Strategic Planning & Business Analysis Flashcards

A senior consultant is helping a client choose between organic growth and an acquisition strategy. The Ansoff Matrix quadrant that represents entering new markets with existing products is called:

Answer: Market Development

Market Development involves taking existing products into new markets, which aligns with the geographic or demographic expansion scenario without changing the product.

During process mapping, a consultant uses swimlane diagrams. The PRIMARY benefit of swimlanes over basic flowcharts is that they:

Answer: Show handoffs and accountability between different roles or departments

Swimlane diagrams visually separate responsibilities by role or department, making cross-functional handoffs and accountability clear in ways simple flowcharts cannot.

A client's strategic plan calls for 15% revenue growth, but the business analysis reveals that the current sales pipeline can only support 6% growth. This gap is best addressed first by:

Answer: Conducting a gap analysis to identify root causes and options to close the difference

A formal gap analysis identifies the root causes of the performance shortfall and generates strategic options before any corrective action is chosen.

Which competitive strategy, as defined by Michael Porter, involves targeting a narrow customer segment with either lower cost or differentiation advantages?

Answer: Focus Strategy

Porter's Focus Strategy directs competitive efforts at a narrow market niche, applying either cost or differentiation advantages specifically to that segment.

A business analyst is eliciting requirements for a new CRM system. A stakeholder says, 'The system should be fast.' This is best classified as a:

Answer: Non-functional requirement

Performance expectations like speed are non-functional requirements that describe system quality attributes rather than specific behaviors or functions.

When a consultant applies the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) to a client's customer revenue data, the most likely finding is that:

Answer: Roughly 20% of customers generate approximately 80% of revenue

The Pareto Principle consistently shows that a small minority of customers (roughly 20%) typically drives the majority (roughly 80%) of revenue in most businesses.

A consultant facilitating a strategic planning session notices that the group consistently avoids challenging the CEO's initial proposal. This phenomenon is known as:

Answer: Groupthink

Groupthink occurs when group cohesion and deference to authority suppress critical thinking, leading teams to conform rather than challenge flawed proposals.