates are further refined. Answer Choice A: The analogous estimation technique uses data from prior projects of similar size to estimate work effort and cost when there is minimal information available Answer Choice C: The bottom-up estimating technique totals the estimates of all lower-level com- ponents within the work breakdown structure to approximate project duration. Answer Choice D: Three-point estimating relies on three factors to establish an approximation for the activities duration: most likely (M), optimistic (O), and pessimistic (P). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 6.5.2.3, “Parametric Estimating.” Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.5.2.6, “Estimate the Work.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. The correct answer is: C This question describes a very common scenario, and the answer choices require careful analysis to select the best approach to the constraint. Regardless of the lifecycle approach, most initiatives do not have the luxury of infinite time. The sponsor has provided two timeframes; it’s the business ana- lyst’s responsibility to work within the fixed timelines (known as time-boxing), and deliver a solution aligned to the stakeholder requirements. Answer choice C offers the most complete response. The first step in the assessment would be to assess the team’s capability to determine if all work could be handled internally or if external resources would be required for augmentation. Second, in terms of capacity, are there any resource, financial, or technology constraints the team would need to address. Lastly, the MoSCoW method could be used to help stakeholders prioritize the established requirements. This method will help to objectively guide the evaluation process, focusing on those items that have priority. Answer Choice A: This answer choice is partially correct, but it doesn’t address the team’s capabil- ity and capacity within the time-boxed period. Answer Choice B: Selecting this approach would lead the Executive Steering Committee to believe all the work could be completed with the defined time period. By completing the analysis, you’ll have a better idea if this will be a concern. Answer Choice D: Technology, system, and cost effectiveness feasibility assessments would not be helpful in this situation. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.11.6.1, “Prioritization Schemes.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. The correct answer is: C This question tests your understanding of agile and techniques used with adaptive lifecycle proj- ects. Requirements for adaptive lifecycle projects are typically stated in the form of user stories. When properly written, they follow the INVEST acronym: independent, negotiable, valuable, esti- mable, small, and testable in the format: As a <role or type of user>, I want <goal/desire>, so that <benefit>. Large user stories, known as epics, are decomposed into manageable user stories and added to the backlog. Answer Choice A: Business requirements documents describe the purpose/intent of the compo- nent and metrics to evaluate its impact on the organization. c. Analyze the team’s capability and capacity within the defined time period, conduct a MoSCoW analysis, and prioritize the work accordingly. d. Conduct a feasibility assessment based on technology, system, and cost effectiveness. 154. You are establishing the process for securing approval of solution requirements for a project using extreme programming (XP). Collaborating with your project manager, Sasha, what format would your offshore developers prefer? a. Business requirements document b. Functional specification c. User story d. Use case The correct answer is: C This is an advanced topic regarding scheduling and the sequencing of activities, which may appear on the exam. The precedence diagramming method (PDM) includes four dependencies or logical relationships: finish-start (FS), finish-finish (FF), start-start (SS), and start-finish (SF). Leads are time increments in which successor activities can be advanced ahead of a predecessor (indi- cated as a “–“), and lags note delays (indicted by a “+“). In this scenario, the predecessor finish task is the curing of the tile floors and the moving of the desks into the classroom would be a start task. This would be noted as processor lag for moving the desks, represented as FS +2 in the work plan. Answer Choice A: FF indicates a finish–finish relationship, which would not be appropriate in this scenario, regardless of lead or lag. Answer Choice B: FS –2 is a finish–start lead suggesting that the chairs could be moved two days before the floors cured. Answer Choice D: SF indicates a start–finish relationship, which would not be appropriate in this scenario, regardless of lead or lag. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 6.3.2.3, “Leads and Lags.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 4. 155. Lauren, an experienced project manager and business analyst, is building her work plan for the construction of the new kindergarten wing at the local elementary school. She has identified a few instances in which successor activities cannot begin immediately following the completion of predecessor activities. For example, the desks cannot be moved into the classrooms until all the tile floors have cured. How can Lauren best represent a two-day delay on her work plan for this activity? a. FF +2 b. FS –2 c. FS +2 d. SF –2 156. While building his work plan, Jonathan noted several dependencies in the real estate module of the ERP. Based on information learned at a recent seminar by experts in the field, how can these best be catalogued? a. Discretionary b. External preferred c. Internal preferred d. Mandatory Answer Choice B: Functional specifications are decomposed from functional requirements and describe the behaviors or functions of the component; they are often categorized as solution utility. Answer Choice D: Use cases are used to describe scenarios and explain complex interactions between users and systems in plain text, articulating how the system should operate, the associ- ated flows, and the expected benefit, all from the vantage point of a lead actor. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.4, “Approving Requirements,” and Section 4.11.5, “Guidelines for Writing Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. The correct answer is: A This question tests your knowledge of affinity diagrams, which is a very useful technique to cluster and connect related themes. They are used to organize and group large amounts of data into nat- ural relationships and are typically used following brainstorming sessions. Answer Choice B: Interrelationship diagrams, one of the tools used in scope modeling, aid in visu- alizing complex problems and relationships. When using the tool, is quite common to find factors that influence each other. In cases in which there is more than one influencing factor, the team needs to determine which factor is stronger, and note only one. The tool would not be used for organizing ideas. Answer Choices C & D: These are both distractors and incorrect answer choices. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.4.5.2, “Affinity Diagram.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 2. The correct answer is: D On the exam, you can expect at least one question pertaining to information repositories, team collaboration tools, and knowledge management. PMI is a strong proponent of lessons learned and knowledge transfer, and this question is representative of one that may appear on the exam. Project management information systems (PMIS) do not have to be sophisticated tools; in fact, MS Excel and Shared Network Folders are the most common. Keep in mind that the key principle is that they need to serve as the central repository for all team documentation. The PMIS is also considered an enterprise environmental factor. Answer Choices A, B, and C: These are all incorrect descriptions of the central repository for proj- ect plans, requirements documentation, and stakeholder lists that will be used over the life of the project. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®), Section 4.4.2.3, “Project Management Information System.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 5. a. You organize them using an affinity diagram. b. You organize them using an interrelationship diagram. c. They all be included in the work breakdown schedule (WBS), which is part of the project manage- ment plan. d. They be outlined in the solution statement. 161. Your project manager, Raelyn, is establishing a platform that will serve as the central repository for project plans, requirements documentation, and stakeholder lists that will be used over the life of the project. What is this platform considered? a. A project management information repository b. A project management collaboration site c. SharePoint or team wiki d. A project management information system 162. You work for an advertising agency in a highly competitive market. In an effort to increase mar- ket share across several product lines, you’ve been asked to support Emily, a strategic marketing expert. During your initial meeting with Emily, you provided her with statistics from the web The correct answer is: D This is a very wordy question, which during the exam can be frustrating and confusing. The first step in approaching this type of question is to isolate precisely what you’re being asked and test for relevance with each of the answer choices. In this scenario, your subject matter expert, Emily, “. . . wanted to understand market share, competition, industry cycle times, and an overall competitive analysis.” To further research these areas and understand the competitive landscape, the organi- zation could conduct either a benchmarking study or a competitive analysis—in both cases, relying only on data that is publicly available. Answer Choice A: This is a distractor; avoid answer choices on the exam that may have technical merit but are beyond the knowledge of the business analyst. Answer Choice B: A competitive analysis that uses nonpublic data would be an ethical concern and could result in legal issues. Answer Choice C: This is an incorrect answer, because the data can be gathered from a number of sources. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 2.3.3, “Gather Relevant Data to Evaluate the Situation.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. The correct answer is: C Well-written situation statements present a complete understanding of the problem to be addressed or the opportunity to be pursued, along with the contributing effects and the overall impacts. They provide enough detail to establish the problem (or opportunity) of “x,” the effect (outcome) of “y,” with the impact of “z.” Alternatively, the situation statement can be presented as problem–effect–impact. Should the project team be addressing a problem, remember to replace opportunity with problem. On the exam, remember, the statement needs to be clear, concise, and unambiguous. development team that included number of visitors, time on each page, transaction volume, and source of traffic. Although impressed with the data, Emily also wants to understand market share, competition, industry cycle times, and an overall competitive analysis. What can you suggest? a. Advise Emily that the Sherman Act of 1890 has very strict antitrust guidelines, and further that what she is asking for is banned by the Fair Trade Commission Act. b. Recommend hiring a third party to conduct the competitive analysis, looking for both public and nonpublic data. c. Advise Emily that the data cannot be reasonably gathered, much less analyzed. d. Suggest to Emily that you conduct the analysis, looking only for data that has been made pub- licly available. 163. Jacob is working on the development of the business case for your project. You just completed the initial needs assessment, when you were asked to provide the situation statement. To clearly communicate the nature of the problem, you construct the statement in the following format: a. Problem–cost–benefit b. Opportunity–effect–cost c. Opportunity–outcome–impact d. Problem–effect–opportunity The correct answer is: C In organizations in which the project management and business analyst role are split, strong col- laboration is vital to ensuring the success of the initiative. Throughout the Practice Guide are key points of collaboration; building a familiarity with them will help you approach these types of ques- tions with relative ease. To ensure that the long-term viability of both creating and maintaining the requirements traceability matrix, this requires a collaborative conversation between the project manager and the business analyst. Answer Choices A & B: Over the duration of the project, there are several opportunities for collab- oration. These answer choices are singularly focused and incorrect. Answer Choice D: This is a distractor; the use of stakeholders in this scenario is too generic. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 5.2.1, “What is Traceability?” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Traceability and Monitoring,” Task 1. The correct answer is: D This can be very difficult question, and one that is often confused with enterprise environmental factors. Spanning project scope and time management, organizational process assets (OPAs) are referenced 12 times in the PMBOK ® Guide. Organizational process assets are artifacts specific to the performing organization that can encompass lessons learned, templates, plans, polices, and/ or procedures. Answer choice D lists some of the most common OPAs—artifacts from previous projects, organizational polices, procedural documents, checklists, or templates. 164. Who has accountability for determining the extent to which the project will trace and track requirements? a. It is the project manager’s responsibility to assess and determine the extent to which the project will trace and track requirements. b. It is the business analyst’s responsibility to assess and determine the extent to which the project will trace and track requirements. c. The business analyst should discuss this topic with the project manager over lunch. d. It is the stakeholders’ responsibility to assess and determine the extent to which the project will trace and track requirements. 165. Rayden is new to business analysis, and while helping you draft several key documents, she asks you to provide examples of organizational process assets. You suggest: a. Work authorization systems, project management information system b. Guidance from consultants, industry professionals, and technical associations who are available as resources to the performing organization c. Communication channels influenced by organizational culture and structure d. Artifacts from previous projects, organizational polices, procedural documents, checklists, or templates Answer Choices A, B, & D: These are all incorrect formats of the situation statement. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, 2.3.4, “Draft the Situation Statement.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Needs Assessment,” Task 1. The correct answer is: A For the exam, and in practice, please remember the nine characteristics of high quality require- ments documentation: unambiguous, precise, consistent, correct, compete, measurable, feasible, traceable, and testable. The business analyst can use checklists to ensure that requirements doc- umentation satisfies these characteristics. These checklists become organizational process assets, which are archived for future reference. Answer Choice B: The requirements traceability matrix is the essential link between the baselined scope and organizations pillars (mission, vision, goals, and objectives). There is nothing within this document that would ensure that subject matter experts are creating requirements documents of high quality. Answer Choice C: Although Tom Gilb created the concept of a planning language (Planguage) to address ambiguous and incomplete nonfunctional requirements, it does not ensure that users are creating documents of high quality. Answer Choice D: This is a made-up answer choice. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.11.5.1, “Functional Requirements.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 7. The correct answer is: D This question tests your working understanding of interface models, which can consist of (a) report tables, (b) system interface tables, (c) user-interface flows, (d) wireframes, and (e) display-action- response models. User-interface flows are models that display specific pages or screens and plot out how users navigate them based on screen prompts or selections. Answer Choice A: Process-flow diagrams are used to describe elements of a solution, process, or project. They are powerful tools for visualizing both current (as-is) and future (to-be) states, and are often referred to as swim-lane diagrams. Answer Choice B: System interface flow is a made-up answer choice. Answer Choice C: Interoperability diagrams are used for documenting relationships and boundar- ies of interfacing systems. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.11.3, “User Interface Flow.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. a. A checklist b. The requirements traceability matrix c. Planguage d. Requirements acceptance criteria 170. Elyse is designing an interactive website for customers at a dine-in restaurant to place food and beverage orders. Her primary stakeholder, Leonidas, requested that she create a model that plots how customers will navigate the screens and the system’s responses based on their selections. What model should she use? a. Process-flow diagram b. System interface flow c. Interoperability diagram d. User-interface flow The correct answer is: C This is a difficult question that tests your understanding of the various modeling languages and their intended purposes. The Practice Guide describes the four modeling languages: (a) Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), (b) Requirements Modeling Language (RML), (c) System Modeling Language (SysML), and (d) Unified Modeling Language (UML). BPMN is similar to flow charts and process flow diagrams; the difference is that it accommodates the interest of both business and technical users by creating a unified framework for the distinct purpose of modifying/optimizing processes. Answer Choice A: The Unified Modeling Language can be used either when specifying design models or during requirements specification. Answer Choice B: The System Modeling Language is a subset of the Unified Modeling Language and is used when business analysts need to analyze complex systems. Answer Choice D: Process-flow diagrams are used to describe elements of a solution, process, or project. They are powerful tools for visualizing both current (as-is) and future (to-be) states; they often referred to as swim-lane diagrams. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.6, “Modeling Languages.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 2. The correct answer is: B This is a difficult question, because the scenario is introducing two unrelated concepts. The first is a distractor, “. . . How would you uncover any potential gaps in the business objective model?” Whereas the actual question is, “What tool can be used to uncover any potential gaps in a model detailing the lifecycle of an object through various conditions?” To both establish and validate object transitions, state tables and diagrams (aka pair-wise tables) can be used to track objects over their lifecycles. These models evaluate the initial and target states for objects. Furthermore, the models can also be used to ensure that nothing has been overlooked in the requirements defi- nition process. 171. It’s been nearly ten years since your organization optimized its processes. Gabriel, the VP of stra- tegic initiatives, has requested that you model the existing processes to help prepare the organiza- tion for a transformative initiative. To accomplish this task, what tool would you use? a. Unified Modeling Language (UML) b. System Modeling Language (SysML) c. Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) d. Process-flow diagram 172. As an experienced business analyst, Thea suspects that there may be gaps in the business objective model that she developed for a local pet store. She would like to create a model detailing the life- cycle of an object through various conditions. What tool can Thea use to uncover any potential gaps? a. An entity relationship diagram further detailing the workflows from the business objective model b. A pair-wise table, which evaluates the initial and target states for object c. A process-flow diagram aligned to industry leading practice d. A system diagram aligned to industry leading practice The correct answer is: A Personas define an archetype—a type of person that would use a system. They represent ficti- tious people, who are based on the team’s knowledge of real users. A persona analysis is a short narrative story that describes the goals, behaviors, motivations, environment, demographics, and skills of each user group. Based on fictional characters, the tool is used to understand stakeholder needs and characteristics. (Remember, in practice, you should never use someone’s actual name in a meeting or when designing a system.) Answer Choices B & C: These are made-up answer choices. Answer Choice D: This is an example of a user story, which would not be used to aid in understanding the targeted audience’s characteristics or to explain their motivations, behaviors, or ultimate goals. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 3.3.3.2, “Persona Analysis.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Planning,” Task 3. The correct answer is: B This is a question of moderate difficulty, because the business analysis plan and requirements management plan contain similar elements. In organizations of varying size and complexity, it’s common that the role of business analyst and project manager will be filled by the same person. For the exam, you’ll need to become very familiar with the contents of both artifacts. The require- ments for managing the versioning of documents (aka version control) is identified only within the business analysis plan. This continuum can be as simple as a table at the beginning of a document, to a formal system in which documents are checked in/out and locked while being edited. 173. Stefan is having difficulty explaining the motivations, behaviors, and ultimate goals for the tar- geted audience of the newly designed website. To aid in understanding their characteristics, as the business analyst, you: a. Recommend creating a short narrative about each user group b. Suggest creating a user analysis based on the targeted user groups c. Determine models that can be used to aid in the analysis of user groups d. State each of the elements in the format of: As a <role or type of user>, I want <goal/desire>, so that <benefit>, to help articulate the needs of the targeted audience 174. You are serving as both project manager and business analyst on a small project in a heavily regulated industry. Your sponsor, Thaïs, would like to implement a formal approach to tracking changes to project artifacts. Where should this requirement be identified? a. In the configuration management system and version control system b. In the business analysis plan c. In the requirements management plan d. In the scope management plan Answer Choice A: This is a made-up answer choice. Answer Choices C & D: These are both incorrect answer choices. Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Section 4.10.10.4, “State Table and State Diagrams.” PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, 2013, “Analysis,” Task 6.