Agile Business Analysis Agile Business Analysis Initiative Horizon Planning Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In initiative horizon planning, what is the primary purpose of a rolling wave approach?
- To progressively elaborate details as the initiative moves closer to execution (Correct answer)
- To lock in all deliverables at the start of the program
- To eliminate the need for stakeholder reviews
- To assign all team members to fixed roles early
Correct answer: To progressively elaborate details as the initiative moves closer to execution
Rolling wave planning progressively elaborates near-term work in detail while keeping future horizons at a higher level of abstraction.
Question 2: Which horizon in a typical three-horizon model focuses on sustaining and optimizing current business capabilities?
- Horizon 1 (Correct answer)
- Horizon 2
- Horizon 3
- Horizon 0
Correct answer: Horizon 1
Horizon 1 addresses initiatives that maintain and incrementally improve existing products and services.
Question 3: How should a business analyst handle conflicting initiative priorities across multiple planning horizons?
- Facilitate a structured prioritization workshop with key stakeholders using agreed-upon criteria (Correct answer)
- Escalate all conflicts directly to the CEO for resolution
- Choose the initiative with the largest budget
- Delay all conflicting initiatives until the next planning cycle
Correct answer: Facilitate a structured prioritization workshop with key stakeholders using agreed-upon criteria
A structured prioritization workshop ensures transparent, criteria-based decisions that align with organizational strategy.
Question 4: What is a key risk when an organization over-invests in Horizon 3 initiatives at the expense of Horizon 1?
- Core revenue-generating products may deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and improvement (Correct answer)
- The organization will have too many innovative products
- Stakeholder engagement will automatically increase
- Regulatory compliance becomes easier to manage
Correct answer: Core revenue-generating products may deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and improvement
Neglecting Horizon 1 can erode the stable revenue base that funds longer-term innovation efforts.
Question 5: During initiative horizon planning, what artifact does the business analyst typically use to visualize initiative sequencing and dependencies?
- A roadmap with time-based swim lanes showing initiative groupings per horizon (Correct answer)
- A detailed Gantt chart with individual task assignments
- A fishbone diagram of root causes
- A RACI matrix for all team members
Correct answer: A roadmap with time-based swim lanes showing initiative groupings per horizon
A roadmap with swim lanes per horizon provides a strategic view of how initiatives are sequenced and how they depend on each other.
Question 6: Why is it important to define measurable outcomes for each planning horizon rather than just listing features?
- Outcome-based planning allows teams to pivot on solutions while staying aligned to strategic goals (Correct answer)
- Feature lists guarantee that all stakeholder needs are met
- Measurable outcomes eliminate the need for retrospectives
- Defining features is more agile than defining outcomes
Correct answer: Outcome-based planning allows teams to pivot on solutions while staying aligned to strategic goals
Outcome-based planning keeps teams focused on delivering value and allows flexibility in how that value is achieved.
Agile Business Analysis Agile Business Analysis Initiative Horizon Planning Questions and Answers 2
In initiative horizon planning, what is the primary purpose of a rolling wave approach?