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According to the BABOK® Guide, one of the tasks of the business analyst (BA) is to analyze current state, which involves understanding the existing situation and identifying the capabilities and elements that may be reused or require improvement. In this case, the BA has documented the components of an IT library, but has not analyzed the existing catalogues of IT services that some IT managers have. By analyzing the existing catalogues, the BA can identify the gaps, overlaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities for improvement in the current state. This will help the BA to support the project of establishing a consolidated catalogue of IT services. References: BABOK® Guide, Version 3, Chapter 5: Strategy Analysis, Section 5.1: Analyze Current State, Page 108; Chapter 10: Techniques, Section 10.3: Business Capability Analysis, Page 378.

According to the BABOK® Guide, job shadowing is an elicitation technique that involves observing a stakeholder performing their work in their natural environment. Job shadowing can be passive/unnoticeable, where the observer does not interact with the performer, or active/noticeable, where the observer asks questions or participates in the work. One of the advantages of using a passive/unnoticeable job shadowing approach is that it can identify instances of informally performed tasks as well as any workarounds that the performer may use to overcome system limitations or process inefficiencies. These instances may not be captured by other elicitation techniques or may not be reported by the performer due to fear of reprisal or lack ofawareness. References: BABOK® Guide, Version 3, Chapter 4, Section 4.10; Business Analysis Expert Certification, CCBA® | IIBA®, Section “What Should I know to be CCBA Certified?”

 According to the Capability in Business Analysis™ (CCBA®) guidelines, one of the tasks that business analysts perform in the requirement elicitation activity is to conduct elicitation sessions, which involves facilitating workshops and other techniques to elicit the requirements from thestakeholders12. During the elicitation sessions, the business analyst should be prepared to handle any issues that may arise, such as scope creep, conflicting opinions, or unclear requirements34. If a stakeholder raises an issue that is outside of the project’s scope, the business analyst should consider the issue’s impact on the project and gain agreement with stakeholders on the next step, such as deferring the issue to a later stage, escalating the issue to the project manager, or revising the scope statement5.

References: The CCBA® learning documents, which can be found on the IIBA website12, describe the various tasks and techniques that a business analyst can use to elicit the requirements from the stakeholders, including the conduct of elicitation sessions and the handling of issues. Additionally, the IIBA Bookstore offers resources that provide further insights into the objectives and best practices for business analysis, including the facilitation of workshops and the management of scope3

The scenario describes a task that involves purchasing a COTS product for a project. A COTS product is a ready-made software or hardware solution that can be acquired from a third-party vendor and integrated into the existing system. Purchasing a COTS product can introduce external risks, such as vendor reliability, compatibility issues, security breaches, or regulatory changes1. Therefore, the BA’s next course of action should be to assess external risks and determine their likelihood and impact on the project. Assessing external risks can help the BA to identify and mitigate potential threats and exploit opportunities for the project.

References: The answer and explanation are consistent with the CCBA® Handbook and the IIBA® website, which provide the details and best practices for the risk analysis and management technique as part of the business analysis process23. The CCBA® resources also describe the types and sources of risks that can affect a project, such as internal and external risks23.