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113 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is "Enterprise Analysis"? |
The business activities necessary to identify a business need, problem, or opportunity, define the nature of a solution that meets that need, and justify the investment needed to deliver that solution. |
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Enterprise analysis activities are government by which other document?
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Business Analysis Plan(s)
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What are the tasks of "Define Business Need"?
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N - Define the Business Need G - Assess Capability Gaps A - Define Solution Approach S - Determine Solution Scope C - Prepare the Business Case |
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What is the mnemonic for the tasks of Enterprise Analysis?
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NGASC
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What are the inputs into "Enterprise Analysis"?
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- Assumptions and Constraints - Business Goals and Objectives - Enterprise Architecture - Organizational Process Assets - Requirements (stated) - Solution Performance Assessment - Stakeholder Concerns |
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What are all the outputs of "Enterprise Analysis"?
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- Business Need - Business Case - Required Capabilities - Solution Approach - Solution Scope |
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What is the purpose of the task "Define Business Need"?
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To identify and define why a change to organizational systems or capabilities is required.
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True or False: the definition of the business need is frequently the most critical step in any business analysis effort
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True. It defines the problem that the BA is trying to find a solution for.
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What are the inputs to the task "Define Business Need"?
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- Business Goals and Objectives - Requirements (stated) |
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What is the output of the task "Define Business Need"?
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Business Need
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What other tasks use the "Business Need"?
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Plan BA Approach, Stakeholder Analysis, Prep for Elicitation, Conduct Elicitation, Assess Capability Gaps, Determine Solution Approach, Define Solution Scope, Define Business Case, Prioritize Requirements, Verify Requirements, Requirements Mgt and Comm.
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What are some common triggers to evaluating a business need?
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- Issues encountered in the organization - Customer complaints - Loss of revenue - New market opportunities |
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When analyzing a business need, the BA should question the __ and __ to ensure that the correct problem is being solved.
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Assumptions and Constraints
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What are the different ways to generate business needs?
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- From Top down - From Bottom up - From middle management - From external drivers |
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How are "Business Goals and Objectives" used as an input to the "Define Business Need" task?
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They are refined in order to define the business need. |
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How are stated Requirements used as an input to the "Define Business Need" task?
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Elicitation must be performed in order to assist stakeholders in defining their perceived needs.
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What eliciting requirements for enterprise analysis, the BA should ensure that they reflect ___ business requirements, as opposed to describing ___.
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Actual, Solutions
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What are the elements of the task "Define Business Need"?
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- Business Goals and Objectives - Business Problem or Opportunity - Desired Outcome |
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Business Goals and Objectives describe what?
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The ends that the organization is seeking to achieve.
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What is a Business Goal?
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Long-term, ongoing, and qualitative statements of a state or condition that the organization is seeking to establish and maintain.
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High-level goals can be ___ to break down the general strategy into distinct focus areas that may lead to desired results. |
Decomposed |
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As goals are analyzed, they are converted into more descriptive, __ and __ objectives. |
Granular and Specific |
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True or False: Objectives should be linked to measures that make it possible to objectively assess if it has been achieved.
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TRUE
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What is a common test for assessing objectives?
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SMART
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What attributes does a "SMART" goal possess?
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Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bounded
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When assessing a business problem or opportunity, what factor may be considered?
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- Negative impacts to the organization - Benefits expected from addressing a problem or opportunity - Timeframe for solving - Root cause |
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What is an objective?
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A specific, target that an organization aims for, to support its goals.
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What is the difference between goals and objectives?
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Goals are high-level or broad to support a strategy or vision, while objectives are specific targets.
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True or False: A desired outcome is the same thing as a solution.
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False. It describes the business benefits that will result and the end state desired.
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Proposed solutions must be evaluated against ___ ___ to ensure they can deliver them.
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Desired Outcomes
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What are some examples of desired outcomes?
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- Reduced costs/increased revenue - Create or address competitive advantage - Increase satisfaction (customers, employees) - Comply with regulations - Improve safety - Reduce time to deliver a product or service |
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Which techniques are used to "Define Business Need"?
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- Benchmarking - Brainstorming - Business Rules Analysis - Focus Groups - Functional Decomposition - Root Cause Analysis |
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Which stakeholders are involved in the task "Define Business Need"?
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Customer or Supplier, Domain SME & End User, Implementation SME, Regulator, Sponsor
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What is the purpose of the task "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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To identify new capabilities required by the enterprise to meet the business need.
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What is another common phrase for the task "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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Gap Analysis
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Once a business need is identified, what must be determined next?
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The difference between the existing situation and the desired situation (aka Gap Analysis)
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What assessing capabilities, it may be necessary to create a new ___ to create the capability.
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Project
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In order to provide the capabilities identified, change may be needed to any component of the enterprise such as what?
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Business processes, functions, lines of business, organization structures, staff competencies, knowledge and skills, training, facilities, desktop tools, organization locations, data and information, application systems and/or technology infrastructure.
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What are the inputs to the task "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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- Business Need - Enterprise Architecture - Solution Performance Assessment |
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What is the output of the task "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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Required Capabilities
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What other tasks use "Required Capabilities" as an input?
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- Determine Solution Approach - Define Solution Scope - Prioritize Requirements - Verify Requirements - Requirements Mgt. & Communication |
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How is the business need used as an input to "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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Capabilities are assessed against the business need to identify gaps.
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How is Enterprise Architecture used to as an input to "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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Defines the current capabilities of an organization.
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How is Solution Performance Assessment used to as an input to "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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Identifies shortcomings, problems, or limitations of an existing solution
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What are the elements of the task "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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- Current Capability Analysis - Assessment of New Capability Requirements - Assumptions |
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True or False: when assessing capabilities, if adequate documentation about the current state is not available, it will be necessary to develop the models under review
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TRUE |
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Once current capabilities are understood, what can be determined?
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Whether or not the organization can meet the business need with current capabilities
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If it has been determined that a business need cannot be met with current capabilities, what must the BA identify?
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The capabilities that need to be added.
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How are gaps identified?
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By comparing the current state against the future desired state.
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What types of capabilities are typically analyzed?
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- Business Processes - Work tasks performed - Events that must be responded to |
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What is "Enterprise Architecture"?
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Describes all domains needed to run a business (including IT) that integrate into a complete framework.
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What are the commonly known enterprise architecture frameworks?
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- Zachman - POLDAT - TOGAF |
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In the Zachman framework, what are the two fundamental variables used to represent the enterprise?
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Stakeholder groups (from visionary down to worker), and Systems (who, what, where, when, how, and why)
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What are the six major areas for organization in the POLDAT framework?
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P - Process O - Organization L - Location D - Data A - Applications T - Technology |
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What are the four subsets of the TOGAF Framework?
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- Business Architecture - Data Architecture - Application Architecture - Technology Architecture |
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Why are assumptions used as an element of "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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It is often difficult or impossible to prove that the delivery of a new capability will meet a business need, so assumptions need to be documented so decisions can be made if they prove invalid. |
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Which techniques are used to "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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- Document Analysis - SWOT Analysis |
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Which stakeholders are involved in "Assess Capability Gaps"?
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- Customer and Supplier - Domain SME, End User, Implementation SME, Sponsor |
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What is the purpose of the task "Determine Solution Approach"?
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To determine the most viable solution approach to meet the business need in enough detail to allow for definition of solution scope and prepare the business case.
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What does the solution approach describe?
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The general approach that will be taken to create or acquire the new capabilities required to meet the business need.
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How is the solution approach determined?
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By identifying possible approaches, determining the means of delivery (including methodology and life cycle), and assess organizational capability of implementing and using the solution.
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What are some possible solution approaches?
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- Use existing software or technology features - Obtain a new software package by purchasing or leasing it - Develop custom software - Add resources or make org changes - Change the business procedures/processes - Outsource or partner with other organizations |
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What are the inputs to the task "Determine Solution Approach"?
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- Business Need - Organizational Process Assets - Required Capabilities |
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What is the output of the task "Determine Solution Approach"?
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Solution Approach
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What task uses Solution Approach as an input? |
Define Solution Scope |
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How is the business need used as an input to "Determine Solution Approach"?
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Possible solutions will be evaluated against the business need to ensure that it can be met by the selected approach
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How are organizational process assets used as an input to "Determine Solution Approach"?
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May require that specific approaches be taken to solutions of a given type
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How are required capabilities used as an input to "Determine Solution Approach"?
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Identifies the new capabilities that the solution must support
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What are the elements of the task "Determine Solution Approach"?
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- Alternative Generation - Assumptions and Constraints - Ranking and selection of Approaches |
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How will one know when enough alternatives have been generated?
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- At least one is unacceptable to the stakeholders - One or more are distinctly different from one another - The effort to examine alternatives produces diminishing returns |
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True or False: when generating alternatives for a solution approach, one option is to do nothing.
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True. Another is to investigate options that allow the organization to "buy time"
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True or False: Potential solution approaches may not be ruled out by assessing assumptions and constraints.
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False. These may identify unviable options based on technical feasibility or contractual reasons.
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Which areas should be studied when ranking and selecting a solution approach?
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Operational, Organizational, Economic, Cultural, Technical, Legal, Scheduling, Marketing
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True or False: In some instances, one particular solution approach may be self-evidently superior to alternatives.
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TRUE
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In what circumstance would it be necessary to do a qualitative analysis of the differences between solution approaches?
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When there are only a few critical differences between them
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For more complex decisions regarding solution approach, what must be done?
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Use of a weighted scoring system
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What techniques are used in the task "Determine Solution Approach"?
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- Benchmarking - Brainstorming - Decision Analysis - SWOT Analysis - Feasibility Analysis |
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Which technique is primarily used in Enterprise Analysis?
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Feasibility Analysis
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What is a feasibility study?
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A preliminary analysis of solution alternatives or options to determine whether and how each option can provide an expected business benefit to meet the business need.
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Feasibility studies are typically used on what types of initiatives?
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Major business transformation projects
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Which stakeholders are involved in "Determine Solution Approach"?
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- Customer, Domain SME, End User, Supplier - Implementation SME - Sponsor |
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What is the purpose of the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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To define which new capabilities a project or initiative will deliver.
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What are the components of "Solution Scope"?
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- Scope of analysis - Capabilities supported by solution components - Capabilities in individual releases or iterations - Enabling capabilities |
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Scope applies to both ___ and ___/___ to be produced.
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Project and product/solution
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What is "scope"?
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The extent or breadth of a project or product/solution. For solutions, includes things such as features and functions to be provided. |
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What are the inputs to the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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- Business Need - Required Capabilities - Solution Approach - Assumptions & Constraints |
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What is the output of the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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Solution Scope
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What are the elements of the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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- Solution Scope Definition - Implementation Approach - Dependencies |
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What items should be included in a scope statement?
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- Major features and functions - Interactions (people & systems) - Project boundaries (by business units impacted, processes, and IT systems) |
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What does the implementation approach describe?
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How the chosen solution approach will deliver the solution scope.
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What method might be used to break down deliverables and tasks?
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Work Breakdown Structure
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What techniques are used in the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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- Functional Decomposition - Interface Analysis - Scope Modeling - User Stories - Problem or Vision Statement |
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Which technique is primarily used for the task "Define Solution Scope"?
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Problem or Vision Statement
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What are the components of the Problem or Vision Statement technique?
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- Problem - What it affects - What a successful solution would be |
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Which stakeholders are involved in "Define Solution Scope"?
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- Domain SME - Implementation SME - Project Manager - Sponsor |
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What is the purpose of the task "Define Business Case"?
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To determine if an organization can justify the investment required to deliver a proposed solution.
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What does a "Business Case" describe?
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The justification for the project in terms of value to be added to the business a result of the deployed solution, as compared to the cost to develop and operate it.
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What are the elements of a business case?
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- Benefits - Costs - Risk Assessment - Results Measurement |
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What are the inputs to the task "Define Business Case"?
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- Assumptions & Constraints - Business Need - Solution Scope - Stakeholder Concerns |
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What is the output of the task "Define Business Case"?
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Business Case
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What tasks use the "Business Case" as an input?
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- Prep for Elicitation - Conduct Elicitation Activities - Prioritize Requirements - Verify Requirements - Validate Requirements - Requirements Mgt & Comm. |
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Benefits in a business case should be both __ and ___.
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Qualitative or Quantitative
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Benefit estimates in a Business Case should relate back to strategic what?
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Goals and Objectives
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What types of cost estimates should be included in the Business Case?
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- Capital Expenditures - Development and implementation costs - Opportunity cost of not investing in other options - Cost of changing organization's work practices - Total cost of ownership to support new solution - Consequential costs borne by others |
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what is the Mnemonic for the elements of "Prepare Business Case"?
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BCRAMP (Benefits, Costs, Risk Assessment & Measurement Process)
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What items can be included in the Business Case?
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Context, Benefits, Time & Costs, Impacts, Miscellaneous (rationale, alignment, constraints, etc.)
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Which is the preferred method of documenting benefits? (Qualitative or Quantitative)
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Quantitative
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What is a risk?
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The possibility of an event or condition that will have an effect on at least one project objective
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Which types of risks should be considered for inclusion in a business case?
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Feasibility, technical, financial, organizational
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When should identification and management of risks occur in the life of a product?
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Throughout the life cycle, starting in Enterprise Analysis, and continuing into any projects that create and maintain the product.
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Another term for "Solution Feasibility Risks" is what?
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Product Risks
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Which techniques are used in "Prepare Business Case"?
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- Decision Analysis - Estimation - Metrics & KPIs - Risk Analysis - SWOT Analysis - Vendor Assessment |
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Which stakeholders are involved in "Prepare Business Case"?
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Sponsor, Domain SME, Implementation SME, Project Manager
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