Certified Business Analysis Professional CBAP Book

A governance approach is a technique that helps to define and establish the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and decision-making processes for the business analysis work. A governance approach identifies the stakeholders who have the power and influence to approve, reject, or modify the requirements or the solution, and the criteria and mechanisms for obtaining their approval. A governance approach can help the BA to identify the stakeholder who can approve access to the database, as it can specify who owns the database, who has the authority to grant or deny access, and what are the steps and procedures to request and obtain access. A solution scope is a technique that helps to define the boundaries and context of the solution. A solution scope identifies the elements that are within the scope, the elements that are out of scope, and the interfaces and interactions between the elements. A solution scope can help the BA to clarify the objectives and requirements of the solution, but it does not identify the stakeholder who can approve access to the database. A requirements architecture is a technique that helps to organize and structure the requirements into a coherent and consistent framework. A requirements architecture defines the relationships, dependencies, and hierarchies among the requirements, and the level of detail and abstraction of each requirement. A requirements architecture can help the BA to manage the complexity and traceability of the requirements, but it does not identify the stakeholder who can approve access to the database. A change strategy is a technique that helps to plan and manage the changes to the requirements or the solution throughout the project lifecycle. A change strategy defines the roles and responsibilities, the criteria and procedures, the tools and techniques, and the documentation and communication for handling the changes. A change strategy can help the BA to ensure that the changes are properly identified, analyzed, approved, implemented, verified, and tracked, but it does not identify the stakeholder who can approve access to the database. References: BABOK Guide v3, Chapter 10: Techniques, Section 10.14: Governance Approach, p. 516-517; Section 10.42: Scope Modeling, p. 554-556; Section 10.41: Requirements Architecture, p. 553-554; Section 10.11: Change Control Process, p. 510-512.

 A joint application design (JAD) is a technique that helps to validate the requirements with key stakeholders by conducting a structured and collaborative workshop that involves the business analyst, the project team, the end users, and the subject matter experts. A JAD can help to review the requirements for a new application that impacts various business processes, to confirm that the requirements are complete, consistent, and accurate, to resolve any conflicts or issues, and to obtain feedback and approval from the stakeholders. A team review is a technique that helps to evaluate the quality and accuracy of the business analysis deliverables by involving the business analyst and other project team members. A team review can help to identify and correct any errors, gaps, or inconsistencies in the deliverables, but it does not involve the key stakeholders who are affected by the new application. A brainstorming is a technique that helps to generate a large number of ideas or solutions in a short time by encouraging the participants to think creatively and freely. A brainstorming can help to explore different possibilities and perspectives, but it does not validate the requirements with key stakeholders. A product backlog prioritization is a technique that helps to rank the requirements or solution options based on their relative importance, urgency, value, or dependency. A product backlog prioritization can help to determine the optimal scope and sequence of the solution delivery, but it does not validate the requirements with key stakeholders. References: BABOK Guide v3, Chapter 10: Techniques, Section 10.27: Joint Application Design, p. 538-539; Section 10.53: Workshops, p. 570-572; Section 10.7: Brainstorming, p. 503-504; Section 10.38: Prioritization, p. 550-552.

A change strategy is a plan that outlines how the project team will manage the transition from the current state to the future state of the system, and how they will address the impacts and risks of the change on the organization and the stakeholders. A change strategy is needed when system A is offline for 3 months, as this will affect the claims processing operations and the user experience. A change strategy should include the following elements:

• Change vision and objectives: This defines the purpose and scope of the change, and the expected outcomes and benefits of the system upgrade.
• Change readiness assessment: This evaluates the current level of awareness, willingness, and ability of the organization and the stakeholders to adopt the change, and identifies any gaps or barriers that need to be addressed.
• Change impact analysis: This identifies and analyzes the potential effects of the change on the business processes, roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, systems and tools, and culture and behavior of the organization and the stakeholders.
• Change communication plan: This specifies the key messages, channels, methods, and frequency of communication with the organization and the stakeholders, and how to solicit and incorporate feedback and input.
• Change training plan: This defines the learning objectives, content, delivery modes, and evaluation methods of the training programs that will help the organization and the stakeholders acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to use the upgraded system.
• Change management roles and responsibilities: This clarifies the roles and expectations of the project team, the sponsors, the champions, the change agents, and the end users in the change process, and how they will collaborate and coordinate with each other.
• Change monitoring and evaluation plan: This establishes the metrics, indicators, and tools that will measure the progress and performance of the change process, and how to report and act on the results.

References:

• IIBA BABOK Guide, Section 5.6, Define Change Strategy
• Change Management Strategy: A Guide with Best Practices, Smartsheet
• How to Develop a Change Management Strategy, Indeed

This question is based on a case study that compares four scenarios for implementing a new system for a bank. The case study provides the following information about the duration of each scenario:

• Scenario 1: 6 months
• Scenario 2: 9 months
• Scenario 3: 10 months
• Scenario 4: 7 months

The question asks for the time difference in days between the shortest and longest implementation. The shortest implementation is Scenario 1, which is 6 months or 180 days. The longest implementation is Scenario 3, which is 10 months or 300 days. Therefore, the time difference in days is 300 - 180 = 120 days. References: The case study is available in the CBAP® Exam Sample Questions and Exam Blueprint document1. The answer is also verified by the CBAP® Exam Answer Key document2. Both documents are accessible from the IIBA® website3.