IIBA CBAP - Certified Business Analysis Professional

 A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of how data moves through a system or process. It shows the sources and destinations of data, the processes that transform data, and the data stores that hold data. A DFD can help the business analyst understand the current state of a system, identify gaps or inefficiencies, and design a new or improved system. A DFD is different from a network topology map, which shows the physical layout and connections of network devices. A DFD is also different from a data dictionary and glossary, which provide definitions and descriptions of data elements and terms. A DFD is not a prototype, which is a working model or simulation of a system or product. References:

CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, 2nd Edition, Chapter 8: Requirements Analysis, page 287-288.

Essential Guide to Business Process Mapping, Section: Data Flow Diagrams, paragraph 1-2.

 Crashing is a process of adding labor to a project to reduce the project duration. Crashing involves increasing the resources, such as staff, equipment, or materials, to accelerate the completion of critical activities. Crashing may also involve paying overtime, hiring consultants, or outsourcing some tasks. Crashing is usually done when the project is behind schedule or when there is a need to meet a deadline. Crashing may increase the project cost and risk, so it should be done carefully and only when necessary.

Forming, storming, and rolling wave planning are not related to the process of adding labor to a project. Forming and storming are stages of team development, where the team members get to know each other and resolve conflicts. Rolling wave planning is a technique of iterative planning, where the work to be done in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the distant future is planned at a higher level. References:

CBAP Certification Study Guide v3.0, page 33

BABOK Guide v3, page 16

Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) | Coursera, Course 3, Week 3, Video: “Project Management Concepts”

The conduct elicitation activity is a technique to understand stakeholder needs and identify potential solutions that may meet those needs. It involves guiding stakeholders and collaborating with them through the elicitation activity, doing research or running experiments, and capturing elicitation outcomes1. The inputs for this activity are the following2:

Requirements management plan: This document defines how requirements will be elicited, analyzed, documented, validated, and managed throughout the project lifecycle. It provides guidance on the elicitation approach, techniques, roles, responsibilities, and deliverables.

Business need: This is the problem or opportunity that the project intends to address. It provides the context and rationale for the elicitation activity and helps to define the scope and objectives of the project.

Solution scope: This is the set of capabilities and features that a solution must deliver in order to meet the business need. It defines the boundaries and assumptions of the project and helps to identify the stakeholders and sources of information for the elicitation activity.

Stakeholder list, roles, and responsibilities: This is the identification and description of the individuals and groups who have an interest or influence in the project. It defines their roles, responsibilities, expectations, and level of involvement in the elicitation activity.

Business analysis information: This is the collection of information that has been gathered, analyzed, and documented during the business analysis process. It includes the business analysis plan, the business case, the current and future state descriptions, the requirements, the assumptions, the constraints, the risks, the issues, and the change requests. It provides the input and reference for the elicitation activity and helps to avoid duplication or inconsistency of information.

Elicitation activity plan: This is the plan that describes the specific details of the elicitation activity, such as the purpose, scope, objectives, approach, techniques, participants, agenda, logistics, materials, and expected outcomes. It helps to prepare and organize the elicitation activity and ensure its alignment with the requirements management plan and the business analysis plan.

Documented elicitation results are not an input, but an output of the conduct elicitation activity. They are the records of the information that has been elicited from the stakeholders and other sources during the elicitation activity. They include notes, transcripts, recordings, models, diagrams, sketches, prototypes, surveys, questionnaires, and other artifacts that capture the stakeholder needs, expectations, preferences, assumptions, constraints, and feedback. They are used as an input for the confirm elicitation results activity, where they are checked for accuracy, completeness, and consistency. References: Conduct Elicitation - iiba.org, Exploring the CBAP Knowledge Areas - Institute i4

 Verify scope is a process to determine the completeness of the project work and to gain the customer’s acceptance to move the project forward. Verify scope involves reviewing the deliverables and comparing them with the requirements and the scope baseline. It also involves obtaining the formal acceptance of the deliverables from the customer or sponsor. Verify scope helps to ensure that the project meets the expectations and needs of the customer or sponsor, and to avoid scope creep or rework12. Phase gate review is a process to evaluate the progress and performance of the project at predefined points or milestones. Phase gate review involves assessing the deliverables, risks, issues, and resources of the project against the criteria and objectives of each phase. It also involves deciding whether to continue, terminate, or modify the project. Phase gate review helps to ensure that the project is aligned with the business strategy and value, and to control the quality and scope of the project13. Inspection of key results is a process to measure and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the project work and deliverables. Inspection of key results involves checking the work and deliverables for defects, errors, or deviations from the standards and specifications. It also involves identifying and implementing corrective actions to improve the quality and effectiveness of the work and deliverables. Inspection of key results helps to ensure that the project meets the quality requirements and standards, and to prevent or reduce the cost of poor quality14. Quality control is a process to monitor and control the quality of the project work and deliverables. Quality control involves performing quality audits, inspections, tests, and measurements to verify that the work and deliverables conform to the quality requirements and standards. It also involves identifying and implementing quality improvements to enhance the quality of the work and deliverables. Quality control helps to ensure that the project satisfies the customer or sponsor expectations and needs, and to increase the customer or sponsor satisfaction1 . References: CBAP® Handbook, CBAP® Exam Prep Study Guide, Project Management Institute, Inspection of Key Results - iiba.org, [Quality Control - iiba.org]

Risk identification is a process that can start with the source of problems or with the problem itself. Risk identification is the process of determining the risks that may affect the project or the solution, and documenting their characteristics. Risk identification can be performed by analyzing the sources of risks, such as the project environment, the stakeholders, the requirements, the assumptions, the constraints, or the dependencies. Risk identification can also be performed by analyzing the problems or issues that may arise during the project or the solution, such as the gaps, conflicts, ambiguities, uncertainties, or changes. Risk identification helps to create a list of potential risks and their causes, impacts, and probabilities for further analysis and response planning12. Risk estimation is a process that follows risk identification. Risk estimation is the process of assessing the likelihood and impact of the identified risks, and prioritizing them according to their severity. Risk estimation helps to quantify the level of risk exposure and the expected value of the risk for decision making12. Risk analysis is a process that follows risk estimation. Risk analysis is the process of evaluating the identified and prioritized risks, and determining the appropriate responses to them. Risk analysis helps to develop strategies and actions to avoid, reduce, transfer, or accept the risks, and to allocate resources and contingency reserves for risk management12. Risk management is a process that encompasses risk identification, risk estimation, risk analysis, and risk monitoring and control. Risk management is the process of planning, identifying, analyzing, responding to, and monitoring and controlling the risks throughout the project or the solution lifecycle. Risk management helps to minimize the negative effects and maximize the positive opportunities of the risks, and to ensure the project or the solution objectives are met12. References: CBAP® Handbook, CBAP® Exam Prep Study Guide

Recording the dependencies and relationships for the requirements is a technique of identifying and documenting how the requirements are linked or influenced by each other or by external factors. Recording the dependencies and relationships can help to determine the sequence in which requirements are to be addressed, by showing which requirements must be implemented before, after, or in parallel with other requirements. This can help to plan and manage the requirements implementation, and to avoid any conflicts or gaps in the requirements. References: BABOK Guide v3, page 52; CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, page 160.

The conduct elicitation activity is a technique to understand stakeholder needs and identify potential solutions that may meet those needs. It involves guiding stakeholders and collaborating with them through the elicitation activity, doing research or running experiments, and capturing elicitation outcomes1. The captured outcomes should be recorded in a format that is clear, consistent, and accessible for future reference and analysis. Text messages sent via a secured mobile phone are not an acceptable element for requirements documentation, as they are not easily retrievable, traceable, or verifiable. Written documents, visual or audio recordings, and whiteboards are acceptable elements for requirements documentation, as long as they are properly stored, labeled, and managed2. References: Conduct Elicitation - iiba.org, Conducting elicitation activity – The Functional BA

The creative thinking process is a technique to generate and evaluate new ideas for solving problems or improving situations. The effectiveness of the creative thinking process can be measured by three values: novelty, usefulness, and feasibility1. Novelty refers to how original, unique, or different the ideas are. Usefulness refers to how well the ideas address the problem or opportunity. Feasibility refers to how practical, realistic, or implementable the ideas are. Generating a pre-determined number of new ideas for a business solution is not a measurement of effective creative thinking, as it does not reflect any of these values. The quantity of ideas is not as important as the quality of ideas in terms of novelty, usefulness, and feasibility. References: BABOK® Guide

1: https://www.iiba.org/globalassets/standards-and-resources/babok/babok-guide-v3.pdf

Problem tracking is not a technique for conducting elicitation, but rather a technique for managing requirements. Problem tracking is used to identify, document, and resolve issues that arise during the business analysis process. Problem tracking helps to ensure the quality and validity of the requirements and the solutions. References:

CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, 2nd Edition, Chapter 4: Elicitation and Collaboration, p. 177

BABOK® Guide, Section 4.2: Conduct Elicitation, p. 106-107

BABOK® Guide, Section 4.6: Manage Requirements, p. 121-122

 A task list is a tool that helps to organize and track the business analysis activities. Each task in the task list must have a unique number that identifies it and allows it to be referenced and tracked. The unique number can also be used to link the task to other elements, such as requirements, deliverables, stakeholders, or risks. The unique number can be assigned sequentially or based on a coding scheme that reflects the task hierarchy or category. References: BABOK Guide v3, page 38; CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, page 77.