Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) Exam Study Flashcard

A business analysis approach is the methodology or strategy used to conduct business analysis activities. Its importance lies in providing a structured and consistent way to gather and analyze requirements, ensuring that analysis is aligned with project objectives and stakeholder needs, and facilitating effective problem-solving and decision-making.

Business rules are specific constraints or conditions that define or govern business operations and decision-making processes. For example, a business rule might state that "All customer orders must be shipped within 24 hours of receipt," which ensures timely processing and delivery of orders.

Gap analysis is the process of comparing current performance with desired performance to identify discrepancies or gaps. It helps in understanding what changes are needed to bridge the gap between the current state and the desired future state, enabling the development of solutions that address these gaps.

Requirements elicitation techniques are methods used to gather information about stakeholders' needs and expectations. Three common techniques are interviews (direct conversations with stakeholders), surveys (questionnaires to collect information from a larger audience), and workshops (facilitated group discussions to gather and analyze requirements).

Root cause analysis is the process of identifying the fundamental cause of a problem or issue. For example, if a manufacturing process is producing defective products, root cause analysis might reveal that the defects are due to a malfunctioning machine rather than human error, allowing for targeted repairs and preventing future defects.

System requirements are detailed specifications of the functionality, performance, and constraints of a system or solution. Their importance lies in defining what the system must do and how it should operate to meet business needs and user expectations, serving as a basis for system design, development, and validation.

A decision tree is a graphical representation of decisions and their possible consequences, including risks, costs, and benefits. It is used in Business Analysis to model complex decision-making processes, evaluate different options, and choose the best course of action based on potential outcomes.

Process improvement is the systematic approach to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. An example is implementing a new software system to automate manual data entry, which reduces errors and processing time, thereby improving overall operational efficiency.

A user story is a brief, informal description of a feature or function from the perspective of the end user. It focuses on the value or benefit that the feature provides to the user. User stories are used in Agile methodologies to capture requirements and guide the development of features in a way that aligns with user needs and priorities.

"As-Is" models represent the current state of a business process or system, documenting how it operates at present. "To-Be" models depict the desired future state, outlining how processes or systems should operate after improvements or changes are implemented. Comparing these models helps identify gaps and areas for improvement.

The BABOK Guide (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge) is a comprehensive guide developed by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). It outlines the standard practices, techniques, and terminology used in Business Analysis. The guide serves as a reference for professionals and provides a framework for the CBAP exam.

The Ishikawa diagram, also known as the fishbone diagram, is a visual tool used to identify and analyze the causes of a problem. Its purpose is to systematically explore and categorize potential causes, allowing teams to identify root causes and develop solutions to address the underlying issues effectively.

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. In Business Analysis, it is used to identify the most impactful problems or opportunities by focusing on the critical few factors that contribute most significantly to the desired outcomes or issues.

Business analysis planning involves defining the approach, activities, and resources required to conduct business analysis for a project or initiative. Key elements include defining the scope of analysis, selecting appropriate techniques, planning stakeholder engagement, and setting timelines and deliverables to ensure effective analysis and successful outcomes.

Business architecture is a framework that defines the structure and operation of an organization. Its components include business processes, organizational structure, information systems, and technology infrastructure. It provides a comprehensive view of how different elements of the organization interact and align with strategic goals.

Business process reengineering (BPR) involves the fundamental redesign of business processes to achieve significant improvements in performance, such as cost reduction, quality enhancement, or cycle time reduction. It focuses on rethinking and restructuring processes to achieve dramatic gains rather than incremental improvements.

Stakeholder engagement refers to the process of actively involving stakeholders in the project through communication, consultation, and collaboration. Its significance lies in ensuring that stakeholders' needs and expectations are understood and addressed, which helps in building support, managing expectations, and achieving project success.

Business requirements outline the high-level needs of the organization as a whole, focusing on the overall goals and objectives. Stakeholder requirements, on the other hand, reflect the specific needs or concerns of individual stakeholders or groups within the organization, which contribute to fulfilling the business requirements.

Scope creep refers to the uncontrolled changes or expansion in project scope without corresponding adjustments in resources, time, or budget. It can be managed by establishing clear scope boundaries, using a formal change control process, and regularly reviewing project scope to ensure that any changes are documented and approved.

Requirements management is the process of systematically managing and controlling requirements throughout the project lifecycle. It involves activities such as documenting, tracking, and controlling changes to requirements to ensure that they remain aligned with project objectives and stakeholder needs.

A business need is a problem or opportunity that requires a solution to achieve organizational goals or improve performance. Its role in Business Analysis is to define and clarify what needs to be addressed or fulfilled by a project or solution, guiding the development of requirements and ensuring alignment with business objectives.

A business requirements document (BRD) outlines the business needs and requirements for a project or solution. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive description of what the business requires to achieve its goals, serving as a basis for design, development, and validation of the solution.

Business value refers to the benefits or advantages that a project or solution delivers to an organization. It is assessed by evaluating how the project or solution contributes to achieving business objectives, improving efficiency, reducing costs, or enhancing customer satisfaction. Quantitative and qualitative measures are used to assess business value.

Cost-benefit analysis is a technique used to evaluate the financial impact of a proposed solution by comparing the costs of implementation with the expected benefits. Its relevance lies in providing a structured approach to assess the economic feasibility of a project and justify the investment based on potential returns and value.

Elicitation is the process of gathering information and requirements from stakeholders through various techniques such as interviews, workshops, and surveys. It is a crucial phase in understanding what stakeholders need and expect, and it helps ensure that the requirements are accurate, complete, and actionable.

Root cause analysis is a technique used to identify the underlying causes of a problem or issue rather than just addressing its symptoms. It is significant because it helps in finding and addressing the root causes, leading to more effective and sustainable solutions and preventing recurrence of the problem.

A value proposition is a statement that outlines the unique benefits and value that a solution or product provides to its customers or stakeholders. It explains why the solution is valuable and how it addresses the needs or problems of the target audience, helping to justify its development and investment.

Acceptance criteria are specific conditions or standards that a solution must meet to be considered acceptable by stakeholders. They are important because they provide clear, measurable benchmarks for evaluating whether requirements have been successfully met, ensuring that deliverables meet stakeholder expectations.

Business process management (BPM) is a systematic approach to managing and improving business processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Its objectives include optimizing process performance, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, and aligning processes with organizational goals and strategies.

Enterprise analysis is the process of assessing and understanding the current state of an organization to identify business needs, opportunities, and problems. Key components include assessing organizational goals, identifying business needs, performing gap analysis, and defining project scope and objectives to align with the enterprise’s strategic goals.

Feasibility analysis is the process of evaluating the viability of a proposed solution or project in terms of technical, operational, and financial aspects. It is important because it helps determine whether the proposed solution is practical, achievable, and worth pursuing, ensuring that resources are invested in feasible and beneficial projects.

Requirements traceability is the ability to link requirements to their source and track their status throughout the project lifecycle. It ensures that all requirements are addressed and helps manage changes by providing a clear map of how requirements are connected to project deliverables, which is critical for verifying and validating solutions.

Risk analysis involves identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks associated with a project or business process. It is applied in Business Analysis to anticipate potential issues, evaluate their impact and likelihood, and develop strategies to mitigate or manage these risks, helping to ensure project success and minimize negative impacts.

Solution evaluation is the process of assessing the effectiveness and performance of a solution after it has been implemented. It is necessary to determine whether the solution meets the defined requirements, delivers the expected benefits, and identifies any issues or areas for improvement to ensure continuous alignment with business goals.

Value stream mapping is a visual tool used to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service from concept to customer. It is used in process improvement to identify waste, bottlenecks, and opportunities for streamlining processes, ultimately enhancing efficiency and value delivery.

A business analysis plan outlines the approach and activities for conducting business analysis throughout the project. It typically includes details on the analysis scope, objectives, methodologies, stakeholder engagement, timelines, and deliverables. The plan serves as a roadmap for managing and executing business analysis activities.

A business requirement defines the high-level needs and goals of an organization or project, focusing on what the business wants to achieve. A functional requirement specifies detailed behaviors or functions of a system or solution required to meet the business needs. The former is broader and strategic, while the latter is more specific and operational.

The change control process is a systematic approach to managing changes to project scope, schedule, or resources. Its importance lies in ensuring that changes are carefully evaluated, approved, and implemented without disrupting project objectives, helping to maintain project stability and alignment with stakeholder expectations.

A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical tool used to represent the flow of data within a system or process. It shows how data is input, processed, and output, and helps in understanding and analyzing the data interactions and dependencies. DFDs are used to model and improve business processes by providing a clear visualization of data flows and processing stages.

A process model is a visual representation of the steps, tasks, and interactions involved in a business process. It is used to understand, analyze, and improve the process by providing a clear overview of how work is performed and identifying opportunities for optimization or automation.

A requirements baseline is an approved version of the requirements document that serves as a reference for future changes. It is important because it provides a stable foundation for managing changes, tracking progress, and ensuring that the project stays aligned with the agreed-upon requirements.

A requirements specification document details the specific needs and expectations for a project. It typically includes functional and non-functional requirements, business rules, constraints, and acceptance criteria. The document serves as a formal agreement between stakeholders and the project team.

A requirements traceability matrix is a tool used to ensure that all requirements are addressed throughout the project lifecycle. It maps requirements to their respective deliverables and test cases, helping to verify that all requirements are met and facilitating impact analysis for any changes.

A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by the outcome of a project. Stakeholders have varying levels of interest and influence, and their needs and expectations must be managed throughout the project lifecycle.

A use case is a description of how users will interact with a system to achieve a specific goal. It includes the sequence of actions performed by the user and the system. Use cases are used to capture functional requirements and ensure that the system meets the needs of users by outlining the expected interactions and outcomes.

BPMN is a standardized graphical notation used to model business processes. It provides a visual representation of process flows, including activities, events, and decision points, which helps in understanding, analyzing, and improving business processes through a common and easily understandable format.

The "five whys" technique involves asking "why" multiple times (usually five) to explore the root cause of a problem. It is used in problem-solving to identify the underlying issues by progressively drilling down from the symptoms to the fundamental cause, facilitating more effective and targeted solutions.

The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique used to classify requirements into four categories: Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won’t have (this time). It helps stakeholders and project teams prioritize requirements based on their importance and urgency, ensuring that critical needs are addressed first.

The RACI matrix is a tool used to clarify roles and responsibilities in a project. It stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. It helps in defining who is responsible for each task, who is accountable for its completion, who needs to be consulted, and who should be kept informed, thereby improving clarity and communication.

Requirements gathering is the process of collecting and documenting information about stakeholders' needs and expectations. Its significance lies in ensuring that all necessary requirements are identified, understood, and captured accurately, providing a foundation for designing and delivering solutions that meet stakeholder needs.

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to a business or project. In Business Analysis, it helps in understanding the internal and external factors that could impact the project's success and assists in making informed decisions.

Functional requirements specify what the system should do, including specific behaviors, functions, or features. Non-functional requirements define the quality attributes of the system, such as performance, security, and usability, which describe how the system should perform rather than what it should do.

Qualitative data refers to non-numeric information that describes characteristics or qualities, such as opinions, behaviors, or experiences. Quantitative data involves numeric information that can be measured and analyzed statistically. Both types of data are used in Business Analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of business needs and performance.

The primary goal of Business Analysis is to enable change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. This involves identifying business needs, assessing opportunities, and devising solutions that address those needs effectively.

Change management involves preparing, supporting, and guiding stakeholders through changes resulting from a project or initiative. Its purpose is to ensure that changes are implemented smoothly and effectively, minimizing resistance and disruptions while maximizing the adoption and benefits of the new processes or systems.

Requirements validation ensures that the requirements accurately reflect stakeholder needs and are feasible for implementation. It is performed through reviews, inspections, or testing to verify that requirements are complete, correct, and aligned with business objectives, helping to prevent misunderstandings and errors.

A business case justifies the need for a project or solution by outlining the benefits, costs, risks, and alignment with organizational goals. It provides a structured argument for why the project should be undertaken, helping stakeholders make informed decisions about investment and resource allocation.

A requirements workshop is a facilitated meeting with stakeholders to gather, discuss, and refine requirements collaboratively. Its purpose is to ensure that all relevant perspectives are considered, to resolve conflicting requirements, and to build consensus on the final set of requirements, leading to a more comprehensive and agreed-upon outcome.

Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying and assessing the needs, interests, and influence of stakeholders involved in a project. Its purpose is to understand who the stakeholders are, their expectations, and how they will impact or be impacted by the project. This analysis helps in managing stakeholder relationships and ensuring their needs are addressed.

A business analyst's role in project management involves defining and documenting business requirements, analyzing and validating solutions, and ensuring that the project delivers value to stakeholders. They act as a bridge between business stakeholders and the project team, facilitating communication and managing requirements throughout the project lifecycle.