Deck 2: BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis (BH0-013)

Question 1

A batch program runs every night to raise invoices. The next day these invoices are posted out to customers by a clerk. Customers pay the invoices with cheques. The cheques are then banked by a clerk. In this scenario, which of the following represents a business event?

A) System prints invoices.
B) Clerk sends invoices to customers.
C) Customer's cheque is received.
D) Clerk banks the cheque.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A stakeholder has been classified as 'some' on both the power/influence and interest axes of a power/interest grid. Which of the following would be an appropriate way of managing this stakeholder?

A) Keep on side.
B) Keep watching.
C) Keep informed.
D) Keep satisfied.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What does the O' stand for in the CATVVOE analysis?

A) The objectives of the business system under review.
B) The opportunities for change in the business system under review.
C) The organisation of the business system under review.
D) The owner of the business system under review.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Business rules define how actions are to be performed. Under which of the following headings are business rules considered?

A) Explicit or implicit management statements,
B) Statutory and internal policies.
C) Constraints and operational guidance.
D) Negotiable and non-negotiable limitations.

Question 5

As part of an investigation a Business Analyst has devised a form for users of an existing system to use to keep track of the tasks they undertake during their working day. Which of the following describes this investigation technique?

A) Special purpose records,
B) Scenario analysis.
C) Questionnaires.
D) Activity sampling.

Question 6

Which of the following statement is TRUE about the process view of an organisation?

A) It focuses on the customer of the organisation.
B) It focuses solely on the internal view of the organisation.
C) It focuses on the functions of an organisation.
D) It focuses on the organisational structure.

Question 7

The required competencies of a business analyst are classified into three categories. Which of the following is one of these three categories?

A) Management Qualities.
B) Business Knowledge.
C) IT Skills
D) Project Skills.

Question 8

Which stage in the waterfall model is considered as several separate stages in the V model?

A) Development.
B) Analysis.
C) Testing.
D) Design.

Question 9

During which stage of the Business Analysis Process Model would a gap analysis be carried out?

A) Define requirements.
B) Analyse needs.
C) Evaluate the options.
D) Investigate situation.

Question 10

A well formed requirement is said to comply with which of the following acronyms?

A) MOSCOW.
B) SMART.
C) OSCAR.
D) MOST.

Question 11

In which of the following business analysis areas does the traditional systems analyst role primarily operate?

A) Quantifying costs and benefits.
B) Defining the needs of the business.
C) Implementing business changes.
D) Specifying IT system requirements.

Question 12

Different reactions may be observed when a change to working methods is proposed. These reactions include: a. Enthusiasm for the change. b. Fear of the change. c. Reduced performance on the job. d. Reluctant acceptance of the change. Which of the following represents the typical sequence of these four reactions?

A) b, d, c and a.
B) a, b, c and d.
C) b, c, d and a.
D) a, b, d and c.

Question 13

When should benefits realisation be carried out?

A) Immediately at the end of the project.
B) At the beginning of the project.
C) At the end of the finalised feasibility study.
D) Months or years after the end of the project.

Question 14

Which of the following investigation techniques involves following a user for one or two days in order to find out what a particular job entails?

A) Scenario analysis.
B) Protocol analysis.
C) Shadowing.
D) Activity sampling.

Question 15

It has been suggested that five clerical posts can be abolished when a new computer system is implemented. Under which category of costs or benefits will this be recorded?

A) Tangible costs.
B) Tangible benefits.
C) Intangible costs.
D) Intangible benefits.

Question 16

What is the first stage of the waterfall systems development lifecycle?

A) Plan.
B) Analysis.
C) Feasibility Study.
D) Strategic Vision.

Question 17

Which of the following terms may be used to describe the attitude of a stakeholder who is NOT in favour of the project but is probably not actively opposed to it?

A) Opponent.
B) Neutral.
C) Critic.
D) Blocker.

Question 18

Given the cashflows below, which of the following is correct?

A) The project pays back in year 4 of the project.
B) The project does not pay back within the four year period.
C) The project pays back in year 2 of the project.
D) The project pays back in year 3 of the project.

Question 19

In a particular organisation it is common practice to call all managers by their first name. It is part of the culture of the organisation. Newcomers are quickly corrected if they do not follow this informal approach. What would knowing about this convention be classified as in Requirements Engineering?

A) Explicit individual knowledge.
B) Tacit individual knowledge.
C) Explicit corporate knowledge.
D) Tacit corporate knowledge.

Question 20

On a class diagram, what do the multiplicities represent?

A) The number of attributes held within each class.
B) The minimum and maximum number of operations in each class.
C) The minimum and maximum number of objects in each class.
D) The business rules for an association between two classes.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) The IRR of every project is based on it achieving a Net Present Value of zero.
B) It is preferable for the calculated IRR of a project to be below bank interest rates,
C) Discounted cash flows do not usually take into account the time value of money.
D) When comparing two projects, the one with the lower NPV should be preferred.

Question 22

In which of the following circumstances do buyers have high bargaining power?

A) When available sources of supply are available and easy to find.
B) When the cost of a product or service is low.
C) When switching costs are high.
D) When the supplier brand is powerful.

Question 23

A process model has been produced which includes diamond-shaped symbols. What does this diamond-shaped symbol represent in the model?

A) A document.
B) An event.
C) A manual process.
D) A decision.

Question 24

One of the stages of the Business Activity Process Model is 'Consider the perspectives'. Which of the following would be particularly relevant in this stage?

A) PESTLE analysis.
B) Requirements Modelling.
C) Cost Benefit Analysis.
D) Business Activity Modelling.

Question 25

Which of the following techniques can be used to pull together the results of an analysis of the external and internal business environment of an organisation?

A) SWOT analysis.
B) Resource audit.
C) Five-forces model.
D) Balanced business scorecard.

Question 26

When running workshops it is useful to have someone with a role that includes specific responsibility for keeping attendees focused on achieving the objective of the workshop. Which of the following terms describes this role?

A) The arbitrator.
B) The scribe.
C) The stakeholder.
D) The facilitator.

Question 27

An organisation called Quality Signs' makes display signs for commercial customers. Which of the following are MOST likely to be the Actors in a CATWOE analysis?

A) The Managing Director of Quality Signs.
B) The sign makers of Quality Signs.
C) The competitors of Quality Signs.
D) The customers of Quality Signs.

Question 28

Which of the following is a primary activity in the value chain?

A) Human Resources (HR).
B) Procurement.
C) Information Technology (IT).
D) Marketing and Sales.

Question 29

A business analyst has identified that one of the use cases on a use case diagram contains a large amount of optional processing. This optional processing is so large that he has decided to remove it to a separate use case which can be called by the original use case if required. How should the original use case be linked to the new use case?

A) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <>.
B) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <>.
C) By a solid line with no arrowhead or stereotype.
D) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <>.

Question 30

A convenience food manufacturer has undertaken a strategic analysis study and has identified a threat from groups lobbying against the use of packaging for food products. Which of the PESTLE categories would have helped highlight this threat?

A) Legal.
B) Environmental.
C) Technological.
D) Economic.

Question 31

In a business activity model, which of the following type of activities respond to deviations between actual and planned performance?

A) Monitoring activities.
B) Doing activities.
C) Controlling activities.
D) Planning activities.

Question 32

Which of the following BEST describes an ethnographic study?

A) A study which uses prototype graphical screens to demonstrate a user requirement.
B) A study of users in their workplace undertaking representative simulated scenarios.
C) A study where the analyst spends an extended period of time in the target environment.
D) A study which ensures that the needs of a wide range of ethnic groups are considered.

Question 33

An analyst is defining the requirements for an online booking system and wishes to show the business managers the look and feel of the system in order to elicit usability requirements. What investigation technique should the analyst use?

A) Workshops.
B) Interviewing.
C) Ethnographic study
D) Prototyping.

Question 34

Which of the following models shows the driving and resisting forces of change?

A) Force field analysis.
B) Five forces model.
C) Power/impact grid.
D) Learning cycle.

Question 35

An analyst has discovered that a company wishes to hold information about departments and employees. A department may have many employees in it, but each employee can, at any one time, only work in one department. There is no requirement to store historical information. However, there are currently eight departments and over one hundred employees. How would this relationship be shown on an Entity Relationship diagram?

A) As (8..100) at the Department end of the relationship.
B) As a many-to-many between Department and Employee.
C) As a one-to-one between Department and Employee.
D) As a one-to-many between Department and Employee.

Question 36

The following requirement has been identified; The system must be able to record customer payments'. What type of requirement is this?

A) A functional requirement.
B) A non-functional requirement.
C) A general requirement.
D) A technical requirement.

Question 37

Which stage of the Requirements Engineering process is concerned with tracking requirements from inception to implementation?

A) Requirements documentation
B) Requirements management
C) Requirements validation.
D) Requirements analysis.

Question 38

A system holds information about an employee; Mike Berry. Which of the following is Mike Berry an example of?

A) An attribute.
B) An object.
C) A class.
D) An operation.

Question 39

It is unclear to a project sponsor why a particular requirement has been included in a recently released version of a system. Which of the following will allow him to identify who originally asked for the requirement?

A) The validation of the requirement.
B) The source of the requirement.
C) The resolution of the requirement.
D) The justification of the requirement.

Question 40

An analyst investigating a finance system wishes to build rapport with individual stakeholders and investigate in detail each stakeholder's views. Which of the following techniques should the analyst use?

A) Questionnaires.
B) Interviewing.
C) Special purpose records.
D) Document analysis.

Question 41

Which of the following types of activity help identify the KPI's of an organisation?

A) The doing activities.
B) The monitoring activities.
C) The control activities.
D) The planning activities.

Question 42

The term 'happy day' is often used in the context of which of the following investigation techniques?

A) Protocol analysis.
B) Scenarios.
C) Activity Sampling.
D) Document analysis.

Question 43

A system must hold the price of every product sold by the company. Which of the following is the price likely to be?

A) An attribute.
B) An entity.
C) An object.
D) A use case.

Question 44

Which of the following statements about outsourcing of systems development is correct?

A) It has meant that it is no longer necessary for analysts to define rigorous, accurate and complete user requirements.
B) It has eliminated the need for effective contract management between the customer and the supplier of the outsourcing.
C) It has been a significant catalyst in organisations for the development of a business analysis function.
D) It has meant that the programming of solutions is usually undertaken in countries where labour costs are high.

Question 45

Which of the following describes a 'rich picture'?

A) An organisation chart showing the most important stakeholders.
B) A swim-lane diagram highlighting the most costly processes.
C) A free-format drawing of a business situation under investigation.
D) A UML class diagram showing both attributes and operations.

Question 46

Which of the following models might include the documentation of scenarios?

A) A class model.
B) A business activity model.
C) A use case model.
D) A corporate data model.

Question 47

Which of the following may be used to document the outcomes of a workshop?

A) Mind maps.
B) Brainwriting.
C) Round robin.
D) Stepwise refinement.

Question 48

Which of the following requirements elicitation techniques is ineffective at defining the future requirements of a system?

A) Workshops.
B) Prototyping,
C) Scenario analysis.
D) Shadowing.

Question 49

Every night at midnight a batch process is invoked to invoice all orders received that day. How will the time midnight be represented on a use case diagram?

A) As a use case.
B) As an association.
C) As an actor.
D) As a system boundary.

Question 50

Which of the following describes the objectives in a MOST analysis?

A) The statements declaring what the business is in and what it intends to achieve.
B) The approach the organisation intends to take to achieve its declared mission.
C) The goals against which the organisation's achievements can be measured.
D) The detailed means by which an agreed business strategy will be implemented.

Question 51

Style guides, manuals and job descriptions are examples of what type of knowledge?

A) Explicit.
B) Implicit.
C) Tacit.
D) Organisational.

Question 52

What is stage 0 (zero) of the concerns-based adoption model?

A) Shock.
B) Defininition.
C) Initial change.
D) Awareness.

Question 53

A software house is developing a software package specifically for hotel management. A business analyst has been employed because of her familiarity with the hotel industry. Which of the following competencies has she been employed to bring to the project?

A) Domain knowledge.
B) Problem solving.
C) Team leadership.
D) Project management.

Question 54

The Boston Box may be used to analyse the portfolio of businesses owned by an organisation. Which of the following animals does it use in its term for businesses that have low market share in a market with low growth?

A) Cow.
B) Cat.
C) Dog.
D) Goat.

Question 55

Which of the following is a primary activity in the value chain?

A) Procurement.
B) Firm infrastructure.
C) Service.
D) Technology development.

Question 56

What is the MoSCoW principle used for?

A) To analyse stakeholders.
B) To determine strategy.
C) To define a root definition.
D) To prioritise requirements.

Question 57

The V model is an example of which of the following?

A) A business analysis process model.
B) A systems development lifecycle.
C) A concerns-based adoption model.
D) A soft systems methodology.

Question 58

Which of the following is a perceived advantage of using workshops to investigate requirements?

A) It reduces speed and productivity of the project.
B) It is time-consuming to arrange and organise.
C) It focuses on a narrow view of the area under investigation.
D) It obtains buy-in and acceptance for the project,

Question 59

Which of the following stages is immediately after problem-finding in Isaksen and Treffinger's creative problem-solving model?

A) Idea-finding.
B) Solution-finding.
C) Data-finding.
D) Acceptance-finding.

Question 60

What do the arrow headed lines between activities represent on a business activity model?

A) Activity sequence
B) Logical dependency.
C) Functional optionality.
D) Flow of data.

Question 61

What is the final stage of the waterfall systems devebpment lifecycle?

A) User acceptance testing.
B) Post-implementation review.
C) Benefits realisation.
D) Implementation.

Question 62

Every night, at midnight, a system automatically raises invoices for customers that have placed orders that day. The invoice is sent electronically by email to customers. What is the event that triggers the production of invoices?

A) Midnight on the system clock.
B) The receipt of an order from a customer.
C) The email system.
D) The batch invoice production job.

Question 63

In which of the following categories would return on investment be considered when assessing the feasibility of a project?

A) Financial feasibility.
B) Business feasibility.
C) Technical feasibility.
D) Operational feasibility.

Question 64

The table below shows the costs and savings associated with a project. In which of the following years does the project break even?

A) Year 4.
B) Year 5.
C) Year 3.
D) The project does not break even.

Question 65

Why should requirements be SMART?

A) To ensure that the requirement supports business objectives.
B) To ensure that the requirement is intelligently expressed.
C) To ensure that the requirement is well formed.
D) To ensure that the requirement is graphically modelled.

Question 66

One of the claimed advantages of buying a software package is that it is possible to predict future maintenance costs with some certainty. How would these costs be classified in a cost-benefit analysis?

A) As an intangible cost.
B) As a tangible benefit.
C) As a tangible cost.
D) As an intangible benefit.

Question 67

Linking a piece of delivered software functionality with a requirement is known as which of the following?

A) Requirements validation.
B) Requirements verification.
C) Requirements testing.
D) Requirements traceabiiity.

Question 68

What is the model of a current business process often called?

A) The AS-IS model.
B) The AS-IF model.
C) The n-IS model.
D) The IS-IT model.

Question 69

Which of the following is likely to be shown as a process in a swim-lane diagram of a library book borrowing system?

A) Book.
B) Librarian.
C) Borrowing Limit.
D) Borrow book.

Question 70

Which of the following is explicitly considered as a force in Porter's five forces model?

A) Rivalry between suppliers.
B) Government legislation.
C) Internal business processes.
D) Bargaining power of buyers.

Question 71

A stakeholder in a project has been classified as having no interest but high power/influence on the power/interest grid. Which of the following would be an appropriate way of managing this stakeholder?

A) Ignore.
B) Watch.
C) Keep on side.
D) Keep informed.

Question 72

An analyst has asked a user to describe each step in a task as they perform it. Which of the following investigation techniques is the analyst using?

A) Ethnographic study.
B) Interviewing.
C) Activity sampling.
D) Protocol analysts.

Question 73

Which of the following would you describe about each stakeholder?

A) Justification.
B) Owner.
C) Attitude.
D) Resolution.

Question 74

A use case Place Order must always invoke a related use case Check Credit. How is the association between the two use cases shown?

A) By a solid line with no arrowhead or stereotype.
B) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <>.
C) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <iclude>>.
D) By a broken, arrowed line stereotyped with the word <>.

Question 75

Which of the following statements about change and change management is correct?

A) Change management should be considered right from the start of the project.
B) Change management should first be considered in the design stage of the project.
C) The management of change is the sole responsibility of the project manager.
D) Social and cultural factors have little influence on the success of implementing changes.

Question 76

In which stage of the business analysis process model would the business analyst produce a business case?

A) Evaluating the options.
B) Analysing the needs.
C) Defining the requirements.
D) Considering perspectives.

Question 77

The Business Activity Model shows the doing activities' of a business system. Which element of CATWOE do these activities relate to?

A) Transformation.
B) Actors.
C) Environment.
D) Owner.

Question 78

Which of the following statements about a BAM is correct?

A) The BAM is concerned with who carries out the activities.
B) The BAM is concerned with where activities are carried out.
C) There will be one BAM for each business perspective.
D) The BAM is an AS-IS model of the real world.

Question 79

A company holds information about 1000 customers. It receives, on average, 50 orders per day. Each order must be placed by only one customer. Customers must have placed at least one order but may place several. An analyst has shown an association between the classes Customer and Order. What multiplicities should she show at the Order end of this association?

A) 0..*.
B) 1.*.
C) 0..50.
D) 1..1000.

Question 80

Description, impact assessment, probability and countermeasures are usually recorded for which of the following?

A) Requirements.
B) Risks.
C) Stakeholdei-s.
D) Key Performance Indicators.