PMI Professional in Business Analysis PMI-PBA Exam Questions and Answers PDF

 A product scope is a description of the features, functions, and characteristics of a product that meets the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. It defines what the product is and what it is not, and provides the basis for planning, developing, testing, and delivering the product. A product scope should align with the company’s objectives, which are the desired outcomes or results that the company wants to achieve through its products, services, and projects. Aligning the product scope with the company’s objectives helps to ensure that the product delivers value to the customers and the business, supports the company’s vision and mission, and contributes to the company’s strategic goals12.

To collaborate on a product scope that aligns with the company’s objectives, the business analyst should follow these steps12:

Identify and engage the relevant stakeholders, such as the human resources, engineering, and marketing departments, as well as the product sponsor, the customers, and the end users. Stakeholders are the individuals or groups who have an interest or influence in the product, and who can provide input, feedback, and approval for the product scope.

Elicit and analyze the business needs, requirements, and expectations of the stakeholders, using various techniques, such as interviews, surveys, workshops, observation, prototyping, and brainstorming. Business needs are the problems or opportunities that the product aims to address or exploit, and that justify the investment in the product. Requirements are the specifications or conditions that the product must meet or satisfy to fulfill the business needs. Expectations are the desires or wishes that the stakeholders have for the product, which may or may not be realistic or feasible.

Validate and prioritize the business needs, requirements, and expectations, based on their value, urgency, risk, dependency, and alignment with the company’s objectives. Validation is the process of ensuring that the business needs, requirements, and expectations are clear, complete, correct, consistent, and feasible. Prioritization is the process of ranking the business needs, requirements, and expectations according to their relative importance and impact on the product scope and the company’s objectives.

Define and document the product scope, using various tools, such as a product vision statement, a product scope statement, a product backlog, a product roadmap, and a product breakdown structure. A product vision statement is a brief and compelling description of the purpose, value proposition, and target market of the product. A product scope statement is a detailed and formal description of the product scope, including the product objectives, deliverables, features, functions, boundaries, assumptions, constraints, and acceptance criteria. A product backlog is a list of the product requirements, features, and enhancements that are prioritized and refined for development. A product roadmap is a high-level and strategic plan that shows the direction, timeline, and milestones of the product development. A product breakdown structure is a hierarchical and graphical representation of the product components and their relationships.

Communicate and manage the product scope, using various techniques, such as reviews, walkthroughs, inspections, audits, and change control. Communication is the process of sharing and exchanging the product scope information with the stakeholders, and ensuring that they understand and agree on the product scope. Management is the process of monitoring and controlling the product scope, and ensuring that it is delivered according to the plan and the company’s objectives. Change control is the process of evaluating, approving, and implementing any changes to the product scope, and ensuring that they are aligned with the company’s objectives.

Voting on the product’s highest-value business needs is not the best option, because it may not consider the perspectives and preferences of all the stakeholders, and it may not reflect the company’s objectives. Negotiating to best meet each department’s objectives is not the best option, because it may result in compromises or trade-offs that may not benefit the product or the company as a whole, and it may not align with the company’s objectives. Delegating the decision to be made by the product sponsor is not the best option, because it may not involve the participation and collaboration of the other stakeholders, and it may not align with the company’s objectives. References: 1 PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline, page 10-11; 2 Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, page 133-134

 A version control system is a tool that can be used to track requirements documentation. A version control system is a tool that allows the business analyst to manage and record changes to the requirements documentation throughout the project lifecycle. A version control system can help to ensure that the requirements documentation is consistent, accurate, and up-to-date. A version control system can also help to facilitate collaboration and communication among the team members and stakeholders who work on or use the requirements documentation. A version control system can also help to identify and resolve any conflicts or issues that may arise from concurrent or conflicting changes to the requirements documentation. An affinity diagram is not a tool that can be used to track requirements documentation. An affinity diagram is a technique that involves grouping similar or related ideas, issues, or data into categories based on their affinity or similarity. An affinity diagram can help to organize and analyze complex or diverse information, but it does not track or manage changes to the requirements documentation. A data dictionary is not a tool that can be used to track requirements documentation. A data dictionary is a tool that defines and describes the data elements and their attributes that are used or produced by a system or a solution. A data dictionary can help to standardize and clarify the meaning and usage of data elements, but it does not track or manage changes to the requirements documentation. A business rules matrix is not a tool that can be used to track requirements documentation. A business rules matrix is a tool that documents and organizes the business rules that govern or constrain a system or a solution. A business rules matrix can help to specify and communicate the logic and behavior of a system or a solution, but it does not track or manage changes to the requirements documentation. References: Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide 1, page 161-162; PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline 2, page 19-20.

 This situation could have been avoided if a change control process for requirements and their statuses was followed. A change control process is a set of procedures and tools that helps the business analyst to manage changes to the requirements, and to document and communicate the impact and approval of the changes. A change control process also helps to maintain the traceability and quality of the requirements, and to ensure that they are aligned with the business needs and the project scope. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 23; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 131.

The best course of action to take when the customer reports defects after implementation of the product is to compare reported defects with user acceptance test results. User acceptance testing (UAT) is a process of verifying that the solution meets the requirements and expectations of the end users and delivers value to them. User acceptance testing involves preparing test cases, scenarios, or scripts based on the acceptance criteria, executing them with representative users or stakeholders, collecting feedback, identifying defects or issues, and obtaining sign-off or approval for deployment. By comparing reported defects with user acceptance test results, the business analyst can determine whether the defects were already detected and resolved during UAT, whether they were missed or overlooked during UAT, or whether they emerged after UAT due to changes in the environment, configuration, data, or usage. This can help to assess the impact and severity of the defects and decide on the appropriate actions to address them. Escalating the issue to the project manager since the acceptance was given by the customer is not helpful, as it does not involve investigating or resolving the defects. Doing nothing since the solution is now the responsibility of the operations manager is not responsible, as it does not ensure customer satisfaction or solution quality. Involving the end users and planning a new round of acceptance tests to check the gaps is not feasible, as it may be costly, time-consuming, and disruptive to conduct another UAT after implementation. References: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)® Examination Content Outline1, page 14; Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide2, page 80.