ECBA Exam Dumps - IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis Questions and Answers

The measure of significance in reporting business analysis performance refers to how well the value delivered by the BA work products justifies the effort and resources invested. It focuses on whether the deliverables contributed meaningful value to the organization and whether they supported decision-making, change enablement, or strategic goals.

BABOK® Reference – Task: Assess Business Analysis Performance (Section 3.5):

“Significance assesses the value delivered by the business analysis work and whether it justifies the resources expended.”

In the context of business analysis, interviews are a fundamental elicitation technique used to gather detailed information. There are two basic types of interviews: structured and unstructured. A structured interview is one where the interviewer comes prepared with a specific set of questions that are asked in a systematic manner. This approach ensures consistency and comparability of responses. On the other hand, an unstructured interview is more flexible, allowing the conversation to flow more naturally based on the interviewee’s responses. This can lead to the discovery of information that might not have been uncovered through a structured approach. References: The information aligns with the guidelines provided by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) and is verified according to their standards for elicitation techniques12.

The source, priority, and complexity of a requirement are considered its attributes. These attributes provide essential information about the requirement, such as where it originated, how critical it is to the project's success, and how difficult it will be to implement. By capturing these attributes, business analysts can better manage requirements, prioritize them effectively, and ensure that the most important requirements are addressed first while understanding the effort required for each.

 Observation is a technique used in business analysis to elicit information by viewing and understanding activities in their context. It involves watching how stakeholders perform tasks, interact with systems, and cope with problems in their natural work environment. This technique helps business analysts gain insights into the needs, preferences, challenges, and goals of users and stakeholders, especially in situations where they may not be able to articulate their requirements clearly.

Checklists are a tool used by business analysts for quality control when verifying requirements and designs. They help ensure that all necessary steps are followed, and all important aspects are considered. Checklists can capture any identified issues and are used to confirm that nothing crucial is missed during the verification process. This tool is particularly useful for specifying and modeling requirements, as it helps maintain the quality and completeness of the requirements documentation. References: The use of checklists for quality control in business analysis is discussed in the context of verification activities, which are essential throughout the project lifecycle to maintain the validity of requirements and designs1.

 Proper stakeholder identification is crucial in business analysis as stakeholders can significantly influence the project’s success. If a business analyst fails to identify all relevant stakeholders, it can lead to incomplete requirements, missed opportunities, and unaddressed concerns, which may result in project delays, increased costs, and ultimately, a failure to deliver value to the business. Effective stakeholder engagement helps in leveraging opportunities and anticipating risks, thereby avoiding crises and reducing costs in the long term. References: The importance of stakeholder engagement and the potential consequences of inadequate stakeholder identification are discussed in the article “Golden Rules of Stakeholder Engagement in Business Analysis” 1. It emphasizes that organizations with higher stakeholder engagement are more likely to avoid crises and control operating costs, implying that the opposite could lead to increased costs and other negative outcomes.

Decision making is a type of analytical thinking competency that involves clearly validating assumptions and measuring alternatives to arrive at optimal solutions. It supports the evaluation of trade-offs and selection among multiple options based on data, goals, constraints, and stakeholder input.

Key skills include:

Identifying decision criteria

Analyzing alternatives

Understanding impacts and risks

This competency is critical for business analysts as they often guide stakeholders through structured decision-making processes during requirements prioritization, solution assessment, and risk analysis.

BABOK® Reference:

Outlined in the Underlying Competencies section of the BABOK® Guide, under “Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving,” where decision making is emphasized for its importance in selecting the best course of action.

The active/noticeable observation approach involves the observer interacting with the subject, typically by asking questions as the work is being performed. This helps clarify steps, gather deeper insights, and validate the process as it unfolds. It contrasts with passive observation where the analyst simply watches without interrupting the workflow.

BABOK® Reference – Technique: Observation (Section 10.31):

“Active observation involves asking questions throughout the observation, while noticeable observation means the subjects are aware of being observed.”

During the requirements life cycle management phase, one of the key activities is to trace requirements. This involves ensuring that requirements and designs at different levels are aligned with one another and managing the effects of changes to one level on related requirements and designs. Tracing requirements helps maintain the integrity of the requirements throughout the project’s life cycle, from inception to retirement.

The input to the ‘prepare for elicitation’ task is ‘Needs’. This involves understanding the business needs which define the scope and purpose of the elicitation activities. It is crucial for the business analyst to comprehend these needs to ensure that the elicitation efforts are aligned with the business objectives and that the right stakeholders are engaged in the process.