Question 1

What stage immediately precedes testing in the waterfall lifecycle?

Accepted Answer

In the waterfall lifecycle, the stages are sequential and testing follows the development stage. Therefore, the stage immediately preceding testing is development.

Question 2

How would usability and performance requirements be classified?

Accepted Answer

Usability and performance requirements are examples of non-functional requirements, which are concerned with how the system operates rather than what functions it performs.

Question 3

When undertaking a CATWOE' analysis, which sequence should the first four letters be considered in?

Accepted Answer

The first four letters of CATWOE should be considered in the sequence W, T, C, A. This is because the W represents the worldview of the stakeholders, the T represents the transformation process, the C represents the customer, and the A represents the actor.

Question 4

There is a requirement for an employee to enter time worked details into a computerised project reporting system. If this requirement was drawn on a use case diagram, which of the following would be correct?

Accepted Answer

The use case diagram shows the interactions between actors (users) and use cases (functions or actions). In this situation, the employee is the actor who will be performing the use case "Enter time details" into the project reporting system. Therefore, D is the correct answer as "Enter time details" would be a use case and the employee would be an actor.

Question 5

A project reporting system stores information about Employees. How would an Employee be represented in an entity-relationship diagram?

Accepted Answer

An employee is a distinct entity in the project reporting system and has its own set of attributes such as name, employee ID, job title, and contact information. Therefore, the best option is to represent the employee as an entity in the entity-relationship diagram.

Question 6

During a workshop, it is useful to ask participants to come up with ideas which are listed for later evaluation. What is this technique called?

Accepted Answer

The technique described is called brainstorming, where participants are encouraged to generate ideas and list them for later evaluation. Option A (Round Robin) involves having each participant take turns contributing to the discussion, while option C (Mind Mapping) involves visually organizing ideas in a diagram. Option D (Mess Finding) is not a commonly used or recognized technique for idea generation.

Question 7

When analysing stakeholders, it is useful to produce a stakeholder analysis grid. What is depicted on the axes of this grid?

Accepted Answer

The axes of a stakeholder analysis grid depict power and interest. These two factors are important in determining the degree of involvement and impact that stakeholders may have on a project or organization. Stakeholders with high power and interest should be given more attention and consideration than those with low power and interest.

Question 8

Which of the following techniques is used to focus solely on the external influences on an organisation?

Accepted Answer

PESTLE analysis focuses solely on the external influences on an organization. SWOT analysis considers both internal and external factors, CATWOE is used for identifying stakeholders in a system, and MOST is a decision-making tool that considers multiple criteria.

Question 9

Which of the following is an input to the 'Investigate the Situation' stage of the business analysis process model?

Accepted Answer

The 'Terms of reference' is an input to the 'Investigate the Situation' stage as it outlines the scope and objectives of the investigation.

Question 10

The Internal Rate of Return has been calculated for an option in a Business Case. Which ONE of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is the discount rate that makes the Net Present Value (NPV) of all cash flows from a particular project equal to zero.

Question 11

Which of the following investigation techniques is the MOST time consuming?

Accepted Answer

Ethnographic study is the most time consuming investigation technique as it involves a long-term immersion in the research setting and the collection of detailed data through observation, interviews, and analysis of artifacts. This method is often used in anthropology and sociology to understand cultural norms, beliefs, and behaviors of a community or group. Questionnaires, shadowing, and activity sampling are relatively less time consuming techniques.

Question 12

What occurs at handoffs when two actors do not synchronise their work?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What occurs at handoffs when two actors...

Question 13

Which of the following are steps in the Isaksen and Treffinger's creative problem solving model? a. Mess Finding. b. Data Modelling. c. Process Finding. d. Problem Finding. e. Solution Finding.

Accepted Answer

Mess Finding, Problem Finding, and Solution Finding are steps in the Isaksen and Treffinger's creative problem solving model.

Question 14

When are workshops especially valuable?

Accepted Answer

The answer of When are workshops especially valuable?
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Question 15

The entity relationship model below shows the relationship between Product and Order. Which of the following business rules is correct and is reflected in the diagram?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The entity relationship model below shows the...

Question 16

Which of the following investigation techniques is MOST appropriate for collecting quantitative information?

Accepted Answer

Activity sampling involves systematically observing and recording a specific behavior or activity, which is suited for collecting quantitative data. Workshops and prototyping are typically used for generating ideas and exploring qualitative information. Interviewing can be used for both qualitative and quantitative data collection, but it is more geared towards exploring participants' perspectives and experiences.

Question 17

A company provides a help desk facility to support users of their computer software. How would the provision of this facility be classified on their value chain?

Accepted Answer

The provision of a help desk facility is a part of the service provided to the customers/users after they have purchased the software. Therefore, it would be classified as a service activity on the value chain.

Question 18

The change curve shows the range of emotions experienced by people when facing change. One of the axes on the graph is Time; what is the other axis?

Accepted Answer

The other axis on the change curve is typically Self-esteem, which represents how individuals' confidence and morale fluctuate over time as they experience change.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT one of the perspectives considered by the 'Balanced Business Scorecard'?

Accepted Answer

The Balanced Business Scorecard considers four perspectives: Customer, Financial, Learning and Growth, and Internal Processes. Competition is not considered as a separate perspective in this model.

Question 20

What stage of the V model provides the test criteria for user acceptance testing?

Accepted Answer

As per the V model, user acceptance testing is performed based on the test criteria derived from the requirements stage. Therefore, the correct choice is option B, which is the requirements stage.

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