Free Practice Questions for PMI PMI-PBA Exam

 The business analyst should clearly communicate project objectives and attempt to defuse tensions when there is concern that users may not accept a new product that forces them to change existing practices. Communication is a key skill for business analysts, as it helps to ensure that stakeholders understand the purpose, scope, benefits, and risks of the project and the solution. Communication also helps to manage stakeholder expectations, address their concerns, resolve conflicts, and gain their support and buy-in for the change. By communicating project objectives and trying to defuse tensions, the business analyst can demonstrate the value of the new product, explain the rationale behind the change, listen to the feedback and suggestions of the users, and foster a positive and collaborative relationship with them. Adhering to the project plan to achieve project objectives is not sufficient, as it does not address the user resistance or dissatisfaction with the new product. Voicing user concerns to management and recommending that the project be closed is not advisable, as it may undermine the project success and waste the resources invested in it. Delaying the application’s deployment until the conflicts have been resolved is not effective, as it may cause delays, rework, or scope creep in the project. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 9; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 55.

 A matrix is a tool that can be used to record, organize, and track the requirements throughout the lifecycle of the project. A matrix can help the business analyst to identify the sources, dependencies, relationships, and attributes of the requirements, as well as to monitor their status, changes, and traceability. A matrix can also facilitate the communication, verification, and validation of the requirements with the stakeholders, and ensure their alignment with the business needs and objectives. A matrix can be updated and reviewed regularly to reflect the current state of the requirements and the solution, and to obtain the approval and acceptance from the stakeholders. A common example of a matrix is the Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM), which is a tool that links the requirements to the project scope, objectives, deliverables, and test cases12. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline3, page 18; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide4, page 92.

 A feasibility study is a technique that involves evaluating the viability and suitability of a proposed project or solution. A feasibility study can help the business analyst to define the scope of this project by assessing the technical, economic, legal, operational, and schedule aspects of designing and building three bridges within a limited time frame. A feasibility study can also help to identify the risks, benefits, costs, and assumptions associated with each bridge project. References: = PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline (2019), page 10; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide (2015), page 52.

The best approach to resolve this issue is to suggest re-estimating the requirement and following the change control process. This would allow the project team to assess the impact of the change request, evaluate the feasibility and cost of the modification, and obtain the approval of the stakeholders before implementing the change. A change control process is a method used to manage change requests for projects and big initiatives. It’s part of a change management plan, which defines the roles for managing change within a team or company1. Meeting with the customer and apologizing for misunderstanding the business’s need is not sufficient, as it does not address the root cause of the problem or propose a solution. Providing the stakeholder with a copy of the approved requirements baseline and moving forward without making a change is not acceptable, as it ignores the stakeholder’s feedback and dissatisfaction. Requiring development resources to work overtime to modify the deliverable to satisfy the stakeholder is not advisable, as it may compromise the quality of the work, increase the project cost and risk, and demoralize the team. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline2, PMI Guide to Business Analysis3, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide4, What Is a Change Control Process? (with Example Change Log)

 The change control process is a set of procedures and tools that are used to manage changes to the requirements and the solution throughout the project life cycle. The change control process is defined in the business analysis plan, which is a document that describes how the business analysis activities will be performed, monitored, and controlled. The business analysis plan also specifies the roles and responsibilities of the business analyst and other stakeholders involved in the change control process. The business analyst should follow the change control process as defined in the business analysis plan to ensure that any changes to the requirements are properly documented, analyzed, approved, communicated, and implemented. By following the change control process, the business analyst can avoid scope creep, maintain the quality and integrity of the requirements, and align the solution with the business needs and objectives. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 24; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 133.

According to the PMI Guide to Business Analysis, the business analyst’s role during acceptance testing is to ensure that the solution meets the requirements and expectations of the stakeholders, and that it delivers the intended business value. One of the ways to do this is to assist the quality assurance department by defining acceptance criteria, which are measurable and observable conditions that must be met for the solution to be accepted by the stakeholders. Acceptance criteria help to verify and validate that the solution meets the requirements and conforms to the quality standards. Executing all acceptance tests on behalf of the user community, delegating execution of acceptance testing and defect identification to users, or acting as a resource only when users encounter difficulties while performing tests are not effective strategies for the business analyst’s role during acceptance testing, as they do not ensure the involvement and satisfaction of the stakeholders, or the alignment of the solution with the business needs and objectives. References: PMI Guide to Business Analysis, page 316-317.

A requirements management plan is a document that describes how the requirements will be elicited, analyzed, documented, validated, and managed throughout the project. It typically includes the following components12:

Requirements work plan: This component defines the activities, tasks, resources, schedule, and deliverables for the requirements process. It also identifies the roles and responsibilities of the requirements team and other stakeholders.

Prioritization process: This component describes the criteria and methods for prioritizing the requirements based on their value, urgency, risk, dependency, and other factors. It also defines the levels of priority and how they will be communicated and updated.

Traceability matrix template: This component provides a format for documenting the relationships and dependencies among the requirements, the sources of the requirements, and the project deliverables. It also helps to track the status, changes, and verification of the requirements.

Other components: Depending on the project context and complexity, the requirements management plan may also include other components, such as requirements definition, requirements attribute template, requirements change control process, requirements communication plan, requirements validation plan, and requirements metrics12. References: 1 PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, page 9; 2 Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, page 121-122

 The technical staff and testing team from Company A are responsible for writing and coding the requirements and testing the new functionality. Responsible means that the person or group is assigned to perform the work or activity. The responsible role is often indicated by the letter R in a RACI matrix, which is a tool for identifying roles and responsibilities of stakeholders. References: PMI Guide to Business Analysis, Chapter 4, Section 4.3.2.3; PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, Domain II: Planning, Task 2.

 Baseline information is the current state or performance of a system or process before any changes are made. Baseline information is essential for documenting the acceptance criteria, which are the conditions that must be met for a solution or deliverable to be accepted by the stakeholders. The analyst should have gathered baseline information to support the minor modification in the user portal, such as the current customer satisfaction rate, response time, error rate, etc. The analyst should have compared the baseline information with the expected outcomes of the modification, and defined the acceptance criteria accordingly. If the analyst failed to gather any baseline information, the acceptance criteria would be incomplete and returned. The other options are not likely to cause this problem. The scope document is a document that defines the boundaries and deliverables of the project or solution, but it is not required to be included in the acceptance criteria paperwork. Forward and backward traceability are techniques to link the requirements to their sources and deliverables, which can help to ensure completeness and consistency of the requirements. User stories are a tool to document the requirements from the perspective of a user or customer, using a simple format of “As a , I want , so that ”. User stories can be used as a requirements document tool, but they are not sufficient for defining the acceptance criteria. References: PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, page 13; PMI-PBA® Reference List, page 1, BABOK® Guide v3, page 39.

A SWOT analysis is a technique that helps to assess the internal and external factors that may affect the success of a solution or an option. A SWOT analysis involves identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each option, and comparing them with the business problem and the desired outcomes. A SWOT analysis can help the stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility, viability, and desirability of each option, and to select the best one based on the strategic alignment and the business value. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 10; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 41.