Free Practice Questions for PMI PMI-PBA Exam

 Communication is a technique that involves exchanging information and feedback with stakeholders throughout the project life cycle. Communication can help the business analyst to deal with conflicting requirements by informing the stakeholders about the nature, cause, and impact of the conflict, and facilitating a resolution that satisfies their needs and expectations. Communication can also help to prevent or reduce future conflicts by establishing clear and consistent channels, methods, and frequency of communication. References: = PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline (2019), page 9; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide (2015), page 61.

 Moscow analysis is a tool or technique that the business analyst can use with the stakeholders to prioritize the requirements to determine which requirements are approved, deferred, or rejected. Moscow analysis is a method of categorizing requirements into four groups: must-have, should-have, could-have, and won’t-have. Must-have requirements are essential and non-negotiable for the project success. Should-have requirements are important but not critical for the project success. Could-have requirements are desirable but not necessary for the project success. Won’t-have requirements are out of scope or low priority for the current project. Moscow analysis can help to identify the most valuable and feasible requirements that can be delivered within the available time and budget. It can also help to manage stakeholder expectations and resolve conflicts or disagreements on the priority of the requirements. SMART goals is a tool or technique that can be used to define clear and measurable objectives for a project or a process, but it does not help to prioritize the requirements. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. SWOT analysis is a tool or technique that can be used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a project or a process, but it does not help to prioritize the requirements. SWOT analysis can help to identify the internal and external factors that affect the project or process performance and quality. Timeboxing analysis is not a standard tool or technique in business analysis, but it may refer to a method of allocating a fixed amount of time for each task or activity in a project or a process, but it does not help to prioritize the requirements. Timeboxing analysis can help to manage time and resources efficiently and effectively. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 15; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 95.

 Prototyping is a tool or technique that could have been used by the business analyst to avoid the situation of unclear and conflicting requirements. Prototyping is the process of creating a simplified and partial version of the product or system that can be used to elicit, validate, and refine the requirements. Prototyping can help the business analyst and the stakeholders to visualize the solution, to identify and resolve any issues or gaps, and to reach a common understanding and agreement on the requirements. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 18; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 94.

 Asking stakeholders to vote on the requirements is a technique that the business analyst can employ to rectify the issue of not having enough resources to deliver all the requirements. Voting is a method of prioritizing requirements by asking stakeholders to rank or rate them according to their importance, urgency, value, or risk. Voting can help to identify the most critical or essential requirements that should be delivered first or within the available resources. Voting can also help to resolve conflicts or disagreements among stakeholders and reach a consensus on the priority of the requirements. Holding a brainstorming workshop to build the rationale for the requirements is not an effective technique to rectify the issue, as it does not address the resource constraint or the priority of the requirements. Brainstorming is a method of generating ideas or solutions by encouraging free and creative thinking from participants. Brainstorming can help to elicit or analyze requirements, but not prioritize them. Performing traceability to find out where the requirements originated is not a useful technique to rectify the issue, as it does not indicate the importance or value of the requirements. Traceability is a process of tracking the relationship between requirements and other project artifacts, such as design, test cases, or deliverables. Traceability can help to ensure completeness, consistency, and quality of the requirements, but not prioritize them. Surveying stakeholders on their likes and dislikes about the requirements is not a viable technique to rectify the issue, as it does not provide a clear or objective way of prioritizing the requirements. Surveying is a method of collecting feedback from stakeholders by asking them questions about their satisfaction, preferences, expectations, needs, problems, or suggestions. Surveying can help to validate or evaluate the requirements, but not prioritize them. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 15; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 95.

The person identified in the RACI matrix as accountable for deployment approval is the one who should be contacted by the business analyst to review the testing results and get approval to proceed with deployment. The RACI matrix defines who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task or deliverable in a project or a process. The accountable person has the authority and accountability to approve or reject the work. The tester identified in the testing strategy is not necessarily the one who can approve deployment, as they may only be responsible for conducting testing. The project manager identified in the project charter may not have the authority to approve deployment, as they may only be responsible for managing the project. The project sponsor identified in the scope document may not be involved in deployment approval, as they may only be informed of the project progress and outcomes.

Requirements management is a method for requirements change control. Requirements management is a process that involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the requirements and the solution throughout the project lifecycle. Requirements management can help the business analyst to ensure that the requirements are clear, complete, correct, and consistent, and that they align with the business needs and objectives. Requirements management can also help to handle changes to the requirements and the solution, and to communicate the impact and implications of the changes to the stakeholders. Requirements management can be done using various tools and techniques, such as a requirements management plan, a requirements traceability matrix, a change control system, and a configuration management system52. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline3, page 24; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide4, page 133.

External dependencies are the factors or conditions that are outside the control of the project, but may affect its scope, schedule, cost, quality, or risks. External dependencies may include legal, regulatory, cultural, environmental, political, economic, or technological factors. An organization that is evaluating the possibility of conducting business internationally should investigate these factors at the onset of the initiative, as they may have significant impacts on the feasibility, viability, and desirability of the project. The other options are not factors that should be investigated at the onset of the initiative. Deliverables to be produced are the outputs or results of the project that meet the stakeholder requirements. Impacts on requirements baseline are the changes or deviations from the approved set of requirements that define the solution scope. Change control processes are the procedures and tools that manage how changes to the project scope, schedule, cost, quality, or risks are identified, evaluated, approved, implemented, and communicated. These factors are determined or addressed during the planning or execution phases of the project, not at the onset of the initiative. References: PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, page 13; PMI-PBA® Reference List, page 1, BABOK® Guide v3, page 39; 4.

 The business analyst should trace the requirements and measure the impact of the requested changes on the existing delivery date. Tracing the requirements means identifying the source, dependencies, and relationships of the requirements, and ensuring their alignment with the business needs, objectives, and expectations. Measuring the impact of the changes means assessing how the changes will affect the scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk of the project. These actions can help the business analyst and the project team to evaluate the feasibility and priority of the changes, and to communicate the implications and alternatives to the customer and other stakeholders. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 23; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 131.

Competitive analysis is a technique to compare the strengths and weaknesses of similar products or services offered by competitors in the same market. Competitive analysis can help to identify opportunities, threats, and gaps in the market, and to develop strategies to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Competitive analysis can be used to identify solutions for the startup company that sells organic vegetable and fruit smoothies by comparing their best-selling juice with similar products offered by competitors. The other techniques are not suitable for this purpose. Benchmarking is a technique to compare the performance of a product, service, or process with a standard or best practice. Trend analysis is a technique to analyze historical data or patterns to forecast future outcomes or behaviors. Focus group is a technique to elicit opinions, preferences, or feedback from a representative group of customers or users. References: PMI-PBA® Examination Content Outline, page 11; PMI-PBA® Reference List, page 1, BABOK® Guide v3, page 51.

 A strategies and goals analysis is a technique that helps to ensure that the projects are aligned with the organization’s vision, mission, values, and strategic objectives. A strategies and goals analysis helps to identify the business problems or opportunities that the projects are intended to address, and to evaluate the expected benefits and outcomes of the projects. A strategies and goals analysis also helps to prioritize and select the projects that have the highest potential to improve the company’s performance and profitability. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 10; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 40.