Agile Business Analysis Strategy Horizon Analysis 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the context of Agile business analysis, which technique BEST helps a team identify which horizon a proposed initiative belongs to?
- SWOT analysis
- Impact mapping
- Opportunity canvas with uncertainty scoring (Correct answer)
- Story mapping
Correct answer: Opportunity canvas with uncertainty scoring
An opportunity canvas combined with uncertainty scoring reveals the maturity level of an initiative and its natural horizon placement.
Question 2: A BA notices that a company invests 95% of its portfolio in Horizon 1 with nothing in Horizons 2 or 3. The strategic risk is:
- Over-investment in innovation at the expense of operations
- Vulnerability to disruption with no pipeline of future growth (Correct answer)
- Excessive technical debt from too many experiments
- Regulatory exposure from underfunded core systems
Correct answer: Vulnerability to disruption with no pipeline of future growth
Neglecting Horizons 2 and 3 leaves the organization exposed when core markets decline with no replacement growth engine.
Question 3: Which Agile ceremony is MOST appropriate for reviewing strategy horizon assumptions and pivoting based on market feedback?
- Sprint Review
- Backlog Refinement
- Portfolio Review (Correct answer)
- Sprint Planning
Correct answer: Portfolio Review
Portfolio Reviews are the right cadence to assess strategy-level assumptions and adjust horizon investments based on outcomes.
Question 4: A BA is mapping customer journey stages to strategy horizons. Which mapping is MOST accurate?
- Current loyal customers = H3, future segments = H1
- Core profitable segments = H1, adjacent markets = H2, new market creation = H3 (Correct answer)
- H1 = digital channels, H2 = physical channels, H3 = omnichannel
- All customer segments belong to H1 because customers are current state
Correct answer: Core profitable segments = H1, adjacent markets = H2, new market creation = H3
Core profitable customers represent H1, adjacent market expansion is H2, and entirely new market creation is H3.
Question 5: When conducting a Strategy Horizon Analysis for a SaaS company, which indicator signals that an H2 initiative is ready to transition to H1?
- The initiative has been running for exactly 12 months
- The initiative achieves repeatable, predictable revenue with a defined customer segment (Correct answer)
- The initiative's backlog has more than 100 stories
- The initiative passes a security audit
Correct answer: The initiative achieves repeatable, predictable revenue with a defined customer segment
Repeatable, predictable revenue with a defined segment signals that the opportunity has matured enough to be managed as core business.
Question 6: A stakeholder insists that strategy horizon analysis is only relevant for large enterprises, not startups. The BA's BEST counterargument is:
- Startups are exempt from horizon thinking because they focus on survival
- Startups exist entirely in Horizon 3 and have nothing to analyze
- Even early-stage companies must balance current runway (H1) with market expansion bets (H2/H3) (Correct answer)
- Horizon analysis only applies when annual revenue exceeds $10M
Correct answer: Even early-stage companies must balance current runway (H1) with market expansion bets (H2/H3)
Startups must still allocate scarce resources across sustaining current traction and exploring adjacent or new opportunities.
Question 7: In Agile portfolio management, 'decentralized decision-making' for horizon initiatives means:
- Each team independently decides which horizon their work falls into without alignment
- Portfolio leadership sets guardrails and budgets while teams own execution decisions within horizons (Correct answer)
- Executives make all horizon 3 decisions and teams handle only H1 work
- Horizon classification is outsourced to an external consulting firm
Correct answer: Portfolio leadership sets guardrails and budgets while teams own execution decisions within horizons
Decentralized decision-making means leadership sets strategic boundaries and investment thresholds while empowered teams execute within those guardrails.
Agile Business Analysis Strategy Horizon Analysis 3
In the context of Agile business analysis, which technique BEST helps a team identify which horizon a proposed initiative belongs to?