Business Analysis & Requirements Flashcards

What is a 'current state analysis' (as-is analysis) in business analysis?

Answer: A detailed examination of existing processes, systems, and capabilities to understand the baseline before making changes

Current state (as-is) analysis documents how things work today—processes, systems, data flows—to establish a baseline for identifying improvements.

In information management business analysis, what does 'data lineage' track?

Answer: The origin, movement, transformation, and destination of data throughout its lifecycle

Data lineage documents where data comes from, how it moves through systems, how it is transformed, and where it ends up, supporting trust and compliance.

What is the purpose of a RACI chart in business analysis?

Answer: To clarify roles by defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task or decision

A RACI chart eliminates role confusion by assigning one of four responsibility types to each stakeholder for every task: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed.

Which requirements elicitation technique is best suited for gathering input from many geographically dispersed stakeholders simultaneously?

Answer: Survey or questionnaire

Surveys and questionnaires allow analysts to collect structured input from large, dispersed groups efficiently, though they sacrifice depth compared to interviews.

What is 'scope creep' in business analysis and project management?

Answer: The uncontrolled expansion of project scope beyond its original boundaries without formal approval

Scope creep occurs when new features or requirements are added to a project without going through change control, leading to cost overruns, delays, and missed objectives.

What is the primary goal of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in the systems development lifecycle?

Answer: To verify that the system meets business requirements and is ready for production use from the end-user perspective

UAT is the final testing phase where actual end users validate that the system does what the business needs before it goes live.