Mixed Deck — All Business Analysis Topics Flashcards

The business analyst received the following instruction from a stakeholder at a meeting to gather requirements: "The program must be compatible with Windows, iOS, and Android for all versions issued after 2018." Which statement regarding this need is accurate?

Answer: This is a non-functional requirement

This statement describes a quality or characteristic of the system rather than a specific function it must perform. Compatibility with various operating systems and versions falls under non-functional requirements, specifically related to the system's environment or technical constraints. Functional requirements define what the system *does*, whereas non-functional requirements define *how* it performs or *under what conditions*.

What is 'mind mapping' used for in the context of business analysis?

Answer: Visually organizing and connecting ideas, themes, and requirements to explore relationships

Mind mapping creates a visual diagram branching from a central concept, helping BAs and stakeholders explore and organize requirements, themes, and relationships intuitively.

Which elicitation technique involves observing stakeholders performing their tasks in their natural work environment?

Answer: Ethnographic observation

Ethnographic observation (also called job shadowing) involves a BA watching stakeholders work in their actual environment to uncover implicit and tacit requirements.

What general approach would you choose to determine whether a solution fault is a sign of a more serious issue?

Answer: Root cause analysis

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a systematic approach used to identify the underlying causes of problems, rather than just addressing their symptoms. When a solution fault is discovered, RCA helps determine if it's an isolated incident or indicative of a deeper, systemic issue that needs to be resolved to prevent recurrence and ensure long-term solution stability.

What justifies a business analyst's participation in the Solution Assessment and Validation tasks?

Answer: They are most knowledgeable about the business environment.

Business analysts possess deep knowledge of the business context, including stakeholder needs, business objectives, and the current operational environment. This understanding is crucial for assessing whether a solution truly meets the business demand, delivers value, and fits within the organizational context during validation. They bridge the gap between technical solutions and business needs.

What is the main limitation of using surveys as a requirements elicitation technique?

Answer: Surveys do not allow follow-up questions to clarify ambiguous or unexpected answers

Surveys cannot dynamically follow up on interesting or unclear responses the way interviews can, which limits the depth of information that can be obtained.

In which of the following BA tasks should the BA look for possibilities to improve the bus's operation?

Answer: Specify and model reqs

During the 'Specify and model requirements' task, business analysts not only document current needs but also critically analyze them to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement. This phase involves evaluating existing processes and proposing better solutions, which directly leads to enhancing business operations. It's where the BA actively seeks to add value beyond mere documentation.

Which element of the business case should include information about how a plan would affect interdepartmental relations?

Answer: Impact assessment

The impact assessment section of a business case specifically evaluates how a proposed plan or change will affect various aspects of the organization. This includes analyzing the potential consequences on interdepartmental relations, existing workflows, technology systems, and personnel. It aims to quantify both positive and negative effects to provide a comprehensive understanding of the change's reach.

Based on your evaluation of the suggested solutions, you've come to the conclusion that only two of them offer significantly different fundamental characteristics and comparable commercial value. Which would be the best line of action to choose the greatest option as your next step?

Answer: Finding extra possible capabilities and ranking them can help you choose the best option.

If two solutions have comparable commercial value but different fundamental characteristics, a deeper analysis is needed to differentiate them. 'Finding extra possible capabilities and ranking them' allows for a more granular comparison, potentially revealing additional benefits or drawbacks that could tip the scales. This approach helps identify which solution offers more strategic advantages or better aligns with future needs beyond the initial assessment.

What is the purpose of conducting a focus group in requirements elicitation?

Answer: To gather qualitative feedback and diverse perspectives from a representative group of stakeholders

Focus groups bring together a small, representative group of stakeholders to discuss topics in depth, surfacing varied perspectives and uncovering shared needs through group interaction.

Every one of the following is necessary to get ready for requirements elicitation sessions EXCEPT:

Answer: a strategy for the demands Techniques for elicitation to be employed in the session

While having a strategy for elicitation techniques is crucial for the overall elicitation process, it's not something you prepare during the session itself. Before a session, you prepare objectives, desired outcomes, and gauge group consensus ability to ensure the session is productive. The strategy for which techniques to use is determined before scheduling and preparing for specific sessions.

A multiple linear regression model already exists with the addition of a non-contributing predictor variable (Pr > |t| =0.658). What will happen as a result?

Answer: An increase in R-Square

In multiple linear regression, adding any predictor variable to the model, regardless of its statistical significance, will always result in an increase or no change in the R-squared value. R-squared measures the proportion of variance in the dependent variable explained by the independent variables, and adding more variables can only account for more (or the same amount of) variance. While an insignificant predictor might not improve the model's predictive power meaningfully, it will still technically contribute to the R-squared calculation, causing it to rise.

Which view can be enabled for the task:

Answer: Design view

The 'Design view' is a common feature in many software tools and development environments that allows users to visually arrange and configure components or elements for a task or interface. It provides a graphical representation where one can define the structure, layout, and properties of an object or system component. This view is essential for tasks involving user interface creation or workflow configuration.

Determine which example of explicit individual knowledge is valid.

Answer: A job description for a business analyst

Explicit knowledge is information that can be easily articulated, codified, stored, and accessed, often found in documents, databases, or manuals. A job description is a perfect example of explicit knowledge because it formally outlines roles, responsibilities, and qualifications in a written, shareable format. In contrast, an ability (like using a spreadsheet) is tacit, and a rumor is unverified information.

The BA can decide when information connected with an entity may impact the validity of information values, the manner in which decisions are made in a process, and the organizational priorities by using the following modeling concept, which was utilized to develop a set of views of requirements.

Answer: Rules

Business rules define or constrain aspects of a business, influencing how information is processed, decisions are made, and operations are conducted. By modeling business rules, a BA can understand how data validity is enforced, how processes branch based on conditions, and how organizational policies dictate system behavior. This provides a structured way to capture critical constraints and logic that shape requirements.

Arman, a business analyst, is developing a mobile application. He sets up a meeting with all pertinent parties to collect the needs. He also extends an invitation to the implementation consultant, a participant in the earlier project. Why does Arman include him in this?

Answer: It assists in supplying information on how to implement one or more solution components.

An implementation consultant, especially one with prior project experience, possesses valuable expertise regarding the practical aspects of deploying and integrating solutions. Their role is to provide insights into the feasibility, technical constraints, and best practices for implementing specific solution components. This knowledge is crucial during requirements gathering to ensure the proposed solution is technically viable and aligns with implementation realities.

Compared to the SCORE statement in the LOGISTIC procedure, think about scoring fresh observations in the SCORE procedure. Which claim is accurate?

Answer: In contrast to the SCORE method, the SCORE statement in the LOGISTIC procedure simply gives anticipated probabilities.

The SCORE statement within the LOGISTIC procedure is designed to output only the predicted probabilities for new observations. In contrast, the standalone SCORE procedure is more versatile and can generate both predicted probabilities and predicted logits. Therefore, if you specifically need only the anticipated probabilities from a logistic model, the SCORE statement in LOGISTIC is sufficient, while the SCORE procedure offers more comprehensive output.

The dispersion is referred to as follows if all exam scores tend to cluster around the mean:

Answer: Small

When all exam scores tend to cluster closely around the mean, it indicates that there is very little variability or spread among the scores. This phenomenon is referred to as small dispersion, meaning the data points are tightly grouped and do not deviate significantly from the central tendency. Conversely, large dispersion would imply scores are widely spread out.

Which example of the quality-of-service (non-functional; not exhaustive list) requirements below is accurate?

Answer: All the above

Quality-of-service requirements, also known as non-functional requirements, describe how well a system performs its functions rather than what it does. Security, usability, performance, and scalability are all classic examples of non-functional requirements. They define the system's operational characteristics, constraints, and quality attributes, which are crucial for user satisfaction and system success.

Which elicitation technique is specifically designed to reveal requirements by presenting stakeholders with an incomplete or deliberately flawed version of a system?

Answer: Provocative prototyping

Provocative prototyping intentionally introduces flaws or incomplete features to provoke stakeholder reactions, making it easier for them to articulate what they actually need.